The where do we go from here thread

[Mr. Sun]

Getting tossed in the first or second playoff rounds is as distasteful as missing the playoffs all together.

[rsavaj]

Getting tossed in the first or second playoff rounds is as distasteful as missing the playoffs all together.

I disagree. I'd rather be a top 16 team than a bottom 14 team.

[Mr. Sun]

^^^ It's probably just me. I like to be a force that goes deep.

[DirtyDez]

Getting tossed in the first or second playoff rounds is as distasteful as missing the playoffs all together.

Not when we don't have a pick.

[Mr. Sun]

Getting tossed in the first or second playoff rounds is as distasteful as missing the playoffs all together.

Not when we don't have a pick.

I'm sure Kerr thought about that when he sold it.

[dantian]

[
We're 4-8 vs current playoff teams in the West with an overall losing record on the road. With the changes that Portland and Houston made at the deadline i wouldn't be surprised if we missed the playoffs.

As I said, it all depends on how the coaching staff and Nash manage to reorganize our offense away from merely Nash-dribbling. The game vs Dallas was very like playoff games. As in those games, Amare's paint plays and Nash's shooting are often all you can rely on. And despite Nash' shooting deserting us, and no help from JRich/Frye/LB, we were in the game late in the 4th. That's very encouraging.

[DirtyDez]

Getting tossed in the first or second playoff rounds is as distasteful as missing the playoffs all together.

Not when we don't have a pick.

I'm sure Sarver thought about that when he sold it.

Fixed.

[GHillDrnksSpryt]

extending amare is number one option. hopefully both sides can compromise. rebuild with draft picks. don't completely blow it up or we'll be at the bottom for years

[sunsfever68]

If we extend Amare at 13 mil per season over 3 years or 4 years that's a great deal I think. If we give him like 17 mil a year then that's too much.

But at this point we can't let amare walk for nothing. We have to at least sign and trade the guy. But letting him walk would be bad.

We need draft picks the most though to rebuild.

A core of Dragic Dudley Clark Amare Lopez Frye maybe is not bad. That core needs 1 or two more stars and a couple more role players.

[sunfire0112]

If we extend Amare at 13 mil per season over 3 years or 4 years that's a great deal I think. If we give him like 17 mil a year then that's too much.

But at this point we can't let amare walk for nothing. We have to at least sign and trade the guy. But letting him walk would be bad.

We need draft picks the most though to rebuild.

A core of Dragic Dudley Clark Amare Lopez Frye maybe is not bad. That core needs 1 or two more stars and a couple more role players.

14-15mil a year over 3 years sounds good. We really need to work on extending him. S&T is the last option. Best we can get out of that are 2nd rounders and expendable role players. I hope the @$$ kissing went well tonight at dinner.

I think we really need an elite franchise wing player. Someone in the mold of JJ or BRoy. Good thing we have our pick next year. Right now focus on the making the playoffs and developing our prospects.

[RaisingArizona]

We go to the playoffs and get beat down in 5 games.

Then we sign and trade Amar'e in the offseason.
We trade Jrich's expiring for a late 1st.
We DO NOT resign Frye. Or maybe make some agreement to only play him at home
We hope to sign JJ/Gay in free agency.

[Mr. Sun]

Then we sign and trade Amar'e in the offseason.

There won't be no sign and trade with teams with cap space who can sign him to whatever they think he is worth.

It is either extend him or bust. There is no middle ground.

[GHillDrnksSpryt]

i think we have a legitimate shot at landing gay in 2011. he would be perfect for what we are trying to do

[TXSun]

..... we put it all behind and make a run at a 1st round home court.

[JohnVancouver]

-- I said the Rockets and Dallas got significantly better - Utah and Denver are better teams to begin with. I think we have a chance against Utah over seven games; I think the Nugs will kill us.

Ahhhh - I get it. Where the confusion lay, I mean. What I meant was, those teams got significantly better than they were. Of them all the Mavs, Nugs and Jazz are just honestly better teams. The Jazz are the team we could beat in a series.
What it comes down to is simply - when we play good team defense, we can hang with almost any team and beat anyone in a single game if our shooting holds up. If we play good team defense and our offense is clicking, we can beat the majority of playoff teams in a series. We've seen how much this team can overachieve when it plays D

When it doesn't we area lottery team with no pick - one of the reasons I beat the drum for guys like Jeffries. I'd also like to see EC put into games solely to play defense tell him not to worry about scoring, just shut his man down.

The interesting thing is watching our second unit - that's really the template for where we're going, and I like it.

[DBrimstone]

i think we have a legitimate shot at landing gay in 2011. he would be perfect for what we are trying to do

He's a restricted FA this year and no extension from Memphis. He'll get offerred a multi-year deal from another team that'll either land him, or Memphis will match it. If we were to get him, it'd have to be this summer because he's gonna be locked up elsewhere for a long time after that

Positive spin: Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Marc Gasol, Aaron Aflalo, and Thaddeus Young, are all restricted free agents in 2011.... Doubt we could land any of them, but hey, there's always hope isn't there?

[Biscotti]

Where do we go from here?

I think we start Clark. I think by doing so you balance both the starting lineup, and the bench. Stoudemire has always played best when surrounded by 2 defensive players in the front line. I feel it gives him the ability to focus more on offense, which is in our best interest. This move also gives Earl much needed confidence, which is incredibly important at this stage due to the possibility of losing Amare in FA next year. I think at this stage of Grant Hill's career, he would put up better numbers against other teams bench, and give our bench some much needed leadership.

New lineup

Nash 33/ Dragic 12/ Hill 3
JRich 34/ Hill 10/ Dragic 4
Clark 20/ Dudley 15/ Hill 13
Stat 35/ Lou 10 / Clark 3
Lopez 27/ Frye 21

Lots of mismatch potential. I am still hoping that Hughes gets bought out as well. I think he would do well with us. We have been missing a thief to start fast breaks since Matrix left.


Just one man's opinion.

[eljayyyyyyyyyy]

im pretty sure for this years draft, should we hire new help, then probably we can get the best out of the 2nd round picks we own or we package them to get a first.

[ma_falaa_50]

interesting, I think clark may see some PT tommorrow. I mean Nash is out. I think Hill should be at point and have Clark play at 3 during the bench run.

[Thegorillasrules]

Where do we go from here?

I think we sign Amare to an extension. Even if it's max contract money, I don't see him suddenly becoming untradeable (well injuries could cause that, but that could happen to anybody). I mean, if we let him walk the team gets worse. If we keep him we could always trade him away for expirings and crap later on. I think having him signed long-term actually increases his trade value. Plus, he's still young enough that he shouldn't really start declining until after the contract is up (even at the end of a 5 year extension he would only be around 32 years old).

Whether he is a "max" player or not is hard to say. I think the NBA really screwed up by putting a limit on individual contracts. I mean, let's say Amare is a $15M a year player. Then wouldn't Lebron be closer to a $25M dollar a year player? Limiting individual contracts creates an artificial surplus of money which results in 2nd tier players getting "max" money.

What I'm most interested in is seeing what Amare could do as the lead dog on a team. I mean he's 10th in the league in scoring, and none of the top nine guys shoots as good of a percentage as he does. So when Nash leaves and Amare gets an extra 6 shots per game (putting him around 20 like many of the other top scorers) does he score an extra 6 points per game (putting him around 27 and in elite company) or does his percentage massively decline as a result of having to create more offense on his own? The answer to that question determines whether or not he will be worth "max" or "near max" money.