Don’t agree on nwaba and theis. They are two very easy to move contracts. Nwaba was a reasonable gamble just like matthews. He could still work out if he can hit threes like he did last game. It’s funny how so many folks worshiped tucker for his defense when he had no offense other than an occasional corner three. Kinda of like nawab? Theis is a decent backup center that we can move this year or next if need be. Stone has only one iffy move in my opinion and that is jalen green, but the jury is still out on that one. If he missed on that, it is pretty damning but still forgivable if the other rookies work out
It isn't reasonable to say Stone did a bad job based on whether Green is or isn't better than Mobley. A. It is way too early to tell who will eventually be the better player B. The draft is a crapshoot, it is just that the targets are slightly larger near the top. Plenty of top 5 picks bust. That is just the way it is. If Green is a bust, bad job. If he is good, good job. There are too many other variables as to how players will transition to the NBA.
One bad pick does not define whether a Gm is good or bad. Morley had a ton of mistakes but was worshipped on this forum.
True, but there's a huge difference between failing to get impact players when drafting 12-30 and failing to do so when drafting top 3. Not to say that a single whiff dooms a rebuild (Warriors selected Udoh #6 overall), but failing to convert on high lotto picks does, even if you find stars from elsewhere. The Suns made a title run with their homegrown star drafted at #15, but if they don't win a title before CP hits the age wall then those misses (Bender, Jackson, Culver, Chriss) are going to look REALLY bad.
Well if I would have been making the decisions at certain points, right now we would have had: Allen/Seguin Wood/Mobley Tate/KMJ Matthews/Brooks KPJ(still think we would have gotten him)/Christopher I would go to war with that group letting them develop over time and build chemistry until they could take us to the promised land of a championship. Who knows out of that group who would develop into the true alpha SUPERSTAR, but there are plenty of ALL-STAR potentials in that group. I would only exchange any of them for an already bonafide SUPER-STAR. I would have traded away everyone else already such as Gordon, House, Nwaba, Theis, and Wall even if I had to give a pick to free him. Keeping Augustin, Garuba, and whomever else we brought in from trades that are young to develop. That being said, Stone still made some good and great moves that maybe I wouldn't have made, or known about. So I still give him a solid B so far, that could be upgraded to an A depending on how JGreen and Seguin turn out over time.
Great summary! For me, I think it's still way too early to tell. His performance ultimately will be judged on how close this team comes to a championship, and championships come by the way of superstars. Finding undervalued players who turn out to be great role players is nice (e.g. Tate, Beverley) but ultimately you gotta hit one big. i.e. you can swing and miss but you gotta get that one Harden type superstar. Not saying that's easy but you gotta set yourself up in terms of picks, player contracts, etc so your chances of landing a potential superstar is optimized. Like you said, Jury's still out on JG and we'll see how Sengun develops, but we need superstars to be relevant in the NBA. This obviously takes more than just one year but still, annual assessments are appropriate to see how on track we are. After year 1, I think he's doing a pretty good job
Yeah sure. Show the posts where you made all those moves. If we got Allen we wouldn’t have gotten segue. You foresaw how good matthews has been and advocated we should get him? Hindsight gming at its best
With the situation he inherited, I think he's a "B+ to A-" range so far. DRAFT: While Jalen has been kind of disappointing, two of the 4 picks have exceeded expectations (Sengun wildly in my estimation). JC is starting to put together some good minutes and looking promising as a two-way player. Sengun has been just short of phenomenal in his limited court time. He's definitely looking like he can be a key starter and #1 post option/secondary facilitator player on a winning team (and he's just 19!). Not to mention he drafted KMJ with a 2nd last year and he's shown some unique ability to change the game with a signature block or dunk. While this grade is incomplete for now, its squarely in the B range. FA SIGNINGS: Wood, Tate, and Brooks last year all look like great value deals with potential to be even better. Wood is the wild card, does he settle in as solid 5 who can score on 3-levels and provide double-doubles consistently or does he get injured and/or regress? In any case, his signing was a good gamble and he's potentially going to pay us dividends either as our starting 5 or in a trade. Tate is solid and has become our mini-Draymond with a better postgame. Brooks can be lightning in a bottle on some nights and is a solid role player. This year we got Theis, resigned Nwaba, claimed Mathews and signed Nix/Queen. While the Theis/Wood lineup didn't work, I don't think Theis was a bad signing and believe he'll be of value as a reserve, spot starter or trade chip. Nwaba brings energy/effort every play and is a good vet to be around young folk. Mathews has been exactly what we needed--fearless 2-way player. While he's limited on offense, his 3pt shooting and ability to finish around the rim have been much needed. Defensively, he's been our spark, great waiver p/u and very reasonable contract. TRADES: WB for Wall, didn't look terrible on the surface and the 1st round pick helped us land Sengun so that's a positive, but unfortunately Wall's contract hasn't inspired any takers and that will continue to build friction. Hopefully something or someone gives before it gets too bad. The Harden trade, didn't net us any viable players and the picks/swaps won't kick in until the next draft. Although that doesn't look great, Harden seems to be slipping a bit, although he's still pretty damn good. With likely more trades afoot, I'm a little concerned with his track record there. Hopefully, we can get something decent for Gordon and maybe Wood, it will be a miracle if Wall is dealt without having to attach assets out. Should be interesting to see what happens in next couple of months.
He look O.K Even the Theis pick up would have been a good one, if he would have been used as a back up/ 16 minutes. In less than of hairy fatty getting traded, they acquired so many players with talent. Now it's about if those players can harness that talent. Oh and hit on another top 12 pick. The basketball gods are on our sidie. how else do you explain dodging an atomic bomb aka Oladipo
He's been phenomenal thus far. Morey still has his minions here holding him to unrealistic expectations. But he's definitely turned this franchise's culture around in less than 2 years. Hiring Silas was great for the rebuild, and also good for rebranding the organization after Morey tore It down. The offense is clicking and Green is SUPERSTAR once he gets healthy. Stone's done a better job here than Morey's done with Philly
GMs should be judged on the team they put together and the product on the court. I'm withholding judgement on Stone until we see some success. It's going to take time. There are way too many examples of teams becoming first round fodder and fizzling out (or not even making the playoffs) despite the fanbase's rosy outlook on their "promising young core." We're in this stage right now, it's easy to be optimistic, but as others have pointed out it will take a few years before we know if any of these decisions have been good ones.
I didn't post them, but I also said that some moves he made I maybe wouldn't have made or been aware of, which is why I gave him a solid B, and possibly upgrading to an A depending on how Green and Seguin turn out. While I may not have posted it, I certainly didn't understand the reason to not take Allen at the time of the trade and didn't agree with Oladipo and others moves we made. I think I gave a fair assessment or critic of him if you prefer to view it that way.
because you attacked us as a group. It’s no better than attacking people based on the color of their skin. Attack me as an individual and we can have a rational discussion. Saying all Americans have a certain way of thinking is as insulting as saying all Europeans think and act the same way.
What makes a good GMs great is realizing a mistake add fixing it. Turning average signings into trade assets. Not holding onto something because we overpaid.
The thing is, I come across this only in Americans' forums. But I said this as an observation, not as a generalization or insult; I can see I worded it wrong. Of course it doesn't apply to a whole nation.
all hindsight. If I was GM, I would have kept westbrook for another year, cashed out on the lakers and grabbed Sengun.
