Skybox wrote:KillMonger wrote:2 playoff wins in 6 years......pretty much all you need to say
Man, I get everybody's frustration but what's next? Everybody just bitches but doesn't offer suggestions.
My feeling is our best/most realistic hope is to pair Vuc with another great player (draft or trade) rather than throw out the one reliable thing we have. Vuc isn't selfish or archaic...he's one of the best 3pt shooting bigs in the league, a willing passer, and has a strong post game ready when needed. Why is everybody blaming him for our crappy team? Why start from zero when you already have a couple of good pieces in Vuc and Isaac?
I think the ultimate source of conflict is, and has long been, each person's valuation of Vuc.
If Vuc were on any other team, I don't think our fans would value him as highly. I keep pointing to Randle as an example. There's zero noise on this forum about him being an impending target of value even though he's an Allstar carrying a team to a sub .500 playoff position (presently). Even our former failed PG Payton is showing he can be a starting PG on a playoff team. But, does anyone look at either of them as 'serious' pieces?
What's Vuc's ultimate outcome? Jokic. Jokic is vastly superior to Vuc in terms of overall skill, and he's been partnered with 3 other players who would instantly be the best (or at least challenge for that role) in Murray, MPJr and Grant. Even with all that help the Nuggets struggled to find a formula for reliable playoff success (though they were damn close and the most exciting team to watch in the bubble).
So just looking at the pieces we'd need to bring Vuc's supporting cast up to a comparable level, we'd need to find players as good as those 3. We certainly don't have the assets or cap space to make that happen short of a run of gold draft selections. But even then we have to acknowledge that if Vuc played alongside talent of that standard, he would quickly become a complimentary piece like Marc Gasol was to Toronto/Lakers, or Lopez was to Milwaukee. This means Vuc's potential future supporting cast are actually more important and valuable than him, so saving him at the expense of adding those pieces seems like a backwards and counterproductive step.
When considering how to replace Vuc and find comparable value, you just have to look to players like Randle, Harris, Grant, Brogdon and similar players to see that mid-career breakout players can be found and added through free agency.
The other assumption people make about this team is that it would fall into obscurity without Vuc, forgetting a few things:
a) the returns we'd get in exchange for Vuc
b) the potential positive impact of adjusted and new player roles
c) the 2nd unit doesn't get the credit it deserves for its impact in games. The hustle Cliff gets out of Birch/Chuma/MCW/Ross is collectively as much a driving force for the team as much as any starter.
Cliff and Thibs can make scrappy teams playoff contenders, so falling out of playoff contention shouldn't be as much of a concern as it is.
If the team can add a top 5 pick + move Vuc, Gordon, Fournier, and maybe Bamba, to add to Isaac, Chuma, Cole, Fultz + a hustling 2nd unit, then this team could absolutely make an overnight rebuild to relevancy.
