Assuming we accept the premise that Aminu was brought in to play the 3, we presently have 5 big men on the roster: Vonleh, Leonard, Plumlee, Davis, and Kaman. If you accept the premise that a balanced 15-man roster should have 3 at each position, that leaves an opening for one more 4/5. But, there are different schools of thought as to how to fill that spot. Do we go for someone like Kanter--someone who is ready to be a number 2 option right now? Would we be better with someone like Kevin Seraphin--young and NBA caliber, but clearly a career backup? Perhaps someone like Arnett Moultrie, a virtual unknown who is nothing but untapped potential? Or maybe someone like Boozer, an aging vet on the downside of his career who can help support and develop our young guys (a la Kaman)? Something else entirely that didn't occur to me? Or in lieu of any of these options, would we be better off just leaving the spot open?
I think you can go a few different ways. But what you should not do is sign someone who is average and costs over 5 million per. If Neil can get a young starting center who he really likes....spend the money. Or if he can get someone young with potential, but comes cheap......that works too. Just don't bring in a player who is average at best and also costs too much. We have average already. We need great, cheap, or young with potential. (And also cheap)
Depends on how much you want to play the 5 guys we have and/or what your team goals are for the immediate future.
I guess you are right. He doesn't have to come cheap. This is all a bit too hypothetical. I would need to know how much potential the guys has and how expensive his contract would be to answer that.
Kanter: Definitely no. Too expensive. Not worth it. Other positions of need. He might be just good enough to cost us a higher lottery pick. Boozer: No. Wrong direction. Rather have Kaman. And, yuck. Seraphin (type): Hmmm...worth thinking about. Moultrie (type): Might be getting to the extreme of too many project bigs, but let's have a look at him in Summer League. Leave Open: TBD IOW: I don't know.
I think I'd prefer a guy like Freeland. Someone who can give you minutes but, basically, is what he is, so isn't looking for playing time to develop and get a bigger contract. Everyone seems to just want an entire roster of youth, but I believe you can run into big problems if you have almost an entire squad eyeing their next contract.
^I am also down with Freeland! I will say I not positive that we absolutely need to have one more PF/C though.
I only voted Kanter because of age and offensive ability. I also like that he can score in ISO situations, adding another dynamic to our athletic core.
We already have a 6th big in Aminu. We don't need a 7th. I'd only acquire one if it's either a salary dump we get another asset for or it's a young player that has a chance of breaking out. This player needs to be content starting the year on the inactive list with DNP. We are going to lose a lot so don't want disgruntled players bickering about playing time.
Is he worth 15-16 million per season? OKC says they will match anything. I am not sure that is true, but I bet they would go as high as 12-14.
I think we are going to keep one or two roster spots open, so we'll carry 13 or 14 guys when the season opens
Why not? I mean with the new cap coming out, a 15-16 mil contract is more like a 12-13 mil one. He is still very very young and already has a very polished post game. We need someone we can ISO in the post to keep our offense diversified. I know his defense sucks, but that's probably why he isn't sought after, but if you surround him with solid defenders, you can supplement this weakness.
I like Freeland. A lot. But he is a journeyman. We don't need him, and he would just stunt the development of our "up-side" guys who need the minutes, both for their development and so we can evaluate what we have.
I guess it comes down to Meyers and Vonleh. How will they develop? I consider Meyers a stretch 5. He and Plumlee are a solid duo. I am hoping Davis and Vonleh will be a solid duo at PF after Vonleh gets a year of experience. It is a gamble but Neil would know better than I if that is doable. But if he thinks Vonleh can get there after a year, the question is.....would that 15-16 million to get Kanter be better spent on a scoring wing than a scoring center? I say keep it for a wing.
