Skybox wrote:Fortune Teller wrote:I think a lot of people here are going to be very disappointed in the way this season plays out.
This team is really bad at offense, and management did nothing to address that during the offseason. Everyone agreed we needed to add a shooter if they didn't draft one -- which they inexplicably didn't, and reaching for Jett who can't even crack the rotation doesn't count. There was sure to be a trade to clean up the guard rotation -- and then there wasn't. Fultz was supposed to be ready to shoot 3's this season -- now he's somehow worse and/or more reluctant, and already racking up his usual pile of missed games.
In other words, nothing has changed. Unless Paolo or Franz makes a huge leap, you really wouldn't have a good argument that they will win any more games than they did last season. The defensive book on this team is already written -- let them shoot, give them 3's, pack the paint. The Nets played it to perfection last night. No one is scared of Black, Fultz, Suggs, or even Anthony. It's pointless to even mention Gary Harris because he's another investment that only intermittently takes the court, along with Fultz, WCJ, and JI (our three highest-paid players). So much salary is going into so little production and it's been that way for the past 3 years. Re-signing injury-prone guys and letting them cash fat paychecks for playing, at a max, 2/3 of the season. And that's in a healthy season.
I don't even think Welt and his crew are capable of properly building this roster. Just because they hit on the occasional draft pick (they've had many chances) doesn't mean they can build a winning team. Welt is in his 7th year as PBO and how many shooters has he added to this roster in a league where shooting is king?
Zero.
Agree. Hugely disappointing summer, IMO...However, I can (once again) rationalize and convince myself that there's a vision. I really like the addition of Ingles as an influencer as well as short-term on-court contributor towards who we want to be...a positionally large, ball-moving, frontcourt-driven, non-traditional offense and a solid defense specializing on point of attack disruption. Black was also a very sensible pick for that vision and you could say Howard SHOULD add the shooting necessary to support it. Howard was, I think, the choice over Hawkins and Dick due to his size and potential for additional offensive creation (or they just felt like his quick release was superior to the others?).
But, if it's not this trade deadline or summer - I'm definitely sliding into the "Take your thumbs out of your a***s" camp regarding the FO. I'd much prefer in-season trades vs summer because I think we should trade our pick and I'd rather trade expirings than bank on signing away a FA.
This was what everyone talked about in the off-season.
Consolidation of assets to make sense of a glaring issue with the rotation coupled with draft prospects.
I agree that this years pick has to be traded along with other pieces to make sense of this roster. They whiffed on making a
real move before the deadline last season and it has been painfully obvious.
I knew it then and I still know I was right. They should have traded Fultz in December/January of last season, when things were off the rails, for a veteran point guard that can shoot. The same could be said for Okeke and Gary Harris. Come up with any combination of possibilities you want. And no, I wouldn’t call Gary a savvy vet that has winning experience to take dudes under his wing.
That cap space should have been used on vet shooters and a point guard. Joe Ingles is fine, but he serves as a guy coming in for Franz mainly in limited minutes. They did 1/4 of the job and put the core guys in a tough spot while again, punting decisions and losing value (something they thrive at).
To be honest I’m not really surprised at the results. I should know based on the track record of the front office by now. I expected a better W-L record with some growing pains. However, I’ll probably dial back my enthusiasm now and overall care about the results simply due to witnessing the monstrosity that is this offense. (Or whatever you want to call it) I’ll revisit this team with optimism when they start making decisions that real organizations make.