I think we need one. We have way too many guards, and like I said in another thread, we need to really focus on developing a few key guys. There's only so many minutes to go around.
Wonder if CJ has much trade value? Of course it'd be in some sort of package, but with him as a primary piece.
I think he does. Most GM's know he sat out a big chunk of the season, and he was widely considered a really good prospect after the draft. That was before we truly knew how bad this draft was, so his value is probably even better now.
It always looks like the conference will only get better, but it really isn't so most years. New talent comes in from the draft, capturing headlines. Great rookies have even better sophomore seasons, grabbing more headlines. But the 7 year quality vet gets cut to bring in the next 20 year old and nobody notices. Perennial superstars who seem to be able to last forever suddenly don't. I think the talent in the NBA is much more steady than many think. There's just so much churn that people tend to notice what goes in more than what falls off. Our bench will be fine if we can replace Mo with a similar talent (or re-sign him), get more progress out of T-Rob, get a healthy Freeland back, and see dramatic improvement in youngsters like McCollum/Leonard or parlay them for something that will show that improvement. That's probably enough right there to make this bench average instead of bad.
I simply look at the health issues that supposed playoff teams had to deal with this year. Denver got wiped out, and so did NO. Meanwhile, we had amazing health. Perhaps SA might start showing signs of age, but I don't expect them to drop to a .500 win team next year. Dallas might slip a bit, but other than that, and MIN, UTA and LAL being not very good, the West will be even stronger next year.
Agreed. We really made out well due to some slippage from other teams. In addition to DEN/NOP, MEM took a hit early, but managed to salvage the season. And GSW under-performed. DAL just put together a stop-gap team - don't they have a bunch of cap space this summer? They could put together one last contender around Dirk this summer. Plus the Lakers are always a threat to put together a good roster in no time at all. All we can count on is UTH, SAC, and probably MIN sucking next season. I still think NOP are a ways away from making a push, too.
I think the bench improvement has been one of the underlying success stories this year. They're miles better than when the season began. The same group that won last night, is the same group that nearly blew a 40 point 4th quarter lead at Dallas earlier this year. They've got a ways to go before we can consider them a true asset, but they've certainly improved from point A to point B. Can't ask for much more.
