A- He tried to work a deal in the draft, but was unable to. Good effort. We had no roster spot so he took a euro player that may be a tremendous NBA player at some time. That's very good. He got good, solid PG & PF free agents- which was greatly needed. All things considered, mission accomplished.
B! Weak ass draft, I didn't expect much from it. Landed Miller and resigned Brandon (LA before the first preseason game) Well done!
A lot of teachers grade not only on the finished product, but on how you got to the finished product. Usually it benefits the student. So if you had the process right in a complicated algebra equation, but just forgot to carry a 1 somewhere, you'd still get a lot of credit. If you grade Pritchard not just on product, but process, it's a much more interesting equation. On the plus side, although getting Miller was a "slam dunk," a lot of GM's in Pritchard's position would've targeted Miller right from the outset and have bidded against themselves. By correctly gauging the marketplace and biding his time, it became clear to everyone that Miller wasn't going to get a better offer from anyone else. So we could lowball him a little, without being insulting about it. The Miller signing was good, the contract was fantastic, but I also like the way he made it happen. Another plus was the Milsap deal. Sure, we didn't get him, but we sure made a potential rival pay more than they wanted to keep him. The outcome sucked in that we didn't get him, but it wasn't really Pritchard's fault. I liked that he targeted him. I like the contract we offered. I like that Utah is now stuck with two power forwards who are paid like starters. I like that he unloaded Sergio and Frye. Those were small things, but still right and he should get some credit. Now for the minuses. I hated the Hedon't fiasco. We offered way too much money for a guy who probably wouldn't win us more than a couple more games. I hated that he'd be overpaid forever, not because I'm worried about salaries but because he was Damon Stoudamire 2.0 in the making. A guy with mediocre talent who didn't play enough defense who would be too healthy to leave on the bench and too expensive to trade. And like Damon he would've taken too many shots away from our primary scorers (Roy, Aldridge and eventually Oden). The outcome was nice in that we didn't get him, but that's like getting an Algebra question right just by randomly writing some numbers on the page. Pritchard succeeded despite his best efforts. The other minus I see is one that's been a while in the making. He's been so good at acquiring good young players that there just isn't going to be time for them all. Everybody can see that a consolidation trade is needed. He didn't get one done at the trade deadline. He didn't get one done this summer. He's playing with dynamite. The longer this goes, the more likely a guy like Rudy or Batum or Bayless or Webster or Outlaw is going to erupt in the media, and we'll be trading from a less strong position. My biggest fear is that Rudy gets upset, as he's clearly the guy with the most value, and he can always threaten to pick up and go back to Spain. It's also possible that Batum takes a lesser role this year (god I hope not) to get Webster more minutes. Batum certainly wouldn't take that well. As for grading his draft, well, that's like the student trying to grade the teacher. Pritchard has demonstrated far more savvy about drafting than I'll ever hope to have. I'm not going to say, "In Pritchard I trust," because I don't completely. Every GM makes mistakes. I hope he made the right choices. They seem a little puzzling to me, but so did some of his other moves at the time. Thanks to grade inflation, a "C" really isn't "average" anymore. That's a mark that says you aren't failing, but you are getting close to it. So I'm going to give him a B-. Had he just sidestepped the whole Hedo fiasco, I'd give him a solid B.
if I'm handing out a GMing grade I'm basing it on how he does with his opportunities given the situation. -drafting in the middle of a weak draft he went with a flyer on an injured young foreign athlete forward who might pan out. That was pretty spot on exactly what I was hoping for going into that draft. Given that, it's hard to lay much blame -I don't think I'd even given a thought to the team using KP's precious cap room on Hedo. Offering him that deal seemed Nash-esk to me. On the other hand I'm sure I was active in well over 5 Andre Miller threads. Pritchard ends up with probably the best UFA available with a better contract (3rd year team option in case he breaks down) then I'd hoped. Was this his master plan or a bit of dumb luck? Do I really care? -Signs Roy longterm to max deal... expected -LA unsigned... talks reportedly waiting on some figure being released from the league but expected to happen -Signs Howard... jk, I liked this move, he'll probably be fine as the 3rd/4th string PF/15th man. He's been deep bench for a few years now and knows his role. For the first couple TNT games he might average more face time talking about his teammates in prerecorded interviews then PT. I see this club winning 62 games or so. Baring the perfect opportunity to consolidate talent or swoop in and take the right high priced vet off of someone's hands, I wasn't looking for wholesale changes because whats in place is already pretty formidable. Since no one else traded for such a player, I can't fault management for not pulling that imaginary rabbit out of their hat. KP gets an A for adding to a solid and improving club and not upsetting the apple cart. Miller being better then Blake and Blake being better (today) then Bayless or Sergio significantly improves their weakest position and is enough flux. Internal improvement should be substantial... I like the talent and depth throughout the roster. While this offseason doesn't match the whirlwind of changes that other recent offseasons did, I feel they've done the right tinkering.... contending this season doesn't seem far fetched. btw... I'd link some past threads in this post but S2 will only let me go so far back STOMP
I gave it a "D" due to the false promises of cap flexibility that never materialized that much this summer from 2 years ago. Miller was great, but was kind of a no-brainer in my view with the money and available free agent market...I've been pushing for him for quite a while.
