It makes sense. There's no reason whatsoever to negotiate past what we have offered to the Knicks already. The Cavs don't even have a GM, and if the Knicks wanted their offer they would take it now. We can take our time seeing whether someone decides they need Ryno. We can wait for the Knicks to get more and more desperate. We do not need Melo right now. I've said it a ton of times, this team will win around 60 games as is. Melo is not going to change the likelihood of us securing the #1 seed. The main reason we are even seeking Melo is because of hoping he can create extra offense under the extreme difficulty of elite playoff basketball. We can attain that benefit even by adding him in February. If we are close enough to #1 seed in February, then you can add Melo and maybe even make a late season run for that homecourt advantage. In the meantime, it is possible some great player somewhere else becomes disgruntled/redundant and, like Melo/Tucker/Paul, see Houston as the top opportunity to get minutes and upset the Warriors. Cousins in particular strikes me as a strong possibility. Tobias Harris - who is not all that different than Melo at this point in their respective careers - is another who is allegedly already disgruntled. I can even see Charlotte possibly falling apart and Batum breaking loose. Who knows? Between Paul, Harden and Ariza we seem to have close friendships with 80% of the NBA, and a tremendous opportunity to get minutes on a serious contender. Since we're in this advantageous wait-and-see position, in the meantime, instead of kicking back and doing nothing, Morey is hawking for players who can outperform a minimum salary while being signed to the minimum. If there's some type of miracle that comes into play where a great player has to opt for our BAE, then that's another opportunity. It shows Morey is relentless in getting as much talent on this roster as possible. Sit back and enjoy guys. The worst case scenario is we go to the playoffs with a significantly improved team than the one who almost beat the 60-win Spurs, the same Spurs who looked great against the Warriors while Kawhi was briefly on the floor. James Harden has never played with a player the calibre of Chris Paul and vice versa - there is a chance one of these guys have their best season ever, which would be historic. Our starting C is likely to improve just with time and training. Just as things are, we are better than our team that finished ahead of the Cavs in the standings and almost beat the Spurs. The league leader in 3pters made and 6th man of the year is our 3rd best scorer, and the best shooting big man on the planet is our 4th best scorer. We have improved defensive personnel to the point where if Anderson is tanking, Tucker can step in and guarantee you production at least on the other side of the court. Think about the fact that that's the worst case scenario, with NG's, BAE and minimum signings still to come. We have Capela, Gordon and our 2020 pick as assets. I just hope Morey takes some time out of his day to send a middle finger to Silver and Myers for the Executive of the Year award he should have won.
He actually looks like he's in better shape than he ever was in the NBA. Not sure how well he played, but there's a highights mix:
He was always a Offense first guy so I dun think he will miss a beat there......it's the non existent Defense.
Not really. The last few years, he was a dramatically better defender than people assumed, the problem with him was that he would not show up with the same motivation all the time and he was an inefficient scorer because of poor shot selection.
I dun think you want him as your starter....but coming off bench probably won't let him think he is special enough....Pass. Rather go with Domantas Sabonis who seems to be hungrier.
Of course not as a starter. Would be a good bench guy, though I suspect he was just not happy in the US, and he looks younger over there. Maybe just one of those guys who values non-basketball things more than money. I have no problem with that. And of course Domantas Sabonis over him, but Sabonis is a huge value commodity. Second year player, started half of last season, highly rated draft pick.
Have zero interest in this discussion. If it makes you feel better, you can read it in your head as: Our 4th best scorer is a big man who can hit 40% on 8 3pt attempts a game and performed terribly in the playoffs. Doesn't change my argument at all and this is not a Ryno thread. I literally have no interest in discussing it beyond that. Sorry.
to be fair....the two statements are completely different. just wanted to say whats up. love the trade. should make the year fun.
Do you see us in the conference finals? Because we seem to do 1 round better than what you project Good to hear from you dude.
If they do one round better than what I say, then I think they will loose in the finals. Seriously though, on paper they should be much better. I think Paul is the perfect guy to drive Harden, Theoretically, Paul could help with the issues I always b**** about. Honestly though, I can't say anything until they play. I'm confident we will eventually find something to argue about though. Also, I really like the PJ Tucker signing.
