I don't think there's any way you mess with the starting five. They work far too well together. I think you tinker with the bench.
Really? Neither of them are a focal point of the offense. Also, in blow-outs this would go down (hopefully we have a few next year), and if CJ or any of our other guys are decent at all we could give them a few more.
The year before this season, they averaged 36 minutes. Injuries and production dropped considerably by mid season.
He also only gave 32 to Lillard, 16 to CJ. Optimally, it'd probably be more like: Lillard 24/Vasquez 24 Matthews 16/Lillard 12/CJ 20 Batum 32/Matthews 16 and then all of those reduced a touch to give minutes to Will and Crabbe.
I know this is a stretch but Leonard will be in his third year, usually when you start seeing young centers start being productive. Who knows, maybe he can come in next season and be a big boost
It was a timing issue. If we would have known we were going to get Mo, that money likely would have gone to a vet big man.
Honestly, at this point, I think I would cash in CJ and Leonard for a solid bench player. While I think we need to maintain some youth on the roster, I think we have a logjam of guards with Barton, CJ, and Crabbe. I wouldn't mind giving Claver some burn. I would try to move some of our young guys for another key contributor off the bench.
I like CJ. I think he has a bright future, but our team is further along than I thought we'd be. We need more firepower off the bench.
The one key is, with the new CBA, having cheap talent on hand. When half our team is up for new big deals in 2 years, would be nice having a true 6th man gunner off the bench in CJ(if he becomes that for us) versus also having to pay a 6th man a MLE-ish deal.
To be honest, I would rather use Barton, Leonard and Crabbe as the moving piece. If we could find that defensive wing-type guard (preferably PG), I think that's one of the missing pieces. I still think CJ will do much better next season. He has the summer to work on his game, plus a full season to fully develop.
You might be right, but CJ has more value than Barton. I really want a consistent gunner off the bench. Mo was too inconsistent. One guy that I would love to get is Rodney Stuckey. He can play both guard positions, but the guy is one of those unguardable players when he's hot. I think he'd be a great addition to our bench. I don't want to deal with the learning curves of a guy who is essentially still a rookie. I really think we could contend next year with the big boys, but we need to bolster the bench.
Ray Allen? I know he's old, but he is off contract. If Miami loses one of their BIG THREE this summer, he maybe available.
Too old. I think he's a guy you could get with the vet minimum. I'm talking about a real piece that could only be had via trade. Someone that could be a consistent spark off the bench. A Jamal Crawford type of player.
