RealGM

We’re looking at a C rotation of Aldridge, Claxton, Griffin/Green.






I fully expect Jordan to be shopped this summer even though we will likely have to spend atleast 4 2nds or worse to deal him.

I personally don’t think him and James get along. There is obvious love and respect but I don’t think Jordan is truly realistic about himself at this point of his career and he should be the 15th man at this point.

How to move his ugly ass contract is going to be a pain this summer because a ring will not satisfy him being DNP’d throughout the rest of this season and postseason.

We also need to look at the reality we might actually extend Griffin or Aldridge if it leads to a championship. One championship with some of these guys coming in mid-season on low level deals will definitely lead to a want to run it back for a full season albeit it everyone will be a little older. I definitely think Claxton can truly get better with Aldridge here which means Jordan has lost his starting role forever.

Good Jordan sucks.

He had his chances this season and has been a train wreck defensively.

Only thing he can do is catch lobs and rebound ok.

I don't want us to play him anymore.

Let's see what happen first. The starting center position is DeAndre's to lose. I see this a fair competition and may the best player win.

I definitely do not share the same distrust for DeAndre as some of us do. I believe he is not exceeding or falling below my expectations of him.

DeAndre is also a good leader and locker room guy and has been professional with us during his time here with the Nets.

I can see why people think that he and Harding do not get along. But that may not be the case. I would rather see them have an open dialog and argue as long as it is constructive criticism. They certainly are not the the first co-workers to have a disagreement.

I have my issues with DJ's consistency, but I don't want him completely out of the rotation. He has shown flashes during the season and I think that he can be good for limited stretches (like 4-5 minutes each quarter).

Don't buy this. Maybe there's a chance it happens but we obviously have to see how LMA plays and fits. The same reports said we were looking at Blake as a 5. Claxton emerged and Blake has been almost strictly a 4. Too early for this considering LMA's defense and DJ brings stuff to the table we need.

Let's see what happens. Also, considering Claxton's injury history, throwing Jordan in the trash is probably not a wise move.

Is LMA really going to be more mobile than DJ defensively? I don't see it. I fully expect LMA to be a pylon out there but I guess he can't do much worse than DJ's lazy drop coverage. If DJ is out of the rotation completely that'll mean they want to have Claxton be the full time roll guy and LMA will be the Jeff Green stretch 5 but with legit centre size.

I still got hopes for good DJ to show up in the playoffs in more limited minutes since he's the best combination of size and physicality that we have. But right now no harm in trying LMA or Claxton as starters since we're getting killed out there in the 1st and 3rd when DJ is on court chilling.

sashaturiaf wrote:Is LMA really going to be more mobile than DJ defensively? I don't see it. I fully expect LMA to be a pylon out there but I guess he can't do much worse than DJ's lazy drop coverage. If DJ is out of the rotation completely that'll mean they want to have Claxton be the full time roll guy and LMA will be the Jeff Green stretch 5 but with legit centre size.

I still got hopes for good DJ to show up in the playoffs in more limited minutes since he's the best combination of size and physicality that we have. But right now no harm in trying LMA or Claxton as starters since we're getting killed out there in the 1st and 3rd when DJ is on court chilling.

DJ is younger and still way more athletic than LMA. The very notion that we're going to phase out a big body that still has a few miles left in the gas tank is absurd. Every option should be on the table for this team and minutes should be based on what is needed for the situation. We are going to need two big bodies to bang with Embiid and Howard in the playoffs.

Yup by large we are definitely a finesse team so we need that bulk and athleticism that DJ brings. Don't pack him away just yet he's going to be needed in the playoffs for sure in certain matchups. Shame DJ is too nice to play the enforcer role.

That's why Blake was a great pickup, he knows how to get under the opponents skin which is something we didn't have before. The rest of the guys are either quiet by nature or just too chill. KD is very tough when he's on his phone though.

If DJ gets outplayed by Claxton and is out of the rotation because they would rather give 15-20 backup minutes to a stetch 5 I can live with that. The idea that we jettison him from the team to me is really short sighted given claxton's health and the lack of any other shot blocking beyond claxton and DJ.

