Odd Man Out??? - Hunter Waived; Young Stays

[165bows]

Since we already knew that Young was a bust, and both journeyman slob Gerald Green and late 2nd rounder Jackson appear safe, the fact that this is even a question assures me that Hunter is a bust also.

Remember all the love Ainge got for incrementally growing his treasure trove of lesser assets? With his near total failure to consolidate them, that's not looking to be as genius as he was getting credit for.

Sullinger and Turner out for nothing in return, Bentil cut, Young and Hunter likely washouts, forced to draft and stash with two 1st rounders and essentially with a 2nd rounder in Nader as well.

The issue is that Young and Hunter suck as prospects. Maybe they come back as Gerald Green style retread role players years later, but they've done nothing for this team on the court or as an asset.

Bentil who cares, it's like when people kill Ainge for Semi Hard Erden or Lester Hudson. Late 50's picks if they work out great or help a trade swell, but if not then hey crap is what crap does.

The Hunter issue reflects poorly on Brad as well since that was supposedly one of his guys. If Jackson is a miss the whole Brad Stevens super-scout meme may die out.

I'd say overall there has been a bit of a shift in approach with the whole 'physically mature' draft this year. We'll see if it pans out. As others have said the asset consolidation netted Thomas who has pretty strong value, and there is a whole drool thread about one of the current stashes so there is lots of stuff still out there.

But I agree we are at the quarter poll marker here and it would be nice if one or two of these start to pan out some time.

Edit - I guess my main point is it would have been nice to at least get a Delonte West type out of one of those guys.

[Captain_Caveman]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Ultimately the success or failure of the draft pick
Accumulation process will be determined not by the picks that don't work out, but by the ones that do.

True enough, but that gets harder when there aren't minutes for you, or in Bentil's case, even a roster spot.

Sure. But Jackson is making the roster.

Had Bentil showed out in training camp... maybe he's on the roster and Jackson would be cut.

Ultimately I don't see the harm in seeing more players and assessing how they might fit into your team.

At the very least you get a chance to scout a future opponent.

Not showing out in their first camp would have disqualified at least 2/3rds of our roster.

I don't get why this is complicated. There are no minutes for most of these guys, and in some cases, no roster spots. In Bentil's case, it was even before his first season.

[Captain_Caveman]

The issue is that Young and Hunter suck as prospects.

Could have said the same thing about Bradley after a year. But he eventually got coaching, eventually got some minutes and was able to develop from them.

Even if they do just suck, that brings up the question of why we drafted them in the first place.

[nowyouknow]

No. Bradley was an instant stand out defensively and as an athlete.

Reasons than Mickey and Rozier and Jackson are all sticking while Young and Hunter are on the bubble.

The problem is that Ainge has missed on those picks in a relative sense. Not so much that he had too many picks to roster.

[165bows]

The issue is that Young and Hunter suck as prospects.

Could have said the same thing about Bradley after a year. But he eventually got coaching, eventually got some minutes and was able to develop from them.

Even if they do just suck, that brings up the question of why we drafted them in the first place.

Yeah the Bradley comp is a worthwhile one and I'm sure I've made a similar distinction here many times. For me the concern is these guys having to be called out in the media regarding dedication or toughness, whereas Bradley's issue was he couldn't dribble. Even Doc Rivers always liked Bradley, I doubt he'd ever have use for these two.

I never was big on the Young pick. Hunter I thought was intriguing but between publicly being called out as a Sally and as you mentioned, getting leap frogged by Green, Jackson and zero separation from Young it's not confidence inspiring.

[jfs1000d]

Since we already knew that Young was a bust, and both journeyman slob Gerald Green and late 2nd rounder Jackson appear safe, the fact that this is even a question assures me that Hunter is a bust also.

Remember all the love Ainge got for incrementally growing his treasure trove of lesser assets? With his near total failure to consolidate them, that's not looking to be as genius as he was getting credit for.

Sullinger and Turner out for nothing in return, Bentil cut, Young and Hunter likely washouts, forced to draft and stash with two 1st rounders and essentially with a 2nd rounder in Nader as well.

