N8isScofield wrote:nykballa2k4 wrote:N8isScofield wrote:The point was that you made a terrible roster that guts our assets, called it a contender and are now trying to walk it back. Projecting Frank and Knox as contributors on a contending team within 2 years when they cannot get game time now is ridiculous. I never said Mitch wasn't a starter. Which of the contending teams other than Utah has a 5 whose game is a limited as Mitch's? A roster that wouldn't be top 10 in the league is not a contender. You do not give away valuable assets to build the roster that you posted. Anyone who did that should be fired. Either draft well and build that way or trade for actual stars, not freaking CJ McCollum and Westbrook on his last legs, 2 players who are not winners and whose value will only decrease after you trade for them. There's a car salesman somewhere reading your posts hoping to God that you walk into his dealership.
In two years that ensemble I put together is fairly conservative in terms of attainability and it looks VERY competitive. We don't know what other teams will do, but that team has the check boxes to be a contender. Not a favorite/superteam, but a contender for sure.
To answer your question about contending teams and centers, who are contenders? Would the Lakers have been a contender if AD was healthy? They were starting Drummond who is limited. CLippers havev Zubac who is quite unimpressive, Nets are the favorites to win it all and before the trade dealine they had Claxton as their top dog with DeAndre Jordan backing up. Griffin is starting presently, but he is limited defensively.
Mitch is about par for the course for a starting center in the league. I would rather have him than Capella, for example.
What little I was able to see of Knox and Frank on the court this season, I liked. Frank showed an ounce of aggression, reliability from 3-point, and his usual great defense.
Knox entered the league as a 20 point scorer. This season I saw him hustle on defense, grab contested rebounds. Thibs likes to keep a tight rotation so it did not go Knox's way. If you ask me what I think is likely rather than what I want, I think we are keeping the Kentucky guys within reason, so Knox is not going to be dealt. I don't see any one here with loyalty to Frank, so I can see another team scooping him up with a MLE, portion thereof.
You keep claiming that I should be fired for my make-believe trades, but I don't think you have a realistic approach and I question how you evaluate personnel.
Do you think Schroder at a max contract makes us a better team? What is your answer for making this team better while maintaining flexibility?
No it does not. CJ and Westbrook have failed to be true contenders with Dame, KD, Harden and Beal next to them. You're telling me that declining versions of them are going to succeed or come close to it with Randle? You built a treadmill roster that will lose in the first or second round while giving away most of our young assets. If I'm giving away young assets then I want an actual STAR, not CJ, not the ghost of Russ, a STAR. If that STAR isn't available then I'm not capping myself out and ruining my flexibility for declining versions of players who aren't winners. That is what your plan there does. Are you watching Brooklyn mangle Milwaukee right now? We gut the assets so that can be us? No thank you. If we can't use them on a franchise altering player then we need to continue to develop our own draft picks and use our cap space to acquire more picks. That is the total opposite of what you proposed and that is how you at least give yourself a shot to hit a home run rather than bunting with 2 outs so you can say you made contact. Knox entered the league as a 20 point scorer? What are you even talking about? Do we just get to make things up now? He has shown absolutely nothing. No motor, no basketball IQ, nothing. Quickley came in and earned minutes on day one. This dude can't crack the rotation even when guys are injured. Your approach is definitely realistic. I've seen it play out here a lot en route to awful, losing basketball and years of setbacks.
1) Contender does not mean champion. The Harden-Westbrook team was a contender, but they just didn't win (they also shed several pieces to get to just those two), we can go into other examples, but contender means you are in the top 5 in odds to win a championship.
2) Every good team is a treadmill until it isn't. Mavs were a treadmill, but were contenders, finally broke through that one year. Kings and Blazers of 00's Knicks of 90's, Jazz of 90's were all treadmills that didn't make it over the top.
3) You are comparing the Bucks team to a super-team. Nets have probably the most skewed roster of the season. Yes, I did not build a super-team. That would be awesome to have one of those, but we would need at a minimum one superstar signing here and in lockstep with trading for another. We are not going to afford to sign two outright.
4) I exaggerated on Knox, he came in as a raw scorer, but put averages of 17, 13, 13, 13, 16 through the last 5months of his rookie season. I am not worried about him as a scorer, he is going to be in the league a while, he also aint going anywhere since he is a Kentucky guy. We can revisit this topic next season.
5) Again, my big point is that Randle is an all-star, we need to add on an all-star talent on the cheap. McCollum was the hot name in te news which is why he was my example. If you got a better name that can be had for basically cap room and will not have an albatross contract, i am all ears. Westbrook is a superstar, is a top 7 player. So for right now he fit the bill of "superstar you cash out for." Beal is clearly steps behind him. Lillard is another similar option. If I were picking my personal favorite choice, we would be getting Greek, but he is locked in for half a decade. It is unlikely for any of the kids on rookie deals to get off their home clubs at he first point of extension so rule those stars out.
6) Just for fun tell me the players that in the duration of McCollums contract will be a UFA and have a ghost of a chance at coming to NY. If we chase a CJ, or Middleton, or *insert frustrated playoff loser fanbase punching bag who was supposed to be all star with 3 years left on contract* this summer, who am I losing??
