RealGM

Can this season be salvaged?

sweetlou23 wrote:Can this season be salvaged?

Should this season be salvaged. No.

Let the young guys play, let Embiid rest and get better, keep our pick and let's see what happens.

It's been a bust of a season. I think it would be wise to sit both him and George for the remaining portion. There is no reason at all to be striving for the play-in. I don't think we need to necessarily trade Embiid. I think time off can heal his issues along with another surgery. I'd love to rid ourselves of the toxicity otherwise known as Podcast Paul, but that's not happening either so only thing to really do is make the best of the situation both current and future wise.
Let's see what Jared Butler and Grimes can do. I think we continue to run Maxey out there but reduce his minutes. We have to step a big step back to move forward. If we strive for the play-in, fine...But even if we grab thr 7th or 8th seed we're nothing more than a sacrificial slaughter to Boston or Cleveland.
I really like this draft. I think if we can somehow keep our pick in the top 5, we're going to land a really good player that we can move forward with for the next ten years. It's time to call it a season, back up and punt again. I hate it because it's just another wasted year for Embiid. Paul George is 34 but plays like he's 44, Maxey has officially reached veteran status. I don't know WTF Nick Nurse is doing with his lineups. He needs to play the young guys so that they can get some experience. It's the best teacher and it's the only way these guys are going to progress.
In the offseason, I think we need to keep it simple. Bring back Grimes (if we can), Yabu (if we can), and Jared Butler. Our only free agent acquisition (which I imagine will be a minimum level contract) should be for another athletic big man that still has some upside. You take a chance on that and hope it works out. Other than that you run it back with your draft pick (assuming the Philly injury curse doesn't hit him) as your big addition.

That gives you
Maxey/Butler
MCcain/Grimes/Gordon
Part time Paul/JT Edwards/Council
Yabu/Rookie?
Embiid/Bona/Free agent/Drummond

With his recent comment about possibly needing another surgery - yes. I would go for the play-in and shoot for a championship if I thought there was any chance of a healthy Embiid. Maxey + PG + the support crew is enough to give us a non-zero shot... if Embiid were at 100%. Until his recent comment, I was holding out hope that being injured and therefore resting most of the regular season might have him at his healthiest just in time for the playoffs to start. If he might need surgery - it ain't gonna happen. Lost season, but let's give PT to the young guys, let them grow and learn more, and at the same time hope for a lottery ticket.

It’s time to somehow get rid of him and PG this summer

The problem with shutting him down is that it perpetuates the fantasy that he's the lynchpin in the team's success. It kicks the can down the road another season in that regard, and then you continue to make the mistake of believing he's the centerpiece of a potential championship team, with the effort in that regard being building around him (again...). Simply the decision to shut him down for the season keeps your compass pointed in that ill-advised direction, and then it takes even longer to right the ship in the appropriate direction.

.

I was shocked there was even a "no" option in the vote. I would have gone with:

Yes.

Hell Yes.

Why didn't they do it in November???

The real question should be : Is this summer the time to trade Embiid & PG and call it a day ?

twas time last year lol

phifans wrote:The real question should be : Is this summer the time to trade Embiid & PG and call it a day ?

I think we can compete post Embiid era if we can hit on our lottery pick. No reason he can't be our Zydrunas Ilgauskas and stick around for some deep runs behind Maxey, Mccain & our lottery pick. We crap on Embiid a lot but he has done a lot for this franchise.

This is how a GM functions when he has an awareness of the importance of team culture and how his star player's characteristics fit into it:

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/279343/Mavericks-Were-Never-Going-To-Offer-Luka-Doncic-Five-Year-$345M-Supermax-Extension

Sixteen wrote:

phifans wrote:The real question should be : Is this summer the time to trade Embiid & PG and call it a day ?

I think we can compete post Embiid era if we can hit on our lottery pick. No reason he can't be our Zydrunas Ilgauskas and stick around for some deep runs behind Maxey, Mccain & our lottery pick. We crap on Embiid a lot but he has done a lot for this franchise.

This isn’t charity, the fans and organization don’t owe Embiid anything. He has made a massive amount of money for playing 50% of his career and has been adored by the fans for most of it. He had a nice run, some cool memories, but there comes a point when it’s time to move on.

Ferry Avenue wrote:The problem with shutting him down is that it perpetuates the fantasy that he's the lynchpin in the team's success. It kicks the can down the road another season in that regard, and then you continue to make the mistake of believing he's the centerpiece of a potential championship team, with the effort in that regard being building around him (again...). Simply the decision to shut him down for the season keeps your compass pointed in that ill-advised direction, and then it takes even longer to right the ship in the appropriate direction.

Morey has already made that erroneous decision, though.

So you have to salvage what you can and keep the pick this year.

Mik317 wrote:twas time last year lol

Correct, and to add insult to injury many fans on this forum at least had accepted 2023-2024 was going to be a transitional year and to not sweat it. Let the new head coach get acclimated. Now it feels like we are further away from taking the next step than we were after resetting after Harden and Rivers.

We gotta keep playing him if we want to tank. I think our team is actually too good if we let the young guys run the show. It’s bleak but Embiid is our tank commander this year.

Jailblazers7 wrote:We gotta keep playing him if we want to tank. I think our team is actually too good if we let the young guys run the show. It’s bleak but Embiid is our tank commander this year.

Might be true if he doesn't improve. If he improves, then they can be a good team.

Win win IMO.

Ferry Avenue wrote:This is how a GM functions when he has an awareness of the importance of team culture and how his star player's characteristics fit into it:

https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/279343/Mavericks-Were-Never-Going-To-Offer-Luka-Doncic-Five-Year-$345M-Supermax-Extension

Dallas just made the Finals. Out of the West. Luka is not Embiid.

The idea they weren't going to pay the best or 2nd best player in the league is patently absurd, don't care how cheap your owner is. Even Reinsdorf would commit murder (figuratively speaking, of course) to throw that money at Doncic.

There is no one who convinces me that trade was anything other than an Adam Silver dictate.

They should rest PG until he is healthy. If they know Joel needs another surgery they should shut him down and get the surgery asap. But, if they don't think he needs surgery and instead just needs to worth through this adjustment period with the knee than I think they should keep him active. Not to compete for the play-in this season, but because A) imo, Joel yo-yoing in and out of the rotation likely creates more uncertainty in how the offense plays, what the rotations are and prevents the team from building any real, true identity down the stretch. All that will help the effort to keep our pick. B) if he looks good individually, it might re-build his lost trade value.

Wemby is out for the year now.

Just announce Jo is out for the year. And Maxey out for a month.

PG has to be the tank commander for a little longer until he gets to be out for the year. Earn a little bit of that money he stole.