I wasn't surprised with getting Pendergraph in the second round, and thought it was a decent pick...except Blair was still on the board. I'll wait until the season is at least 10 games in to reserve any sort of judgment about the offseason. I think we almost all agree we're lucky Hedo backed out and we ended up with Andre instead. I like Andre a lot...he's always been really underrated, but he continues to get older. Every year I expect a decline and he doesn't really show it. I'm afraid he might now that he just signed his last significantly large contract of his career. In many ways, I would have preferred this. 1. Sign Ramon Sessions to a deal similar with what he got from Minnesotta @ 4 years / 16 million (quite cheap). 2. Draft (1) Claver, (2) Blair, (3) Calathes, (4) Mills (picking based on who was available at the time). That enough right there would have made this an amazing summer. Keep the picks stocking talent overseas in Mills, Calathes, and Claver. Blair can be the rebounding beast he showed in summer league. And Sessions would be a very cheap acquisition, even if he didn't amount to the promise he has sometimes shown in only two years in the league. Cheap, lots of upside with only guaranteeing contracts to Sessions and Claver (if/when he comes over). I'm not upset with how things have gone down. But I think that obtaining Sessions (and who thought that was possible, I wrote several entries stipulating why no team signed him early in the summer) and getting an array of talented players would have been better than 2 backup PFs. I just like the idea of Mills/Calathes/Claver/Blair much better. I see them all as potential quality NBA backups, which is fair concerning they're all picks in the low first round or second round. Anyone else thinking along these lines too?
I give him a D. There was entirely too much buildup to this offseason to come away with essentially the same roster as last year plus Miller. Our roster is still unbalanced as hell and nothing was done to consolidate positions. Bayless did not look like he improved any this summer league. Getting very little minutes again this season is not going to help. I just think the end result of Raef's ending contract and the two non-guaranteed deals to Outlaw and Blake should have netted more. We are still probably going to win more games than last year due to improvements of LA, Rudy, SF, and Oden. That does not mean that KP got the maximum out of his assets.
I said C because I didn't like the draft; I am OK with (and cautiously optimistic about) the Miller signing; I think LMA's already agreed with what the team wants to give him (and now it's a player's union issue); thought that KP made a shrewd move for Millsap that wasn't going to work out; put too much into Turkoglu (and happily, he didn't take the offer); passed on Sessions for whatever reason; didn't make a consolidation trade during the summer (which is where he said he'd rather make trades). I would've liked to see what our offer for Okafor or Washington's #5 pick (that turned into Rubio) was, but I won't speculate and add or subtract those guesses to the grade. Basically, I don't think KP hosed the team, but I think there were results out there that could've been had that would've made our team better. I don't hold the RFA signings of our stars against him. I'm hoping that in February I'll think he's a genius again, but his last 7 months or so haven't been a positive trend in my eyes.
That's a reasonably fair assessment. First do no harm. That's a lesson we probably should remember from the Rod Strickland/Detlef Shrempf/Stoudamire-contract-extension days. We didn't do anything to really screw things up, although we came pretty close with Turkoglu. We got rid of our worst player (Sergio) and replaced him with probably our third or fourth best player (Miller). I think we win 60 games this year. It's hard to complain about any offseason that nets you that.
IMO, that was a cake-baking stance. I believe this team has taken that next step towards KP pulling the current creation out of the oven and taking a big whiff. That said, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if he makes an in-season consolidation trade during this coming season.
