09-03-2023, 01:13 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-03-2023, 01:17 PM by myconsumerclub.)
Lively is not someone I would trade and I bet the MBT is even less likely to trade him now. If they felt he was such a huge liability then they would probably made a move to add more firepower at the 5. I see the moves we made and it tells me they like him a lot. Maybe they think he is a fast learner that can step out on the court soon enough that trading for an expensive 5 is JUST not worth the $$$ and it does not fit long term plans.
If you make a move to get someone later near the trade deadline then that is a lot more sensible because you first evaluate what you have before making use of what amounts to your last usable trade assets.
You need to see what our young guys are able to do but you also need to see how the prospects you are looking to trade for will do this season and they may suck and lose value making them more affordable.
There is a reason they are on the trade block and less playing time will lower their value to other teams if they are benched for others. That means time works for us. No need to get in a hurry to trade off younger assets for older ones till you at least see what they are looking like this season. Drop offs happen and older centers drop off in the 30's especially smaller centers. I would be patient when it comes to developing players who can still improve.
1 through 3 we are pretty solid. PF is okay and C could be solid if Lively can transition to being a real NBA center fast enough that we avoid needing to take on someone else. Holmes and Kleber can play backup along with Powell so using Lively as the starter ASAP is what we are forced into by taking this approach. If we can win at a decent clip using a small ball 5 then we can bring DL along slow and not suffer to much. If he bulks up and starts to show he is a good fit then we have what we need and that final salary space can be used on something else other than the older 5 everyone else is saying we need to invest in.
Playoff rotations are 8 or 9 players deep.
Assuming the young guys all jump into the rotation this is what our play off rotation could look like.
Luka
Irving
Green
OMax
Lively
Grant
Hardy
Kleber
* If Exum works out then he is in there as a 3rd PG / ball handler
* If DJJ is a keeper he will need to hit 3's otherwise he is benched
* Powell plays only if Lively sucks a lot and if that is happening late in the season we are screwed
* Seth is old and a situational shooter off the bench when we need a 3 so not really someone who we need to play huge meaningful minutes
* Holmes is a ???? till he proves himself so not even worth speculating about since obviously we will have evaluated him by the play offs.
THJ is still a good player and an excellent option to score off the bench. If a team offers us a decent package for his low salary then we can take it and be better off but that need at center may be a lot less of a problem by the TDL if we see production from Lively and Holmes working out. Kleber and his injury problem means baby steps and saving him for the play offs are the strategy we use early on, unless some team wants him included in a trade for a guy we would prefer. Teams were willing to sign Powell and maybe that is indicative of him having trade value now as well, especially with his lower cost contract. Outside of Lively, Holmes is the biggest ???. We can speculate all we want but nobody knows what we have yet.
I have high hopes for him and Lively and our season is really riding on them to secure success moving forward.
Only other option is trading off younger talent for a 5 and seeing what they can fetch or and this 2nd option. I would prefer to add size at the 5 in the next draft with a plethora of 5's who could slip into the 2nd. Our 2 2nds should allow us to move up in the 2nd and take our pick of several candidates.
If we can see production from Lively in his rookie season another real 5 is still needed to back him up and we can afford to develop that rookie understudy instead of over spending for a veteran when we know that Lively is more capable.
That move allows us to use Kleber and Holmes as a PF instead of a 5 and so we improve that position as well.
I am assuming we can find another center in next years draft because if what I hear is true it is filled with top rated center prospects. Zach Edey is still there waiting to get taken in the 2nd round so I am hopeful we make that move since he could be a stud that forces other teams to play big like SAN and Wemby will be doing. UTA is deep with bigs that could impose size domination on others once they acquire better talent at the guard positions. Lots of teams are developing bigs with size advantages so we need to be pre-emptive in the draft to pick someone that can lay a body on them.
Those 2 positions 4 and 5 are the ones that cause us to lose sleep the most we are dominant at the 1 -2 3 is solid enough and improving as the 4 looks almost decent enough with Kleber Holmes Grant OMax and DJJ and 3 has a variety of 3's we can use.
The key to winning IMHO is defending well and having the size to shut down other teams who have scoring bigs we could face later on in the play offs. Then stretching it out to hit 3's relentlessly if the talent is there as it seems to be now. A guy like Lively can enjoy a lot of space to roam inside with our 3 point shooters stretching everyone out away from the basket. Even a rookie not known for scoring could develop a nice stat line with the talent we have passing to him and his speed and mobility being far more potent than most guys his size it may be a lively coming out party this season.
SF: Grant and OMax could be the future at SF and if Green is able to guard other SF's then we have a lot of talent there to build around as well. OMax should be making his mark this year and he is the better option at the 3 for long term star potential especially once his 3 develops more fully. Green needs to improve his shooting and Hardy as well they will be competing with each other for minutes at the 2 if OMax DJJ and Grant all want minutes at the 3 and Exum is more developed as a PG than they are to be our 3rd ball handler but I can see Kidd letting Hardy try to bring it up some with Exum there to confuse the defense when both our stars rest. Handles are nice enough for those 2 if you ask me and if Hardy can develop a better defensive game that will be the key to his future.
Such depth could cause team mates to clash over wanting more minutes and they need to play everyone on this team so we know who and what we have. As it settles down we may see guys wanting to be traded so they can play. Vets used to minutes won't want rookies getting PT ahead of them and certainly Lively is already ahead of the other 5's. OMax is a well rounded player who needs to get aggressive and show he has what it takes right away. If his 3 continues to impress as it did in college I expect the 2 rooks to start sooner than later.
