sco wrote:Infinity2152 wrote:I'm really confused as to how adding a Sabonis level player doesn't meaningfully improve the team. This current team wins anywhere from 30-40 or so games as currently constructed. Am I wrong or has everybody not been saying Vucevic has the worst defense in the NBA, Pat is absolutely trash and played 63 games, Zach who was on our team half the season doesn't contribute to wins, and won 39 games.
Yet somehow replacing Pat Williams with Sabonis, and Vucevic, worst defender in the league, with Smith or another defensive center, doesn't make us better. Moving Zach's $40 mill contract, which was so important because he doesn't contribute to winning, isn't helping us. Huerter and Collins both playing way better than we thought they would won't help us. Our 2025 rookie joins the team, no improvement here, let's count him out already. Absolutely no chance Ball, Ayo, Smith, Terry or Phillips play better this year. Maybe our 5 best defensive players and we're completely counting them out.
We're likely to be the same play-in team even with all that. Somehow. So how do we not end up a play-in team, by not making a trade? Future draft luck? Giddey, Coby, William, Matas, Vucevic is a play-in/fringe playoff team at least.
But hey, let's let two starters expire and get nothing back. Better yet, trade for some bad contracts, that'll help us. Or only trade for players lower level than Vucevic or Sabonis, that's the real ticket to success. Adding low level players. Great having no valuable players when that 1A trade does become available, we have cap space and picks! (Which we'll have already either way)
Who wants to be competitive and give the 10 young guys we have a better chance to win games anyway? Plus a vet or two to learn from. Best to waste their cheap contract years being as bad as possible.
Remind me of your proposed trade for Sabonis?
I think you are getting pushback on Sabonis, not because people think he's not a good player, but because he is viewed as a very good offensive player and below average defensive player, and because the things he brings on offense are deemed redundant with those skills aleady here and he doesn't bring what we are lacking...rim running and rim protection. You can say, "sure but we can play him at PF", and while true, IMO we also need POA defense that we'd lose doing that...it's essentially the same as asking would we be better having Giddey's clone added to the roster...my answer would be "probably, but it doesn't fix what's wrong."
I'm cool with anyone who doesn't see Sabonis as a fit as a player. Most seem to be projecting him at center, I'm putting him at PF but ok. Said several times he wouldn't be my top choice, but he would be a choice. All of those choices come down to price. I resist the idea that we're better off waiting rather than trading for an All Star level player. There's literally no benefit in sitting still with 10 young players on the roster and most of the team expiring. And I'm still waiting for any proof that a guy with a career 109.9 defensive rating would be a bad defender at PF. Particularly when we're playing teams with big PF's, like most of the playoff teams. Plenty of small PF's with good defensive ratings will get cooked when matched up against Holgrem, JJJ, Porzingas at PF worse than Sabonis will.
We have like no valuable pieces to use in a major trade, and most are expiring. Come this summer we will have two good players (Giddey, Matas) under contract and a buttload of cap space. I'd rather have three good players and a smaller buttload of cap space.
Every major trade proposal, for Ja, for Zion, for Giannis, first comments are "other teams will easily top that". That's because we have no good trade pieces. In pretty much every trade for a 1A-2A type player, a mid major talent like Jrue Holiday or Bradley Beal or Mikal Bridges at least is the centerpiece. It's never just expirings and picks with a Coby level expiring. A Sabonis level player puts us in the conversation. It also puts us in the conversation while we're trying to draw free agents next summer. If the plan is to hit free agency with cap space, don't we need to look like a team they'd want to join ina competitive market?
I'd prefer Jaylen Brown or Desmond Bane, and yes, I wouldn't expect them for free. I consider a good $20 mill player worth more in trade than $20 mill cap space, and our guys are expiring. I want a major, tradeable asset who is not expiring for our expirings.
