Both players are extremely athletic and Wiggins was supposed to be an excellent defender coming out of college. Plus, everyone shoots better when they play for Stotts.
As I've watched this team sink as it has, i haven't been able to explain what happened. This graph explains everything.
I think they should position themselves for a rebuild. New GM. New Coach. New team identity and philosophy.
The explanation is thy this team is closer to the one that got swept in the 1st round by the Pelicans the year before than the team that got swept in the conference finals last season... but Neil just needed an inch to say I told you so to the fans and max out the Dame/CJ pairing with $148 mil payroll
How do you define a rebuild? Typically that entails moving large contracts and stock piling draft picks and young prospects. It would likely also mean moving Lillard as I doubt he is interested in going through a rebuild as well. I see us doing a re=tooling as opposed to a rebuild.
That's fair. OTOH, if the best offer we get for Whiteside involves a pick or a young player I wouldn't reject it!
I'm curious, Obviously you're convinced CJ can't be a #2 on a championship team. Do you believe Lillard can be the #1 guy on a championship team? (and if you don't why are'nt you saying you want a Dame trade every minute like you do with CJ?)
I do believe in Dame... I absolutely think he can be the #1 on a championship team. This is exactly why I think there is so much urgency to trade CJ now. We have seen this show for 5 years now and Dame turns 30 next season. Maybe 3 years left as a number 1 on a title team... I don’t want to waste another year trying to make the Dame/CJ pairing work, trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Now is the time to give Dame the chance to see what he can do with a more balanced roster... trade CJ while we still can.
lol, all you talk about is a balanced roster and getting rid of McCollum. We aren't balanced due to many injuries. You don't think having Nurkic, Collins, Hood, Skal and Pau would balance this roster?
That wouldn't change the team direction into retooling or rebuilding mode. It'd be making the most out of our assets, which could help us make a win-now move down the line.
So you think Dame can do what prime CP3 couldn't. I do wonder if a small, 30+ year old PG can lead a team to a championship nowadays, especially when there's a decline in performance during those years. If you trade CJ for a role player\regular starter then you're expecting Dame to lead this team to a championship with the whole team on his back. Yikes.
1) Dame and CJ have played better defense in seasons past. 2) What is left of this roster is still better than their standing. There is something wrong that goes beyond all of the injuries. This is a dysfunctional group, playing below their talent level.
Wiggins isn't an excellent defender or even above-average, and there's nothing to think he ever will be. He doesn't have the motor. Athleticism? We don't run the floor or throw lobs or anything like that, so that's pretty meaningless. There's many shooters who haven't. Aminu and Harkless were 34% and 27% from 3pt last year. Those players just aren't good fits, and they're both overpaid for 3+ seasons.