Grant over Green is the battle I would see being interesting and that is a situational thing depending on matchups given Green is a better defender against guards and Grant is better on bigs.
Oh well September will be over soon enough.
If you make a move to get someone later near the trade deadline then that is a lot more sensible because you first evaluate what you have before making use of what amounts to your last usable trade assets.
You need to see what our young guys are able to do but you also need to see how the prospects you are looking to trade for will do this season and they may suck and lose value making them more affordable.
There is a reason they are on the trade block and less playing time will lower their value to other teams if they are benched for others. That means time works for us. No need to get in a hurry to trade off younger assets for older ones till you at least see what they are looking like this season. Drop offs happen and older centers drop off in the 30's especially smaller centers. I would be patient when it comes to developing players who can still improve.
1 through 3 we are pretty solid. PF is okay and C could be solid if Lively can transition to being a real NBA center fast enough that we avoid needing to take on someone else. Holmes and Kleber can play backup along with Powell so using Lively as the starter ASAP is what we are forced into by taking this approach. If we can win at a decent clip using a small ball 5 then we can bring DL along slow and not suffer to much. If he bulks up and starts to show he is a good fit then we have what we need and that final salary space can be used on something else other than the older 5 everyone else is saying we need to invest in.
Playoff rotations are 8 or 9 players deep.
Assuming the young guys all jump into the rotation this is what our play off rotation could look like.
Luka
Irving
Green
OMax
Lively
Grant
Hardy
Kleber
* If Exum works out then he is in there as a 3rd PG / ball handler
* If DJJ is a keeper he will need to hit 3's otherwise he is benched
* Powell plays only if Lively sucks a lot and if that is happening late in the season we are screwed
* Seth is old and a situational shooter off the bench when we need a 3 so not really someone who we need to play huge meaningful minutes
* Holmes is a ???? till he proves himself so not even worth speculating about since obviously we will have evaluated him by the play offs.
THJ is still a good player and an excellent option to score off the bench. If a team offers us a decent package for his low salary then we can take it and be better off but that need at center may be a lot less of a problem by the TDL if we see production from Lively and Holmes working out. Kleber and his injury problem means baby steps and saving him for the play offs are the strategy we use early on, unless some team wants him included in a trade for a guy we would prefer. Teams were willing to sign Powell and maybe that is indicative of him having trade value now as well, especially with his lower cost contract. Outside of Lively, Holmes is the biggest ???. We can speculate all we want but nobody knows what we have yet.
I have high hopes for him and Lively and our season is really riding on them to secure success moving forward.
Only other option is trading off younger talent for a 5 and seeing what they can fetch or and this 2nd option. I would prefer to add size at the 5 in the next draft with a plethora of 5's who could slip into the 2nd. Our 2 2nds should allow us to move up in the 2nd and take our pick of several candidates.
If we can see production from Lively in his rookie season another real 5 is still needed to back him up and we can afford to develop that rookie understudy instead of over spending for a veteran when we know that Lively is more capable.
That move allows us to use Kleber and Holmes as a PF instead of a 5 and so we improve that position as well.
I am assuming we can find another center in next years draft because if what I hear is true it is filled with top rated center prospects. Zach Edey is still there waiting to get taken in the 2nd round so I am hopeful we make that move since he could be a stud that forces other teams to play big like SAN and Wemby will be doing. UTA is deep with bigs that could impose size domination on others once they acquire better talent at the guard positions. Lots of teams are developing bigs with size advantages so we need to be pre-emptive in the draft to pick someone that can lay a body on them.
Those 2 positions 4 and 5 are the ones that cause us to lose sleep the most we are dominant at the 1 -2 3 is solid enough and improving as the 4 looks almost decent enough with Kleber Holmes Grant OMax and DJJ and 3 has a variety of 3's we can use.
The key to winning IMHO is defending well and having the size to shut down other teams who have scoring bigs we could face later on in the play offs. Then stretching it out to hit 3's relentlessly if the talent is there as it seems to be now. A guy like Lively can enjoy a lot of space to roam inside with our 3 point shooters stretching everyone out away from the basket. Even a rookie not known for scoring could develop a nice stat line with the talent we have passing to him and his speed and mobility being far more potent than most guys his size it may be a lively coming out party this season.
SF: Grant and OMax could be the future at SF and if Green is able to guard other SF's then we have a lot of talent there to build around as well. OMax should be making his mark this year and he is the better option at the 3 for long term star potential especially once his 3 develops more fully. Green needs to improve his shooting and Hardy as well they will be competing with each other for minutes at the 2 if OMax DJJ and Grant all want minutes at the 3 and Exum is more developed as a PG than they are to be our 3rd ball handler but I can see Kidd letting Hardy try to bring it up some with Exum there to confuse the defense when both our stars rest. Handles are nice enough for those 2 if you ask me and if Hardy can develop a better defensive game that will be the key to his future.
Such depth could cause team mates to clash over wanting more minutes and they need to play everyone on this team so we know who and what we have. As it settles down we may see guys wanting to be traded so they can play. Vets used to minutes won't want rookies getting PT ahead of them and certainly Lively is already ahead of the other 5's. OMax is a well rounded player who needs to get aggressive and show he has what it takes right away. If his 3 continues to impress as it did in college I expect the 2 rooks to start sooner than later.
Grant over Green is the battle I would see being interesting and that is a situational thing depending on matchups given Green is a better defender against guards and Grant is better on bigs.
Oh well September will be over soon enough.