This is my fear-- Motiejunas being the odd-man out. I wish there were a way all of these guys could work out for us.
Kelvin Cato is not a bust. here is the proof: http://assets.espn.go.com/nba/2000/991015/boxscore/clehou.html
Morris can play the 3 or the 4. However, he gets much more active in the offense as a 4. As a 4 he's the guy setting picks and rolling towards the basketball. This is much more condusive to his game overall. Hate to bring up the Melo comparison here, but they really are similar players in their style of play(however, NOWHERE near as talented) where they both have a PF offensive game, but can guard most NBA 3's so you can use them in alot of different ways on offense. So this whole debate of whether he's a 3 or a 4 is not really worth going back and forth on. Fact is, he's a highly skilled versatile forward who can score in a variety of different ways, but seems to really be effective when he gets in the painted area. You can use him in alot of different ways, but he's not your traditional 3 or 4. If your coaching him, you really need to run plays with him in mind to allow him to be successful. Not your traditional NBA role player. In a perfect world you would like to play him alongside another 4 and maybe even a 5 man too that can stretch the floor to give him room to operate inside on offense. So no, he's not a bust, but he can be an odd fit at times because he's not a traditional role player, and you really need to run plays for him to not become an bystander in the offense.
Marcus Morris is not a bust as of right now because he's only a 2nd year player, with a lockout shortened season last year no less. Not because of any preseason game. Morris can average 20 during the preseason for all I care, and I won't be proclaiming anything about him. He'll need to beat out our other youngsters for PT, and then produce, for him to not be a bust. There's no way all of these players pan out in terms of being NBA quality. I mean, I think Morey is a genius talent evaluator and all, but he hasn't even hit on half his picks to date. If even 2 of the 4 rookies we have become quality starters, or perhaps even borderline all-stars, then I'd be freaking ecstatic. Time will tell who will blossom and who will bust.
Y cant we trade 2Pat, Martin & Morris and try to get a good backup C plus Picks maybe. this way we can give our Youngsters a chance to start. This way we can try to build chemestry with the New team. Lin / Douglas Lamb /Delfino Parson / Jones / White Mote / Jones / White Asik / ?????
Can't we go Jones/5, DMo/4, Royce/3? You could switch DMo and Jones. Either way, I don't want to lose DMo...
Rather see Morris play than Delfino. Use Delfino for special plays and as a leadership, locker room guy. Morris is getting better with more playing time.
I really could see him backing up Parsons. My reasoning is optimistic since I hope Royce white pans out and that we might trade Patterson.
We should stop worrying about defining positions for these players....remember that the team actually wants versatility. The team is going to put them in where it benefits them from game to game. Morris and White can play either forward spot. Jones can play 3-5. Dmo, Patrick, and even Omer can play 4/5. There does seem to be an odd man out, but with Royce starting late, he's the easy decision, for now.
Based on Ackerman and Friedman's discussion today, it sounds like White, DMo, and Morris are fighting over the 8-9 out of rotation minutes. Not a fan of Delfino as I was hoping Morris could lock down backup SF spot.
I've been turning this over in my mind since the morning, but it's like RV6 says: most of these guys are versatile (don't agree about Asik as a 4 though). Jones seems to make Patterson redundant, but I'd love to see Motiejunas start next to Asik.
Yeah, Asik at the 4 is not that likely, but really it all depends on match ups. Could see one where Omer can handle a slower 4, if their 5 is too quick for him. Again, it's about matchups. There's a difference between saying Jones is a 3 and Jones can play 3. We're saying he can. That could mean he'd be ineffective in 80% of possible matchups at the 3, but that's why you'd only give him SF minutes 20% of the time.
You all talk about White, Morris and Jones being able to play the SF and that's just wrong, sure you can toss them out there but none of them have proven they can be effective at it yet. Out of those 3 Jones is winning the perception battle in my head but where it needs to happen is in reality. I was disappointed that Morris was used mostly as a PF, I mean, I want to see what happens when they throw him at a real winger for a considerable amount of time, that's what he needs right now. Up to this point, he's a career back-up.
I say showcase these forwards early in the season and bundle them off in some trade around the deadline. It means McHale's going to have to cooperate a little in spreading PT around to maybe 10 players and people on this board need to not expect good play w/o a consistent rotation.
Jones will eventually be our starting PF with possibly Morris backing him up. One thing's for sure though, i'd rather have Morris over Pattrick Patterson. Sounds crazy but ask me again in 2 years.
This - I think this fits into McHale's grand plan of having different lineups based on the opposition, and he values players who are multi-dimensional, both defensively and offensively.
