I know some here still consider Noah Vonleh our Power Forward of the Future. I do not. Yes, Noah is still young, but he's nearing the end of his third NBA season, has started 72 games (so far) over the last two years and has shown ZERO improvement. As I see it (and have seen it all season), PF is, by far, our weakest position and greatest area of need. Now that we have a young beast roaming the middle, who should we be targeting to start at PF next to Nurkic at center? I wanted Ibaka for the last couple months. Here's what I wrote about Ibaka back in December: OK, I wrote that post assuming we could also get Nerlens Noel and dump Crabbe's contract in the process to make room to resign Ibaka. That ship has sailed, but I still think we need a PF like Ibaka (can hit the 3, but is also a great help defender and defends the pick and roll well). Add in above average rebounder, and younger and cheaper than Ibaka and we'd have our perfect Power Forward of the Future. We have three picks in a deep draft. Are there any PFs in this draft that meet our needs? If so, who. If not, what PFs are likely to be on the block that we could realistically target in a draft day trade? And, just because I titled the thread Power Forward of the Future doesn't mean it needs to be some 19 - 20 year old kid. I'd actually prefer someone closer to Dame in C.J. in age that would be in his prime during their window. Maybe someone 23 or 24 years old who is being underutilized playing behind an established veteran. Or maybe someone like Nurkic who is being nosed out by someone of similar age that his current team sees as their Power Forward of the Future. We need help at this position and we need it badly. So, who is your ideal Power Forward of the Future for this team, as it's currently constructed? Is he someone we should target in the draft, or a player we can snag in a trade. The addition of Nurkic made our font court both better and younger. That opens up the possibility of adding a more veteran PF to get better immediately, or we can just concede the West to GS for the next three or four years and go with someone younger who will be ready to to enter their prime at the same time as Nurkic when Dame and C.J. are still (barely) on the right side of 30. Throw out your ideas and let's see if there are any clear cut favorites. BNM
One player that comes to mind is Derrick Favors. At 25, he's in the same age range as Dame and C.J. He's had a big fall off in his offense this season, and I'd want to understand why, but until this year, he's always been a solid 2-way player. He doesn't have 3-point range, but still fits well next to Gobert. So, I think he could share the floor with Nurkic. Until this season, you could depend on him for 16/8 with 1.5 BLK/G. UTA is shopping him as they try to clear cap space for the inevitable Gordan Hayward max offer, and they have the younger Trey Lyles waiting in the wing as their Power Forward of the Future. Is now the time to buy low on Favors? He is under contract though 2017-18 at $12 million and UTA is NOT taking back any significant salary. With 3 draft picks and Ezeli's almost expiring contract, it may take getting a third team that is under the cap involved, but we should be able to work out a way to get Favors without giving up too much - if we think his dip in production this year is a one time anomaly. I'm not sold on Favors (I would have been a year ago, if he'd been available then), but just tossing him out as someone who is available and is a good fit age wise with the rest of our roster. BNM
Fall off for Favors is due to injury that he is recovering from. Only reason Utah even floated that he is available (for the right price) is because of that. Hard to get a young stud unless there is a wart (otherwise teams want to keep them). If injury recovery is truly the only issue with him then that is a chance we need to take as I agree he is a great fit. I mentioned it quite a few times in the trade thread around the deadline but they likely didn't want to deal him until summer anyways (if at all) because they are going full-boar for the playoffs.
Yes, other than summer league and one preseason game against PHO, Vonleh has been abysmal. Perhaps you didn't click on my link. So, here's what I wrote: Disagree all you want, but please name one area of his game that Vonleh has improved since he came into the league. Keep in mind his TS% of .463 makes Aminu look like a sharp shooter and, as a team, we get outscored by 11.2 PTS/48 when he's on the floor. If there has been any improvement, it sure hasn't translated into results. BNM
Well I think we need two. One from the draft who is not quite ready but who shows a variety of skills. (i.e TJ Leaf-who went 25/9 last night for those who think I am crazy) The other, a vet who can step in until the rookie has developed. Channing Frye or Thad Young ? Edit: Forget Frye. He will be 34 in May.
Noah sucks. He has 0 bball instincts. Look at Nurk. He's is only a year older. What we need is Paul Millsap, who is also younger. Lyles is an interesting suggestion-- a big body but also dynamic on offense. Maybe we can find this dude in the draft.
Doesn't Noah have a close to elite rebounding percentage rate or some advanced stat like that? Not saying that means he has done great or improved or that we even have to keep him forever. But it does show promise I guess?
This did cross my mind as well. I went down various lists of the top PF's in the league......... what a shit list. Not a lot of options folks.
