I tried to make it work, but even with Vonleh getting the zero minutes he deserves, it wouldn't. We need a trade.
I agree that we need a trade, but I think it might be smart to wait until the deadline. Meyers is ahead of schedule, and Ezeli says he's healthy but both are semi question marks heading into the season. With that said, Plumlee makes the most sense to trade. There's no way we can pay him next summer without going DEEP into the tax and we could fetch a modest asset for him. I think Aminu / Ezeli / Leonard / Davis is the most logical and complementary front court rotation as well, especially since Davis can play both the 4 and the 5 whereas Plums is a pure 5.
I just don't trust Ezeli to be a starter for us. If we have to make a decision about Plumlee, we will know by the time we do who is worth keeping and who needs to be traded.
I don't eat donuts around my father any more.... it just leads to the inevitable Raymond Felton joke. As if his play wasn't bad enough......
This right here. If Ezeli starts it doesnt mean he is playing 36 miutes. He can start and still play 24. I think The tossup is AMinu or Leonard at the four.
I think Ed Davis is the odd man out. I think Vonleh can do a lot of the things Ed does but has more to offer.
I agree, that we need to consolidate our frontcourt. I was looking at minutes distribution today and one or more are going to really have a CUT in minutes for this year compared to last. Plumlee 24 Ezeli 20 Leonard 4?? Big drop Aminu 32 Davis 16 small drop Vonleh 0 BIG drop It's hard to trade Leonard and Ezeli until December. It's also hard to trade Plumlee because of his being on a rookie contract and his ACTUAL worth being higher than his contract. Which leaves our FORWARDS. Who could be combined and what player would you expect to get back??? What could Plumlee and Davis bring back?? It would have to be a seller team, not a buyer. Or a team looking to add quality players to its roster (Nets, 76ers, Kings, etc.). I'm leaning right now for Leonard to start at PF, and Ezeli at C. What could we get for Aminu, Plumlee, Davis?? Lopez from BKN? Boogie from SAC? Okafor from 76ers?
he may may have more to offer in a few yrs, Ed is easily better now, however Ed is valuable in a consolidation trade and I could see him being moved if the right deal came along
if we traded for a good vet PF with a significant contract then IMO both Aminu and Davis could be moved, however there just aren't that many guys who fit the bill then it narrows even more on guys who might be available
It's been so long since we've had this deep a front court..... Let's wait a while for a trade. Let me enjoy it!"
I doubt you'll see anything until the trade deadline. Leonard is out and will take time to round back into shape anyway; and Vonleh needs to woodshed in practice until February before he sees much time.
Agree and disagree. Vonleh LOOKS better in many respects - has a more polished offensive game and is heavier and thus harder to push around in the paint... But Ed just helps the team so much more. Davis was among our leaders in +/- last year, while Vonleh seemed to hold us back, as evidenced by the fact that the team got a lot better after we stopped giving him minutes. The problem we have is that we have several players whom, conventional wisdom would say, can't be played together because they can't shoot, specifically Plumlee, Davis and Ezeli. But the sad thing is, the two players who CAN shoot (Leonard and Vonleh) just don't seem to work well with the team. (Leonard actually has his moments, though - he can defend in the post fairly well and if he's given LOTS of time, his 3 point shooting can be a game-changer.) Ideally we could package 2 or 3 of our bigs for a Millsap/Green type (i.e., good all-round) but those are hard to come by.
Anyone bothered enough to get stats for our best lineups? I'm curious if Leonard/Davis made a good combination (switching roles on offense and defense).
