shrink wrote:Dewey wrote:shrink wrote:
Does Towns really need more offensive options to develop? No - the key to Towns becoming a truly elite player is to improve his defense. Keita plays some four because he can switch defensively, but he is not big enough for 4’s, or quick enough for 3’s. He’s a smart player, but Towns would never trust him defensively, would continue to break coverage to help out, and never improve.
As Rosas has said, this season is about installing a system and developing players. The most important player we can develop is Towns. Covington is much better as an SF, with the freedom to blow up opposing offensive sets, but we play him at PF to help Towns. RoCo makes smart decisions, and Towns likes him, and the hope is that KAT will stop coming out to challengers defense if he trusts his 4.
Maybe when/if Towns buys in, Keita can be more useful next to Towns, but every player should be making cuts. Until Towns gets it, Keita should only get bit minutes in the starting line up with KAT.
The Rosas here take is mere media fodder ... when you have 2 max players no coach or GM in their right minds are thinking “systems and development” as primary objectives. You’re thinking winning and then whatever.
This isn’t just lip service. His actions are completely opposite of what you are saying.
If the objective is winning, you don’t let every one of your expiring vets go last summer, and you don’t add nine younger, worse players.
If the objective is winning, you don’t stick with your one-big system, even against huge teams. Gorgui may be the third best player on the team right now, and if your objective is winning, he would have been on the floor next to KAT for more than 8 minutes this season.
If the objective is winning, you’d let Covington disrupt opposing offenses as a SF, and not play him at PF to help Towns grow.
You may wish that the objective was winning, but every (and I repeat EVERY) choice we have seen, between winning and development, Rosas has stuck with development.
You are probably right. However I have a few problems with the theory as well that has me on the fence. Do they not care about developing a PF or a younger SF in the PF role? I mean if that's the plan with everything else, seems a bit off track to give all the minutes to a player you are openly shopping. Same goes for the value of that same player you are shopping, sinking by the minute because he's not as visibly effective from that position. Meanwhile a SF role and type player is difficult to find on this roster with Layman out. Why would it be so impossible to get any of the other players to do exactly what they are having RoCo do in this role? You know, develop them for the role long term at the same time? When Layman went down, maybe they should have adjusted their plan by sliding RoCo back to SF wing and just didn't?
If it's all only about developing one aspect of Towns' defensive issues you've mentioned repeatedly, maybe it's just piss poor management job of the team and season. Maybe all these things that wouldn't make sense to you if they actually cared about winning are just examples of why they aren't winning and of poor decisions. I think it's fairly obvious playing RoCo at PF hasn't improved Town's defense. Can we just call it a fail and move on?
I think when they forced Culver starting at the 1, it looked clearly like a developmental move that is backing your thoughts on all this. But it was also shortly after Layman's injury, so did they trashcan the season right then and there? However, it's also possible they thought Culver actually was ready for it and were just wrong. When the right move might have been to slide Covington back to SF, keep Wiggins running point, and just use the bevy of 2 guards they have in rotations. Then had one of Dieng, Bell, Vonleh just play with KAT. Maybe they just made the wrong adjustment.
As for letting the vets go, maybe they just didn't believe in any of the vets they let walk and thought they could get more from players of their choice to fill out the roster and this also made it possible to bring in more of those players (guys they have interest in) without the financial struggles caused by resigning one or two of the vets. This gave them the ability to bring in more of "their guys" since players like Wiggins, Towns, Teague, Dieng weren't movable. Kind of like Thibs went about bringing in "his guys" around the duo he couldn't move.
