Post#93 » by TrueWarrior » Sat Apr 6, 2024 7:36 pm
Here’s a question:
Who would you rather give up in a star trade:
Donte or Deuce?
It’s a tough one for me. While both of them are good players, neither look like the championship starting SG we need.
Donte has definitely played above expectations, but he’s limited on offense to mainly 3s. He can pass and rebound pretty well, but while he’s pesky on D he doesn’t have the size or length to be the shutdown defender we need next to Jalen. OG cant guard everyone. Donte is a great stopgap, but unless he continues to improve he’s probably better suited off the bench if we’re going to win it all.
Deuce has broken out for sure. His offense has grown. Making more shots off the dribble, and just showing more every game. His defense is solid, but while he has a good wingspan he is still only 6’1” so he has trouble guarding bigger players. Makes our backcourt small. I think he can take over the IQ 6th man role, but ideally we need somebody bigger at the starting 2 spot full time to cover Jalen.
Donte and Deuce are both on great contracts who other teams are sure to want. Donte just turned 27 and is only making 12 mill a season, while Deuce is almost 24 and making a paltry 4 mill a season.
Push comes to shove we will probably include Deuce over Donte to keep the Nova thing together, but it’s close and we’ll see how the playoffs go. Deuce may have a higher ceiling than Donte, but we don’t know for sure.
Either way I think we need to upgrade the SG spot if they cant make another leap. Mikal Bridges would be nice, but not happening. Donovan Mitchell may be the only one available, but I still question his fit at the price he’ll take. Dejounte Murray is a no from me. There isnt much else out there.
Standing pat with both Donte and Deuce until a true no brainer upgrade comes up may be the best option. They’re both on nice long term deals so we dont have to move either, and we can also look to the draft, but time is ticking on our window with Jalen before he needs to get paid and Wemby takes over the league.