There have been several threads recently about how we should stand pat until the right deal comes along. The common perception is that there is a better chance at making a trade nearer the trade deadline in Feb. This notion is a little confusing to me. It has been my understanding that championship contender teams (like the Spurs) usually do their 'tweaking' at the trade deadline to pickup role players to push them over the edge. I cannot recall many instances where a non-contending team becomes a true contending team through a deadline trade. What I am saying is that even with Yao, we are at least a top 25 player away from being a true contender. Most blockbuster player movement usually comes during the offseason. The only real pattern with trades near the dealine is that teams can usually get better bargains (which seems to have been Morey's #1 priority). I am not knocking on anything that Morey has done over the past few years. Every move of his has been logical and even when they did not bear fruit, I can understand why he made them. However, I am not as sold as others on this board with the hopes that we will get a true impact player (CP3 or Granger level) near the deadline. I am wondering if that is just the result of our efforts to console ourselves from the lack of additions to our current roster this summer. Here are some questions I find myself asking... 1) Would it be in our best interest to overpay for talent from this point on? We know that our GM can find suitable role players at good contracts. Are we being too conservative with our assets in pursing trades? 2) What has the trend been in years past in regards to star player movement. What is the % that big name players exchange jerseys near the deadline vs the offseason. 3) Has our team plateaued? Our team seems as good as it will be without another star player. Management has worked really hard to shed our team of "bad contracts", but in reality, can a team be truly competitive without having to overpay for talent? I wanted to hear your thoughts.
i think we should stay where we are and not worry about making big "splash" type moves.. as i see it... we have PLENTY of scoring. Our defense is what's gonna be key this year. AB has the ability to score 17+ any given night (averaged over 19.6 ppg last yr). Martin has the ability to score 20+ Ariza can give us 12+ Scola can give us 15+ Yao can give us 16+ Those averages alone give us about 80 points. When you factor in Lowry (7+ ppg), Budinger (7+ ppg), Battier (6+ ppg), and Hill (6 ppg)...the bench can give you a good 26ppg. When you have the ability to SCORE... the only thing the coaches need to focus more on this year is defending the paint...and have a 7'6 guy in the middle definitely helps!
I've already mentioned this in a couple of threads, but I think we're going to wait and see how well Yao comes back before making a big move.
