Lotsa talk about Batum and Vonleh, etc. Pretty interesting how different Cho is in comparison to Olshey. I think Neil's honesty about POR not being a FA destination is refreshing. Contrast that to Cho's clouded perception of free agents wanting to go to CHA... not hard to see why Cho lasted only a year here. Much more in the article. A good read for the dog days http://grantland.com/the-triangle/g...nets-and-the-sliding-scale-of-nba-mediocrity/
Yeah Zach Lowe has a style I enjoy reading. I think a lot of the differences between us and them is owners. Jordan decide to tear apart a winning team to tank but quickly grew impatient and now is mortgaging future assets to win immediately even though their nowhere close to contending. Paul Allen has never enjoyed tanking but when we have young assets or draft picks he values them very highly. I think Cho is a very bright strategist but I question his draft acumen. He is a poor communicator and uninspiring vocal leader. But the mandate Jordan has put down to make the playoffs at any cost has set that team up for a path of mediocrity with unlikely avenues to contend. It's hard for any team to build a contender and we have our fair share of difficult challenges ahead but I don't like at all what Charlotte is doing. The Vonleh trade has Jermaine Oneal potential to backfire on them. We were coming off a western conference finals trip and eyeing a title. What is Charlottes goal?
Wow--Cho, Buchanan, and Born are all together again in Charlotte? Why am I not surprised that they are not successful?
IDK, I can see how thanks to Jordan and being on the East coast they are more of a destination than Portland. 90 minute flight to either NYC or Miami.
Vonleh was in play from #3-6 but fell to #9. He has elite size for a Pf with range. He gets hurt and plays less than 300 minutes during his rookie year. He never had a chance in Charlotte. When was the last time they developed their young talent?
I wonder if Olshey would have pulled the trigger on trading pick #9 (Kaminsky) for 4 first round picks (#15, 16, unprotected future Brooklyn pick, and a future first-rounder from either the Grizzlies or Timberwolves)? My “guess” is he would have made that trade.
Its funny how the nerdy Microsoft owner knows more about building a basketball team than the best player ever
I still think we could have gotten more for Batum. He is quite overrated among GMs in the league ("great defender", "all around player" etc)
This part made me chuckle: "Skepticism remains among rival teams about Jordan’s stewardship. There are questions about how much college basketball he watches until a cramming session in the week before the draft." "Lin especially looks like a nice fit as a drive-and-kick player on a second unit stocked with spot-up guys." Lin is a great drive-and-kick player, except for the small detail that he never kicks. It's ironic to whiff so badly on that point a mere paragraph after roasting Jordan for not watching more game action. The abysmal talent evaluation of that franchise over the past 15 years just boggles the mind.
Yeah I think the best players have a lot of trouble because they can't understand how so many players are average. Take an average player like Steve Kerr and he can relate to those guys. He doesn't get frustrated when they struggle.
