12-07-2023, 01:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 12-07-2023, 01:44 PM by DanSchwartzgan.)
(12-07-2023, 03:11 AM)omahen Wrote:
Never liked Collins ideas in a Luka-Kyrie team. He is not a great defender and very difficult player to build around. Best position on offense is a center as he is great in PnR, but difficult to do with Lively as your starter. Ideal partner for him would be someone like Maxi, in his best version of course. Collins is someone who might get us a tiny little bit better, but far from putting us in the contender level. As Kuz said the other day - Mavs are one guy away. But, it has to be the right guy. Everything else will be just tinkering around the edges with similar end result regarding number of wins and position in the standings.
I'm not convinced Collins to Dallas is dead (or a bad idea). First, it is the nature of Ainge. He's a day trader and he bought low (space and a distant second). Plus, he needed the salary to get to the floor. As soon as he can find something worth more than a distant second, I suspect Collins is gone.
The packages that make sense are probably THJ and some kind of draft capital (THJ would also be flipped at some point as none of this is about on-court fit for Ainge). THJ + Green also works. Pet Peeve...Nick on the Locked On Pod the other day told listeners that Green's poison pill is 'too complex to really explain', but that we should just understand that Green is hard to trade and it probably requires a third team. If you are going to run a freaking podcast, please do a little math every now and then. Green's PP isn't that difficult (as the fact that he and THJ can be traded for Collins illustrates). If Green went out with THJ and Collins was the only returning, Dallas would be under the LT still. I've long assumed they want to use up that space, but no more in any deal I'm designing.
Is Collins ideal? No. Might he be better off the bench than THJ on a team that needs size and more rebounding? Yes. Do I care that he or GWill, making the money they do, might have to come off the bench? No. I'm trying to build a stronger team (even if it is incremental). Do I hate to give up on Josh? Yeah, but if there is somewhere we can absorb the loss, it is probably a spot where Exum, Seth and Hardy can play. Heck, DJJ fits the bill too as he's been starting over Josh in what was assumed to be Josh's spot (except that one recent game). If we like Collins for a few minutes at backup center, he brings more size and rebounding than DJJ and GWill who often get mentioned for the role of S-B5. I've not sent out Holmes or Powell in this deal and I like your Maxi/Collins lineup idea. I do not believe adding Collins stunts the development of OMax as there is room in a second unit for him to get developmental minutes. His role is ultimately the role DJJ and Green are playing in smaller frames.
I don't disagree that this is tinkering. But on a really good day this team can beat (and lose to) anyone. I don't count tinkering as a bad thing. I also think with all of the picks Ainge has there is probably a way to rearrange the deck chairs in a way that helps both teams.
(12-07-2023, 12:04 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: Really like how Omax always contests shots. I also like how his hands are always moving when he is guarding one on one. Just something small but I think it helps. He is also good at using his body to stop penetration and to fight over screens.
Still a lot of work for him but these are similar things you saw in his college highlights.
https://twitter.com/anelsmailbasic/statu...7875525075
He feels like he's every so slightly less 'deer in the headlights' rushed as each game goes by. Encouraging.