IT'S HARDY TIME: Jaden Hardy looking like a decent prospect

[F Gump]

  Another benefit of Green/Hardy becoming significant contributors is it makes the Hardaway/Bullock  types more expendable as outgoing salary match.  There was some sentiment this summer that Bullock was indispensable.  I didn't think so, but I was early on what Green would become..

FWIW there were quite a few of us who were cautiously optimistic on Green, and didn't take the playoffs as some sort of defining moment for his ceiling. The thinking on Bullock trades wasn't all Green-related at all.

Instead, it was based on the observation that they were needing 3 of those 3-and-D guys. WITH Bullock, there were only two we could count on (with Green a maybe at that point at being that 3rd guy they needed). IOW, there was either just enough to cover the need, or they were already short-handed, and it would make no sense to trade away what you need more of, and worsen the hole (unless you are getting a superstar, of course).

I would say that even now, Bullock outgoing in a trade can only make sense when bringing back an even better 3-and-D guy than Bullock. Yes, Bullock obviously has been abysmal so far this season. But he's a proven veteran who happens to be producing far below his norms. So I have to think that whatever has gone awry will get fixed. And even with Green playing well, they still don't have a surplus.