Atlanta Hawks: Elite talent, not ‘Detroit model,’ still best path to title
Assuming the favored Heat beat the Celtics tomorrow and advance to the Finals, it will add to the mountain of evidence suggesting the best way to build a championship team is to acquire elite players.
Yeah, I know: radical statement. But before you lump me with Captain Obvious, remember it’s at odds with the “Detroit model” currently favored by the Hawks.
My view is that there are two kinds of NBA teams–those with top 10 players, and those without–and everything an organization does should be in an attempt to be the former rather than the latter. The Hawks’ view is that they can build a team with three not-quite-elite talents and keep knocking at the door until they become championship contenders.
That’s assuming the Hawks do have aspirations of winning an NBA championship, something that’s not always clear. The franchise often seems more preoccupied with dinging its critics and demanding credit for its successes (and there are many) than raising the bar. That perception is fueled by superficial-but-telling tendencies (such as statements boasting about making the playoffs) and the embrace of a team-building philosophy that rarely leads to a championship.
In a league where superstars contend for titles, the Hawks have tried to do it without one.
“It is going to be very hard for us to get that MVP candidate unless you pick one or two [in the draft],” Rick Sund said last summer. “Or unless you happen to have … free-agent money, to get one in free agency. It’s going to be tough, so we are going to have to do it the hard way.”
The Detroit model certainly is that.
There have been 62 NBA championship teams since 1950, and 57 those teams placed at least one player on one of the top two All-NBA teams in the season they won it. In fact, only 15 of those champions failed to have at least one player voted first team All-NBA (a third five-man All-NBA team was added starting with the 1988-89 season).
Furthermore, only 10 of 62 finals runner-up teams failed to have at least one player considered among the top 10 in the league. That means just 15 of 124 teams to make the finals — 12 percent — did so without a player voted to be among the league’s 10 best.
The Heat or Thunder would add to those totals while the Celtics would not. And chances are if Boston advances it’s because Kevin Garnett or Paul Pierce once again rekindle their form from the recent past and/or Rajon Rondo plays to the level that has him on track to reach top 10 status.
The Hawks tried to do build a contender the way the Thunder have done it. They executed the first part of the plan by getting bad enough to get a chance at a high draft pick and lucky enough to land one. The second and most important part, drafting the right players, didn’t go so well.
Making the wrong pick hurts, but it happens. Worse is that instead of cutting their losses and turning Marvin Williams et al into assets they could use to take a shot at acquiring an elite player, the Hawks doubled down. And instead of using Joe Johnson to acquire more assets (draft picks, relatively cheap and productive players, cap space) that hey could parlay into a top 10 player, the Hawks gave him the richest deal in the league.
Now the Hawks aren’t projected to have real cap space until after next season, by which time Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia could be gone, Johnson will be a year older and they’ll have no more than four players under contract. Tough to get an elite talent and complementary players with $15 million or so in cap space.
I understand the calls for a new coach as the answer with this group of Hawks. Sometimes, though, I think that’s the most popular thing because it’s easier to change coaches than acquire a top 10 player. I’d rather have the elite talent–Scott Brooks just beat Gregg Popovich and I’ll go out on a limb and say that had more to do with OKC’s two top 10 players to San Antonio’s one than any Thunder coaching advantage.
The Hawks could try to trade for an established top 10 player. There’s precedent for this with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving (who was actually “sold” to the 76ers by the Nets), Tiny Archibald, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley and Jason Kidd.
Going that route would almost certainly mean the Hawks would have to trade away part of the proverbial “core” and perhaps take a step back in the short term. My feeling is this is less likely to happen if Sund returns as GM. After a season in which injuries legitimately hurt their chances to advance in the playoffs, the Hawks under Sund probably would stay the course.
That’s a defensible position insofar as it keeps a good team intact. It’s not a proven plan as far as contending for a championship, unless you believe Johnson, Josh Smith, or Al Horford can be top 10 players next season. Essentially, the best way for the Hawks to become true championship contenders is for one of their players to be good enough to transcend the Detroit model.
Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat
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768 comments Add your comment
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
12:47 pm
“IF JOSH LEAVES, TRUST ME ON THISSS, YOU WOULD SEE BETTER BALL MOVEMENT ON THE COURT WITH MUCH MUCH BETTER SHOT SELECTIONS!!!”
Haha. Josh is the ball movement for this team in the half court. Joe takes ten seconds to decide whether he will pass the ball, Teague (as much as I like him) is a work in progress in figuring out when to pass and when to shoot, Al has the same infection as Joe in the half court when it comes to making quick decisions, and let’s not even get into Marvin. The shot selection criticism is fine. But ball movement? Without Josh, there is no ball movement on this team.
Rod from College Park
June 12th, 2012
12:48 pm
“To me, he is the ONLY HAWK with a great Basketball IQ.”
Kirk Hiinrich was brought here because of his so called high baskeball IQ. It did not help much at all.
“Only problem I have with AL is if he has only 2 options 1)make a play for himself or 2) pass to an open Josh with the shot clock running down, he would throw the darn ball to Josh for a jumper instead of creating a shot for himself and maybe getting an AND1.”
He does that because he does not posess the skills to create his own shot. That is a skill that has to be developed. At this point in his career, Al does not have that ability.
“I truly believe that AL would have been just as effective as Josh was.”
You would be incorrect in you beliefs. Al does not have the same abilities that Josh has offensively or defensively. If you look at the numbers (advanced stats), Josh was a top 5 defensive player this year, and an argument can be made that he was the best defensive player in the league. He also helped to carry this team offensively in the second half of the season. Al is not skilled enough offensively to put up the numbers Josh did on a consistent basis. Hopefully he we work to improve has game as Josh did. He needs to work on some post moves, improve his handles, and developed something other than a stand still jump shot.
O'Brien
June 12th, 2012
12:50 pm
From Philly’s paper;
Also, guard Lou Williams most likely will opt out of the final year on his contract in hopes of landing a long-term deal. He is scheduled to make $6.4 million. “Opting out doesn’t necessarily mean you’re leaving. It’s getting out of one contract to begin a new one,” Williams tweeted Monday.
Starting center Spencer Hawes is an unrestricted free agent. He made more than $4 million last season.
A league source said that both players are wanted by teams throughout the league and that both would probably garner salaries averaging about $7 million a year..
If Spencer Hawes does get $7 mil, I think that will be the price range for Zaza next summer.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
12:50 pm
If you look at Avery Bradley’s game log, his minutes suddenly spiked beginning on March 25 and stayed in the 35 minute range for the rest of the season.
In a shocking coincidence, Ray Allen got injured on March 23 and missed six games.
Way to make him earn it, Doc. Can’t hand anything to him… unless, of course, the guy in front of him on the depth chart gets injured.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
12:52 pm
“MC . . . that’s maybe the only in-depth interview you haven’t done yet . . . . a long interview with Nique. I’d love to hear his opinion on the state of the Hawks.”
Yeah, we all need more of those insightful opinions he provides during games. Supported by advanced nimbers, of course.
O'Brien
June 12th, 2012
12:54 pm
Another player scheduled to workout for the Hawks. Conference USA’s POY Will Barton.
From the Memphis paper;
The Grizzlies will be the seventh team the 6-6, 175-pound Barton has worked out for. Conference USA’s Player of the Year as a sophomore last season, Barton, who led Memphis in scoring (18 ppg) and rebounding (8 rpg), has also worked out for Boston, Miami, Cleveland, Houston, Golden State and Chicago.
After Memphis, which has the 25th pick in the first round, Barton has workouts scheduled with Indiana, Milwaukee, Denver and Atlanta..
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
12:56 pm
Najeh, my point assumes that a caoching staff knows which players are ready to play exponentially more than a blogger. It is pretty much that simple.