The issue is that Young and Hunter suck as prospects. Maybe they come back as Gerald Green style retread role players years later, but they've done nothing for this team on the court or as an asset.

Bentil who cares, it's like when people kill Ainge for Semi Hard Erden or Lester Hudson. Late 50's picks if they work out great or help a trade swell, but if not then hey crap is what crap does.

The Hunter issue reflects poorly on Brad as well since that was supposedly one of his guys. If Jackson is a miss the whole Brad Stevens super-scout meme may die out.

I'd say overall there has been a bit of a shift in approach with the whole 'physically mature' draft this year. We'll see if it pans out. As others have said the asset consolidation netted Thomas who has pretty strong value, and there is a whole drool thread about one of the current stashes so there is lots of stuff still out there.

But I agree we are at the quarter poll marker here and it would be nice if one or two of these start to pan out some time.

Edit - I guess my main point is it would have been nice to at least get a Delonte West type out of one of those guys.

Who cares? I guess that is my main point in all of this. Hunter or Young? Choose the one you think might be able to help you this year. Get rid of the other. Neither can help? Pick the one the team likes better.

[ParticleMan]

i still go with hunter because of 2 more years of control. you never know with guys like this, look at bradley or rozier. hunter has a legit nba skill in 3pt shooting. keep him.

and you can't diss ainge for missing on guys like young and hunter and then not give credit for guys like mickey and jackson who project well above their draft slot. what it really says is that the draft is a crapshoot and people pay far too much attention to where a guy was picked.

it's true that ainge wasn't able to consolidate those late picks so some got wasted but let's be real on a scale where the BKN picks are $1 all those second rounders together aren't worth a nickel. not like there is some huge opportunity lost there.

[Captain_Caveman]

i still go with hunter because of 2 more years of control. you never know with guys like this, look at bradley or rozier. hunter has a legit nba skill in 3pt shooting. keep him.

and you can't diss ainge for missing on guys like young and hunter and then not give credit for guys like mickey and jackson who project well above their draft slot. what it really says is that the draft is a crapshoot and people pay far too much attention to where a guy was picked.

it's true that ainge wasn't able to consolidate those late picks so some got wasted but let's be real on a scale where the BKN picks are $1 all those second rounders together aren't worth a nickel. not like there is some huge opportunity lost there.

Back to the original point, Ainge sure got a lot of credit here for collecting nickels, at a time when we could have been chasing $5 bills.

As a guy who was unfailingly supportive of Ainge from mid-2007 to early 2015, and who was far and away the biggest advocate here of the Nets trade, and who could see a mile away that the Nets were going to **** the bed, I'm just glad that the Nets' ineptitude exceeded even my own expectations. In a league where the best team has no less than four(!) different players who are 2-3 times better than anyone on our roster will ever be, we are going to need it.

There have been some miscalculations over the last couple of years, and while I am cool with being a borderline top 5 team or whatever we are, some of this sorta reeks of fool's gold, and much of what hasn't worked was entirely predictable, whether it was big or small.

On the other hand, they have stayed patient, and I am largely good with that. While we may have helped to give ourselves an eventual ceiling, we are still in range of a kill shot someday by virtue of holding onto those Nets picks.

[ParticleMan]

sure another option would have been to go full nuclear and chase the $5 bill. but if we did that there is no way in hell we'd be sitting on a 52-55 win team now. now obviously that's not the final goal. but we are a 52 win team with a young stud and many other improving young guys, another 2 bkn picks, and even cap space if we need it. so we are far from done here. at least durant gave us a legit shot, he didn't visit minny or NO or the sixers(lol) even tho they have legit $5 bills. we missed out on KD but we won't miss out every time. i'm fine with being patient when the W's superteam and lebron fizzles out we will walk thru that door with our dynasty.

[Bill Lumbergh]

Back to the original point, Ainge sure got a lot of credit here for collecting nickels, at a time when we could have been chasing $5 bills.

