Sorta OT: Another reason I am glad KP is not our GM and Olshey is

In a sense I'm kind of glad the 11-12 team stunk as bad as they did; it let Paul Allen and management know drastic changes were needed. If that team had got the 6th seed and taken a series to 7 games would we have considered re-signing Gerald, Felton, Crawford, and Camby to long-term deals? That is a scary thought!

 

Yes, the Roy/LMA canard of 2006. Clearly KP didn't want those guys, which is why Steve Patterson/John Nash were fired over KP, or something like that. If only PA had listened to PatterNash, who have gone on to such great success in the NBA since those days and have such great jobs in the league.

Meanwhile, KP is the GM of a team contending for a title, and is being groomed as a future Director of Basketball Operations by Donnie Walsh and Larry Bird.

 

Yeah, it's been shits and grins since then, hasn't it? Great times as a fan of a team that struggles to stay in contention, and even that isn't enough. People are nowclamoring for LMA to be traded for table scraps because he might leave in two years, as if that's the way to build a team. It's like people don't realize how rare it is to have All-Star players in Portland.

 

I'm not defending KP in the least, because ya'll are the experts, but that Scola trade seems like a steal for the Pacers... even if that's a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut.

 

PapaG, if you are going to just read the title then I am not going to repeat what I have already said. I would love to hear what moves he can be credited with in the current Pacer success.

NOVoodoo, they could have gotten Scola last year by increasing the amnesty offer instead of it costing essentially two #1's for Phoenix to accept Green's horrible deal.

 

Not for a team that was one game away from the finals. That trade is a rare one that makes sense to both sides. (Remember: a first for Indy is probably in the mid-to-high 20s. You know, the kind that are shopped desperately on draft night because teams don't want to be committed to a three year contract for a player who probably won't stick.)

And it's funny - KP gets flack both ways: last year "Plumlee was a HUGE reach - what a waste of a pick!"
This year: "You're giving up PLUMLEE?"

 

Yeah that makes sense at first glance, but I thought about it a bit more. I can’t remember when the claims were put in for Scola, did the Pacers still have cap space available at that point? If they did have cap space, perhaps they put a sizeable bid in for Scola but lost out by just a few $$. The bids are blind so you don’t want to overpay if you’re the only bidder, they had no idea how much Phoenix was bidding. I’m not going to fault them terribly much for losing the amnesty bid on Scola. But KP shouldn’t get credit for much of the Pacers success to date, he inherited that team. What value they get for Granger and what they do with his cap space in the next year could really determine the direction of that team.

 

It's easy to be a basketball expert when you're allowed to play both sides. LOL

 

Gerald Green, the Mahimni trade as well as the DJ Augustin signing happed on July 12th. Houston amnestied Scola on July 13th. While I cannot say for certain, I would have thought Houston would have shopped Scola beforehand and teams knew he was going to be amnestied. KP spent the Pacer money and assets on crap that offseason. Phoenix saved their money and got more value.

 

PHX is terrible. The Pacers were one game away from the NBA Finals.

What a bizarre thread.

 

I look at it as KP taking a dollar (the #1 draft pick) and buying a stock that is worth 50 cents saying it was undervalued. To justify overpaying, there has to be a huge return.

 

So if a billion dollar company makes a million dollar profit and a mom and pop makes a half million dollar profit, you are still going to applaude the manager that made the most profit?

 

Link? Walsh is doing this from his grave and Bird doesn't want the job he just took last month? So neophyte Pritchard replaces such old pros?

Every reader is thinking the same thing, but for a different reason...

You know, I have come to appreciate your bitter thread hijackings, which are irrelevant to the thread titles. Because if it weren't for you getting all the attention, I might be considered the dumbest poster. So I'd just like to thank you for providing cover for me. Keep it up, you're doing a great job, and I'm grateful for your help.

 

BS chimes in.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9521103/the-nba-midnight-run-part-1