When comparing rookie seasons, Bradley played half the time of Teague. He played 5 minutes/game. Ray Allen played 36 minutes/game that season. Doesn;t that leave around 12 minutes for Bradley? Woudln;t that suggest that Bradley could have received more PT if his head coach thought he had earned it? Let’s not sit up here and pretend that old HOF players average 40+ minutes/game.
There is no one way to manage rookies because each rookie is different. What works for one won;t work for the next. Which is why the head coach (and his staff) are uniquely qualified to determine a player’s development path. I suspect that Doc didn’t hold back Bradley because he was a rookie, it was more likely because he needed to teach Bradley things that he may not need to teach the next rookie. To suggest the issue was about Allen ignores what Bradley may have been doing in response to the teaching of his coaching staff. A player should earn time… not be guaranteed it.
O'Brien
June 12th, 2012
12:56 pm
Stay away from Nique and his insights. Back in ‘05, didn’t he say a player like Marvin Williams only comes along once every 10 years?
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
12:57 pm
6′6″ 175? My goodness, someone buy that kid a double bacon cheeseburger and a case of Moon Pies.
Rusty
June 12th, 2012
1:07 pm
When the coach makes stupid & uncalled for decisions on personal this does not help for a winning atmosphere.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
1:09 pm
“my point assumes that a caoching staff knows which players are ready to play exponentially more than a blogger. It is pretty much that simple.”
If you are qualified enough as a blogger to criticize LD’s revolutionary pentangle offense, I am qualified enough as a blogger to criticize his indefensible management of Teague’s development. You can’t have it both ways. Either you implicitly trust everything LD does — including his pentangle offense — or everything he does is subject to criticism.
” A player should earn time… not be guaranteed it.”
Nobody should be “guaranteed” anything. At the same time, if you are the best player at your position on your team, you have by default “earned” your time. Teague has been the best point guard on this team since at least January 2011 (when Bibby’s one remaining NBA-level skill — making 3s — left him) if not earlier.
Ra'mon
June 12th, 2012
1:13 pm
O’B, Nique was right. How often does a bust of a #2 pick come, who contributes minimal to his team, and doesn’t even master one single skill. That only happens once every 10 years.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
1:14 pm
For that matter, if we are going to give coaches that much benefit of the doubt, I don’t see why we can’t also give players the benefit of the doubt. LD knows his players better than we do, so if he says Josh knows the offense better than anyone, then since he knows his players exponentially more than us, he must be right. And if Josh knows the offense better than anyone and still takes the second-most long jumpers in the league, and he likely knows the offense exponentially better than us, let’s all stop criticizing his shot selection.
MsDee
June 12th, 2012
1:14 pm
Ok Najeh u say, “Josh is the ball movement for this team in the half court.” True, BUT that does NOT make it right. Josh has NO business being the PG, SG, SF, PF, and Center ALL AT THE SAME TIME ON THE COURT. THAT’S LUDICROUS!!
“Joe takes ten seconds to decide whether he will pass the ball,” True and unfortunately that will never change.
“Teague (as much as I like him) is a work in progress in figuring out when to pass and when to shoot”, ONLY B/C JOSH IS EVERYWHERE ON THE COURT LOOKING TO RECEIVE THE PASS FROM EVERYBODY ELSE POSITION. When he is looking for Joe, THERE’S JOSH, when he is looking for AL, THERE’S JOSH, when he is looking for Ivan, for goodness sake, THERE’S JOSH. So then he decides to shoot.
” Al has the same infection as Joe in the half court when it comes to making quick decisions,” MAYBE B/C HE ISNT SURE WHEN HE WILL GET THE BALL BACK DUE TO NO BALL MOVEMENT AND BAD SHOT SELECTIONS.
“and let’s not even get into Marvin.” YEA, good idea!!
