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With the rumor that Dalembert is close to signing this is how I see the rotation/roster working out:

Tyreke Evans/Jimmer Fredette/Isaiah Thomas
Marcus Thornton/Francisco Garcia
John Salmons/Travis Outlaw/Donte Greene/Tyler Honeycutt
DeMarcus Cousins/JJ Hickson
Samuel Dalembert/Jason Thompson/Hassan Whiteside

I think the two guys in a suit or D League are Honeycutt and Whiteside. It all depends on match-ups, foul trouble, and injuries (hopefully minimal) but with a healthy 14 man team I see the Garcia and Greene as the guys being squeezed on minutes with Thompson likely losing minutes as well. If guys aren't playing well or in foul trouble its a nice luxury when your 11th and 12th guys can contribute which in my opinion may end up being Garcia and Greene. Thomas has really impressed in camp and I see him getting minutes in the backcourt along with Tyreke, Thornton, and Jimmer. I think Outlaw is going to take minutes at SF and PF. I think that Westphal (and he may already be thinking this way) should demand the team to play balls to wall knowing we have guys that can spell for rest. We need to win games on having more energy than other teams and we can do this with depth. Give smart, hard fouls without being too concerned about foul trouble. Hustle. Don't conserve energy. Play as hard as you can and if you're winded we'll get someone in to give a breather. I think this is what it will take for us to have a successful year. When you don't have a Kobe, LeBron, Nowitzski, etc. it takes a more collective effort. That's where the Chuck Hayes loss really hurts. His personality is the identity this team needs to take on.

Tyreke Evans 31 minutes / Isaiah Thomas 8 minutes
Marcus Thornton 35 minutes /Jimmer Fredette 22 minutes
John Salmons 30 minutes /Travis Outlaw 22 minutes
DeMarcus Cousins 30 minutes / JJ Hickson 25 minutes
Samuel Dalembert 26 minutes / Jason Thompson 13 minutes

Spoke too soon. We need to pull off a trade now. Same premise. Replace Dalembert with someone like Okafor.

Dally's going to Houston.

PetrieUnderstudy wrote:Spoke too soon. We need to pull off a trade now. Same premise. Replace Dalembert with someone like Okafor.

Okafor's contract is a total anchor. Not unless this team looks awesome and the only clear need is a player like Okafor.

SacKingZZZ wrote:

PetrieUnderstudy wrote:Spoke too soon. We need to pull off a trade now. Same premise. Replace Dalembert with someone like Okafor.

Okafor's contract is a total anchor. Not unless this team looks awesome and the only clear need is a player like Okafor.

Not really. He'd fit mostly within the remaining cap space we have left. His contract would expire the year that Cousins would be extended, so he's basically a placeholder until that time.

Yeah, and that means no more runs at trades using cap space, or free agency. Too many avenues that it would exhaust.

I listened to Grant Napear interview Paul Westphal earlier this evening. Grant asked some good straight forward questions and Westphal answered quite candidly. Basically my prediction of the rotation was right on sans Dally/Okafor.

He plans on starting Tyreke, Thornton, Salmons, Hickson & Cousins and play Thomas, Jimmer, Outlaw & Thompson off the bench. He was pretty emphatic that Thomas would be getting consistent run. He also said that lineups could vary based on injuries and match ups. Greene not so much in the plans and if he played it would be more stretch 4 and Garcia not really in plans either but mentioned as 3rd string at SF. Honeycutt and Whiteside weren't mentioned at all. I'm on the exact same page as Westphal and agree with his assessment of the current roster.

With Thomas that is is a small, small lineup, but with the way he's played, although somewhat ball hoggish IMO, you can't leave him out right now.

We better hope that no one in the front court gets injured or in foul trouble...

So....Thomas will get PT in a smaller lineup instead of Cisco and Donte? What?

pillwenney wrote:So....Thomas will get PT in a smaller lineup instead of Cisco and Donte? What?

Don't remember Westphal's exact quote but Grant asked him about Thomas and he emphatically said something like, "I see him playing 7 to 12 minutes per half."

JJ Hickson is a starter

ShaqDiesel wrote:JJ Hickson is a starter

Not any more. Not with the Chuck wagon back.

Yeah, Hickson now becomes that energy guy off the bench. He played really well in that 2nd preseason game and showed a ton of hustle. Back to having a pretty sick bench? Oh yeah.

PetrieUnderstudy wrote:

pillwenney wrote:So....Thomas will get PT in a smaller lineup instead of Cisco and Donte? What?

Don't remember Westphal's exact quote but Grant asked him about Thomas and he emphatically said something like, "I see him playing 7 to 12 minutes per half."

Really? That's some pretty major fluctuation though. He's played super well and looks like a complete steal so I can see why. Still, that's gonna be some small ball straight up.

In order to play both Jimmer and Thomas a decent amount of minutes Id think we would see more of Reke at the 3. Similar to what we saw in the first preseason game.

Jimmer
Thornton
Reke
Cousins
Hayes

With Chuck back here's the revised roster and rotation...

Roster:
Tyreke Evans/Jimmer Fredette/Isaiah Thomas
Marcus Thornton/Francisco Garcia
John Salmons/Travis Outlaw/Donte Greene/Tyler Honeycutt
Chuck Hayes/JJ Hickson
DeMarcus Cousins/Jason Thompson/Hassan Whiteside

Rotation:
Starters
PG Evans
SG Thornton
SF Salmons
PF Hayes
C Cousins
Bench
6th man Hickson
7th man Fredette
8th man Outlaw
9th man Thomas
10th man Thompson
11th/12th man Greene or Garcia
Suit man 1 Hassan Whiteside
Suit man 2 Tyler Honeycutt

Nice depth. Just bring the effort every night and we should be competitive.

PetrieUnderstudy wrote:With Chuck back here's the revised roster and rotation...

Roster:
Tyreke Evans/Jimmer Fredette/Isaiah Thomas
Marcus Thornton/Francisco Garcia
John Salmons/Travis Outlaw/Donte Greene/Tyler Honeycutt
Chuck Hayes/JJ Hickson
DeMarcus Cousins/Jason Thompson/Hassan Whiteside

Rotation:
Starters
PG Evans
SG Thornton
SF Salmons
PF Hayes
C Cousins
Bench
6th man Hickson
7th man Fredette
8th man Outlaw
9th man Thomas
10th man Thompson
11th/12th man Greene or Garcia
Suit man 1 Hassan Whiteside
Suit man 2 Tyler Honeycutt

Nice depth. Just bring the effort every night and we should be competitive.

I think that's the most accurate rotation, although I think Hickson and Hayes will switch off, and hopefully they get rid of Garcia, he's a waste of roster spot.

Westphal just better not run with this 25 mpg for everyone crap he did last year. If he does, this will be his last year as a head coach in the NBA. Keep that 9 man at most rotation with your best players getting 35 mpg and this team should be fine. Evans, Cousins, Hayes, and Thornton are your 35 mpg guys.

Cousins and Hayes both won't get near 35 minutes. Cousins will be battling foul trouble and conditioning--hopefully neither as much as last year, but 35mpg is pushing it. And Hayes just isn't that kind of player.

In fact, this year, I wouldn't be surprised if no one was above 32. There's a reason depth will be important this year. It's going to be brutal schedule-wise, and guys are going to need rest.