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JDR720 wrote:

JMAC3 wrote:

JDR720 wrote:that is true, but what is also true is every elite team has multiple superstars. we dont have one or have a way to get one, so we need to go the "star studded starting lineup" path and get 4-5 all-star players in the starting lineup if we want to be better than a 2nd round playoff treadmill team like the hawks.

and im counting all-star players as players who are around 4-10th at their positions, or have the potential to be relatively soon.

I agree, but at the same time we do not have enough money to pay that many players who are considered all-star players. This is why I am proposing we sign a potential allstar center and let Frank develop at PF and give him every chance to succeed.

In my mind Kemba and Batum can be all star players and we all know what kind of impact a healthy MKG can make.

I do not see a huge downgrade from Marvin to Frank, especially when you consider Frank will be entering his prime and Marvin is probably coming off his career year and things are going to trend downward from here.

Frank and Howard/Whiteside front court is better in my mind then a Marvin and Noah/Mahinmi and they will end up costing similarly.

i think its more do able for us than it used to be. we already have two of them under contract (MKG/Kemba) for 12/13 million each. the plan (if it works obviously) will be complete after the 2017 offseason.

Kemba
2017 SG (letting Nic go in order to sign a C this year the reason for this is the 2017 SG/SF class has a few players who are as good/better than Nic and the C class is still good, but the good targets are all restricted and they are unrestricted this season)
MKG
Frank (if he works)
Whiteside

keeping Lee as a stop-gap isnt a bad plan IMO, we can always trade him or Lamb to make room.

dream team after next offseason

Kemba (12 million)-MLE PG this offseason (Seth Curry?)
Oladipo (25 million?)- Lamb (7 million)
MKG- (13 million)- Lee (10 million?)
Frank- (4 million)
Whiteside-22 million- Zeller (RFA, match contract)

Dipo is RFA, but ORL has a surplus at his position with Forunier and Hezonja and Cody is his pal so i think he is getable.

MLE/draft picks and the D-league team (which hopefully we actually use, it has great benefits if used correctly) to fill it out and the cap is supposed to be over 100 million then.

yosemiteben wrote:I agree that one of the fantastic things about Lin is that he's great depth and makes injuries a lot easier to handle. Depth is definitely an issue if we want to renounce guys to pursue bigger FAs, which is why I really hope we can just bring everyone back and build through trades. We have the same depth question with Marv though - if we let him go and Frank goes down, what then? Pray MKG can handle PF minutes? Plug Zeller back in as PF? The gap between what we can get from Marv and an MLE type big is massive.

Not an easy decision, I can see it either way.

ESPN 730
‏@ESPN730

"If the Hornets short change Nic Batum it'll be their fault, the key for them is not let him explore his other options" - @AdiJoseph

ESPN 730 ‏@ESPN730 20m20 minutes ago

"Jeremy Lin knows he is valuable to this team and if he leaves it could be a risk, they value what he brings to this team" - Joesph

ESPN 730 ‏@ESPN730 18m18 minutes ago

"The only way I see Al Jefferson staying is if he takes a massive pay cut, but he loves it here, wants to win & loves Clifford" - @AdiJoseph

Chris Kroeger
‏@Kroeger

How hard is Nic Batum to replace?

#Hornets Steve Clifford just told us there are basically 5 other players in the NBA to do what he does.

fatlever wrote:

Chris Kroeger
‏@Kroeger

How hard is Nic Batum to replace?

#Hornets Steve Clifford just told us there are basically 5 other players in the NBA to do what he does.

qiantom wrote:

fatlever wrote:

Chris Kroeger
‏@Kroeger

How hard is Nic Batum to replace?

#Hornets Steve Clifford just told us there are basically 5 other players in the NBA to do what he does.

5 other players that play the same position, right? The statement is a little misleading because you can potentially replace him by upgrading other positions.

fatlever wrote:

Chris Kroeger
‏@Kroeger

How hard is Nic Batum to replace?

#Hornets Steve Clifford just told us there are basically 5 other players in the NBA to do what he does.

yosemiteben wrote:That's a fair point. In my mind the question is if you were guaranteed to get the exact same production this season that you got last season, who would you prefer to retain - Lin or Marv?

phillycheese wrote:Five guys who can do what Nic can and better - LeBron, Durant, Butler, Leonard, Butler. You can probably add Hayward, Paul George, Giannis and Gallinieri, Parsons to that list as well. Not sure green and Griffin can guard 2s consistently.

yosemiteben wrote:

phillycheese wrote:Five guys who can do what Nic can and better - LeBron, Durant, Butler, Leonard, Butler. You can probably add Hayward, Paul George, Giannis and Gallinieri, Parsons to that list as well. Not sure green and Griffin can guard 2s consistently.

Even if I agreed with your point, how many of those guys do we have the opportunity to sign?

kinein wrote:

yosemiteben wrote:

phillycheese wrote:Five guys who can do what Nic can and better - LeBron, Durant, Butler, Leonard, Butler. You can probably add Hayward, Paul George, Giannis and Gallinieri, Parsons to that list as well. Not sure green and Griffin can guard 2s consistently.

Even if I agreed with your point, how many of those guys do we have the opportunity to sign?

none, which is why nic batum is the #1 priority for the Hornets.

phillycheese wrote:

kinein wrote:

yosemiteben wrote:Even if I agreed with your point, how many of those guys do we have the opportunity to sign?

none, which is why nic batum is the #1 priority for the Hornets.

Exactly. My post was to answer another poster who quoted Cliff, not to suggest that we go after those 5 guys.

Roy Tarpley wrote:I agree that Marv is more valuable to the team than Lin based on last year's stats and available replacements.

But what made Lin so critical was his value per dollar. For $2m/year, the Hornets got a two-way player that played two positions, served a pivotal role in wins over the Cavs, Spurs, Raptors, and Celtics, attracted millions of new fans from across the world, was involved significantly in the community, and even reinvigorated the team's Bible study sessions.

Some of this is replaceable, but not all of it, and certainly not at $2m/year. Even re-signing Lin won't provide the same value because it'll be for a higher price.