Much of the same, and not a lot to say. Same poor defense, lack of interior presence, but can score well and have a chance to win every night if we’re shooting the three well.
I’m not saying that a good big man will solve all the defensive problems, but damn it’ll help. Communication on the defensive end is horrible.
We have to overhelp SO MUCH in the paint that our perimeter defense collapses. The Suns figured it out better than anyone has so far and punished us with open shots nearly every possession. Also, our match up zone has become WAY too predictable, and we do idiotic switches sometimes just for the sake of switching.
We need a dog like Patrick Beverly to inspire our guys on the defensive end. Not saying go out and get Pat Bev, just saying we need that DAWG like attitude and a defensive anchor.
4 rotation players making the most of NBA roster inconsistency (basketballnews.com)
Really nice write up on Jalen. Funny that all this talk lately on pods about Jerami Grant had me thinking we had Jerami Jr and the writer landed on that same notion. I do hope when all is done next year, Jalen is still very much a part of our core.
I agree. I am very high on Jalen Mickey D.
I think, and hope, he will be too. I expect us to move PJ on in a trade package rather than resign him and McDaniels (as well as the possibility of Thor and maybe Kai) will help ease the loss of PJ and take some of his minutes.
I really hope we can sign Jalen & Cody to reasonable contracts as I think it’s vital to have second round picks as rotation players, on their second contracts too, to demonstrate, internally as much as externally, that we can develop players.
With most guys leaving college after only a year or two, the G- League is critical to player development. The coaches in Greensboro have done a great job refining the raw talent. McDaniels is one of the best examples of that.
But I’m most impressed by the FO’s eye for talent, which is exceedingly difficult to assess these days with such a small sample size of games. During the previous regimes, I can’t think of a single 2nd round pick that contributed. Heck, even most of our 1st rounders flopped. But Devonte, Cody, Jalen, Richards and even Bacon have all been solids rotation players. I’ll admit I wasn’t a fan of the Mitch hire at first, but he’s done a superior job building the team through the draft.
With another year of salary control on PJ, I think that’s a next year consideration. But for the immediate, I can’t see how we find equal value at C for 5.8m. I realize you didn’t say this year so it’s not a direct response to that.
However, if we can find an apt replacement for both Mason (7’ starter) and PJ (actual defensive stretch center) in one player, then I can see a more immediate trade.
Conversely, PJ is a trade asset that teams would covet because he does have that one more year of team controlled salary you mentioned. Cap-wise, that would benefit a cap crunched team tremendously.
Edit: I’m neither for or against trading PJ, but I’m pretty lukewarm on giving him a big contract extension as of this moment. I’d need to see him take the next step as this season progresses.
I’m essentially in agreement with both of you. PJ is such a versatile and good player for us that it would hurt to loose him this season, however, much as can be said for Ubre, his value is likely at its highest now. It’s a fine line to tread but, whichever way we go, we should only move him if we’re both getting value and filling a more pressing need in return.
To go further than that, I’m in no hurry to trade anyone from our rotation (aside from Plumlee). However, we can not ignore the gaping hole that is our centre position or the fact that Ball, Terry & GH seem to step on each other’s toes offensively (just one ball after all) while also not offering enough on the defensive side of things. I’d love to see what difference a Turner type #5 would make to our ability to functionally defend the rim and guard the perimeter rather than, as is currently the case, getting caught ineffectively between the two.
Great points all around. I agree that barring a Bridges-esque breakout or another big contract being moved, it’s hard to identify a fiscally feasible path that leads to a big extension for PJ. I do believe it’s more likely than not that he’s traded at some point, either this year or next.
As has been stated, the problem with trading a guy like PJ who is worth more than his current salary is that it almost forces you into an overpay. Turner would undoubtedly help us, but if we have to package PJ with another bigger contract like Terry or Oubre to make the numbers work, I’d definitely want more than just Turner in return. As dire as our need is for a C, I don’t want to overpay to get one, especially a non-star one like Turner.
I also don’t necessarily feel like Melo/Terry/Gordon step on each other’s toes. Sure, their individual stats will be impacted when everyone is healthy and playing, but I think the presence of all 3 plus Bridges emergence provides us the luxury of none of them needing to be on and drop 30 every night. The bigger question to me is whether that’s the best allocation of our resources with Gordon and Terry already on a big contract and Miles about to be on one.
Plenty of other ways to figure that out than 5.8
I would invite you guys to listen to Kupchak’s most recent interview on WFNZ. To me it doesn’t seem like they are in a hurry to make a move mainly because they don’t have a full evaluation on how they are as a whole due to covid across the league.
However, he acknowledged that they’re going to have to make some tough decisions maybe not this year but in the near future and that they’re not against making a move in the next year or two to make a push to the Eastern Conference Finals if they remain on track.
So it’s safe to say some of these young talented guys won’t be here permanently for sure. And Kupchak is pretty high on Bouknight, Jones, and Thor.
Hate to say it but…if PJ wasn’t knocking down some 3’s he’d be pretty worthless. That’s actually the only thing giving him real value. And I don’t know why people would be hesitant to move on from him.
We can find another big guy who can knock down a few threes. I promise. And hey, who knows, he could be good at a few other things that we need. Like defense, blocking shots, rebounding.
Fun NBA Redraft by Vecenie and Partnow if you get past the first 30 minutes of discussion between the two over #1 & #2 (Zion, Ja).
PJ Washington; selected #11 (Seth’s #9)
Cody Martin; selected #16 (toss up for Sam vs Cam Reddish)
I personally don’t feel PJ is limited to shooting 3s well or he’s unplayable. To me that’s a much more apt description of Kelly Oubre Jr… PJ has been our best all-around center over the last 2 years for me. However, when he is hitting that top of the arc 3, he’s tremendously valuable for us.
I’m personally not opposed to moving PJ, and I don’t get the sense that others are either. The issue is more about extracting the appropriate value in return if we do, and that is complicated due to the fact that he’s still on his rookie deal and a relatively low salary.
There are varied opinions about his worth. I personally think his skill set it a bit broader than you suggest, but I think we can all agree that he’s worth more than what his currently salary would yield in a straight up trade.
To me this is the crux of the issue. He’s way more valuable to us over the next year than we’d get back in trade. Now if you pin him with a much bigger contract outgoing and can bring back a $:value that levels the value out/value in, I’d be all for it. I struggle to come up with a trade like that presently.
Compounding the problem of assessing value is that he’s really best as a 4, and I’m certain he will be a valuable player at the 4 for some team. However, the way our roster is currently constructed, Bridges plays a lot of 4 which pushes him to the 5 or the bench. And I’m sure he’d rather being playing the 4 for the longevity of his career.
I like PJ a lot and believe he’s much more talented than just a 3 specialist big. But I also see that we may need to move him to get maximum benefit from his selection.
I certainly respect your opinions on PJ, but I’m more bearish on him.
My thing is Bridges is more of a 3 and PJ is a 4 both are getting outmatched at positions now because of height and size. This is where to me you send out Hayward for a center and our roster balances out by moving them to their natural positions. Terry is the alpha that we need and Gordon is the money that can be used to balance the roster allowing us to resign Miles and bring in some help at the 4 and 5.
I can appreciate that. I guess the only thing I hate about moving Hayward is that he’s so good between the basket and the three point line, the kind of scoring you need when things aren’t working.
But it may be that he has to be traded.