First I blame Otto Porter jr., he left the front court injury curse in the locker room
AshyLarrysDiaper wrote:Setting aside the fact this is plainly awful news, I’m not devastated about what this means for the present. Prior to the Knicks game, Pat was a negative and we’d have been better off shifting minutes away from him.
As for the future, having your best upside piece miss two training camps and his entire sophomore season is nothing short of catastrophic. This is career and possibly franchise-changing stuff here.
Depression nap incoming.
My view is the complete opposite. In the long term he's out for the year, he doesn't become any worse of a player, with his left wrist he can still work on conditioning and learn more basketball. He comes back next year like an experienced FRP and depending on how things go without him he could come back as a a piece they realizie that they really missed this year.
It is devastating in the short run. They needed a backup for him and they'll still need that backup and a starter besides. NO Javonte Green is not going to defy all basketball norms and be a 6-4 PF, he'll fight and hustle and bring energy but he'll get steamrolled by the below average PFs in the league. Now may be the time to see what Tyler Cook can or can't do.
They need to see who fits into the trade exemption they have, and take on any higher priced, longer term guy they can get. They've opened the window of being a contender and they can't just tough it out. They have to make a serious move. When Patrick returns whoever they get now, if he's signed for more than this year, is part of the PF mix with PW who also fills a backup role behind DeRozan at SF. That's why it may be worth more to get someone better who is signed for longer when DJJ and Brown expire, they don't bring back Johnson or Simonovic or Cook.