The hate for DJ here is all-time bad. Like you would think he is the TLC of centers. He knows his role and is an elite finisher. The guy is shooting 77% from the field. and I know that "harden gets tons of dunks for his centers" which is true but 77% is still absurd. as a comparison, claxton is at 59% and Allen who was as good a rim running finisher as the league has was at 68% as a Net.

DJ doesnt do dumb shaqtin' a fool stuff like try and shoot threes, fade aways or take his man if the clock isnt ticking down to 0. He is an outstanding screener both as a role man and to free up others with a relatively high IQ. Defensively he has his lapses but he is athletic enough not to be a negative on switches and is still a plus weakside help shot blocking presecece.

The idea he is a net negative, awful, hurts this team, or is not one of the better backup/20 mpg centers in the league to me is just nonsense and unwanted hate.

I think people will realize the grass isnt greener when we get a huge sample of blake/griffin/green playing 15-30 minutes a game at center. We have seen this team score 130-140 poonts and lose. Offense isnt a huge issue. the stretch 5 helps in spots. i just worry like D'antoni did in Houston we over do 1-way floor spacing to the point we get diminished returns.

Claxton playing 14 minutes last game has me more concerned though. if they go with a C rotation of LMA/Blake/Green that doesnt bode well. We need some resistance inside and D at the 5 spot.

at 10 million DJ is overpaid as 20 mpg backup. but like, barely. he is probably an 8 million player instead of a 10 million player. for a comparison:

Capella - 16M
Dieng - 16M (before he was bought out)
Jonas Val - 15M
Zeller - 15M
Brook Lopez 13M
Dien
Olynck - 12 M
Favors 10.5 M
Deandre Jordan - 10 M
Tristan Thompson - 9.5 million
Thomas Bryant - 9 M
Plumlee - 8.5 million
Poetl - 8M
Baynes - &M
Nerlens Noel - 6 M

The rest of the league is either guys on rookie deals who havent gotten paid yet, guys making 20M+, or scrubs/buyout guys making peanuts.

You could say DJ is overpaid at 10M, but his salary is right smack in the middle of guys who are in the same tier of skill as him. He is far from some albatross contract you would need to pay to get rid of or anyone who really hurts your cap flexibility.

He has 2 years left at 19.6M total (9.8M per year). He is giving us 8/7/1.5 in 20 minutes a game on elite finishing/FG%/TS% and every single defensive metric shows him as a net positive (DBPM, DRPM, DRAPM).

The hate for him is way out of bounds.

MrDollarBills wrote:

sashaturiaf wrote:Is LMA really going to be more mobile than DJ defensively? I don't see it. I fully expect LMA to be a pylon out there but I guess he can't do much worse than DJ's lazy drop coverage. If DJ is out of the rotation completely that'll mean they want to have Claxton be the full time roll guy and LMA will be the Jeff Green stretch 5 but with legit centre size.

I still got hopes for good DJ to show up in the playoffs in more limited minutes since he's the best combination of size and physicality that we have. But right now no harm in trying LMA or Claxton as starters since we're getting killed out there in the 1st and 3rd when DJ is on court chilling.

DJ is younger and still way more athletic than LMA. The very notion that we're going to phase out a big body that still has a few miles left in the gas tank is absurd. Every option should be on the table for this team and minutes should be based on what is needed for the situation. We are going to need two big bodies to bang with Embiid and Howard in the playoffs.

Yup. without DJ we are a claxton re-injury away from asking a pair of 35+ year olds not known for defense to give us 48 minutes at center in the playoffs vs. a potential path of Vucevic/Capella/Embiid/Jokic potentially.

Prokorov wrote:If DJ gets outplayed by Claxton and is out of the rotation because they would rather give 15-20 backup minutes to a stetch 5 I can live with that. The idea that we jettison him from the team to me is really short sighted given claxton's health and the lack of any other shot blocking beyond claxton and DJ.

The hate for DJ here is all-time bad. Like you would think he is the TLC of centers. He knows his role and is an elite finisher. The guy is shooting 77% from the field. and I know that "harden gets tons of dunks for his centers" which is true but 77% is still absurd. as a comparison, claxton is at 59% and Allen who was as good a rim running finisher as the league has was at 68% as a Net.

