...and you've been hired as GM. Reinsdorf and the minority owners give you a four year contract and tell you that you have until the end of this season to design a plan to set the organization on the right track and set it in motion. The next season should have a night in and night out competitive team, and a post-season competitor by the third season. Year four they want a division championship and a championship contender. What's your first move? What's your plan?
That's like giving somebody the controls of the Titanic moments before it hit the iceberg. The Brand trade effectively messed up the next three years.
But thats why you've been brought in. To correct what was done wrong. Lots of people thought the same about the Saints after Dikta was fired, but look at them now...
I'd start the rookies and give them 35 minutes per game. If you're going to lose, why not develop the rooks at the same time? I'd fire Floyd immediately, and hire a former NBA coach, not a college twit. I would also hire a shooting instructor.
maybe a 'hypothetical' in front of your title wouldn't get so many of us giddy. Me, I would play the team they have now that Eddie Robinson's back. That team is going to be alllllright. gb: is Floyd getting the kids minutes as of now?
Starting the rookies will net you several more (I'm dead serious) 50 point losses. If you're not to be taken as a joke, and don't want people calling for your head---you'd need a new plan. Otherwise they would say "Krause coulda done this"
He benched 'em all after the Minnesota game, and the vets responded by coming thisclose to knocking off Charlotte.
Damn it, boy, you made me excited for a sec! I agree with ZRB wow...I just said that about developing the players already there. But it will take a lot more to get them to the playoffs. Mike in his prime would get them to the finals. GO BULLS! I hope they win 10 games!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's my to-do list: Congratulate the owners on finally hiring someone intelligent. Tell them their timetable needs to be extended by at least one year. Nothing can save the Bulls from being terrible this year, and there's a 95% chance they will be just as bad next year. Maybe by the third year they can be respectable, and challenge for a playoff spot in the fourth year -- if everything breaks right. That's what happens when your projected best players are 19 years old and have almost no college experience, much less pro experience. Declare that the young players will have to earn significant minutes. Telling them they're so good they don't have to work is a disastrous message to send. Joe Smith, Damon Stoudamire, and Jason Williams all got 35+ minutes as rookies -- did it speed up their development, or r****d it permanently? Kobe didn't start until his third season, and he seems to have survived it OK. Follow the Dallas model of hiring more assistants -- and the best ones available. I want each of the projected key players (starting with Chandler, Curry, and Crawford, but not ending there) to have an individual tutor. If I have to bet my future on these guys, I want an unlimited budget for their development. If I feel confident in the projected nucleus of Chandler-Curry-Robinson-Crawford, start assessing whether a young SG with star potential is available, and consider trading next summer's first-round pick for him. This strategy is what the Warriors did in 2000 by trading for Larry Hughes, and what the Clippers did last summer by trading for Brand. It moves the window of opportunity closer, instead of endlessly pushing it further away. If I don't feel confident about any element of that nucleus, throw them into the pot to try and trade for a better cornerstone. The goal is to define my projected 5-man starting lineup for the promising team I expect to field in '03-'04 -- anyone who I can't envision in that lineup is expendable if I can find a player who will fit into it. [/list=1]
Hey, I think you're going to have 7 or 8 more fifty point losses anyway, so you might as well play the rookies.
First off, I'd fire Floyd. Then I'd interview: Bill Berry (Chicago) Del Harris (Dallas) Larry Smith (Houston) Stan Van Gundy (Miami) Brian Hill (Charlotte) Danny Ainge (Unemployed) Charles Barkley (Smartass Announcer) I'd choose one of these, based on the interview process. I'd then let the coach put his own staff together. After that, I'd propose this trade scenario (I posted a similar trade in another thread previously): Houston sends Cato/Brown to Orlando. Houston sends Walt to Chicago. Orlando sends Armstrong/Miller to Chicago. Orlando sends Outlaw/Sasser to Houston. Chicago sends Oakley/Artest to Orlando. Chicago sends Curry to Houston. Houston has a decision to make. Do they want to trade Cato now, while his value is on the rise, or keep him, with the belief that he's finally turned the corner & will continue to bring it every night? If we can get Curry, I say trade him now. We can plug Willis into the starting center position & bring Curry or Collier in for relief minutes. Imagine a 6'11" 285 lb. Curry with 2-3 years of Willis's tutelage & physical conditioning. Brown will probably never get any significant minutes on this team & both he & Walt are taking up positions that could be used by other players, like Langhi or Collier. Outlaw would add experienced depth to the PF position & Sasser (IR) would be in the deal as trade fodder or to be used in a future trade. Orlando needs help up front & Cato/Oakley/Artest would give them just that. Cato/Oakley would also offer some relief for Ewing/Grant, so that they could be more effective when they come in. They want to move Outlaw & have been rumored to be considering offering a package of Outlaw/Miller in various trade scenarios. They could move Hill to the PG position, Artest to the SF position, & groom Brown to take over PG duties in a couple of years. Chicago would be able to move Oakley, because of the perceived turmoil that he's contributing to (Imagine the controversy if I hired Barkley as the coach ). They could plug Armstrong in at the PG position, Mike Miller at the SG spot, move Fizer back to his natural position of PF, keep Robinson at the SF spot & Brad Miller at the center position. Chicago currently has 4 centers & can't find enough minutes for all of them. Then, I'd waive Ollie/Hoiberg, unless I could find a team that would give me an adequate backup PF for one or both of them. I'd have to find one or two more backup PF's & would offer A.C. Green, Chucky Brown or Otis Thorpe one year deals for the veteran's minimum to round out my roster. As the GM of Chicago, I'd try to keep this year's #1 pick, but I'd throw in whatever draft picks (within reason) were necessary to make this deal happen. That would give Chicago a lineup of: C: B.Miller/Chandler/Bagaric PF: Fizer/A.C. Green/Chucky Brown SF: Robinson/Walt SG: M.Miller/Mercer PG: Armstrong/Anthony IR: Crawford/Guyton/Hassell This roster would allow the coach to give Chandler significant minutes without causing the whole team to shut down, thereby accelerating his learning curve. My current team salary would increase about $2.6 mill, which would bring it to approximately $45 mill. That'd be well below the luxury tax, if it kicks in this year. How's that for a rebuilding program?