Ok so I'm not all that interested in the older guys who might be available for minimum or BAE deals. I looked at who is available under 27 years old, players who could be excellent 'buy low' candidates, who could with guidance and training develop into good role players. Here are the ones that caught my eye (from youngest to oldest): James Young - 21 yrs old - former #17 pick waived by Celtics I like this guy because he is still so young. He turned 21 a month ago. Great size at 6'6. Good overall offensive game, hasn't shown himself to be a good defender. Doesn't have the driving skills to be a SG. His stats in a small sample look like in 3 years he has steadily improved his shooting to a respectable level - which tells me he could develop into a great shooter. He has the size to develop into a great defender. But you have to consider the fact that the Celtics declined to make him restricted. Still, we have less access to and more tolerance for young projects that could develop in the dleague and end of bench. His age tells me it's worth bringing him on if no character issues involved. Christian Wood - Almost 22 years old - Undrafted, former Viper I think we let this guy go simply because we didn't have room on the roster. No reliable 3pt shot, not great defense, good shotblocker. He's always seemed like a poor decision maker on the court. Great physical attributes, great size and quickness at 6'11 220lbs. Had a decent showing in 13 games for the Hornets. Before that, he hit 4 of 11 3's for the Sixers in 17 games. Those are a couple of solid coaching set ups which may have helped him grow. Maybe he is wrapping his head around the amount of work it takes just for him to be a decent role player. I'm up for taking him back as a project because we need a 3rd/4th string PF project. Anderson and Tucker are all we got at the 4 right now, with Ariza and possibly Qi as options. If we're sitting someone on the bench all season to let him watch a true pro like Paul show professionalism on a contender, you could do a lot worse. Tyler Ennis - 22 yrs old I'm just kidding, calm down. But he did hit 38% of his 3's, 45% of his shots, 2.5:1 asst/to ratio on the Lakers in 22 games. Maybe? lol He was so bad when he was here, but at 22 years old and practically for free, he could be a good guy to have on the bench after Harden, Paul, Gordon, (someone else), then Ennis. Maybe an excellent candidate to sign to a 2-year, partial guarantee both years to have for trades and to see if he can be a backup PG one day. Troy Williams - 22 yrs old We saw this guy. I believe we waived him. I hope we bring him back. All this guy is lacking to be a serious rotation player is a cleaner 3pt shot. He reminds me in many ways of Ariza early in his career. Anthony Bennett - 24 yrs old I know, I know. A bust. I still think he could develop into excellent value for money on a minimum deal if he's interested in coming back to the NBA at that price. A nice 3rd string 3&D PF. Please stop flipping out about how bad he was. We're talking about a 3rd string PF, i.e. he should be one of the worst 50-100 players in the NBA by default. The idea here is to get a player who can outproduce a minimum salary, and I think he has a chance. He has certainly faced some harsh truths, maybe he will learn from them. Trey Burke - 24 yrs old I would pick this guy up right away. Has had a generally terrible start to his career, but he has some offensive talent. I see him as a guy who is highly likely to be worth more than minimum. Things cannot possibly get worse for him than his career in Utah and Washington. He needs to understand team basketball better, and I think he could gain that. Would be great to have him as 5th guard and see if he can learn. Shabazz Muhammad - 24 yrs old Pick him up right now imo. Good player to take a flyer on as 3rd string SF/PF. I like how he played off the bench last season - looked like he had mentally embraced that job and did it well after years of his professionalism being questioned. Might take the BAE to get him? Not sure, but doesn't seem to have many suitors, which is classic 'buy low' time. Michael Carter Williams - 25 yrs old Would take him right now. If it doesn't cost more than the minimum, make him our 4th guard. I don't know if he has it in him to get much better, but I'll give it a shot. I like how his attitude has held up - it's tough being ROY and then the microscope exposing huge holes in virtually every part of your game. He seems intent on making it work where lots of guys would look like they're giving up. Our other 3 guards can all handle the ball, but MCW might be molded into someone who can guard a big scorer when paired with shorter guys like Gordon and Paul. Again, for the minimum. Maybe in a couple of years, he is a rotation backup guard. Already a good rebounder, willing passer, good with steals, mediocre defender. He is basically terrible to below average at almost everything else. I would take a chance on him. Jared Sullinger - 25 yrs old If he seems like he has committed to being in shape, then maybe as an end of bench PF. But he needs to really, really be in great shape, because we do not need a 6'8 slow C. Shown himself to be a good rebounder and decent passer. Took a lot of 3's never got good at making them. What has he been up to? Can't find anything. Ian Clark - 25 yrs old Why is this guy still out there when the media was hyping him to get big offers? Would take him for BAE in a heartbeat. He's not worth more than that, but I'm surprised that he might actually be available at that price. Honorable mentions and players that need no explanation: Festus Ezeli, Tyreke Evans, Brandon Jennings, Adrien Payne, Thomas Robinson, Jordan McRae, Isaiah Canaan, Pierre Jackson. Please let's not talk about how flawed these guys are. Let's talk about which one of them might be worth more than the minimum despite their known flaws. Would be a good discussion!
I think you might be a bit disappointed with how the Harden-Paul pairing plays out. I see Paul deferring PG duties more than Harden, simply because Paul remains elite off the ball and Harden not so much. But Paul being there is definitely going to help the issues you speak of. Could be a historic pairing.
Disappointed how? I don't expect Harden to defer all ball handling duties. I am hoping that splitting the duties will help Harden, but overall Paul will be a voice that Harden has to listen to, regardless of who is handling the ball at a given time.. There is always the chance it doesn't work, but I am optimistic.
When it goes well, it obviously goes well and everyone smiles..... When it doesn't go well, expect Paul to be on Harden........Harden gets introverted.....
