Chocolate City Jordanaire wrote:I feel like putting this on the general board. I must give Ernie Grunfeld his props. This roster is so much better than last year's it's unbelievable.
--Tim Frazier was a very good pickup
--Tomas Satoransky turns out he's a very good draft pick
--Mike Scott is an excellent pickup. Love the way he plays. Like a cross between Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison.
--Markieff Morris is a glue guy who fits this roster well. He plays with an edge.
--Jason Smith is a big body who stays involved. He's ready to play when called upon. Brings tremendous positive energy...
Frazier: I can't believe that you, CCJ, of all people would say this. Frazier has been ok for, but he is a rent-a-player -- one year -- for whom we traded a R2 pick, a guy you would have & control for a few years to find out whether he's a real asset. Now, you can make the argument that, since it was a late pick, we only gave up access to @ 1/2 dozen players, but that's not accurate: after 60 you are competing w/ others for a guy rather than owning his rights.
But, at least in this case there's an argument to be made: for the rest, absolutely not!
Satoransky -- definitely turning into a good player, but picking him was not a good decision at all. Ernie picked him instead of several players who are both better (some of them much better) & who contributed for the 4 long years during which Sato stayed in Europe. It would be one thing if those guys were some kind of dark horses, big surprises -- but we all pointed to them!! I'm talking about Draymond Green, Jae Crowder, Will Barton, & Khris Middleton. Not to mention Kyle O'Quinn.
Scott -- definitely an outstanding value for a veteran minimum player. As they say... even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut. But, again, a rent-a-player -- not a guy who helps build a team.
Morris -- I'm happy that Markieff has played better the last couple of weeks, but that doesn't make him a good NBA 4 -- & certainly doesn't make him worth a lottery pick!! Do you think the Bulls would trade Denzel Valentine for him straight up? No, obviously not. That's the guy we were all pointing at for our pick in that draft. But 80% of the next 20 picks would be a better asset right now (& last year for that matter) than Morris.
Smith -- Jason has had a long & very bad NBA career. His best year was with us last year, & it wasn't particularly good. He was terrible value as a FA. Dedmon, who is actually a good player, signed for about the same $, as did several other guys who were available unrestricted the way Smith was.
In fairness, you do leave out Oubre -- an actual example of genuine good work on Ernie's part.
nate33 wrote:There are only 4 players on this roster that I consider to be above-average acquisition based on the choices available at the time: Porter, Oubre, Sato and Scott. Everyone else was a no-brainer pick or an acquisition that we overpaid to acquire. That doesn't mean that they suck, it just means that it wasn't an example of great GMing. Most other GM's would have done better.
Porter -- the default pick on virtually every board. I can't see why Ernie would get any more credit for taking him than for taking Wall or Beal, who were also defaults at their spots in the draft. Pretty much every GM would have taken him at that spot.
Oubre, yes, certainly.
Scott, sure, but we're talking about a vet minimum 1-year rent-a-player.
Sato -- a good "player" is not the same as a good "pick." As I write above, with Draymond Green, Jae Crowder, Khris Middleton, Will Barton & Kyle O'Quinn on the board, taking Satoransky was bad GMing not good. All the worse in that he then spent the next 4 years of his career in Europe.
I can't think of a single other move Ernie has made in the last 6-7 years that qualifies even as satisfactory -- let alone good.
