Discussing Other Teams' Moves Part 5

[verbal8]

I don't rank Miami as a "clear" #2. They're in the mix, but it's not a sure thing by any stretch. Wade is still playing on one leg, Whiteside has durability issues and a very short track record, Deng isn't really a good player anymore, and the rest of their bench is suspect. Who is going to play defense for them for the 2000 minutes that Whiteside isn't on the court?

I love Dragic though. And I really like Bosh too.

If anyone separates from the pack, I would say it is Atlanta vs. Miami. They have a number of question marks and losing Carroll will hurt, but I think Splitter was a good addition.

[LyricalRico]

I don't rank Miami as a "clear" #2. They're in the mix, but it's not a sure thing by any stretch. Wade is still playing on one leg, Whiteside has durability issues and a very short track record, Deng isn't really a good player anymore, and the rest of their bench is suspect. Who is going to play defense for them for the 2000 minutes that Whiteside isn't on the court?

I love Dragic though. And I really like Bosh too.

Haha, yeah I updated to say "semi-clear". LOL

But even with all that, they still won 37 games last year and only missed the playoffs by one game. That's with only half a season of Bosh, half a season of Whiteside, half a season of Dragic, and mostly nothing from McBob (who should be healthy again). Having those guys for presumably an entire season plus adding Winslow as a potential super sub, and I'm having a hard time predicting less than 50 wins for them.

And actually I forgot about Atlanta bringing back Milsap AND adding Splitter. Assuming Thabo fully recovers, I'd probably put them 2nd. Not at 60 wins, but maybe 55.

[nate33]

Atlanta is going to be interesting. Adding Splitter really changes their identity a bit. We'll see how it plays out. Also, Korver leads the team in minutes and he'll turn 35 before the season ends. He takes really good care of himself, but typically, players that age get hurt. How will they fare if they have to go extended lengths of time without Korver, and with the non-shooting Thabo replacing Carroll? (I think they'll have to renounce Jenkins, too.)

[gtn130]

Miami as clear #2? Can't possibly agree with that. Miami is like a 45 win team, tops.

Wade is old
Deng is old
Bosh has health concerns
Winslow is a rookie and won't be good out of the gate
Whiteside could regress for a variety of reasons
Dragic is good but now overpaid considering his age
Chalmers and McBob are decent bench players but nothing special, and Miami as a whole is severely lacking in depth

Even if everything breaks perfectly for them, Wade and Deng somehow stop regressing, Winslow wins ROY, Bosh has perfect health, they're still not even that great.

Atl pretty comfortably > Miami. not close

[gtn130]

Atlanta is going to be interesting. Adding Splitter really changes their identity a bit. We'll see how it plays out. Also, Korver leads the team in minutes and he'll turn 35 before the season ends. He takes really good care of himself, but typically, players that age get hurt. How will they fare if they have to go extended lengths of time without Korver, and with the non-shooting Thabo replacing Carroll? (I think they'll have to renounce Jenkins, too.)

Korver will be fine unless he gets hurt like you said. The space he creates and attention he commands is invaluable and is something that won't be affected by age very much.

Atlanta might be a fraudulent playoff team, but they have a great system and will be very good in the regular season.

[gtn130]

I don't rank Miami as a "clear" #2. They're in the mix, but it's not a sure thing by any stretch. Wade is still playing on one leg, Whiteside has durability issues and a very short track record, Deng isn't really a good player anymore, and the rest of their bench is suspect. Who is going to play defense for them for the 2000 minutes that Whiteside isn't on the court?

I love Dragic though. And I really like Bosh too.

Haha, yeah I updated to say "semi-clear". LOL

But even with all that, they still won 37 games last year and only missed the playoffs by one game. That's with only half a season of Bosh, half a season of Whiteside, half a season of Dragic, and mostly nothing from McBob (who should be healthy again). Having those guys for presumably an entire season plus adding Winslow as a potential super sub, and I'm having a hard time predicting less than 50 wins for them.

And actually I forgot about Atlanta bringing back Milsap AND adding Splitter. Assuming Thabo fully recovers, I'd probably put them 2nd. Not at 60 wins, but maybe 55.

I'm a pretty big WInslow fan, but expecting him to be really good out of the gate is extremely unrealistic. Rookies are rarely ever positive players.

Miami has very little depth and question marks with everyone but maybe Dragic.

[dckingsfan]

I don't rank Miami as a "clear" #2. They're in the mix, but it's not a sure thing by any stretch. Wade is still playing on one leg, Whiteside has durability issues and a very short track record, Deng isn't really a good player anymore, and the rest of their bench is suspect. Who is going to play defense for them for the 2000 minutes that Whiteside isn't on the court?

I love Dragic though. And I really like Bosh too.

Hmmm, I kind of see them as the #2 option also... they are deep at PG, Winslow is going to start day 1, they are deep in the FC. The could definitely use more depth at SG - but I am guessing Winslow will slide over as well as Chalmers from time to time.

