07-22-2023, 11:26 AM
(This post was last modified: 07-22-2023, 11:35 AM by myconsumerclub.)
Big body is needed to be the teams body guard and I am even open to signing Boban again. Azabuike rebounds well enough to be the thug we send in to foul the other teams center that cannot hit free throws. That kind of player is cool to have especially when they can dunk and score inside at a high FG% like Azabuike and Boban can. Plus the other teams 2nd chance scoring opportunities drop to almost zero when you get the rebounds like that. That is all we need at center we do not need to over pay and give up assets for a guy like Capella.
We already have Lively and he just needs a few months to get his game in shape by NBA standards. If a guy like Azabuike does not work out then you cut him and you try to do a deal by the TDL. He sure looked good on Boston's SL team and I would have preferred to take on Yurtseven but hey he can hit a 3 so maybe his game fits LOL. We where busy getting suckered into doing nothing by courting teams that have no real intention of giving us a center. That was a con game to keep our attention focused on shinny objects instead of settling in on guys that might be better than Powell that are available in free agency. Only one left of that bunch IMHO is Azabuike and if we keep McGee I would use him before I ever used Powell for anything.
We are still in team construction phase and so we need to take advantage of other teams that cut players and useful bigs.
Right now we see everyone waiting to see who OKC cuts and that is the big waiting game for now.
Teams do not want to miss out on a young prospect that drops in their lap and we are lower on the totem pole so we get first dibs before any contenders.
The first part of the season should be about testing who we have and not playing old vets.
They can be backups but not starters. Starters face starting talent and starting talent makes our trash look like trash and older vets tend to slack off and suck at the start of the season anyway. At least it seems ours do. THJ did the last few years as did Bullock.
The older vets need to be played against lesser talents who come off the bench, since the bench guys may not kill them as much and make them look like total trash.
Once exposed as trash they become impossible to trade and we will then have to stretch wave guys or include them in trades with younger talent and draft picks.
It is all about building up their trade value to other teams at this point.
Guys on the TDL trade block should include: SG/SF THJ, Exum, Seth C McGee, Powell, PF/C Kleber, Holmes. Only trade for someone who is a fit for any area of need and don't create a hole on the team that can't be filled instantly.
We have these guys as our core players and young prospects
PG Luka irving Miles Jelly
SG Irving Hardy Green Lawson
SF Grant Green Lawson
PF OMax Grant
C Lively
Depth at center is needed and we could use a younger center than someone on the wrong end of 30 or nearing that. Another PF might be useful as well.
Next years draft is filled with more centers so if we want to add another young guy that falls into the 2nd round that may be possible since they seem to fall into later picks more often these days. The guys we sign or trade for need to be guys we can trade off as well. Centers are obviously tough to trade when they get older. It doesn't look like Cap Hella is getting a lot of teams wanting to take him on. Valanciunas is older as well and he is expiring which makes him perfect if you ask me. He may not be as costly to resign. The issue is NOP has no decent centers to use once he is gone. If they suck and fall out of contention for the play offs they may look to trade him anyway since they know the draft is filled with talent next year. TDL is going to be interesting and teams may be pulling a stealth tank job to copy what we did last year so they can go in the other direction if they see a need to do that.
If we find our rookies can survive and thrive early on, then the better things will be for us, and then we can just count on getting that 2nd center in the draft next year with a second round pick and move on to winning now mode and playing our hand that we have.
Azabuike might be a fit then for a one year deal to hold us over till next season and maybe some prospect that OKC lets go at the final roster cut can be a candidate for our final piece.
Center and bigs to replace older vets are what we need to be on the look out for.
We can even see about trading off more of our older vets on the trade block just to clear roster spots for the guys that another team may want to cut. Some conversation with OKC would be wise just to see if we can get a heads up and if any of our older vets appeal to them. Doubtful they do but hey you never know.
We already have Lively and he just needs a few months to get his game in shape by NBA standards. If a guy like Azabuike does not work out then you cut him and you try to do a deal by the TDL. He sure looked good on Boston's SL team and I would have preferred to take on Yurtseven but hey he can hit a 3 so maybe his game fits LOL. We where busy getting suckered into doing nothing by courting teams that have no real intention of giving us a center. That was a con game to keep our attention focused on shinny objects instead of settling in on guys that might be better than Powell that are available in free agency. Only one left of that bunch IMHO is Azabuike and if we keep McGee I would use him before I ever used Powell for anything.
We are still in team construction phase and so we need to take advantage of other teams that cut players and useful bigs.
Right now we see everyone waiting to see who OKC cuts and that is the big waiting game for now.
Teams do not want to miss out on a young prospect that drops in their lap and we are lower on the totem pole so we get first dibs before any contenders.
The first part of the season should be about testing who we have and not playing old vets.
They can be backups but not starters. Starters face starting talent and starting talent makes our trash look like trash and older vets tend to slack off and suck at the start of the season anyway. At least it seems ours do. THJ did the last few years as did Bullock.
The older vets need to be played against lesser talents who come off the bench, since the bench guys may not kill them as much and make them look like total trash.
Once exposed as trash they become impossible to trade and we will then have to stretch wave guys or include them in trades with younger talent and draft picks.
It is all about building up their trade value to other teams at this point.
Guys on the TDL trade block should include: SG/SF THJ, Exum, Seth C McGee, Powell, PF/C Kleber, Holmes. Only trade for someone who is a fit for any area of need and don't create a hole on the team that can't be filled instantly.
We have these guys as our core players and young prospects
PG Luka irving Miles Jelly
SG Irving Hardy Green Lawson
SF Grant Green Lawson
PF OMax Grant
C Lively
Depth at center is needed and we could use a younger center than someone on the wrong end of 30 or nearing that. Another PF might be useful as well.
Next years draft is filled with more centers so if we want to add another young guy that falls into the 2nd round that may be possible since they seem to fall into later picks more often these days. The guys we sign or trade for need to be guys we can trade off as well. Centers are obviously tough to trade when they get older. It doesn't look like Cap Hella is getting a lot of teams wanting to take him on. Valanciunas is older as well and he is expiring which makes him perfect if you ask me. He may not be as costly to resign. The issue is NOP has no decent centers to use once he is gone. If they suck and fall out of contention for the play offs they may look to trade him anyway since they know the draft is filled with talent next year. TDL is going to be interesting and teams may be pulling a stealth tank job to copy what we did last year so they can go in the other direction if they see a need to do that.
If we find our rookies can survive and thrive early on, then the better things will be for us, and then we can just count on getting that 2nd center in the draft next year with a second round pick and move on to winning now mode and playing our hand that we have.
Azabuike might be a fit then for a one year deal to hold us over till next season and maybe some prospect that OKC lets go at the final roster cut can be a candidate for our final piece.
Center and bigs to replace older vets are what we need to be on the look out for.
We can even see about trading off more of our older vets on the trade block just to clear roster spots for the guys that another team may want to cut. Some conversation with OKC would be wise just to see if we can get a heads up and if any of our older vets appeal to them. Doubtful they do but hey you never know.