[I said]I think N1 will be a stronger candidate for minutes than
nearly any SG we might draft. I just don't see a rook coming
in and beating him out of his spot in the rotation.[/quote]
mtrean2 wrote:I'm not so sure of this for a few reasons.
1) We are in full rebuild mode now. Flip should finally play the rooks (especially if we trade up to draft one) and give them as much as a chance as NY. NY sure has had plenty of chances.
2) NY makes it easy to get inside a coaches doghouse. If he's off a few nights in a row, and isn't providing help in other areas than scoring, he might find himself back on the bench.
3) NY still hasn't proved he can become a solid 6th man/scorer off the bench. I feel like he is stuck in the mindset that he should be a star and should be playing big minutes. He hasn't been as effective off the bench. A rookie like Henry, who was a role player on a great college team, may fit into this role better.
1. I don't totally agree that N1 has had plenty of chances. The best example I can
point to of this was how he DOMINATED DWade only to find himself out of the
starting lineup after a game this season. I can't say what happens off the court so there
may be reasons for this but I can't think of another comparable player who
has gotten jerked around the way N1 has. At the end of the year, N1 actually
was pretty consistent and solid at both ends.
2. To whatever extent that is true, isn't that more of a coaching issue?
But isn't just as likely that even a level-headed hi-BB-IQ rookie could fairly
expect the same treatment?
3. I simply don't agree that the actual data support you on this point.
In fact, I'm pretty sure the data doesn't support you.
edit to add
oops - I misread you - your concern about N1 being able to be a role/6th man
type is reasonable. Since you have to assume Gil and Wall will start, that
fact does raise questions about Nick. But I still think he's shown enough
to be given the benefit of the doubt compared to a rookie.