After holding my breath since the Zach trade, I am just going to assume we are going to play with what we have.
please expand on how you feel the roster is "unbalanced as hell". I happen to think just the opposite. They've outside shooting galore, a beast on the low block, a perfect high post compliment, and several guards/wings that can take people off the dribble. They were one of the league's top 3 point shooting teams & led the league in Rebounding differential... if they aren't balanced in their attack I don't know who is. STOMP
I gave him a C. This is mostly due to expectations versus reality. Also, the guys KP went for and didn't get fit worse with the team then Miller. So he sort of lucked into not completely fucking up. The draft was kind of a let down, though I think Donte could be a real player.
STOMP, I point to the fact we really do not have someone that scores consistently in the low block, too many SF's compared to minutes, and the PG situation. We probably still get beat soundly by the Houston team of last year with the current group of Blazers.
with Yao out, the Houston team of last year doesn't exist this season. They were the biggest team in the league which countered Portland's size advantage over most everyone else. I'm not sure whats wrong with the PG situation in your opinion, but having Miller on board is a big upgrade and gives them someone who will absolutely punish little PGs like Aaron Brooks. You don't think he would have posted the 5'10 170 lb. pound Brooks at will? If he was on the club last year I think it would have been a very different story. Greg commanded a double team on the low block last season vs most everyone and should be improved, LA scored plenty there, and I already mentioned my thoughts on Andre. SF is not a situation I'd be too worried about either. Batum is a pretty nice all around young player and Roy should garner many of the backup minutes. Webster and Outlaw fight over the scraps... they're pretty mediocre options so whatever. STOMP
Wow. I couldn't disagree more. Miller would've lit up the Rockets for 15-16 ppg (more if necessary--he'd simply abuse Brooks), and he wouldn't have been caught flat-footed in game one. I don't blame the entire game 1 meltdown on Blake, but as the veteran starting PG his overall play didn't do much to stabilize the team. I just don't see that happening with Miller running the show.
The Houston scenario was hypothetical. There are still other teams that can throw quality bigs at us like the Rockets did last year. Upgrading at PG helps, but does not fix this. I disagree with LA scoring plenty in the low post. Greg might have commanded a double team, but IMO it was because teams knew he would have trouble making a pass. There is no go to move and even the dunk got mixed results. A backup at PF would have been ideal with Travis used as the trading piece. The problem I have with the PG situation is the use of Bayless. He has more SG skills now, but we want him to be the PG of the future. He is not going to get minutes with Rudy and Roy at the two. I do not see Nate suffering thru any growing pains of Jerryd playing point when there are two veterans to use. Another year of sitting on the bench is going to do nothing for his trade value or development. We now have Travis, Martell, Batum, Cunningham, and Ime at SF with our #1 draft pick being a SF project overseas. With no one as the backup PF, it just seems silly to have this many players at the position. I think the second round of the playoffs is a lofty goal if we do not make a move. Vegas agrees as there are five teams with a better chance of winning it all in the West with New Orleans given the exact same odds.
no other team could/can create the size mismatch that the Rocket did with Yao... this is just flat wrong. there are 15 roster spots and only 240 minutes to go around, some guys are going to sit... besides the fact that Ime isn't expected to make the final cut, sorry that I don't share your concern about this. I also happen to really like Travis at the backup 4. Nate wants his PFs at the highpost for spacing and you need a J to be effective on the high post. Teams rarely run two low block players at the same time for obvious reasons and that guy will be guarded by Joel or Greg. we'll just have to agree to disagree on the roster being unbalanced as hell, I think it's in fine form. Looking forward to seeing whats what STOMP
I am not a fan of Travis at the 4 or any other position. I am cringing now just thinking about the number of times he has passed up open looks to take two steps forward for a contested shot. He seems very slow to pickup even the slightest of changes in the defense or offense and has never shown great athleticsm besides jumping. Not a great rebounder either. Batum and Rudy doing the little things in their first year was refreshing after watching Travis struggle with them year after year. Trading Outlaw to Memphis for whatever they were offering and using the money to sign McDyess would have earned KP a much better grade. Will agree to disagree and cannot wait for Sunday's start of the campaign.
You do realize that making such a move would have prevented the Miller signing right? KP will just have to learn to live with your D rating for not signing a 35 year old McDyess... thats a real heavy cross for one man to bear. How much more then the Spurs 3 years 15M guaranteed would you have had him offer? STOMP