Look, dont get me wrong, Josh is a great player but a player who makes dumb decisions AT THE WRONG TIME! I still cant get over that HORRIBLE SHOT ATTEMPT HE TOOK IN GAME 6 AT BOSTON WITH A FEW MINUTES IN THE GAME. TOO MANY TIMES JOSH WANTS TO BE THE “LEBRON” IN THOSE SITUATIONS!
MsDee
June 12th, 2012
1:22 pm
@Rod from College Park, u say, “Josh was a top 5 defensive player this year, and an argument can be made that he was the best defensive player in the league. He also helped to carry this team offensively in the second half of the season. Al is not skilled enough offensively to put up the numbers Josh did on a consistent basis.”
How do u know that??? Has Horford EVER been in that situation b4???? NO!
Josh is the ONLY player there since the Woodson/Drew days of coaching, so Josh feels he can take on all these UNNECESSARY duties cause he is untitled to it or something but DREW MUST put a stop to it and tell JOSH to PLAY HIS POSITION THE BEST THAT IT CAN so that one day, he COULD be selected as an ALLSTAR. All these props yall are giving Josh dont mean a thing if he cant ever be considered an ALLSTAR.
Hopefully he we work to improve has game as Josh did. He needs to work on some post moves, improve his handles, and developed something other than a stand still jump shot.
Grandad
June 12th, 2012
1:22 pm
Ra`mon
From last nite:
Would have to wait 60 days to flip B.Lopez.
Could not flip him to Houston for their two draft choices.
-perhaps-
A three way with Houston to accomplish the same deal ?
MsDee
June 12th, 2012
1:24 pm
Didnt mean to post the last statement from ya Rod..sorry
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
1:26 pm
Najeh, of course it isn’t “all or nothing”. That is childish. I can like a politician’s perspective on issues A, B and E while disagreeing with C and D. I don’t have to accept everything that LD says & does… that’s plain stupid. That’s like suggesting that because I like Vick the player I have to like Vick the felon.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
1:31 pm
Najeh, you continue to want to operate in absolutes (all rookies are created equally… all aspects of coaching should be equally accepted). I won’t play that one-size-fits-all game with you. If that is how you see things, then you are not quite as bright as I thought. That is yet another example of me being wrong.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
1:36 pm
Because I liked “Coming to America” and “48 Hours” I have to like “Pluto Nash” and “Norbit”? WOW!!!
darrell starks
June 12th, 2012
1:41 pm
Josh the best player on this team, Hawks must keep him and get a new coach.
LD have no control over players and no coaches awareness, have LD argue that call in game 6 the Hawks may have played the Heat in finals.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
1:45 pm
” you continue to want to operate in absolutes (all rookies are created equally… all aspects of coaching should be equally accepted). ”
First of all I never said that all rookies are created equally.
As to the second part, why shouldn’t all aspects of coaching be treated the same?
a caoching staff knows which players are ready to play exponentially more than a blogger -Astro Joe
That is not a statement unique to LD or Doc Rivers. You phrased that statement as a generality applicable to all coaches.
Why should the player development strategies of coaches in general be given deference while the in-game tactical strategies of coaches in general can be open to scrutiny? What’s the difference?
By the way, your Eddie Murphy and Vick examples don’t apply at all. This isn’t about whether you like something LD does and dislike something else LD does. This is about you essentially saying we are all unqualified to even have an opinion about one thing LD does while we can have all the opinions we want about something else LD does.
In other words, it is like saying that you can like Coming to America and dislike Norbit, but you are not qualified to have an opinion about Eddie Murphy Raw.
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
1:46 pm
edit:
In other words, it is like saying that you can like Coming to America and dislike Norbit, but you are not qualified to have an opinion about Eddie Murphy Raw because you have never done standup before.
Grandad
June 12th, 2012
1:50 pm
Ra`mon
In addition to my 1:22 post;
I wanted to say:
I like your thinking ” flipping Lopez “.
