JeffFosters wrote:JMaster5K wrote:ReggiesKnicks wrote:
I agree and I think it's a good lesson of how these players are valued around the league. Players like Walker still hold a good amount of value to their teams because they are role players, young, cost-controlled, and have a ceiling that is more than their current level.
You factor all of that and sure, a team isn't paying multiple 1sts for Jarace Walker, but he still has a clear path to becoming a good player in the NBA.
It's also just a bad use of assets, objectively. Teams who are middle-of-the-pack playoff teams shouldn't be draining their asset pool for Herb Jones level players. No offense to Herb Jones, but he just isn't going to change the fortunes of a franchise. If I'm giving up Walker/Mathurin/1st, I want a player who has a good chance of changing our future outlook.
If we had traded for Jones,... or likely even this summer,.. I would hold the torches for you in the riot,...
"The New Orleans Pelicans announced forward Herb Jones will miss the remainder of the season after he underwent successful surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff."
Just makes it worse. It is likely he has a full recovery,... but there will be a large number of unknowns around his recovery until he actually plays again. Which isn't happening until into next season?
Benny came back fine from the same injury but you’re right. I’d still make the phone call to see if Herb can be gotten cheaper given the injury. Walker, Sheppherd and a 1st?
I'm gonna leave the original post up,... if for no other reason,... then just for the sake of honesty.
You got my curiosity peaked,.. so, I went back & took a more detailed look at Herb & how he's been playing this season. I may have to eat a little crow here. I still think what you were proposing overvalues Jones. After looking in more depth, I think I've undervalued him.
I think Jones could fill that role of a big wing defender that the Pacers need. He's a good athlete, though not as athletic as most of the true 'shutdown' defenders at the NBA level, but he does what he does with smarts & defensive understand. I would describe him the same way people describe Pascal on offense,... very 'crafty'. I think Coach Carlisle would probably love having him,.. LOL .
I still don't think he really raises the ceiling for the Pacers. I do think he could be a player that raises the floor? He is only shooting .300 from 3 this season,.. but that is abnormally low for him, and he's only played 20 games,... so you can't really say he has gotten into a rhythm for this season.
More importantly, for the Pacers,... he is shooting .371 on corner 3's. Compare that to Walker, Nesmith, Toppin, who are all .400 or over. Jones has next to no floater game,... FG% of .263, 3-10 feet from the basket,.. but his mid-range game is very good. All our wings are over .500 from the same distance. A small part of this isn't his game (though that is the dominant part) but also the Pel's offense & the way the Pels have been defended.
Jones has played more on the wing this year compared to last season & the last half of 22-23,... that has seemingly put him back into his comfort zone for the floor skills, and understanding of the court. He has more assists per 100 possessions this season, than previous seasons with a constant A/TO ratio. More importantly,... getting him more primary defensive reps from the wing (as opposed to the backcourt, where he had been lining up defensively because of he Pel's lack of on ball defense.) Has allowed him to a little more flexibility to jump the passing lanes, or flow up into the defensive rotation. His steals are up without giving away much to defending 'his man'.
All in all,... I'd say he having a very good, small sample year. Not as good as last year, but you can't really expect him to be as good in 20 games.
If you assume the Pacers primary scoring options are Pascal, Myles, & Tyrese,... with Drew and potentially Herb as the release valve shooters,... this could work. I still believe Benn has a substantially higher value than Herb. Herb is what he is. Benn is more valuable for the player he is now. (He has a much more complete game than Herb,... with the potential to be as impactful defensively,... and way better offensively.) Benn also has unrealized potential in his game, that Herb simply does not.
To make the money work,... it would have to be something like Benn & I-Jacks for Jones,... (after the season, but before the start of next season) We would be taking on $1,295,261 more than we send out,.. but we would stay under the tax. The Pels who are 186,904 under the tax would have a little more room. For the Pacers,... it would make next year a bit more difficult,.. I-Jax was already 'off the books' as guaranteed salary. He is a RFA this offseason. We would be replacing Benn's $9,187,573 with Jones 13,937,574, leaving us around $4,750,000 less money to resign Myles & our FA's. However, we wouldn't be resigning I-Jax, and we wouldn't have the negotiation with Benn in 25-26?
In this case,.. you would be getting a 26 year old, starting role player (Jones), for a becoming well rounded, 22 year old, legit NBA starter that has the likely potential & work ethic, to even become the face of your franchise (If Williamson can't stay on the court), at a position of need, as CJ McCollum is clearly showing signs that father time is catching up to him. The backcourt of Murray & Mathurin would be a REALLY interesting & fun to watch?
This would seem to solidify the backcourt for the Pels,... and the frontcourt for the Pacers,.. with Jarace getting the second unit time as a 3/4?
for me,... I would probably do this,.. but would expect probably 2 firsts (some form of protection) from NO (Maybe 1 depending on when, & what? Maybe a pick swap this year with a more heavily protected first next?...) with a future swap or a couple of seconds going back to NO?... This particular trade, wouldn't completely empty our resources for future trades, but could help us win more consistently next year? idk,... thoughts?
