SK21209 wrote:donnieme wrote:SK21209 wrote:I'm anti trading for Vuc, when you look at his career I just don't see much evidence that he's a winning player. I also don't think it makes sense to invest significant resources in a center that you wouldn't really trust to play without AD. Vuc at the 5 with no AD and our complete lack of athleticism on the perimeter is just asking to get ran off the court. And even if you're playing Vuc with AD, what's even the theory of those lineups? Are you really going to be force-feeding Vuc touches near the basket when AR, LeBron and AD are also on the court? If I'm the other team I'm breathing a sigh of relief every possession you do that. Vuc is shooting the three well this year but is a career 35% guy, no one will think twice about leaving him to collapse on AD rolling to the basket.
I'm approaching Kessler or bust territory. With Kessler playing significant minutes next to AD while also anchoring the defense while AD is on the bench, I think you raise the floor and the ceiling defensively. All of a sudden you have two guys that provide high end rim protection while also holding up on the perimeter (Kessler has actually been pretty good at that too). It would be a challenge offensively, but if JJ can push the right schematic buttons I think you could be middle of the pack offensively and potentially really, really good defensively. They do need to pick a path like zimpy said because we have too many holes and too few assets to compile a roster that can be great on both ends. I'd rather make trades to lean into a size and defensive identity, and then hope LeBron and AD's talent can give us a high enough floor offensively.
Been on the Kessler wagon for a solid minute because it's the only improvement that doesn't create a hole elsewhere and still leaves Rui for something else. He is lowkey making up for the lack of bench scoring since the Dlo trade. Just his 10ppg doubles the offense of that 2nd unit. Going to really feel it if he isn't replaced with a scorer. You could actually have done a lot with those future picks if Rob had trade creativity that wasn't the basic, flat 1 for 1 exchange. Wheel and deal till you fleece someone on an overpay. It's night and day from watching David Griffin on the Cavs pull out creative trades.
Yeah, I think Rui is now starting to become a bit underrated. He's frustrating because he has great physical tools but often doesn't play with force or fight for rebounds. He's too slow-footed to defend well on the perimeter and makes too many mental errors. But at the end of the day, he's a wing with good size that knocks down shots. There aren't a ton of those guys. Trade Rui for a center or a guard and all of a sudden you only have one wing besides LeBron that can make shots (DFS), and that guy is already on a minutes restriction because he has a bad ankle. If you trade Rui for Vuc and then run into a matchup that makes playing Vuc untenable (and you absolutely will at some point), now you're **** out of luck. It wasn't so long ago that this team only had guards and centers and we all celebrated when Nunn was traded for Rui. Rui's an imperfect player, but he's a replacement level or slightly better than that level wing. I'd rather have that than a big that can't defend the rim.
You are correct that Rui has some value
I am not viewing him as useless, but we are a bad rebounding team and our top 4 paid guys are frontcourt guys
Maybe can try and get another 3/4 back in the deal
But we need a 3rd playmaker who can score
Theres a few holes here and needs to be addressed somehow
Come playoff time you are expecting more from Bron and AD and then DFS is the main wing backup with Vando also hopefully helping (if not shipped)
I think Vuc makes more sense with Vando
Vando makes a bit less sense with a guy like Kessler or RW3, but still some use
