Page 1 of 2
Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:09 am
by JDR720
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article201168019.htmlAsked if he anticipates Steve Clifford, who has a season remaining on his contract, being the coach here next season, Polk responded, “I would today.”
Like each of Clifford’s previous four seasons, he and his staff will be evaluated in the spring.
“Once we get a new general manager on board, we’ll talk about the coaching staff,” Polk said.
“Steve has brought a lot of strong organization” to the franchise, Polk said, adding Clifford’s health crisis (a six-week leave to address severe headaches) concerned everyone in management.
“I think our coaching staff has done a good job. We think we can do an even better job,” Polk said. “We’re not at the top of the league (in record), so we should look at everything we’re doing.”
With 10 players under guaranteed contracts for next season, plus a rookie on a likely lottery-pick salary, the Hornets are already close to the anticipated luxury-tax threshold of approximately $120 million. That will make it difficult to improve the team’s bench, which continues to be a weakness.
Polk said the one-time spike in the salary cap, because of new national television contracts, was hard to manage. That was in the summer of 2016, when Nic Batum got his five-year, $120 million contract. Since then, the cap has risen in smaller increments than once projected, which has left the Hornets and some other teams in a jam.
Polk said management knew when it made the Dwight Howard trade (at a salary of $23.5 million this season and next) and other moves that the Hornets would again be floating just below the tax line next summer.
“Now, the new general manager needs to get us a little below the tax line to improve depth” by facilitating trades and/or signings.
Not much there, but sounds like Cliff is safe if the new GM likes him and that new GM will need to trade some money to get below tax line. Good to know Cliff has just one year left on his deal, when we suck again next year he should 100% be gone.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 1:38 am
by catch20two
Yea that interview insinuates that there definitely will be some trades this offseason just to get below the tax line. Outside of Kemba, Lamb will be the easiest to trade yet probably the best bargain contract on the team, outside of Kemba.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 2:26 am
by Bassman
It is possible this upcoming season is viewed as a transition one, which may earn Cliff stays. Not because they think he is the future, but because they can’t do anything much to change the makeup of this pathetic mess. Would I do that if I was a new GM? Nope. Nothing with this squad changes next year with Cliff as coach. The worst thing would be a minor run to the bottom of the playoffs which makes it more difficult to pull the eject button.
If Cliff isn’t your long term future and solution, cut him. Get the best coach you can that will follow the master plan, then start chipping away at it. Trading Batum is a critical need toward moving forward.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 3:06 am
by catch20two
I’d rather see Dunlap next season than Clifford. 100% serious.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:51 am
by Liver_Pooty
catch20two wrote:Yea that interview insinuates that there definitely will be some trades this offseason just to get below the tax line. Outside of Kemba, Lamb will be the easiest to trade yet probably the best bargain contract on the team, outside of Kemba.
Franks a goner.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:00 am
by Eoghan
East coast Kings.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:09 am
by TheKingofSting
Am I the only one that always thought Curtis Polk was an African American man?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:19 pm
by fatlever
this quote defines this organization
“We were doing very, very well until we got caught a little off-guard,” by the one-time cap spike in 2016. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but the landscape changed.”
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:26 pm
by Eoghan
The rest of that quote should've been "We promptly ran around **** ourselves in panic and decided to throw obscene money at an aging Frenchman."
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:34 pm
by Liver_Pooty
fatlever wrote:this quote defines this organization
“We were doing very, very well until we got caught a little off-guard,” by the one-time cap spike in 2016. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but the landscape changed.”
Everyone knew it was coming. What a lame ass excuse.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:15 pm
by MPM
Thought this was an interesting comment from Polk as well:
Polk said that desired skill set includes an ability to adapt with changing times.
“The way basketball has evolved, we have to be careful about (someone who is) too set in their ways. We need to experiment in some regards, (not be saddled with) how basketball was eight years ago or 10 years ago.”
