Nobody would be developing because RJ and Devin would be taking all the shots in an attempt to be All-Stars. One is bad enough. At least Devin is better at creating for others.
rj played great D and could score 20 points a game. That's more than Simmons and Yi combined! Thorn has made some great deals but this one will be remembered as a STINKER. Mark my words, you heard it here first. Remember, cap space never won anyone any games!
Key word is "played". Once he started scoring, his brain forgot how to play defense. Cap space also won the Miami Heat a ring so I don't mind losing a couple games for a couple rings.
thats pure speculation on your part. Having a strong scoring 3 who plays defense wouldn't hurt the nets. If you remember RJ was always the 3rd option for most of his career. It wasn't till carter went down and the nets asked him to be the #1 option. He did well with it at first, but after the long grind of a season it started to affect other parts of his game. Now with the bucks he's no longer the #1 option, and he's reverting back to the old RJ, just a solid basketball player. If RJ were starting and say Ryan Anderson playing at the #4 his progress may get better than its been so far. I think RA would be an excellent kick out man for when RJ drives. In fact he would be doing the same thing Boki did last year without being so streaky, and plays better defense than Boki does. Now the bench may not be as strong with RA starting and having no Yi, but the nets are filled with big men and maybe Swift would pick up the slack on the second team. For the future and cap considerations the trade was good, but i believe from a winning stand point this year i think the RJ trade could have been passed on. But since its done its done. I think keeping RJ the nets would be stronger basketball wise this season... oh yeah, go nets!!!
well that was part of my quote, so i will finish it for ya. I said.....Remember RJ always wasn't the number one option for the nets. He was often 2nd or 3 rd option for this team. When he was asked to be the number one option he did well for a while, then as the season wore on other parts of his game suffered. NOw he is with the bucks and isn't the number one option again and is back to playing a solid sf in the league. RJ played great defense most of his career and used to shut down the likes of LBJ and other big time scorers. It wasn't until he became the number one scorer that his defense let up. IMHO, RJ is still a great defender. This year he wouldn't have to be the number one option like last year. And, frank would insist he play defense or be benched.
He WANTED to be the main scoring option. He wanted to raise his profile. Frank wouldn't bench RJ. He's not benching Devin for his poor defense.
I dont know about wanting to be the main option. I think he wanted to be more involved in the offense. He used to complain he didnt get the ball. I even remember, correct me if I am wrong, that Frank didnt run plays for RJ before last year. I am happy you brought this up. Frank wouldnt bench VC the other night when he put up that 0 FOR.
