Miles High: The Miles Bridges Thread

[JDR720]

Honestly not sure if you're being sarcastic but I think Salaun can easily give us 15 plus solid minutes off hustle alone.

I am excited to see the rookie play. It seems like this is destined to be a tank year with all the injuries and our incentive to miss the playoffs. So playing the kid is good. If he benefits from the experience and it helps his development into a baller next year then absolutely Great Job Jeff.

Yeah, remember when none of us could fathom how Tiddy could crack the rotation this year? Those were the days.

One could say that he's busted onto the scene.

[yosemiteben]

Miles has played poorly and looked out of place for pretty much the whole season other than last game, but now our season is over because he's out 2 weeks? I don't get it.

[KembaWalker]

Yeah for whatever reason this one doesn’t bother me that much. Miles got numbers last game but he doesn’t do anything irreplaceable. There’s no shortage of high variance shot takers on this team that can’t handle taking a few more to cover Miles.

It’s LaMelo as our star, Miller as our future and our centers that hurt when they go down

[MPM]

Miles has played poorly and looked out of place for pretty much the whole season other than last game, but now our season is over because he's out 2 weeks? I don't get it.

Personally? I still hope/think we'll have a good season compared to last year. Just the dread of pattern recognition at this point. Waves of what seem like inevitable injuries and an inability to balance the roster with serviceable C depth even with glaring and redundant dead weight (Jefferies, Rhoden) taking up bench spots and a clear understanding that our center rotation would be a huge question mark (and that fact that Eric has said at least twice that Lee "likes to play with a traditional center").

[Snidely FC]

I hope all his PT goes to Salaun. Let's see what the kid's got.

[MPM]

I hope all his PT goes to Salaun. Let's see what the kid's got.

100%. He's gonna fumble and stumble but he needs the reps.

[Rich4114]

Miles missing 2-3 weeks will definitely not tank our season. The PF depth could. But not having Mark is more negatively impactful than not having Miles. It's a blow for sure, but based on how that injury looked I think a bone bruise is very good news. Considering he came back into the game and seemed to be walking normally and then had an MRI revealing no ligament issues, I think it'll be like the PG injury so figure ~3 weeks or ~12 games.

The only one we cannot afford to lose ever is LaMelo. We lose him and we have seen the results. No juice other than when Miller gets hot.

[JMAC3]

Had we not drafted Salaun, we would have 1 healthy PF on the roster in Grant Williams. So maybe it wasn't such a wasted pick after all hmmm

[Rich4114]

Had we not drafted Salaun, we would have 1 healthy PF on the roster in Grant Williams. So maybe it wasn't such a wasted pick after all hmmm

We still could've addressed it in FA just like we could've addressed C in FA after not drafting one and depending on the oft injured Mark Williams and the oft reckless/out of position Nick Richards. Now both positions are cooked while we've got a surplus of guards we don't play.

[MasterIchiro]

Had we not drafted Salaun, we would have 1 healthy PF on the roster in Grant Williams. So maybe it wasn't such a wasted pick after all hmmm

We still could've addressed it in FA just like we could've addressed C in FA after not drafting one and depending on the oft injured Mark Williams and the oft reckless/out of position Nick Richards. Now both positions are cooked while we've got a surplus of guards we don't play.

The answer to both passing on a C leaving us short a C, passing on Salaun leaving us down to 1 PF is to simply trade for a PF/C. It hedges both spots. So Poeltl doesn't fit. But I know someone who does.

[Bassman]

Throwing Salaun to the wolves could be a slaughter. The kid has some potential but his defense, BBIQ at a pro level and capacity to operate at high speed will be heavily tested. But, he’s part of the rotation early on so roll him out to more minutes.

[MasterIchiro]

Throwing Salaun to the wolves could be a slaughter. The kid has some potential but his defense, BBIQ at a pro level and capacity to operate at high speed will be heavily tested. But, he’s part of the rotation early on so roll him out to more minutes.

We knew we'd be slow-walking Mark to the break before the foot thing. Just a hunch.

We definitely will not push for playoffs because of the pick owed, and because of the caliber talent coming in this draft.

So there will be no early movement to acquire a big who can slot in for Miles at PF and Mark/Nick at C. These losses have value.

Lee keeps emphasizing their main focus is process - how we play matters most this season - how we execute - how we improve weak areas.

The focus is not on personnel fortification/wins/playoff viability.

Instead we roll with internal answers. So Salaun gets thrown to the wolves early which means more losses, but the losses have more value this season. Plus, no shortage of confidence with Salaun. He seems to be a team spirit guy and his teammates and coaches will reward effort over result.

Stephon Castle has been starting because Vassell went down.

[JMAC3]

We are currently in the 8th seed if the season ended today.

Also, I really don't see the point in saying we should tank because the pick is owed. If we somehow sneak into the playoffs we are talking the 15th or 16th pick in the draft at best we would be giving away. That really is not likely to be some huge needle moving asset moving forward for us. It is virtually win/win...

[HornetJail]

Throwing Salaun to the wolves could be a slaughter. The kid has some potential but his defense, BBIQ at a pro level and capacity to operate at high speed will be heavily tested. But, he’s part of the rotation early on so roll him out to more minutes.

we literally don't have a choice. there are only 4 combined players on the healthy roster that can play PF or C for any real length of time, and one of them is 39 years old. It will probably suck but hopefully he learns.

[Rich4114]

We are currently in the 8th seed if the season ended today.

Also, I really don't see the point in saying we should tank because the pick is owed. If we somehow sneak into the playoffs we are talking the 15th or 16th pick in the draft at best we would be giving away. That really is not likely to be some huge needle moving asset moving forward for us. It is virtually win/win...

Especially since we just light our picks on fire unless they're top 3 anyway

[CuseMayne]

Maybe Tidjane sees a few 3s go in and has a nice game or two with Miles out. I have confidence in the kid. It's a learning experience at worst, which will be huge for him moving forward.

[yosemiteben]

We are currently in the 8th seed if the season ended today.

Also, I really don't see the point in saying we should tank because the pick is owed. If we somehow sneak into the playoffs we are talking the 15th or 16th pick in the draft at best we would be giving away. That really is not likely to be some huge needle moving asset moving forward for us. It is virtually win/win...

Especially since we just light our picks on fire unless they're top 3 anyway

Kind of ironic to say this in the Miles Bridges thread

[MasterIchiro]

We are currently in the 8th seed if the season ended today.

Also, I really don't see the point in saying we should tank because the pick is owed. If we somehow sneak into the playoffs we are talking the 15th or 16th pick in the draft at best we would be giving away. That really is not likely to be some huge needle moving asset moving forward for us. It is virtually win/win...

Sounds fantasy to me.

Buyers may be willing to pay premiums for players like Timelord and Portis.

Are we in position to pay those premiums?

I do not think it is a slamdunk. We may have the right targets but if they are auctioned off at the wrong inflated prices, we will stand pat.

I would love to make a move for the right player at a smart price. Of course if we stand pat when the buying price at point of sale is smart, we are being dumb.

[MasterIchiro]

For context, someone paid a lightly protected first for PJ Washington who is a role player at PF/C.

Someone paid a lightly protected 1st for Terry Rozier.

If we had advance knowledge of Mark being wrapped in bubble wrap to the break for his back (not sure this is the case which is why I began then sentence with 'if' instead of 'since') we were never planning on buying our way out of a losing position. Rather, tanking is not a plan but it happens organically.

We are 8th, but we are also 3-5 and about to play a long stretch without Miles and Mark, with no relief in sight.

This is not a winning team.

I don't think we are doing ****. However, it's still fun to discuss targets.

[yosemiteben]

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