HawksFanSince'89
June 12th, 2012
2:00 pm
This is what I would do to set the Hawks on the path to a championship. First, give Joe Johnson a contract extension, where as, he would take a pay cut per year for the life of the contract, at the fair market value for a player of his caliber. Second, give Josh Smith more money and re-sign him. Third, go out and get the missing piece, and make a championship run.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
2:02 pm
Najeh, I never said we’re not qualified to have an opinion. We just need to understand that the opinion is a semi-informed one (at best). And not even semi-infomrmed when it comes to the specific way to teach an individual player. We have ZERO insight into how an individual player learns. Or, I have never read anything (other than a rare article about Travis Outlaw) about how an individual player learns best. What information I have (regarding Teague) is that LD was his position coach during his rookie season and when he became the head coach, he hired NVE to “bring out the dog”. lD had keen insight having worked with Teague throughout his rookie season and proactively developed a plan to bring out the best in Teague. He opted for a plan that did not always include a lot of on-court playing time. At the end of the day, Teague performed well when he was required to play. Meanwhile, in Boston, Doc seemingly took a similar approach. When forced to play, Bradley performed well. Some will say :they should have been playing all along”, while Doc seems to be saying :had I not done that, Bradley may not have been ready”. So I now have a choice, assume that another path would have provided a similar result earlier in their repsective careers (which assumes those head coaches misread their players) or assume that the head coach’s strategy was very effective and ended with the desired result… a capable and competent young player. I choose the latter, despite being semi-informed. It doesn’t mean that all rookies need to be handled the same way, it ust mneans that what those head coaches chose for those two players worked.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
2:07 pm
My 9 year-old has an opinion on who is going to win the NBA title… and he hasn’t watched a single playoff game. But he gets to have his own semi-informed opinion. And of course, that opinion differs from his older brother… which creates a sports bar environment in my house between two boys who don’t know much but somehow have developed a keen ability to debate with limited knowledge. Now, I;m just trying to help them understand how to consider all angles before locking in on something being absolutely right (or left).
doc
June 12th, 2012
2:25 pm
yeah ray, agreed. with the best basketball body since wilt he needs to take it over the top by his own will or leave everything out on the court, doing his best to make it happen. that is what kings are supposed to do, not quit or go into hiding, when things get rough.
durant doesnt step back but up when his team is in trouble or needs a big shot. so far all along i have admired durant by all of his actions and words. i dont think he is really as talented overall as queen but i think he has the drive and concept of the game and that of a team game that queen has not shown as yet. the last two games with their backs to the wall get lbj closer to being the one but he still hasnt dont it to the max yet. needless to say their backs should not have been to the wall to begin with.
if the heat lose, they need to take queen off in a stretcher, that he has tried that hard. anything less only adds to his lack of a legacy for showing up big to the very end, win or lose. that is which he has done to now in his last games of the season is lose going back all the way to cleveland. think of it, lbj has never been able to go through a summer without thinking of his last game of the year, a loss.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
2:30 pm
doc, if Wade suffers a shoulder bruise, they will take him off on a stretcher. At least they did before.
(And wasn’t Pierce taken off in a wheel chair after a shoulder injury or am I misremembering)?
Dawg
June 12th, 2012
2:31 pm
It is easy to like the Thunder. They are athletic, nice players who can shoot. They pay well together.
The Heat is a easy team to not like. They have talentZ but they are self absorbed and egotistical. I hope they get what karma owes them.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
2:41 pm
The Thunder had to defeat 3 recent champions just to make it to The Finals. This run has been crazy impressive (and I doubted them). Consider that they defeated guys who were no less than one of the principle 2-3 players during the championship run.
Dirk=1 ring
Kobe=5 rings
Duncan=4 rings
That’s 10 rings total (against only 1 for the Heat).
