Roles

[pillwenney]

Longtime follower, first time poster...had to chime in on this one. I think you're neglecting the positive impact that Sergio has had on this team while on the floor. He's got one of the higher PER's and also a very positive +/- rating over the course of the season. I think this does make Beno expendable if you can retain Sergio on the cheap. He's an ideal back-up PG and would actually complement Martin well if you were to bring him off of the bench. I actually like the idea of Martin playing 30+ minutes a night off the bench. He's got the change of pace quickness, shooting and ability to get to the line to make that happen, a la Ginobili/Terry for SA and Dal.

I definitely don't think he makes Beno expendable, and I would love to feel that way. I would love it if Sergio allowed us to look to dump Beno's contract. But the fact of the matter is that Sergio just isn't a great fit with Tyreke, and Beno absolutely is. I do agree that Sergio could be a really nice fit with Kevin though, and if we can clear out some of the other space on the wings, bringing a Sergio/Kevin duo off the bench for a Beno/Tyreke starting back court could be very interesting.

I've been thinking for a while, in part in at attempt to give this team an identity, about purposefully going with a team that is big at every position. For instance, if we draft Aldrich, I would love to see a future starting 5 of:

Evans
Casspi
Greene
Hawes
Aldrich

The strategy? Post and kick from any position. Donte has shown some semblance of ability in the post. Omri, Tyreke and Spencer have. And Aldrich can at least be decent possibly. As I see it, that lineup most prominently relies on Donte and Spencer developing both in the post, and in getting more consistent outside shots. If they could do that, I think that could potentially be a very unique matchup that teams will have trouble matching up against.

[longfellow44]

I've been convinced overtime that Hawes is really a PF. We should get a real center and play him there and move Thompson to the bench. Does anyone else think that Hawes is actually a PF in a center's body?

[Silver Man]

^^^Draft Aldrich.

[longfellow44]

I want Aldrich or cousins. either way I will be happy. I think it would make a huge diffence to net one of those 2 guys move Hawes to PF and Thompson to the bench. That one pick changes our front line from a weak smaller front line with no depth to a very tall front line with a very nice back up for both positions we essentially get much more talented and much deeper with the selection of one of those 2 guys.

[Silver Man]

You really would rather want Hawes starting over Thompson? I'm really going to have to here your reasoning.

My thoughts

Thompson
Aldrich

With Hawes coming off the bench.

Or

We draft Cousins, or Monroe depending where we pick. I would rather take Cousins, then hopefully we can sign or trade for someone because with Hawes as a starting center won't get us to the playoffs. Nor will him starting over Thompson at power forward.

[longfellow44]

The level of offensive versatility that hawes has would compliment a true center much more than Thompson's limited offensive arsenal. Hawes can take players off the dribble he can spot up from most spots on the court he has a very refined and polished post game even if he lacks the power to put it into effect regularly and he's still a fantastic passer. On the defensive end hawes is a decent shotblocker and tends to be better if he's coming from the weak side and playing at PF is going to allow him that freedom. I also think that Thompson will come of the bench with more energy and hustle than Hawes would and I think that he can play well with whoever is in at the time because he scores more from his offensive rebounding. JT also struggles with fouling so having him come off the bench would make him more effective because we don't need to manage is time on the court as much do to foul trouble. We can let JT go out there and mix it up and get hit with a couple fouls then send him back to the bench and bring him out later when we need his energy and rebounding again.

I still envision each of the bigs getting about 30 minutes a night with Brockman eating up whats left over.

[longfellow44]

Like I said before I think hawes is a Power Forward not a center. i think we have reduced his effectiveness by pitting him against the centers of the league moving him to PF will be an improvement.

[ICMTM]

Aldrich is in college, so I don't know how that helps the current roster.

Thompson>Hawes. If Hawes is a PF then he's the odd man out.

[Silver Man]

Obvisously I meant through the draft if you were talking to me ICTMT about Aldrich.

[longfellow44]

I don't think that Thompson is better than hawes. Thompson is good but obviously he is more limited than hawes and I would rather develop Hawes as the starter because Thompson could be much more effective coming off the bench. As proved by todays game.

[pillwenney]

I think Spencer definitely has the higher ceiling and why I would still take JT as a player right now, it's not like there is really a huge difference.

It depends on the other guys we get, but I'd like to see what happens when we move Spencer to PF, simply because I think he is hurt much more by opponents size than he is quickness--especially offensively.

[longfellow44]

Spencer is quick for his size and his skills are more refined and more varied like a PF. If we could develop him as a pf in the mold of Pau Gasol I think he could be much more useful.

[Royal Zephyrus]

Spencer at PF failed miserably last year when we had Miller. I just think Spencer needs time to allow his body to develop into his skill-set.

[Ballings7]

Completely agree with mitch on Aldrich (or somebody that brings a defensive presence like him) being a priority in general.

And, it's simply the way it is in Utah that Okur/Boozer is an average at best, defensive tandem. Just look at the Spurs and Lakers against Utah of recent times... it's arguably the key reason that has held Utah back from being a legit title contender with Deron/Boozer.

[Lionel Messi]

I think Kevin is entirely willing to score off the ball. He just doesn't really know how to do it with the current guys. That's kind of the tricky thing about playing with a very mobile PG like Tyreke. It can be kind of hard to really conventionally move off the ball with the passer moving with the ball. I'm certainly not blaming Tyreke for doing that--that's (in a very simplistic way) what makes him so good. But it's understandable that it could take some time to figure out how that's going to work. I mean just look at who Reggie Miller played with for a chunk of his career--Mark Jackson--perhaps the most stationary PG I've ever seen.

Anyway, I'm not against the idea of at least trying to bring him off the bench--just to see how it works. I agree that Beno and Reke are a terrific fit together. If Kevin doesn't like that, THEN I'll feel comfortable telling him to piss off.

I think Donte is fine the way he is. I think his career will be marked by his versatility offensively and defensively.

Ultimately, I think this team will succeed with the success of Spencer, Kevin and Tyreke learning to play together.

Another great example would be the amazing backcourt duo the Championship contending Pistons had with Billups/Hamilton.
While Billups was a great overall PG in the sense that he could post-up, drive and pull-up for jumpers, he was also great at standing above the arc and creating for Rip while he worked off of screens.