High 5 wrote:I'm not as excited as I'd like to be. Everyone but us seem to be improving in the East. We're just trying to not be worse at this point.
Well said. We barely make the playoffs with a losing record and we are happy to stand pat. I just can't get excited about that. Although I don't hate any of these guys (except maybe Zaza), Bibby's exiring deal, Marv's "potential", Law's "potential", Zaza's expiring contract, and Chill in a sign-and-trade (especially to teams like Phoenix and Orlando) are all excellent trade pieces. Somewhere along the line, one or two of these pieces should have been utilized to improve the team. We seem to be stuck in that perpertual limbo between rebuilding and winning now that all horrible franchises find themselves in. A lot of people on this board too, seem dedicated to holding out for "potential" in Marv and Law, while not wanting to trade Chill for anything less than an All-star. Yes, chances are that EITHER Hortford or Marv or Law will develop into an All-Star someday (my money is on Hortford), but first round draft picks are hit or miss and many go on to be average players (Kwame Brown, Olwakandi for example).
My point is this, we need to decide if we are still a rebuilding young team or a team that is ready to win now and pursue that course of action whole-heartedly rather than this half hearted attempt to "not get worse" that we see now. JJ is 27, which isn't old, but we have to wait two or three more years before we truly know if Marv or Law is going to be anything above average. That's a waste of a good player in JJ. Bibby too, is already 30, and while many of us realize he is a short term fix, what happens when he is gone? What if we can't re-sign him for a reasonable amount next year? What if he plays like he did in the playoffs and we don't want to? What if he signs for less with a title contender to make a run at a ring before he is too old? We have an unproven young point backing him up and we could very well end up with no Bibby, and nothing else but a young question mark at point next year. I liked picking Law at 11, but Woodson's unwillingness to develop him last year and to see what he might be capable of has left us in a bad position. Thus, my thinking is that
1. We need some more certainity at point guard beyond next year
2. We need to be willing to trade one or two of our "young talent" players out of Marv, Chill, or Law (NOT Hortford), and/or expiring contracts like Bibby and Zaza to build around JJ, Smoove, Hortford, to start winning now and further improve in years to come, or we need to dedicate our selves to seeing who we can develop and building a young team around Hortford, Smoove, Marv, Chill, Law, and part ways with the older guys if we want to rebuild rather than win now.
To be clear,
I am not in favor of the latter. I don't think there is any point in rebuilding when you are in a position to better your team, win now, and still keep some young players on board to ensure your future (Smoove, Hortford, and one or two out of Marv, Chill, and Law). If you can reach that point of being a serious contender, free agents will come to you, and you aren't so dependent on the draft and waiting 2 or 3 years to see what a guy is worth. So if we aren't rebuilding, let's stay our of that horrible limbo of not improving and not getting worse, get off our butts, and get our team ready to win now!