DawgNole
June 12th, 2012
2:43 pm
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
10:55 am
“Rivers absorbed some criticism for not giving Bradley quality minutes sooner, but the coach said even with the benefit of hindsight, he wouldn’t do it differently.”
Easy decision when you have a future Hall of Famer who is competing for those minutes. Not so much when you have an immobile corpse taking those minutes.
___________________
As opposed to a mobile corpse?
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
2:47 pm
“As opposed to a mobile corpse?”
Have you not seen Weekend at Bernie’s?
Najeh Davenpoop
June 12th, 2012
2:47 pm
“And wasn’t Pierce taken off in a wheel chair after a shoulder injury or am I misremembering”
I think it was a gurney.
DawgNole
June 12th, 2012
2:48 pm
northcyde
June 12th, 2012
11:27 am
Domimique was on Colin Cowherd’s ESPN radio show about 30 minutes ago. Talked OKC – Miami the entire time. Nice to hear his opinions on a national radio show, but it’s a shame that he’ll never be asked about the state of the Hawks, because no one cares.
MC . . . that’s maybe the only in-depth interview you haven’t done yet . . . . a long interview with Nique. I’d love to hear his opinion on the state of the Hawks.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
11:35 am
northcyde, I think ‘Nique would give the “company line”. I seriously doubt that anything honest or insightful would be gained.
___________________
Gotta go with AJ on this one. Nique is blind and blatantly biased (like the bootlicker Rathbun) as a Hawks TV analyst. Don’t see him changing his stance for ATL print medium while he’s still employed by the team.
doc
June 12th, 2012
3:00 pm
yes aj an impressive run but just like queen and how folks went off about his last two games, they have to finish the deal for it to matter. if the thunder do it will be a run for the ages. gonna be interesting for sure.
doc
June 12th, 2012
3:01 pm
only problem i have with the game tonight is it wont be on tnt.
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
3:04 pm
doc, and it starts too late. I need my rest for the next day’s blog battle.
northcyde
June 12th, 2012
3:06 pm
KevinM
June 12th, 2012
12:34 pm
Let’s see if LA would swap like salaries and give us Gasol, and we give them Joe. Would you like that lineup?
Al / Josh / Pau
?? / Teague
I start there and then prep for the draft.
*********************
Teague
( 1st round pick – John Jenkins – pure shooter )
Smith
Horford
Gasol
6th man – Marvin
Yeah, I would roll with that. But once again, which deal would the Lakers do?
- JJ for Gasol straight up . . . or
- Smith + Marvin for Gasol + next available 1st round pick ( 2014 or 15 )
If the reports are true about the Lakers wanting to get younger, they’ll take the 2nd deal. For the Hawks, it would simply be a situation in which we’re trying to keep a playoff level team for at least one more year, before Teague and Smith hits free agency.
Either way, you do the deal, if not for anything but to shake up the core. If it doesn’t work, you don’t have to keep that team together more than one season.
Ray
June 12th, 2012
3:09 pm
I think the best way we even get into the Top 15 is with Milwaukee That trade I posted earlier involving Joe Johnson to Milwaukee for 2 filler players and their #12 pick which would put us at least within the Dion Waiters and Meyers Leonard Sweepstakes.
Ray
June 12th, 2012
3:12 pm
If it’s true that Cleveland thinks they can do something with Marvin by all means ship him out first thing in the morning just bring back that draft pick #24 just in case.
doc
June 12th, 2012
3:17 pm
aj, i see, i see, true warrior you are. may queen take notes to up his game a bit. heh heh
northcyde
June 12th, 2012
3:22 pm
Hawks salary if you trade JJ for Gasol straight up:
Gasol – 19 mill
Smith – 13.2 mill
Horford – 12 mill
Marvin – 8.3 mill
Zaza – 5.3 mill
Teague – 2.4 mill
1st round pick – 1.2 mill
Total – 60.1 mill . . . roughly 10 mill to add 6 players to the team . . . Smith – Zaza – Teague up for free agency in 2013
Decision mode: Do you re-sign both Smith and Teague? And how much do you sign them for? And if you do decide to re-sign him, do both Zaza and Marvin have to go?
