Jerebko (apparently the #6 rookie) is arguably better than Casspi. The Pistons are better off with him than the tired old shadow of Tayshaun.
Maybe, maybe not. He's playing now, so he might have with them. Thing is, I remember similar complaints last year and the year before, about Freeland. Come on, soft white guy from England of all places? Looks terrible. New to the game. Never going to come over, was just a throw away pick. But then he started to look pretty good over there. And then people were clamoring to brign him over as a backup. Certtainly possible he still sucks, or sucks here. But I think reserving judgment is probably better than just looking and thinking oh, Casspi is looking good on a mediocre team, Claver isn't here, thus, KP is over rated.
I'm not terribly scared of OKC since they don't have a quality post scorer and are just good enough now to not get a top lottery pick. I want to see what Sactown does with Kevin Martin before I'm taking them too seriously. If they can get a quality big man for him via trade, things get a lot more interesting in the West. The team that scares me is the Jazz if their NY lottery pick turns out to be #1. DWill and John Wall could be a scary combo.
Yeah, I still like our future better than theirs. I don't think NY will suck bad enough to get them the top pick. Unless they get lucky going from 8-10. It's still a great chip to have, but I'm not overly concerned. With that pick, and Boozer leaving, I still don't think the makeup is all that great. Deron. That's it. Millsap is alright. Okur is not who I would want at C. I can't believe they gave him that extension last season. They should have waited on that, and sat with 20 million(Boozer and Okur) in expirings this season. 20 million in expirings, alongside their pick, NY's Deron and Millsa pwould get me a little more excited or worried. As is? Sloan will be gone in a year or so, I think, and they'll start to crumble.
Interesting to see what they do with Boozer also. They won't resign him . . . do they trade him at the deadline? He is an expiring and could be a decent rent-a-player for a team trying to make a run. What do they get back for him?
they will have over 10 million in cap space in what will be a huge buyers FA market, plus 2 mid first rounders to use in trade if they need to. they shouldn't have any problem filling needs.
Highly doubtful. Claver looks like a tweener, in the bad sense of the term. Too slow to play SF at the NBA level, and too weak/soft to play PF. Casspi and Claver are comparable in size, but Casspi has the mobility of a true SF. If Claver gets 100% healthy, he might be a smarter, but much less athletic, version of Travis. Whoop-dee-diddle-do.
Maybe in 2 - 3 years. Right now... Bah. Is that why his PER is lower than Bayless and his winscore, in about the same minutes as about 33% of what Bayless contributed? Given that Travis and Batum are wounded, I will give you that. When they are healthy, it's not even a question. Is that why they are 14-16 and we are 20-13? Me thinks you do not understand what "win" really means. Give me a freaking break. Sacramento is doing very well, Evans is great, he has a chance to be a superstar in this league. Other than that, they are a nice story - and could be good if they figure out what to do with Martin when he comes back or they trade him. Until then, even our depleted mash unit is a better team than what they have.
I agree. OKC are decent but they are still a ways off from being a contender. No inside scoring + questionable point guard play is not really going to get it done. Maybe two more years before they can challenge for the playoffs. Sactown has Evens and just about no one else. They are years away from being a legitimate playoff team. Jazz with the number one pick is a big time threat depending on where New York lands in the lottery. The eastern conference being as bad as it is at the bottom it is possible New York could make the playoffs in the 8th spot, which would be the best possible outcome.
hmm guess I understood it wrong. I thought that it freed up some money to throw at Turkoglue and the money hold didnt happen till this season started. My fualt.
Claver's actually supposed to be very athletic. I agree he likely will be a tweener. Much the same way Travis is. And in a few years could fit in perfectly as a backup for us in the same role that Travis plays, backup 3/4, who could be on the court with bigger guys, and can also slide to the 4 in small ball lineups. Provides more flexibility than a straight 3, who with everyone healthy, would have never seen the court for us this season.
I think they just figured that the bigger need was the backup PF position and they could get Pendy/Dante in the 2nd round. With Travis, Web and Nic - they just did not see the need to spend a roster spot on another small-forward. Claver was a pick in the Batum/Rudy mold. Take a lottery talent in the late 1st round because of circumstances. NBADraft compared him to Jorge Garbajosa (before the injury)/Antawn Jamison where Casspi was compared to Andres Nocioni/Hedo Turkoglu. Don't know about you - but it is clear, that individually, Jamison was a better player at his peak than Turk. So, this was a risk/reward situation. Took a risk on a higher potential player while they filled the roster spots with what was, at the time, the position of need. Does not seem like anything but good GM'ing to me. Going batshit about this in hindsight knowing what we know now about injury issues is... a bit silly.
How is it a buyer's market? There are quite a few teams with cap space. I think they could potentially set themselves up well, depending on what they do in the draft and free agency. I think ultimately, they shoudl package up their picks and Jeff Green, to look for a big. But a lot will depend on who they can get this season, and their flexibility in the future. They'll soon start to hear the same criticism lobbed at us recently. How will they sign all of their players? Let's assume they miss out on the playoffs just barely, and have a lotto pick this season. They have their 10 million in cap space, but they have extensions due to Durant(Max) and Green(8-10 a year?). Then the season after, Westbrook. Then Harden. I think they would have more difficulty than us in paying 4 young guys a good chunk of change each.
Claver is supposed to be about 25lbs heavier than Travis. If anything, he will probably be more Rashard Lewis like - and will be able to handle the bigger PFs, on defense, maybe a little better.
Beacuse it brings me enjoyment. I think the purpose of forums is entertainment, and it entertains me to post things like that. If it bothers you, you should place me on ignore so you can enjoy the same level of entertainment I do.