Houston sends Cato/Brown to Orlando. Houston sends Walt to Chicago. Orlando sends Armstrong/Miller to Chicago. Orlando sends Outlaw/Sasser to Houston. Chicago sends Oakley/Artest to Orlando. Chicago sends Curry to Houston. So Orl trades Miller/Armstrong/Outlaw/Sasser for Cato/Brown/Oakley/Artest?? Looks like a decent deal for Chi and Hou, but Orl will not give up their 3rd to 5th best players for an underachieving C, a 12th man/3rd string PG, an old malcontent, and a guy who has no offense whatsoever. I don't see Orl doing it at all.
First, let me say that you may very well be right. However, let's address each of your reasons as to why it won't happen. an underachieving C I agree that Cato has been an under achiever throughout his career, but thus far, he's one of the main reasons that the Rocket's defense has improved so much this year. He's got an improved attitude (for now), he's playing hard when he's in the game, & he's not drawing technicals from arguing with the ref's. a 12th man/3rd string PG, Brown could be put on the IR, where Sasser is currently. He's being paid a third of Sasser's salary & his contract expires at the end of the year. I recently read an article that indicated that Orlando wasn't too pleased with his progress thus far. an old malcontent While Oakley may be a malcontent, no one can argue that he's a fierce competitor & tenacious defensive enforcer. a guy who has no offense whatsoever. You're absolutely wrong on this point. While Artest is not considered a premier SF, he definitely can score. He has a career FG% of 40%, 3PT% of 30%, & a PPG average of 12 points. Now, to take this even further, if Artest got as many shots as some of the premier SF's in the game today, such as Carter, Hill (year before last), Pierce, & Jamison to name a few, his average would be anywhere from 14.76 to 17.68 PPG, based on last years total attempts by each of those players. These numbers are based solely on 2 point buckets & don't even take into account his percentage of 3 pointers, which would surely cause the averages to go up. If you used the two premier SG's in the game today (Kobe & Iverson) as a measuring stick, he'd average just over 20 PPG, based on total attempts. Now, as to why I think Orlando would consider the deal. Their record is 3-5. Their victories have come against Toronto, Cleveland (anyone can beat them), & Sacramento (without Webber). Not very impressive so far. Their losses have come against Utah (7 pts., Utah's 3rd victory), the Lakers (13 pts.), San Antonio (15 pts.), Seattle (4 pts., What?), & Indiana (10 pts.). They have less of an inside presence than the Rockets did last year. Their team stats are even more telling. Their team stats versus their opponents stats are almost identical on RPG, APG, SPG, & BPG. They are averaging 3.8 PPG more than their opponents, but they're giving up 101.6 PPG & this also includes their victory against Cleveland (99-69), so the numbers are actually worse than their opponents. Championship games are won on defense, not just offense. P.S. With tonight's loss to Utah, Orlando is giving up an average of 102 PPG. That means that only the Clippers & Grizzlies are giving up more PPG. Aren't they supposed to be one of the elite teams?
I would first petition the league to have the Brand trade nullified, as Krause was obviously smoking some crack when that went down. When that was denied, I would contact SA and trade anything and everything for Tim Duncan, holding onto only one of the high schoolers. I would then look into picking up a servicable point guard ala Maloney. I pick up Jason Williams, the one from Duke not the scrub in Memphis, in the draft. Then I look for a quality free agent SG, because Mercer isn't going to cut it. Finally, I look for a SF project in the second round. Projected 2002-3 starting line-up PG - Jason Williams SG - <Free Agent> SF - Chandler PF - Fizer C - Duncan or SF - Fizer PF - Duncan C - Curry If Fizer is included in the Duncan trade, replace him with Artest above.
Wait a second. You'd start basically a college-type team (the rookies) and get a former NBA coach instead of a college-esque coach? No way. You need a coach who will teach these guys how to grow up as well as how to play basketball, or you're just gonna have a bunch of spoiled teenagers who think they're NBA stars, but can't play the game.
GB, So, what's the deal? Do I get the job & how much does it pay? Also, can I live here in Houston (it's too d*mned cold in Chicago)?
That wouldn't work under the salary cap, Washington would have to throw in some cash to make the deal go through.