I know this comment was made in the context of looking for a new GM, but it sounds like it could easily be a criticism of Cliff.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article201065424.html
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 6:18 pm
by catch20two
Liver_Pooty wrote:fatlever wrote:this quote defines this organization
“We were doing very, very well until we got caught a little off-guard,” by the one-time cap spike in 2016. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but the landscape changed.”
Everyone knew it was coming. What a lame ass excuse.
Cho failed. I remember Cho using the excuse of waiting for that offseason to capitalize and I’d say we did everything but capitalize. We marginalized ourselves.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 7:56 pm
by yosemiteben
catch20two wrote:Liver_Pooty wrote:fatlever wrote:this quote defines this organization
“We were doing very, very well until we got caught a little off-guard,” by the one-time cap spike in 2016. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but the landscape changed.”
Everyone knew it was coming. What a lame ass excuse.
Cho failed. I remember Cho using the excuse of waiting for that offseason to capitalize and I’d say we did everything but capitalize. We marginalized ourselves.
I think this is a fair criticism. We made a few strategic decisions along the way to set up summer 2016 as a lynchpin offseason for this organization, and our struggles from a roster management perspective are a direct result of the decisions made that summer. I continue to think that we made rational decisions that summer, but I do concede that it was far from an ideal summer and it has resulted in us currently playing catchup to build out the roster while staying below the tax line.
One of the best arguments in favor of Cho getting a raw deal though is our insistence on selling 2nd round picks. Hard to believe that was his decision or something he wanted to do, if we hit on just one of those on a PG he would likely still have a job.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 9:50 pm
by catch20two
yosemiteben wrote:One of the best arguments in favor of Cho getting a raw deal though is our insistence on selling 2nd round picks. Hard to believe that was his decision or something he wanted to do, if we hit on just one of those on a PG he would likely still have a job.
That argument gets thrown out the window because of what we did with our late 1st round and two #31 overall picks over the years.
2012 - Jeff Taylor over Will Barton and Tomas Satoransky
(Draymond Green, Kris Middleton, Jae Crowder, Mike Scott, Kyle O’Quinn)2014 - PJ Hairston over Shabazz Napier, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jordan Clarkson
(Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Kyle Anderson)2016 - Traded #22 overall for Marco Belinelli over Malcolm Brogdon and Dejounte Murray
2017 - Dwayne Bacon over Frank Mason
The opportunities were there but it shows Cho’s incompetence as a GM and inability to find talent at the easiest position to find talent at in the NBA.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Wed Feb 21, 2018 11:26 pm
by mrknowitall215
catch20two wrote:yosemiteben wrote:One of the best arguments in favor of Cho getting a raw deal though is our insistence on selling 2nd round picks. Hard to believe that was his decision or something he wanted to do, if we hit on just one of those on a PG he would likely still have a job.
That argument gets thrown out the window because of what we did with our late 1st round and two #31 overall picks over the years.
2012 - Jeff Taylor over Will Barton and Tomas Satoransky
(Draymond Green, Kris Middleton, Jae Crowder, Mike Scott, Kyle O’Quinn)2014 - PJ Hairston over Shabazz Napier, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jordan Clarkson
(Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Kyle Anderson)2016 - Traded #22 overall for Marco Belinelli over Malcolm Brogdon and Dejounte Murray
2017 - Dwayne Bacon over Frank Mason
The opportunities were there but it shows Cho’s incompetence as a GM and inability to find talent at the easiest position to find talent at in the NBA.
I just happen to think that Cho undervalued the importance of having an above average reserve point guard when the starting point guard is the most valuable player on the team. I believe Cho saw PG2 as a small patch job and didn't see it as a necessity with Kemba likely playing close to 35 minutes per game. It's easy to see why Cho may have made this mistake early on Kemba's tenure but the proof was in the pudding over the past 3-5 seasons that ignoring having at the slightest a solid backup point guard behind Kemba is a form of ineptitude for the job
Re: RE: Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:26 am
by yosemiteben
catch20two wrote:yosemiteben wrote:One of the best arguments in favor of Cho getting a raw deal though is our insistence on selling 2nd round picks. Hard to believe that was his decision or something he wanted to do, if we hit on just one of those on a PG he would likely still have a job.