As a guy who was unfailingly supportive of Ainge from mid-2007 to early 2015, and who was far and away the biggest advocate here of the Nets trade, and who could see a mile away that the Nets were going to **** the bed, I'm just glad that the Nets' ineptitude exceeded even my own expectations. In a league where the best team has no less than four(!) different players who are 2-3 times better than anyone on our roster will ever be, we are going to need it.

There have been some miscalculations over the last couple of years, and while I am cool with being a borderline top 5 team or whatever we are, some of this sorta reeks of fool's gold, and much of what hasn't worked was entirely predictable, whether it was big or small.

On the other hand, they have stayed patient, and I am largely good with that. While we may have helped to give ourselves an eventual ceiling, we are still in range of a kill shot someday by virtue of holding onto those Nets picks.

Considering that our rebuild didn't begin in earnest until the trade of PP and KG, our rebuild is probably a couple of years ahead of where I thought we'd be at this time. Ainge has surely screwed the pooch on a couple of draft picks, but on the whole, he's done a remarkable job with the rebuild, including the hiring of Stevens. And to think we've still got two BKN picks upcoming, and a Memphis pick that might be better than expected. Things are looking good.

[celticfan42487]

i still go with hunter because of 2 more years of control. you never know with guys like this, look at bradley or rozier. hunter has a legit nba skill in 3pt shooting. keep him.

and you can't diss ainge for missing on guys like young and hunter and then not give credit for guys like mickey and jackson who project well above their draft slot. what it really says is that the draft is a crapshoot and people pay far too much attention to where a guy was picked.

it's true that ainge wasn't able to consolidate those late picks so some got wasted but let's be real on a scale where the BKN picks are $1 all those second rounders together aren't worth a nickel. not like there is some huge opportunity lost there.

Back to the original point, Ainge sure got a lot of credit here for collecting nickels, at a time when we could have been chasing $5 bills.

As a guy who was unfailingly supportive of Ainge from mid-2007 to early 2015, and who was far and away the biggest advocate here of the Nets trade, and who could see a mile away that the Nets were going to **** the bed, I'm just glad that the Nets' ineptitude exceeded even my own expectations. In a league where the best team has no less than four(!) different players who are 2-3 times better than anyone on our roster will ever be, we are going to need it.

There have been some miscalculations over the last couple of years, and while I am cool with being a borderline top 5 team or whatever we are, some of this sorta reeks of fool's gold, and much of what hasn't worked was entirely predictable, whether it was big or small.

On the other hand, they have stayed patient, and I am largely good with that. While we may have helped to give ourselves an eventual ceiling, we are still in range of a kill shot someday by virtue of holding onto those Nets picks.

In the end you either do it the way the 76ers did it, or the way we did. We still have a couple of Nets picks coming up, they still have their own and the Lakers in next year's draft. And the Kings unprotected 1rst in 2019 (the year after Cousin's free agency and guarantee that he's gone from that team).

We won't know till about 2022 who went about it in the right way. And a lot depends on if we can trade for a Boogie, Blake Griffin type player before they can trade for a CP3, Westbrook, John Wall, Jimmy Butler type with those 3 fantastic picks upcoming and the stock loaded frontcourt they have. Or just sign them in free agency.

Despite us being the 50 win team today, I'd still rather pick the 76ers for winning a ship between the two franchises in the next 10 years. Alas... the picks have to be picked, and the players have to not bust. So we'll see.

[jirrit]

Correct.

Really only one first rounder will have been sacrificed on the altar of having too many players. We will see soon enough if thats Young or Hunter.

Will anyone care that Young or Hunter was cut if Ainge finds an all star or a starter out of the Rozier, Mickey, Jackson, Yabusele, or Zizic picks?

The more swings the more chances you have to make contact. We have seen Ainge miss on some picks... but I generally like his chances.

Cutting prospects who other teams will likely be excited to sign is a problem I would classify under good problems to have.

Sullinger lazied his way out of town.

I definately think the draft is and Always will be like this. There is never certainty if anyone's gonna pan out. Eventhough you scout like hell or whatever. You win some, you lose some. It's better to take a few shots than one on a player, unless you're 100% certain he's gonna hit. And problem is you almost never are.

