Just needs to take a backseat. He can beat good floor general, shooter and defender. When Jalen's not on, he should get other guys going. I'm fine with the high volume 3's but want to see way fewer and more selective 2's from him. We'll get the mix right, everyone's adjusting. Stuck between last season and this season. Udoka has to rip the band-aid, unleash this core in a fast paced offense.
Given the way he played last year, I’m not going to jump down his throat after a poor 6 games to start the season. However, I’m starting to be concerned. He looks noticeably more sluggish than last year. He’s not facilitating the offense nearly as well. And stating the obvious, he’s been our worst shooter so far. Hopefully he can turn things around this week, but max players simply can’t play like he has through 6 games. There needs to be a very big turnaround starting now.
Question is - who wants him if he's playing like this? Can't see a contender with an injury wanting him shooting like he has - if he was playing well, sure. But that's not the case. A team going on the tank? What kinda craptastic contract do you have to take back? I They are better off just playing out the season and not picking up the option .... and sign some other vet guard in the MLE range. The team really doesn't have another PG option on the roster and t's really hard to trade a $47m contract and not take back salary beyond this season. The trade that needs to happen is Brooks going somewhere for no long term salary - he's in the way of Amen Tari & Cam getting more minutes. I'd rather find out what we have in those players and miss the playoffs than make the playoffs with Brooks and still being unsure of the young guys future.
If Fred steps back and takes a minor - secondary role, then he might think that the team won't pick up his large salary for a role player. So he is going to try and demonstrate that he is a significant - key player so that he gets his $$$ for next season. What kind of contract could/would he get for next season if he is a Free Agent?
Fred is your "someone is willing to trade a max contract player" chip to make salaries match. If he were to be traded, there would be someone on their rookie scale contract being packaged with him and the value would be in the young players - Fred just becomes expiring salary for anyone acquiring him.