That argument gets thrown out the window because of what we did with our late 1st round and two #31 overall picks over the years.
2012 - Jeff Taylor over Will Barton and Tomas Satoransky
(Draymond Green, Kris Middleton, Jae Crowder, Mike Scott, Kyle O’Quinn)2014 - PJ Hairston over Shabazz Napier, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jordan Clarkson
(Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Kyle Anderson)2016 - Traded #22 overall for Marco Belinelli over Malcolm Brogdon and Dejounte Murray
2017 - Dwayne Bacon over Frank Mason
The opportunities were there but it shows Cho’s incompetence as a GM and inability to find talent at the easiest position to find talent at in the NBA.
Now this I don't see as fair. Not really fair to judge late first and second rounders in hindsight like that unless you also weigh against all the other picks that didn't amount to anything. Even if it was fair he was robbed of half of his opportunities to make up for it.
Many excellent GMs generally miss on second round picks. I also don't weigh the Belinelli trade heavily against Cho for the same reason that I don't blame him for selling 2nds - I doubt he was the one leading the charge for that trade.
Re: RE: Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:35 am
by catch20two
yosemiteben wrote:catch20two wrote:yosemiteben wrote:One of the best arguments in favor of Cho getting a raw deal though is our insistence on selling 2nd round picks. Hard to believe that was his decision or something he wanted to do, if we hit on just one of those on a PG he would likely still have a job.
That argument gets thrown out the window because of what we did with our late 1st round and two #31 overall picks over the years.
2012 - Jeff Taylor over Will Barton and Tomas Satoransky
(Draymond Green, Kris Middleton, Jae Crowder, Mike Scott, Kyle O’Quinn)2014 - PJ Hairston over Shabazz Napier, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jordan Clarkson
(Nikola Jokic, Clint Capela, Kyle Anderson)2016 - Traded #22 overall for Marco Belinelli over Malcolm Brogdon and Dejounte Murray
2017 - Dwayne Bacon over Frank Mason
The opportunities were there but it shows Cho’s incompetence as a GM and inability to find talent at the easiest position to find talent at in the NBA.
Now this I don't see as fair. Not really fair to judge late first and second rounders in hindsight like that unless you also weigh against all the other picks that didn't amount to anything. Even if it was fair he was robbed of half of his opportunities to make up for it.
Many excellent GMs generally miss on second round picks.
It’s fair because he’s had the opportunity if he actually wanted to address it in 4 of the past 6 drafts. He punted away the opportunity to take Napier and totally looked the other way on Brogdon to bring in Belinelli coming off a horrid season being paid $6M.
I’m not trying to be a revisionist on missing players like Draymond and Jokic because that’s not necessarily fair but it’s totally fair to say that he didn’t take advantage of the occasions he did have a opportunity to get a backup PG and chose not to. That’s all I’m saying.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:41 am
by Vanderbilt_Grad
If you don't play you can't get lucky.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 12:54 am
by catch20two
Vanderbilt_Grad wrote:If you don't play you can't get lucky.
When he played we got PJ Hairston, Jeff Taylor, and Dwayne Bacon, (and Belinelli). Something tells me that Cho isn’t fond of point guards outside of the lottery and that he thinks taking 3&D players are/were the way to go with late 1st rounders and 2nd round picks. Talk about living in the theories of about a decade ago.
Re: Curtis Polk (Hornets Vice Chair) interview
Posted: Thu Feb 22, 2018 1:32 am
by yosemiteben
He had three late firsts / early seconds with which he got to make selections in his seven year tenure. I don't think you can fairly critique his preference for positions (or really anything else about his drafting) without acknowledging that that's a really small data set and artificially narrow set of opportunities by which to prove himself.