Tank mode: 26.8mill off the books if you don’t re-sign Smith and Zaza and amnesty Marvin. Another 19.3 million off the books if you let Gasol walk the next season.
*****************
Hawks salary if you trade Smith + Marvin for Gasol + 2014 or 15 1st round pick:
Johnson – 19.8m
Gasol – 19m
Horford – 12m
Zaza – 5.2m
Teague – 2.4m
1st round pick – 1.2m
Total – 59.6m . . . roughly 10.5m to spend on 7 players
Decision mode: JJ + Gasol’s salary will go up around 3 mill total along with the increase in Teague’s deal, so do you let Zaza go? Do you now trade Gasol for lesser contracts/picks or do you hold onto him for one more year? What price puts you out of Teague’s range?
Tank mode: 5.2m if you don’t re-sign Zaza. Another 19.3m off the books the next year if you let Gasol walk the year after.
********************
Hawks salary if you trade Smith + Zaza for Gasol + 2014 or 2015 1st round pick
Johnson – 19.8m
Gasol – 19m
Horford – 12m
Marvin – 8.3m
Teague – 2.4m
1st round pick – 1.2m
Total – 62.7m . . . . roughly 7.4m to sign 7 players
Decision mode: Do you amnesty Marvin at the end of the year? What number is too high to re-sign Teague? Do you trade off Gasol or wait another year?
Tank mode: 8.3m if you amnesty Marvin. Another 19.3m if you let Gasol walk the following year.
KevinM
June 12th, 2012
3:54 pm
northcyde: “Either way, you do the deal, if not for anything but to shake up the core. If it doesn’t work, you don’t have to keep that team together more than one season”
A one-for-one is a simple non-complicated deal that breathes new life into both franchises……sounds like the Lakers want a change of personnel and Gasol is candidate 1A.
You get Joe’s numbers off your books, you have a better future immediately. To me, that is the bigger albatross around your neck than Josh and Marvin. I deal with them next.
If I can get one captain moved before the draft, I have a clearer picture where this roster is headed and draft for such. Heck, even if Joe doesn’t get moved, I am looking for the best of the 2 positions: SG and SF. If I get a combo SG/PG, all the better.
I know we can fill the SF role easier than filling the SG role.
KevinM
June 12th, 2012
3:54 pm
Northcyde, notice I’ve got no interest in Marvin helping.
I turn him into Ken Norman, and try to get him to agree to a buyout.
Drag racer
June 12th, 2012
3:56 pm
This is Josh’s house baby! He’s not going any where. Good Luck Horford fans!
Drag racer
June 12th, 2012
3:58 pm
Horford – 12m Marvin – 8.3m = Gasol 19M with 1.3 to hire a fre agent.
Al is going to be traded Not Josh!
KevinM
June 12th, 2012
4:01 pm
“And hey, we’ve got good young players. In the end we might have too many good young players, but that’s going to be Masai (Ujiri, Nuggets executive VP of basketball operations) and his (team president Josh Kroenke’s) problem. My problem is to make them as confident and ready to go next year.”
Haha, you will never hear LD say this about his management team…..
Astro Joe
June 12th, 2012
4:01 pm
KevinM, except that the lakers are probably looking to get more athletic (and younger) and with Kobe and MWP on the roster, they would likely prefer Josh or Al over Joe.
Drag racer
June 12th, 2012
4:03 pm
Hey NorthLied, what is the senario if you trade Horford and Teague for Gasol or Marv and Horford for Al?
Im sure you arent publishing that….
Hate on
Doesnt matter. The Hawks have renewed talks for bringing Dwight Howard over to play with Josh and sending Al back to Florida. Orlando likes the idea as do the hawks. So play your seed planting game as long as you like.
Watch who gets traded.