Slava wrote:It’s not about being cheap, its more about finding roster spots. You cannot cut Tucker, when he is making the 4th most money on the team. You cannot cut Collison, while he is the only back up PG after the Rondo trade. DeAndre will most likely be let go to keep Stanley Johnson. Ellington is a much better shooter at a higher volume than Valentine.
Our roster is filled with smaller 2 guards like Monk, Reaves and potentially Nunn to come.
Only person out is Bazemore. At that point, its a coin toss between him and Valentine and I think Bazemore will be cut as well when a trade happens or if a better option emerges on the buy out market.
The notion of cutting Tucker is ridiculous. He's a horrible fit though, so he may have to be benched until he can learn to earn his minutes, like Bradley, by playing defense. In the meantime, with a more capable wing on the roster in Valentine who, like Reaves, can dribble, drive, pass and shoot, Tucker should be third-string until he beats other guys out, especially Bradley.
Also, Reaves, Valentine, and Tucker can all play PG, along with Westbrook and James. Losing Rondo doesn't automatically make Collision a fixture at backup PG. They have many guys who can play that position, including Valentine.
Valentine is closer to 6'6 than he is to 6'4. He's as tall as Reaves, bugger than Monk, Nunn, Ellington, Collison, and Bradley. Reaves and Valentine are all big enough to guard SGs and SFs. He's not a small guard at all.
With Jordan and Bazemore eventually being cut (we agree on that) there is room for Valentine. He has proven to be much more well-rounded than Ellington and he's taller and longer to boot. He can help this team with his unique skillset. He has great offensive role-player potential, the ryoe of player who would look really good playing with stars.
Cut Bazemore and Jordan. Keep Valentine, Johnson, and Collison, for now, and figure it out as you go, money be damned. If Ellington, Collison, and Tucker are better than Valentine let them earn it. For this team and what they need, Valentine is better, and the Lakers would definitely be considered cheap, as usual, if they don't give him a shot:
Nunn - Reaves - Collison
Monk - Bradley or Tucker
James - Ariza or Johnson
Westbrook - Davis - Howard
Anthony -
Valentine - Ellington