I’ll never get why divac agreed to that move. What was the motivation? They’re both bigs. Was it financial? Was he doing Skal a favor? Because he couldn’t have possibly watched biggies tape in the g league and thought oh yeah this guy is an nba player. Skal belongs in the league. We’ll see if he works his way into the rotation. I think he will.
+1. Even if had mostly given up on Skal, I would never trade him for Biggie just on the chance that Skal might figure it out, but Biggie is not going to get taller/quicker.
Biggie has to be in elite shape to have a chance. The way he looked in his first summer league. He’s let himself go since then. He looked ROUGH last year, even worse when he was with the kings
I always wonder when two teams make multiple trades within a season with one another if there isn't a little bit of "we'll let you win this one if you concede a little bit if we deal again" type of thing. Olshey seems to be big on favors. We gave up two 2nd round picks for Trent when the prior season that position was traded for just cash. Or it could just be Divac was looking for cheap bigs under contract for multiple years instead of just one and was also unaware of Swanigan putting on so much weight again. Swanigan kinda plays like a very poor man's Vlade so maybe he thought he could develop him.
Divac said at the time that he was doing Skal a favor - he wouldn't get any PT next year. The trade also improved chemistry just a bit, because he replaced a player who's pining to play with a player with no PT expectations. There are also some minor contract differences, I imagine.
While I may agree in principal, in practice the trade was for a mystery draft pick, not for Dame. The Blazers could well have come out of that trade with nothing had they drafted poorly. The Nyets could have won more games resulting in a lower pick, and no Dame. The Nyets may not have drafted Dame had they kept the pick. Or the Nyets may not have made the trade at all if the trade had been straight up for Damian. Hence, the trade was not for Damian, since no one knew at the time how high the pick would be, or who would be available, or who would be picked. And Swanigan for Skal might NOT be the huge steal I thought it was the day the Blazers made the trade
Admittedly, I was only able to watch the first half of game 1, and didn't see the last game. But, in both games Skal had really great numbers, but every article I see seems to completely overlook his contribution. For those that watched, are his rebounds and scoring against the dregs of the other team, or is there some other reason he is getting overlooked. I said previously that if Collins got Skal minutes in game 82 last year, he would have never put up the same numbers. Why isn't Skal getting any love for his preseason performances? #FREESKAL
I tried that in Fantasy, though there wasn't an agreement prior too I just felt bad. It got veto'd lol.
I like it, but not sure Gasol could keep up with those guys. Aside from Gasol that squad is built for the fast break.
I kind of like it because of that, if a team makes them play half-court none of those guys excel there, Gasol will need to be a point - center in the high post for them to play through.
You’re not going to be fast breaking on every possession though. Gasol will be great for Skal as he can playmake from the top of the key. Aldridge benefitted greatly from him when they paired up.
Alright. I see your point guys. Option 1: fast break Option 2 if fast break isn't available: throw it to Pau in the high post and watch the magic happen.
I'm very excited to see Pau and Skal (maybe Moses Brown) play this season. All of them bring something to the team we really didn't have last season. Skal looks like a steal considering what we gave up for him. Sorry Biggie!
Kind of a random question, but I thought it was really just cool to see Pau and Nurk talking. Anyone else sit there and go, dang thats a 2x world champion and a super high basketball IQ guy teaching our young C how to play and go this is amazing???!