[DK-All Day]

A second round pick would be too much for Hunter or Young. Miracle if Ainge pulls it off.

[165bows]

i still go with hunter because of 2 more years of control. you never know with guys like this, look at bradley or rozier. hunter has a legit nba skill in 3pt shooting. keep him.

and you can't diss ainge for missing on guys like young and hunter and then not give credit for guys like mickey and jackson who project well above their draft slot. what it really says is that the draft is a crapshoot and people pay far too much attention to where a guy was picked.

it's true that ainge wasn't able to consolidate those late picks so some got wasted but let's be real on a scale where the BKN picks are $1 all those second rounders together aren't worth a nickel. not like there is some huge opportunity lost there.

Back to the original point, Ainge sure got a lot of credit here for collecting nickels, at a time when we could have been chasing $5 bills.

As a guy who was unfailingly supportive of Ainge from mid-2007 to early 2015, and who was far and away the biggest advocate here of the Nets trade, and who could see a mile away that the Nets were going to **** the bed, I'm just glad that the Nets' ineptitude exceeded even my own expectations. In a league where the best team has no less than four(!) different players who are 2-3 times better than anyone on our roster will ever be, we are going to need it.

There have been some miscalculations over the last couple of years, and while I am cool with being a borderline top 5 team or whatever we are, some of this sorta reeks of fool's gold, and much of what hasn't worked was entirely predictable, whether it was big or small.

On the other hand, they have stayed patient, and I am largely good with that. While we may have helped to give ourselves an eventual ceiling, we are still in range of a kill shot someday by virtue of holding onto those Nets picks.

On the same token if they don't vigorously work to change the rules even just slightly to break up GS it's just as big a failure IMO in creating any fool's gold. Sure another lotto pick would be nice at this point but ultimately it still wouldn't be enough in the next five years or so.

There's a long history (relating to this team especially) of changing the rules of the game to alter competitive balance, and by either tweaking cap holds or max salaries they need to destabilize the current structure. They allowed it to happen in the first place when owners wouldn't implement cap increase smoothing so it's the league's own making. IMO allowing amnesty and not taking advantage of it was one of the bigger errors the FO made in the Pierce/KG window so it's not a new issue.

At any rate Nike wanted this so maybe that's ultimately the reason it was allowed to happen by the league, money talks.

[ConstableGeneva]

One day to go. Three more votes to surpass Young. It would be the perfect birthday gift to RJ if he makes the roster.

[nowyouknow]

People are really still questioning the way Ainge has gone about this rebuild?

He has top 5-10 talent at PG, SG, SF and C. Three of whom are on absolute bargain deals, two of which are all stars, and one who is the best defender of smalls in the league.

Rozier, Smart and Brown all look like future impact players. Might throw Zizic in the same category.

They still have two more Brooklyn picks to go.

What more could you ask for?

[Curmudgeon]

Look at it this way. If Ainge hadn't hit on two second round picks (Jackson and Mickey), we wouldn't be having this Hunter vs Young discussion.

When you have lots of picks you will have multiple players fighting for roster spots. Competition is good.

[jmr07019]

People are really still questioning the way Ainge has gone about this rebuild?

He has top 5-10 talent at PG, SG, SF and C. Three of whom are on absolute bargain deals, two of which are all stars, and one who is the best defender of smalls in the league.

Rozier, Smart and Brown all look like future impact players. Might throw Zizic in the same category.

They still have two more Brooklyn picks to go.

What more could you ask for?

The worst 3 year run of basketball ever and a center on a minutes restriction

[nowyouknow]

Trust the process.

[ddb]

A second round pick would be too much for Hunter or Young. Miracle if Ainge pulls it off.

I really don't understand this premise, especially with Hunter. Hunter was the 28th pick in the draft and was simply buried on the bench behind depth. He has talent. He is under team control for a few years if they so choose. He is absolutely worth a decent pick...I would rather see Ainge do a 2 or 3 for 1 type deal for an established player, but whatever

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