[Official] The off-season thread

If I could choose between Henry and Young, I would go with Young.

 

Nick Young? My assumption is he stays in LA. He likes that scene too much to come here. And I can't stand looking at the guy, would hate to root for him.

 

He 100% could not have been this successful with us. That's mostly on Pop. He was awful with us, nobody missed anything.

 

That's what makes Pop so good. He is insanely good at developing talent.

 

It's not even developing talent - it's just putting players in a great position to succeed. Once those players leave his system, they fall right back into obscurity (see: Gary Neal, among others).

 

I think he's got a good eye for people willing to sacrifice to fit his system, but I don't know if he's any better at developing talent than most coaches. He just finds role players who can fit alongside 3 really good players. It's easier to make someone like a Mario Chalmers or Norris Cole look good when they get to play alongside Lebron, Wade and Bosh. Likewise, of course Neal is going to get better looks oN SA than he is on Milwaukee.

I think people focus on a few of the successes or mild successes and ignore the plethora of guys who have gone through there that didn't really develop because they weren't a good fit for him. Would we think that Nate was a good developer of talent because someone like Outlaw had his best years here, or just that he found a guy who fit a role, and others tried to do something differently with them.

I'm sure there's many guys you can go back through with them, who they signed, drafted, or traded for who they thought would be at the least a role player for them who were basically failures there.

 

Gary Neal was every bot as good in Charlotte as he was in SA. Pop found a really old rookie(26) who was able to come in and play right away for him and do ok. In much the same way we had Ime Udoka come in and start for us and have his best season ever, better than when he left us and went to Pop.

 

Observations from postseason about our bench:

Mo Williams: gets his own shot, scores easy baskets, good ball-handler, I hope he chooses to stay here (opt or no opt).

Thomas Robinson: Really starting to get "it". Starts with rebounding the hustle. Active player. Strong around the hoop. Becoming a solid backup. Keeper!

Will Barton: Really brings his own brand of scrappy, awkward, but-fast-paced bball. Gets his points, shooting well, scoring well, rebounding well for guard. Deserves more PT. Keeper! Re-sign him please!

Dorell Wright: Very average player. Does some things well and others not so well. No opinion on whether he should be brought back or not. I would include him in trades if available for upgrade.

Earl Watson: Vet backup PG who doesn't get rattled. Doesn't bring much at the point either. Still pretty good at harassing opponent. Still valuable, cheap, 3rd PG IMO. Keeper.

CJ McCollum: Has ability. Needs more confidence and more work on outside shot. But gets his own shot. Too soon to give up on unless included in no-brainer trade.

Joel Freeland: Might be expendable due to improvement by TRob. Not getting any PT versus Spurs. Regular season was a solid backup.

Myers Leonard: Too soon to give up on unless included in a no-brainer trade.

Allan Crabbe: I hear good things but don't see them on the court. No opinion on whether he should be brought back or not.

Victor Claver: I think I've seen enough. Just doesn't have NBA game. Practice player. Doesn't hurt the team when on the court, but can't shoot free throws or open shots. I would include him in trades if available for upgrade.


Sooo, accordingly, we need to get a better wing or two this offseason. CJ MIles anyone? And there is room to sign a better bench big-man too. Biggest need IMO is another baller who can get his own shot (maybe Livingston, I.Thomas, Blatche, Nick Young, Stuckey?).

We don't have any draft picks, NOR do we have any capspace. We have the MLE (~$6M) and BAE ($2M) only. Hopefully, we keep MoWill and resign him to BAE if he opts out.