KGboss wrote:Slartibartfast wrote:bucknersrevenge wrote:
See it is for this reason that I would actually trade Rondo FOR Hibbert. Rondo's best defensive days are likely behind him whereas I think Smart and AB could easily lead this group in the future. Add in Turner who I can see as potentially great fit next to Smart and AB with his versatile game and throw in Sully as a post presence and with those 5(and then throw in Young for good measure) I think you might have the makings of a solid core basketball team:
C-Hibbert
PF-Sully
SF-Turner
SG-AB
PG-Smart
bench: Pressey, Young, KO, Zeller
Don't look like worldbeaters but I'd like to see what that core could do.
Smart is 20 with some big holes in his game. He's not going to be a world-beater for quite awhile. If you choose Smart over Rondo, you are in for a long rebuild. Adding a known quantity like Hibbert who is nearing free agency is not a good move if we're committing to an under 24 core.
Young legs sound great in theory, but it's 26-32 year old legs that typically make the longest playoff runs in this league.
I get what youre saying. I wouldnt go after Hibbert anyway, but I don't think we are a team that will keep Rondo interested after next season. I know he is old school and loyal by all accounts, but I have to believe that like every other star player these days if he sees a better situation, he is going to take it. I know theres no evidence of this, but I can't shake that feeling.
I think a 24 year old core is what we are, and what we will be for the next couple years. I dont see Rondo being interested in that...
I think you are forgetting some examples in your "every other star these days" generalization: Bosh turned down a big 3 in Houston to be the guy in an LBJ-less Miami. Carmelo signed the last of his prime away to stick with a 37 win team that may have actually gotten worse with the Chandler for Calderon trade.
Anyways, I think the 24 year old core is plan B. Plan A, as evidenced by Ainge's dogged interest in Love, is building a team that can win now using all the assets he's stockpiled since the Pierce & KG trade.
When it comes to stars, the bird in the hand has almost always been more valuable to Ainge than two in the bush league, even when hindsight judges him a fool (almost trading Big Al for Iverson). And for good reason. Having one proven star in the fold makes it so much easier to obtain and retain another.
To continue my argument for a Rondo/Hibbert pairing:
There's a very convenient mutual coincidence of needs between Indy and Boston now. Indy's apparently shopping Hibbert, and they desperately need a playmaker on the perimeter. Smart is tailor-made for them. He's potentially a rich man's Stephenson who should be coming into his own just as George is coming back from his injury. With so much guaranteed money on their books and so few players on the wing, they'd also have less distaste for Gerald Wallace coming back in a rebuild trade.
Meanwhile, on Boston's end, we have a gaping hole at the 5 that Hibbert would immediately fill. We can surround him with the same type of defensive quickness and versatility on the perimeter that made him so deadly in Indy. And he'd be playing with a slashing, pass-first PG who loves to find his big men (something he has been sorely lacking for the duration of the George Hill era in Indy).
If we swap Smart/Wallace/Anthony for Hibbert/Copeland, we'd have a pretty good rotation right away:
Rondo (36)/Turner (12)
AB (32)/Thornton (16)
Green (34)/Turner (14)
Sully (32)/KO (16)
Hibbert (32)/KO (10)/Zeller (6)
Defensively, that starting line-up stacks up pretty well with Indy’s. A drop from George to Green, but not a huge one. A top 5 defense would be very possible if Sully is in any kind of shape. Don’t have a defender like Mahinmi off the bench, but that’s not a big problem.
Offensively, George and Stephenson are much better than AB and Green, particularly in terms of creating their own shots. But Rondo has a similarly big advantage over Hill. Up front, Sully can match West (14/7/3 53TS%) plus give a bump in offensive rebounding and I think Hibbert would be a bit better playing with Rondo. Off the bench, KO and Thornton can match what Scola and Watson brought offensively. Turner’s as much of a wildcard for us as he was with Indy, but I think Stevens’ success with a similar guy in Crawford would bode well for Turner in a point forward off the bench role. Offensively I’d rank them on par with or slightly below an already bad Indy offense, but not worst in the league bad.
Overall a 45-47 win team, with 50 win potential if Sully, KO and/or AB take a big leap offensively. If you can upgrade any one of AB/Green/Sully into a bonafide star, you’d have a real contender. Same goes if you could upgrade two of them into semi-stars (say DeRozan and Millsap).
That’s a great foundation to have when everybody’s under 30, there are no albatross contracts on the books and the pantry is full of picks. Plenty of time and opportunity to wait for that 3rd star to hit the market, with the flexibility to get him via free agency or trade and in the meantime the team is winning and staying respectable.
