We also let Gerald Henderson walk to clear cap space to sign Evan Turner. We could have resigned Henderson if we'd preferred him over Turner. The Batum trade really came down to this: We could still have Nic Batum on a $125 million contract, or Noah Vonleh on a cheap rookie deal and Evan Turner on a $70 million contract. Nic is better in some ways than Turner, Turner is better in other ways than Nic. Overall, at this point, Nic may be ever so slightly better (I'm not convinced of that until I see Turner in Stotts' system), but he's not $55 million better. BNM
And how many of those players went deeper in the playoffs last year than the guys who replaced them? ZERO. In my mind, we didn't loose one damn thing in letting Batum, Aldridge, Matthews, and Lopez go. We got a lot younger without getting any worse. With those guys, we won 51 games and lost in the 1st round. Without them, once the young guys meshed, we won at a 53-win pace after Christmas, made it to the second round, as the youngest team in the playoffs, and gave the 73-win defending champs a good fight. Other than the slow 11-20 start, we were every bit as good last year as the year before, and finished much stronger, and because we are so much younger, we will be better going forward. BNM
I think Stotts realized he was young and very mentally fragile, so they let him focus one aspect of his game from which he could build. Set up at the three point line and hit threes. It's actually a really good foundation for the team as currently comprised. He's still only 24 years old. That's still really young for a big man. Now that he's got that three point game dialed in, he just needs to work on defense and he'd be the perfect fit in our system. Sit at the top of the key creating space for Lillard/CJ/Turner to drive and kick. If the shot misses, drop back, stop transition baskets and be tall, athletic first line of defense in the half court.
Chris Craig! I was just reading about you! http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...hris-craig-may-standoff-utah-school/90716272/ http://www.si.com/vault/2014/12/01/106676828/a-coach-unbalanced
