Oh that's right...there isn't one.... Seriously though, outside of Aldridge and Batum (and mayyyybe Elliot Williams)...start reconstructing this team... Wallace, Crawford, Camby, K.Thomas, Matthews could all help other playoff teams.... I would say Felton as well but he has been so frickin awful.... The bottom line is trade players for draft picks, young players, expiring contracts and if you can't do that, then let the ones whose contracts do expire just walk at the end of the year.... It is time for a reconstruction, not a total rebuild, you have two nice foundation pieces in Aldridge & Batum, use whatever is left on the roster to try and add pieces around them.... Of course to do that, the OWNER must get a fucking GM who is competent enough to accomplish this.... Buchanan is a scout not a GM, and I would say based on the past few drafts he is marginal at best as a scout, as a GM? Pretty much the same...You cannot allow this team to go into one of it's more important offseasons with Buchanan evaluating talent (badly I might add) and Bert Kolde and Paul Allen playing GM..... You have a decent prospect overseas in Freeland a complete unknown in Claver to add next year...If you reconstruct now then you can trade away some of these vets, acquire some more draft picks for what is shaping up to be a deep 2012 draft AND position yourself to go after a few free agents with capspace in the offseason... Nate will probably be gone after this season, and I say let him go...Go after a guy like Larry Brown who wants to get back into coaching, is a good coach, and is not afraid to play young players... Of course for ANY of this to happe Paul Allen must 1st pull his head out if his ass, tell Bert Kolde to shut the fuck up and make the 1st step, HIRE A FUCKING GM!!!!
My guess is that with so many assets devalued and no GM in place, consummating trades mid-season is going to be difficult. Secondly, because so many assets are so devalued trading them for picks is going to be that much harder, especially since this year's draft is going to be so good. Furthermore, Freeland is by all accounts staying in Spain for the long haul and Claver has reportedly looked like shit. Whether Allen can hire a GM or not, you still have to ask yourself if the fundamental power structure in the organization is likely to change ... my guess is that Larry Miller, Bert Kolde and Nate McMillan will still have a lot of sway and that Allen isn't likely to give the new guy a direct line of communication or a lot of autonomy. If this team craters spectacularly Nate might be gone, but I'd expect a lot of business as usual and probably a lot of chaos before things stabilize and get better. Pour yourself a couple of stiff cocktails, sit back and try to get comfortable, because the road forward looks pretty bumpy.
Hiring a GM to supervise the several assistants in the office who now keep track of potential trades won't change much. It could be a lot worse: The Lakers are a family-run business with a titular figurehead GM, Mitch Kupchak. At least the Vulcans aren't Paul Allen's sons and daughter, like Lakers management. What would change things big time would be to try a new coach with the players we have. Most would revert to their career norms and we'd make the playoffs. We won't at our current production level.
Firstly, completely agree with your thoughts on GM. That's the guy that needs to set the long-term plan for talent development and acquisition. Without a real one in place, this organization WILL continue to flounder. BK and PA are blind squirrels in the world of professional basketball, and even though they may find a nut every now and then, 30 teams with 15 player rosters over roughly 100 games/year will effectively take any luck that may be involved in talent evaluation out of the equation. I think Wes showed last night what he TRULY is. A backup SG who can provide distance shooting and effort on defense. That's what he needs to be for us. I also think Elliott Williams has a place on this team... I think we're actually UNDERvaluing our players at the moment, due mostly to this crap they're throwing out onto the court on a now nightly basis. As we approach the trade deadline, the following will ALL become valuable commodities: -Veterans (check - Wallace, Felton, Camby) -Expiring Contracts (check - Wallace, Felton, Camby) -Rebounding/Defensive Centers (check - Camby) -Wings who can defend on the perimeter (check - Wallace) -Experienced PGs who are effective off the bench (check - Felton) -Bench Scorers (check - Felton and Wallace) -Energy Guys (check - Wallace and Camby) -Leaders (check - Wallace and Camby) Totally agree with the rebuilding strategy you mentioned above as well... I think EACH of our "big 3" vets (Camby, Wallace and Felton) could be moved to teams gearing up for the playoffs for young players, picks, expiring contracts, prospects, or, at worst, trade exceptions...
