viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1188356&start=525hands11 on Thu Jun 21, 2012 8:51 am (Granted, this was pre draft, pre Webster and pre Dray. Also, no one know if Okafor was healthy.)
Nene showed us a very nice mid range game last year. And Okafor is a solid rebounder. Something we needed. Oka will be 30 by the time the season starts and he is coming off the knee injury. No one says he is going to start. Kevin will not concede his minutes. Ves neither. Those two have something to fight for now. It also give C Singleton something to fight for. That is not a bad thing. If these younger players really want it, they have to fight for it. Chris with an outside shoot could even still win the starting role.
Wall/Mack
Crawford/Beal/Mason - until Beal wins the starting job
Trevor/C Singleton - now Chris has someone to beat out.
Nene/Booker/Dray
Ves/Kevin/Okafor
They could end up starting the same line up they ended with last year except with Beal eventually starting at SG instead of Crawford. Who doesn't like that ? They played well to end the year. The defense was good and they won at a good clip. Now they just have more depth and no Lewis 21M dead contract.
That team is going to be good defensively which is a good place to start. They are still plenty young and athletic still. They didn't lose any young talent. Beal adds the outside shooting they needed at SG at 18 years old. Mason can spot up and spread the floor still as a back up and Beal tutor. Crawford can scrap and drive. He can still improve his game and value. They are outfitted pretty well at guard. Wall is a stud PG who showed sign of being a good court manager to end the year and I expect his shot will only get better. And they are all kind of loaded in the front court. Basically they just added vet depth and broke up one useless huge contract of Lewis for two smaller ones that could be used in a trade if needed. They have plenty of power in Nene, Kevin and Oka. Booker and Ves are energy guys. Book is a beast and Ves was adding strenth. And they still have Dray who is 6-11 who will return in better shape. Plus now they added a vet who can rebound and defend in Oka.
Wall and the other young players need playoff experience to grow. Its hard for me to see how that team doesn't make the playoffs the next two years. Then Oka, Trevor and Mason drop off and the young player can keep it going. It is a different design then Gil, CB and AJ. We have legit post defense now and a lot more younger players to keep it going. I would take this front court over AJ, Haywood and Dray any day. On the other side after two playoff runs we still have Wall, Beal, Chris, Kevin and Ves all in the 24/25 range with Booker 26. That is very different. And no longer term contract your stuck with.
viewtopic.php?f=35&t=1188356&start=630LyricalRico on Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:40 am DCZards wrote:I don't believe Ted sees this as straying from or delaying his rebuild plans. In fact, he probably sees it as advancing those plans. The idea of having a worse record over the next 2 years with the HOPE (and hope is the key word) of adding pieces along the way may appeal to you, but I think Ted (and most of the Zards fanbase) are tired of losing. I think the Zards ownership believes, and I do as well, think that you can rebuild the team over the next 2-3 years while winning 40 or so games (and making the playoffs), rather than 25 games.
Assuming that Ted/Ernie see our core as being pretty much set (presumably Wall, Serphin, our #3 pick this year, and maybe one of Booker/Vesely/Crawford) then giving those players the chance to learn how to win is the logical next step. Adding tough, veteran players with playoff (and in Ariza's case, championship) experience is a good step in that direction IMO. And if they didn't believe that other perhaps better deals (such as ideas suggested on this board) were or would become avaialble, then I absolutely support them pulling the trigger. Let's see how this thing plays out.