And...I'll happily accept the unofficial "GM of the Year" award, since that's the only thing I'm wining this year.
I do find it ironic that being the best trading GM put me in the 9-14 fighting for playoffs/consolation spot. Further validation that trading draft picks may be detrimental to your health.
For me, my trades mostly came because I started to second guess my draft picks. I should've taken Biyombo instead of Waiters, and I ended up having no confidence in Valanciunas, so they both had to go. I do agree that the Thornton deal may come back to bite me, but In the end it'll probably end up being Asik and Barnes for Thornton, since White has already shown his volatility in camp and preseason. And frankly, that's a deal that I don't think is too bad.
Frankly, I'm really relying on my sleepers/x factors than I'd like to be:
Festus Ezeli: Shown he can play, and will probably get plenty of time to do so playing behind Bogut
Lou Williams: hoping this is a break out year as one of the go-to scorers in Atlanta
AYon: Still stuck in a position battle with Vucevic, but I think he's a much more complete player than Vucevic is (and he's shown it)
Rivers: YEah, I hate betting on a rookie, but he's going to get fairly good minutes off the bench, and who knows how long Eric Gordon will stay healthy.
T-Rob: Looking like a stand-out already, let's hope he keeps it up
Parsons: The only guy besides Lin and MArtin who are proven scorers on theRockets. He's got to be productive.
Jordan Hill: Sneaky double-double guy who could get even more minutes if Howard sees rest sporadically throughout the year (and to end the year).
