asudevil wrote:Split T wrote:I think our best shot at a star player might be horford. If markieff takes another step and the lakers pick looks like 6-9 range, and Atlanta really struggles, a Morris brothers, Len, lakers pick for horford might make sense. Although millsap is essentially the Morris brothers morphed into one. But we could get a third team involved
If Markieff takes another step wouldnt that put him that much closer to Horford. Just look at there per36 (which i know a lot of you hate, but the sample size is large enough)
18.6pts/8.4rbs/2.6asts with 0.9stls/1.5blks - Horford
18.6pts/8.1rbs/2.4asts with 1.1stls/0.9blks - Morris
the numbers are not that far off. Yeah, the arguement is there that we are comparing 1st vs 2nd string, but if you talking talent vs talent then over the course of 2000 minutes the numbers arent THAT skewed.
I think a lot of your are undervaluing what Markieff has accomplished. He's on the verge of a breakout year.
IMO you keep Markieff. He's one of two things. a.) a STUD force off the bench with Marcus/Thomas that elevate our 2nd string to unstoppable or b.) he makes the leap to star quality PF. He really isnt that far behind Horford, and when you factor in age/experience Markieff as all the ability to elevate his game. Afterall we are talking about 4 years experience that Horford has over Markieff.
Yeah, I don't get all the discussion about needing a starting stud at PF when we have Kieff. I've also read things from fans that he's small, which really doesn't make much sense either. I don't get how 6'9" 240ish is small for a PF...he's actually right about average. There are a lot of 6'7"/6'8" guys out there.
Also, he's just now entering his 4th year. As many have noted, bigs take a little longer to develop than backcourt guys, so the fact that he was a 'stud' coming off as a 6th man, and the fact that he was in the running for the '6th Man of the Year Award', I guess I don't understand the seemingly overwhelming concern that he isn't developing into a good, starting PF.
While it would be nice to have top 10 NBA players at every position, the fact of the matter is that that notion is a pipe dream. We do have, IMO, two top 20 backcourt talents in EB and Dragic, with IT waiting in the wings. We just drafted, what looks to be, a very high potential guy as our SF for years to come. Same with Len--and no, I'm not concerned about his ability in the slightest...again, bigs take time to develop.
I'm drinking the Kool Aid, for sure, but just imagine our potential starting line-up in 2016:
Dragic
EB
Warren
Kieff
Len
I do understand if you want to win this year, and if we could some how make a trade for a stud 5 or 3, then great, yeah, I'm on board, but to trade for another 4, just to keep Kieff in the same 6th man role, is unnecessary and unfair, IMO. Kieff has earned the right to start. Give him a chance. If he can't hack it by the trade deadline, and we can swing something, then fine, but at least give Kieff the chance to fail, first.