Odin

Eh, not really.

He is better offensively, maybe, but a worse rebounder.

Has Brook ever had much value? I have always felt that the media has always given him more value than GMs do. I guess his contract looks reasonable now...

I hear this year will be a good year to be in the lotto- so wouldn't be a bad thing..... If you weren't brooklyn who traded away all their draft picks for mediocrity.

I don't think it is. I completely understand where you all are coming from as many fans are sick of developing talent. This view, however, is short sighted (In my opinion). Here are my reasons why getting draft picks for Vuch is a potentially good idea that should not be so quickly dismissed: 1. It will free up playing time at the 4 and 5. 2. The draft is one of the few ways to pick up talent 3. Draft picks are a good trade resource for later 4. Players on the rookie salary scale are generally the most cost efficient way to fill out a bench 5. Almost all competitive teams have young talent on their bench to either fill out the bench, or develop for the future. If we can get a decent player in return that fills a need, then i understand that approach. Giving away our own draft picks can be very dangerous though.

Would anyone be ok with trading Vuch away for some draft picks? It seems like we have already added some good vets who should help us win more. That would open playing time at the 4 and 5, while also hopefully helping us stock up to grab young talent in the furure.

Anyone know what this does to our cap space for next year?

Which is one of the reasons the trade was so risky.

How quickly is he gone? He has to be feeling like Cousins right now. "Why all the centers?"

Too much for Biyombo, in my opinion.

I think it is fine not to get too excited about these guys- they are, for the most part, role players. The good thing is that they are all on moveable deals and/ or expiring next year. We should be able to win more next year while having the space to bring in one of the free agents the following year.

Even if he starts, I bet his minutes go down. The question is, who would you rather have more minutes? Vuch or Gordon?

The good thing too is that all of these contracts should be movable if necessary. None of them have money where the other side should say "no that guy makes too much money vs. his production". This means that we should continue to have flexibility in the future.

We were commenting on Payton. Fournier was inconsistent last year too, but he had multiple very good stretches of play. He was top 20 in 3 point %, while taking almost 5 a game. That is big.

Any way around it, he is making less per year than Evan Turner. How is Evan Turner making 18.5 a year?

That is very uninspiring you know.

So sad. I liked that Grizzlies team. They should start the rebuild- but it looks like they might try to cling to mediocrity. I hope Gasol heals up properly. He always got a bad rub in the early part of his career and has since proved himself to be a quality player. Foot injuries are always scary though, especially in 7 footers.

I think I am going to have to disagree with you here, mainly because I don't see any "best 24 game stretch". He was incredibly volatile all year last year. I guess the thing he needs to do is correct that awful inconsistency.

If Payton can shoot at the same percentages at the 3 at a higher volume (~3 a game?) that will be a massive improvement. That and doing better at finishing inside. Also.... improve free throws.... How is a pg so bad at free throws?

It looks like we are getting priced out of all of the good free agents. "You get a max contract, and you get a max contract, and you get a max contract," NBA Oprah.

I think Gordon is already a superior player to Barnes. Don't know if he will make a jump to 35% from three. I think 32% is a more reasonable expectation.

So, let me get this right- We traded away Harris for nothing basically on the idea that "hey look potential free agents at how much cap space we have!" and now can't get a single meeting with one of the top free agents. It also makes it look like the "hey look, we have Ibaka now! Everyone want's to play with Ibaka, right?" stratagem has failed. two high risk trades that did not need to be made. Hopefully Rob can make something magical happen, because right now at least one of his high risk moves is looking like it backfired on him.

Honestly, who is there to get that we should actually want sans Batum? (Not talking about "big name" free agents who are going to be thrown money they aren't worth cough*barnes*cough)

Yep, if teams get into bidding wars this year and throw money at players because they can- and we sit back and make smart moves, we will be in a better position next year just based on the fact that we didn't go crazy this year.

I understand and agree, it just seems like this is a bit of a salary dump on Detroit's part- and usually you can get something back for those even if you are potentially getting back a playable player in the deal. Honestly, he is probably just going to act as a cap hold for next year.