Where are they going to come from? With Fortson and Collison coming in to join Reggie Evans, it's probably safe to say there won't be many, if any minutes for him at the four, particularly after he didn't impress there last season. Lewis, if fit, will play 35 a night at the three, so unless there are injuries, what chance does Vlad have of getting any consistent time on the court? He's a talented player with upside, and management really need to decide between he and Rashard and seriously look at trades for the odd one out. Unfortunately, one is on a rookie deal and the other is overpaid, which makes a trade hard to do (Jared Jeffries? Jon Bender?), but I just don't see where Vlad fits into our list while Rashard is around. Thoughts?
I don't see too much of a problem with it, honestly.. Nate's fond of using unconventional lineups (his most popular being the AD/Flip/Ray 3 guard rotation) and I could see him using a Fortson/Vlad/Lewis front court to run & spread the floor better from time to time. He may or may not fit in at the four, but you figure we don't really have a strong center and Fortson will likely spend time there much like he did in Dallas.. I doubt Evans will be taking minutes from anyone.. The guy is an energy player sure, but he's such a huge offensive liability on a team where post scoring is probably the #1 need. The acquisition of Fortson seems to imply that Evans won't be used nearly as much now.
I agree w/ tradebark. If Vlad is on the roster, you have to find minutes for him--at the very least you want to keep his trade value high. Vlad would rather play small forward anyway so Danny Fortson's acquisition I don't think would make Vlad feel slighted. The odd man out would seem to be Reggie Evans. Evans was a tenacious rebounder in college but that hasn't translated to the pros. To be perfectly honest w/ everyone I think that Evans is the worst player in the league. Yes, he hustles but not only is he the worst offensive liability that we have, he also is so wild that you never know who he is going to hurt next (and that includes our Sonics in practice). Plus he always has makes that "I can't believe they just called that" face every time he is whistled for a foul. A 6'6'' (he isn't 6'8'') power forward who can't score (shoot, pass, or dribble) or dominate the glass (or block shots) has no use in the league. You win games w/ talent and hustle, not just w/ hustle. Vlad will split time at the three and the four but I'm guessing that he will play more three this year w/ the acquisition of Danny Fortson. Nick Collison also doesn't look like he is ready to play starter's minutes either so Vlad could also take some of his minutes as well.
My problem is that Vlad's big gripe last season is that he couldn't get any consistent minutes - his playing time fluctuated between the three and the four, and his minutes were 40 one game and 15 the next. Now with Fortson and Collison on board - I don't see how you can just 'find' minutes for Vlad. He'll only play the four sparingly when Nate wants to go real run and gun, there will be the same amount of minutes at the three for him as last season - not many, so it seems to be the same problem. I'm sure minutes will be found for him, but they won't have any consistency in them, and that's not a way to get good production out of him and keep his value high.
