Morey is not trading T.Jones this season. One of our trade plans fell apart when a close Spoonbill of mine went down with an injury. Both sides were disappointed. Would have been a perfect fit, but of course, I have some bias. More as I can...
Yes. Much like we already know, DM wants 2 more sharp-shooters. 1 at the 4. Another at the 2-3. Bruises go away, too.
I think it's time we start worrying about either upgrading other positions or depth instead of trading Jones away unless somehow a true All Star is on the block out there that we don't know about. I'd trade Jones without blinking if it upgrades the team, but in my opinion, that would require getting a star player in return. I know there are plenty other advanced stats out there, but Jones is 3rd on the entire team in PER and Win Shares/48. His offensive rating is the highest on the whole team. Obviously we don't have RAPM to look at right now and I'm sure some may volunteer some other stats to go along with these in order to give us a complete picture as this only tells a limited portion, but all signs point to Jones not being the problem here when he is performing like either the 3rd or 4th best player on the team. PER Howard - 21.6 Harden - 21.4 Jones - 19.0 Parsons - 16.2 Lin - 14.9 Smith - 14.1 Casspi - 13.9 Brooks - 13.0 Beverley - 12.1 Asik - 10.6 D. Mo - 9.9 Garcia - 9.5 WS/48 Harden - .180 Howard - .168 Jones - .164 Parsons - .136 Smith - .123 Lin - .108 Beverley - .103 Casspi - .103 Brooks - .087 Asik - .082 Garcia - .072 D. Mo - .045
Jason smith is your friend, what's his value? Greg smith and brewer? Asik the bruise is on the way out I'm guessing? Any rumors of a significant player?
1. There is no absolute right or wrong answer as to whether Jones should be traded. Everything depends on what one gets in return for him. 2. However, there is a right answer as to whether Morey should at least seriously explore trading Jones. That answer is "yes." 3. That answer is "yes" not because Jones doesn't have high upside. He does and it's why the team may be able to get someone more helpful for their plans in a trade. 4. People who say "give him a year or two to develop" need to consider that the "a year or two" we deal with not just a measure of time. We are, instead, talking about one or two extra years in the career of 10 year veteran Dwight Howard who is under contract for only 3 more years before he can opt out. 5. The fact that Jones is not "the problem" doesn't mean it's not wise to trade him. Otis Thorpe was not the problem when the team traded him for Drexler. Al Jefferson was not the problem for the Celtics when they traded him for KG. Cassell and Horry were not the problem when they were traded for Barkley-- the 96-97 team fell short but it's what had to be done to take advantage of Hakeem and Drexler's last seasons. Most guys who get traded and actually land you value in return are not "the problem." 6. The real question is what the team can realistically get for Jones (likely in a package with Asik and maybe other players or draft picks). We are not getting obvious top 10-15 superstars who are happily playing on contending teams. The best we can hope for is a disgruntled star in a position to leave a not so good situation soon-- someone like maybe Kevin Love (better hope the Wolves don't get hot before February 20th). Perhaps Rondo if they are moving into full rebuild mode? But short of that, I would still consider guys who are top 30 or 40 in the NBA or maybe elite guys who are less heralded. Maybe Millsap if Morey's analysis agrees with the RAPM numbers-- but with the right trade package (Asik+Jone+contract fillers for Millsap+Korver+a draft pick?). Maybe something like Lowry+Amir Johnson+Patterson?
If Jones can keep it up he can that little bit of love that will take the pain away from a 15M pay day for a 5M player.
Carl, I actually agree with you. I don't agree with the people that bash Jones like he is the "problem" and consistently bring up his 3 point shooting and inexperience when he is making a strong case for being the third best player on the team right now after two max contract guys in only his 2nd year. This team has bigger problems than Terrence Jones at PF. Some get so busy talking about the things that he isn't great at right now while completely blowing off the things that he is doing wonderfully. Now if you can parlay him into a bigger fish, by all means do it. That is at heart of what Morey does. He tries to accumulate assets for bigger moves, but trading Jones and Asik for Millsap is a small upgrade at PF and thus an overpay IMO and trading them both for Illysavo would be a bad move as he is getting outplayed by several other bigs on his own team right now. Asik for Ersan may be a move you live with if you think he puts you over the top in conjunction with Jones as Ersan takes you out of the 2015 free agency that Morey seems to be focused on for some reason. That is what makes this laughable at times though. Who exactly do you trade Jones for that is REALISTICALLY available that would be a clear upgrade right now? I guess if you really believe in Millsap that much, you do that deal because I'm sure he can be had with the assets we have available. Like you said, if you can get Korver and a draft pick why not? I bet it would be hard to pry a 1st rounder out of Danny Ferry's kung fu grip though. Maybe if Morey likes Lucas Nogueira, he could be in the conversation as well.
I agree. I like Jones, but I don't think Ibaka would be roaming off of Millsap to help Perkins on Dwight. TJones hurts us when playing teams like the Thunder b/c he's not an offensive threat. Most of the time his jumpshots are airballs or bricks.
I was at the NOP vs. Houston game last week in New Orleans and I came away fairly impressed with Jason Smith. Aminu and Smith for Asik sounds fine with me.0]
Smith is the player Codman is friends with, his injury put a damper of any deal being accomplished. I hope Morey has something bigger in mind than a decent back up center.
Korver just signed for 4 years. If Morey isn't taking Jeff Green or Thaddeus Young because of the lengths of their contract, why would he take Korver's deal? And Toronto's not tanking nor are they dumping Amir Johnson who they love. Besides, even if suppose we deal Asik+Jones for Millsap and Korver, do they take us one step further in the playoffs over Jones+Bass(new backup C)+Lee+whatever we can get for likely Clippers pick? I can't imagine how that trade would propel us from the Clippers/Warriors/Portland range into OKC/SAS range. It might give us a marginally better chance to reach the WC finals, but is that really worth giving up Jones for? Especially since in the offseason, there's a chance Love or another 2015 FA may be on the market?
Great news, jones provides a lot for this team beyond just his skills and upside. The team seems to feed off his energy/hustle as well, great m8 for Dwight as hes mentioned a lot. Coming off his big game, he'll have his hands full trying to guard Aldridge tomorrow. i disagree with simply pawning the young fella off for a tweener such as millsap whos still limited on defense would be quite ridiculous. Love or Aldridge are deserving but we have little to no chance at those guys so I'm pretty sure morey is looking to build around and sharpen up the talent we have in (dwight, parsons, harden, and tj).