DJ doesnt do dumb shaqtin' a fool stuff like try and shoot threes, fade aways or take his man if the clock isnt ticking down to 0. He is an outstanding screener both as a role man and to free up others with a relatively high IQ. Defensively he has his lapses but he is athletic enough not to be a negative on switches and is still a plus weakside help shot blocking presecece.

The idea he is a net negative, awful, hurts this team, or is not one of the better backup/20 mpg centers in the league to me is just nonsense and unwanted hate.

I think people will realize the grass isnt greener when we get a huge sample of blake/griffin/green playing 15-30 minutes a game at center. We have seen this team score 130-140 poonts and lose. Offense isnt a huge issue. the stretch 5 helps in spots. i just worry like D'antoni did in Houston we over do 1-way floor spacing to the point we get diminished returns.

Claxton playing 14 minutes last game has me more concerned though. if they go with a C rotation of LMA/Blake/Green that doesnt bode well. We need some resistance inside and D at the 5 spot.

at 10 million DJ is overpaid as 20 mpg backup. but like, barely. he is probably an 8 million player instead of a 10 million player. for a comparison:

Capella - 16M
Dieng - 16M (before he was bought out)
Jonas Val - 15M
Zeller - 15M
Brook Lopez 13M
Dien
Olynck - 12 M
Favors 10.5 M
Deandre Jordan - 10 M
Tristan Thompson - 9.5 million
Thomas Bryant - 9 M
Plumlee - 8.5 million
Poetl - 8M
Baynes - &M
Nerlens Noel - 6 M

The rest of the league is either guys on rookie deals who havent gotten paid yet, guys making 20M+, or scrubs/buyout guys making peanuts.

You could say DJ is overpaid at 10M, but his salary is right smack in the middle of guys who are in the same tier of skill as him. He is far from some albatross contract you would need to pay to get rid of or anyone who really hurts your cap flexibility.

He has 2 years left at 19.6M total (9.8M per year). He is giving us 8/7/1.5 in 20 minutes a game on elite finishing/FG%/TS% and every single defensive metric shows him as a net positive (DBPM, DRPM, DRAPM).

The hate for him is way out of bounds.

Everything you said there is true, however the hate stems from the eye test in that he's visibly giving no effort on D and allowing open 3 after open 3. The fact we struggle in the 1st and 3rd when DJ plays most of his minutes would back that up.

If he was playing hard and not capable of defending I think the hate wouldn't be as strong. ie - I don't get mad at TLC when he's out there doing his patented TLC step out of bounds turnovers, I'm more mad at Nash for putting him in there.

Having said that, I think the DJ we'll see in the playoffs won't be the lacksidaisical mid-season DJ. He's saving his body for when it matters since he's shown flashes this season and not at the age where he should be washed

sashaturiaf wrote:Yup by large we are definitely a finesse team so we need that bulk and athleticism that DJ brings. Don't pack him away just yet he's going to be needed in the playoffs for sure in certain matchups. Shame DJ is too nice to play the enforcer role.

That's why Blake was a great pickup, he knows how to get under the opponents skin which is something we didn't have before. The rest of the guys are either quiet by nature or just too chill. KD is very tough when he's on his phone though.

yeah the thing that I like about Blake is that he's now the guy that's out there getting physical on bang bang plays and pissing people off. Blake is basically our PF version of Kyle Lowry. Harden, Kyrie, and KD can just play finesse ball while Blake draws charges and has people throw punches at him for being a dick

MrDollarBills wrote:

sashaturiaf wrote:Yup by large we are definitely a finesse team so we need that bulk and athleticism that DJ brings. Don't pack him away just yet he's going to be needed in the playoffs for sure in certain matchups. Shame DJ is too nice to play the enforcer role.

That's why Blake was a great pickup, he knows how to get under the opponents skin which is something we didn't have before. The rest of the guys are either quiet by nature or just too chill. KD is very tough when he's on his phone though.

yeah the thing that I like about Blake is that he's now the guy that's out there getting physical on bang bang plays and pissing people off. Blake is basically our PF version of Kyle Lowry. Harden, Kyrie, and KD can just play finesse ball while Blake draws charges and has people throw punches at him for being a dick

He's absolutely one of those guys you'd hate if he was on the other team. Only been here a few games but already shown off the full repertoire of dick moves - diving on the floor for loose balls, flopping, complaining about every call and taunting the bench of the team still paying him.

