Im gonna have a hard time disagreeing with even fake Wesley Matthews just a huge Wes fan lol. However I think Caleb still has a “shot” of being something in the NBA. Im so done with the ML experiment though, I just want it to end... I still have a hard time wrapping my puny brain around NO telling Ed to walk for basically nothing (in NBA terms). Just...
Important to note in my opinion anyways - Ed hardly ever took shots he wasnt capable of making at a high percentage. He knew what his range was, what his limitations were and worked in those parameters. Ed to me was basically the perfect back up big.
Disagree. We would have kept him on a vet min contract. I acknowledge there was a push for more shooting. There are 15 roster spots, we can have a couple non shooters. I give Neil credit where it's due. I like the draft picks and signing Curry. Letting Ed walk at that price was a huge mistake.
Whether money was the reason or not. I'd rather have Ed and Vonleh than Meyers and Caleb any day of the week. I understand the desire to develop Collins was a huge factor. We would just be a much better team with Ed and Noah.
Ed averaged less then 3 point in the post season against the Pelicans. He could only score on wide open putbacks. There's no handle, hook shot, above average blocking or passing in his game. Having a dude that only rebounds is a recipe for disaster in the modern NBA. He would be a good player in the 90's NBA, but this a wholly different era of the stretch 4.
I loved Ed's contribution last year. At times he was our best center. (Defense and rebounding) But yeah you are right about the match up against the Pelicans, he rebounded well, but couldn't score and could not guard Mirotic or Davis on the perimeter. He is all center not a PF. Still a great guys to have on the bench. Collins will reach his level at some point. Just not sure it will be this year.
Except now, it seems, we have actually nothing but Meyers, aka the Hammer, and Zach, who doesn't quite look ready...
I think in the case of Zach, vs other players looking "ready", some of that is just flat out opportunity. I.e., if you had put Mitchell on the team last year, his production would not be what it was last year with Utah. Why? Not enough opportunities. If you had given Zach 15-25 minutes a night from the get-go, his production probably would look a lot better. And fans would bitch about how they passed over another "stud".
Time will tell. I hope Zach develops (but he's no John Collins, the stud we pass over to get him, haha)...
Oppurtunity definitely plays a role I won't argue with that. May I submit that I just didnt think Zach was a good pick to start off with? His defense is pretty good, bbiq seems there, he does have good feet for a big too. He shows flashes of potential. Thats my way of saying im higher on him now then I was last year at this time. If he becomes an adequate threat on offense he’ll be fine. Part of the reason he didnt get that oppurtinity is the same reason we dont expect to see Simons this year. NO is drafting guys that look to have potential but also look to not be ready for the oppurunity. Its kind of a good strategy by him, he’s setting expectations low for the first couple years on his draft picks. You can say Im just complaining if you want. I actually think Simons and Zach could both end up being good at some point. Though when they moved up to 10 I got excited, and Zach wasnt close to the top of my list for guys I wanted them to grab at 10.
Fair points of why he is not a starter or guaranteed a major role in every matchup. At $4 million we can use him in needed situations. Now we won't have his valuable contributions the rest of the year, we will lose more games, and less likely to get HCA. I agree changes need to be made to address issues after the sweep. Letting Ed walk for a cheap price makes us a worse team.
Ed's defense was overrated - he routinely got worked by bigger Cs. He's just too small. He was a great rebounder and a smart player, but he was too small for his position and too offensively limited. That's why he's making the vet min (or close to it).
Even if that's true, the point is, will Collins ever be any better. Is it worth waiting a couple more years till he's the equal of Davis, when we could have had such a developed player of the same talent right now.
I wasn’t sold on Collins at first. The thing that turned me in his favor, when he did start getting some run last year, I saw some post moves from him that were straight up Kevin McHale-esque. Some up and unders that just told me this kid can be special. Court vision is up there as well. His outside game will come around. The main reason I believe in him is from what I see and hear from the staff. He has an outstanding work ethic and is always open to criticism. Hearing he put on 20 pounds of muscle. Guess my biggest thing is he is so young. Gonna be ups and downs, but I think his future is bright. In The HCP’s expert opinion, there is NO way he brings what Ed did, but he should be able to help in other ways. Proof that a good attitude will get you places.....shit, I’m proof of that.
Have you had a chance to see him in person? He doesnt look like he’s put on ‘that’ much muscle to me. Like maybe some, but 20lbs is a lot. That could just be the way I see it on TV though.