Dragic, Chalmers, Napier
Wade, Johnson, Dragic
Winslow, Deng, Ennis
Bosh, McRoberts, Haslem
Whiteside, Andersen

[Rafael122]

I don't rank Miami as a "clear" #2. They're in the mix, but it's not a sure thing by any stretch. Wade is still playing on one leg, Whiteside has durability issues and a very short track record, Deng isn't really a good player anymore, and the rest of their bench is suspect. Who is going to play defense for them for the 2000 minutes that Whiteside isn't on the court?

I love Dragic though. And I really like Bosh too.

Hmmm, I kind of see them as the #2 option also... they are deep at PG, Winslow is going to start day 1, they are deep in the FC. The could definitely use more depth at SG - but I am guessing Winslow will slide over as well as Chalmers from time to time.

Dragic, Chalmers, Napier
Wade, Johnson, Dragic
Winslow, Deng, Ennis
Bosh, McRoberts, Haslem
Whiteside, Andersen

If the rumors of them wanting to unload Chalmers or McRoberts are true, then they're not that deep. They're a Wade injury away from starting Tyler Johnson.

[Kanyewest]

I don't rank Miami as a "clear" #2. They're in the mix, but it's not a sure thing by any stretch. Wade is still playing on one leg, Whiteside has durability issues and a very short track record, Deng isn't really a good player anymore, and the rest of their bench is suspect. Who is going to play defense for them for the 2000 minutes that Whiteside isn't on the court?

I love Dragic though. And I really like Bosh too.

Hmmm, I kind of see them as the #2 option also... they are deep at PG, Winslow is going to start day 1, they are deep in the FC. The could definitely use more depth at SG - but I am guessing Winslow will slide over as well as Chalmers from time to time.

Dragic, Chalmers, Napier
Wade, Johnson, Dragic
Winslow, Deng, Ennis
Bosh, McRoberts, Haslem
Whiteside, Andersen

If the rumors of them wanting to unload Chalmers or McRoberts are true, then they're not that deep. They're a Wade injury away from starting Tyler Johnson.

If Wade gets injured, I suspect they would start Dragic, Winslow, and Deng.

[Kanyewest]

I'm a pretty big WInslow fan, but expecting him to be really good out of the gate is extremely unrealistic. Rookies are rarely ever positive players.

Miami has very little depth and question marks with everyone but maybe Dragic.

In the short term, I think Winslow can be a quality backup- certainly better than what Miami had off the bench for most of the year last year. Guys like Chalmers and Cole were decent as rookies for Miami as role players- so maybe Spoelstra can coach up Winslow to be a good contributor off the bench or perhaps even a starter.

[dckingsfan]

Euroleague star forward Nemanja Bjelica has agreed to a three-year, $11.7 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Damn good move by Minny... he is a good backup S4.

[nate33]

So much for David West:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBNationNBA/status/618155306594512896[/tweet]

[Induveca]

Spurs wow........Duncan/Aldridge/West? Good luck anyone not named Golden State in the W.

And it's a bit concerning the Wiz were unable to convince Pierce to stick around or sign a single solid free agent.

[nate33]

Spurs wow........Duncan/Aldridge/West? Good luck anyone not named Golden State in the W.

And Diaw too.

At small forward, they have Leonard and Kyle Anderson (whom they apparently love).
At shooting guard, it's Danny Green and Manu.
At point guard, it's Parker and Mills.

I think Duncan is going to have to play for something like $5M, unless they move Diaw. They'll probably use the Room Exception to resign Ginobili to $2.8M.

[closg00]

Mad respect to West, it was about getting a ring before he leaves the NBA.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Clarkson is arguably as good or better than Beal.

My friend, that's going to end up on someone's signature at some point.

Clarkson is decent scorer and an embarrassingly bad defender who made his awful team 3 points worse when he was on the floor. He benefited from jacking up shots in perpetual garbage time against teams who didn't even bother to scout him. He shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence as Bradley Beal who put up James Harden like numbers in two playoff series while absolutely swallowing DeRozan and Korver on defense.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/c/clarkjo01/gamelog/2015/

This is one of those times, nate, where I'm going to just call you out like you think you've done me. nate, I get Fox West, and can see virtually every Laker game. Clarkson is a very fluid athlete, and he is going to get a LOT better.

Clarkson averaged 16.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists in 28 games after the all star break.
He finished with a PER of 16.9, better than Beal's best.

Byron Scott: Jordan Clarkson ‘Has A Chance’ To Become An All-Star

http://www.lakersnation.com/byron-scott-jordan-clarkson-has-a-chance-to-become-an-all-star/2015/04/01/

We'll see in a couple years.

[nuposse04]

Clarkson is also older then Beal CCJ, not by a lot but a development year can be significant.

[closg00]

Just saw Clarkson once in that game against us, he looked good on a bad team.

[LyricalRico]

Mad respect to West, it was about getting a ring before he leaves the NBA.

And if he plays well on the way to a title, maybe he still gets paid one last time next summer. Good for him.

[closg00]

Steve Kyler: “At this point in my career, I just want to win,” David West told WTHR.com’s @bkravitz. “I’m just not sure the Pacers are in title contention right now. I’m going into my 13th season. I just don’t know if the team is in the position to win right now and I didn’t know if I’d have that opportunity to win a title. I don’t want to be in a position where we’re just fighting to make the playoffs. I want to be in a spot where we can legitimately taste the finals”

Respect