Fortunately he's got enough wits and leeway with the refs to get away with it, definitely a guy I can see getting Dwight thrown out of an important playoff game.

I think the hate for him is overblown, he is not that bad. For 20 mins a game we can do a whole lot worse. He rebounds and finishes well. Yea he's lazy at times but his defense is average I would say. We don't really have another legit center on this team but him. And when we play a team like the Sixers we would need him. I would definitely not just DNP him, he should still start games and get at least 15-20 mins a game. I don't think we have to attach a bunch of assets to get rid of him either, his contract is not terrible, he is slightly overpaid but there is a few teams out there that can use his services.

sashaturiaf wrote:
Everything you said there is true, however the hate stems from the eye test in that he's visibly giving no effort on D and allowing open 3 after open 3. The fact we struggle in the 1st and 3rd when DJ plays most of his minutes would back that up.

If he was playing hard and not capable of defending I think the hate wouldn't be as strong. ie - I don't get mad at TLC when he's out there doing his patented TLC step out of bounds turnovers, I'm more mad at Nash for putting him in there.

Having said that, I think the DJ we'll see in the playoffs won't be the lacksidaisical mid-season DJ. He's saving his body for when it matters since he's shown flashes this season and not at the age where he should be washed

I think that it is defintely easier to get on a guy when you think effort is an issue. the thing is, DJ going half assed now and then is still better then most backup centers and a good chunk of starting ones.

The problem is he isn’t mobile. He is a -1.7 for the season according to espn plus minus stats. The main reason is they give up a lot of three when he is on the court due to his lack of mobility. 20 years ago it wouldn’t have been a problem and what he brings to the team would have been great but in today’s game when every center can shoot threes we need a mobile guy to go guard them. Most of the time he doesn’t even try. If he tried to contest them and just wasn’t quick enough I think people would cut him some slack in it. But he just stands there. Which just shows a lack of effort. Which pisses everyone off. He does the same on rebounding. A lot times he just stands there and watches as the ball goes to the other team. He not going to get every rebound but there are plenty that go right over his head because he doesn’t try. It happens a lot. That’s why harden is constantly talking to him about missed rotations etc.

Sharcm1 wrote:The problem is he isn’t mobile. He is a -1.7 for the season according to espn plus minus stats. The main reason is they give up a lot of three when he is on the court due to his lack of mobility. 20 years ago it wouldn’t have been a problem and what he brings to the team would have been great but in today’s game when every center can shoot threes we need a mobile guy to go guard them. Most of the time he doesn’t even try. If he tried to contest them and just wasn’t quick enough I think people would cut him some slack in it. But he just stands there. Which just shows a lack of effort. Which pisses everyone off. He does the same on rebounding. A lot times he just stands there and watches as the ball goes to the other team. He not going to get every rebound but there are plenty that go right over his head because he doesn’t try. It happens a lot. That’s why harden is constantly talking to him about missed rotations etc.

He is much more mobile then blake and LMA. we could avoid the threes made by switching him like we do with claxton instead of the awful drop coverage.

You could say we need him to compliment Harris and the trio (Kyrie/Harden/KD/Harris/Jordan).

But I'm not going to be here defending Jordan, lol.

I'd like to see how KD, Brown and LMA can play together.
Love the Griffin, Claxton and Harris combo. But that would mean Harris will be coming in with the bench core.
(And as everyone else keeps on harping that "Harris isn't coming off the bench", I get it. Harris has developed with us through sweat and tears and deserves starting over being in a complimenting role. Doesn't mean it's the best to unlock the team.)

Maybe, Kyrie/Harden/KD/Harris/LMA would work or even Kyrie/Harden/KD/Harris/Claxton.
(Been the biggest supporter of Claxton since the beginning while others had been harping on that he would not be remotely ready for minutes this year. I'm just not going to rush him into it banging around before he gets a year of bulking up. If he can, then I'll be ecstatic.)

I'm just here waiting to see if we can find something better than Green or Jordan as our 5th. Or is the small ball line-up from the beginning of the season really is our highest ceiling of complimenting all these talents.

He needs limited minutes. The only thing that irks me about Jordan is that at times you don’t see the hustle.