jmmagicfan

But he doesn't actually do any of those things on an elite level, which is what his contract was for at the time it was signed. He was supposed to be an elite-level, defensive player. For someone who was supposedly analytics-based, Henny really dropped the ball on that one.

Very true, I would have preferred we keep Kyle O'Quinn over either of them, but my main point was that Biyombo pretty much IS Dedmon, only making almost three times as much money; and that is only because Dedmon just signed a new contract for $6M, before that it was even more of a monetary discrepancy. I didn't like Biyombo in Charlotte, I wasn't impressed with his regular season in Toronto, and I hated the signing here. He had a good playoffs with Toronto, it's the only thing he has ever really done. But, there is nothing to be done about it now. Our only options seem to be waive/stretch or ride it out; I don't see us being able to trade that albatross of a contract any time soon.

I'm not saying that Dedmon is the answer, I'm saying that keeping Dedmon at his salary would have been a much better choice than paying for Biyombo and his hands of brick. Dedmon and his salary would not have tied our hands, and would probably be tradeable; I doubt that Biyombo is.

Biyombo's stats for the same time period. 2014-15 for Charlotte 8 minutes 49 seconds per foul; 2015-16 for Toronto 8 minutes, 9 seconds per foul; 2016-17 for Orlando 8 minutes 50 seconds per foul. Yes, he gives you more minutes without fouling; but I still don't think it is enough more, considering he is costing you more than twice as much. In fact, last year Dedmon's Rebounds/36 min, Steals/36 and Points/36 were higher than Biyombo's. Biyombo's Blocks/36 were slightly higher, but both were still under 2 blocks/36, so neither was exactly tearing it up. Bismack Biyombo Stats Regular Season | Postseason REGULAR SEASON AVERAGES SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FGM-A FG% 3PM-A 3P% FTM-A FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS '14-'15 CHA 64 21 19.4 1.6-2.9 .543 0.0-0.0 .000 1.6-2.7 .583 2.5 3.9 6.4 0.3 1.5 0.3 2.2 0.8 4.8 '15-'16 TOR 82 22 22.0 1.9-3.5 .542 0.0-0.0 .000 1.7-2.8 .628 2.2 5.8 8.0 0.4 1.6 0.2 2.7 0.9 5.5 '16-'17 ORL 81 27 22.1 2.2-4.2 .528 0.0-0.0 .000 1.5-2.9 .534 1.9 5.1 7.0 0.9 1.1 0.3 2.5 1.2 6.0

I think you need to put that a little more in context. Yes, Dedmon can be foul-prone, but when the team actually plays some perimeter defense in support, he does much better. Also, he is moving in the right direction. 2014-15 he averaged under 6 minutes played per foul. 2015-16 averaged 6 minutes 25 seconds per foul; both with Orlando. 2016-17 with San Antonio he averaged 7 minutes 17.5 seconds per foul. I would take Dedmon (at his salary) over Biyambo at $17M a year every day of the week and twice on Saturday. Especially since both are playing backup minutes. Dewayne Dedmon Stats Regular Season | Postseason REGULAR SEASON AVERAGES SEASON TEAM GP GS MIN FGM-A FG% 3PM-A 3P% FTM-A FT% OR DR REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS '14-'15 ORL 59 15 14.3 1.5-2.7 .562 0.0-0.0 .000 0.6-1.1 .531 2.0 3.0 5.0 0.2 0.8 0.3 2.4 0.9 3.7 '15-'16 ORL 58 20 12.2 1.7-3.1 .559 0.0-0.0 .000 1.0-1.3 .750 1.2 2.8 3.9 0.2 0.8 0.4 1.9 0.6 4.4 '16-'17 SA 76 37 17.5 2.1-3.4 .622 0.0-0.0 .000 0.9-1.2 .699 1.7 4.8 6.5 0.6 0.8 0.5 2.4 0.8 5.1

Not a huge surprise that with a shortened training camp, he is going to start 5 guys that are familiar with the system, and they played more together last year. I'll be interested to see what his bench rotation looks like, and how many bench players he uses at any one time.

Doesn't go into effect until the 2019 draft, so this is the last year for "mega-tanking" for the highest odds (25%) of picking #1

If someone actually calls with that trade there should only be two possible responses: 1) Laugh, say "seriously, why did you really call", and then hang up the phone; or 2) Say, "no, no, and hell no", and then hang up the phone. Notice what both responses have in common - HANG UP THE PHONE.

I hope the dying is just figuratively, not literally!

We all do, but I think we have some cause for hope in our bench's improvement at the very least.

I seem to recall that Afflalo is actually a pretty decent defender, and he has apparently been working to get into top shape coming into this season 10-15 pounds lighter, so I'm not sure he isn't a positive versus last year as well. I think he is at least as good on the defensive end as Meeks was.

And rightly so, I'm afraid. How many franchises have loyalty to the players? And the players who do show loyalty by taking smaller contracts to help the team retain and/or bring in better FA never really make that money up. Look at Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki, and this year Kevin Durant. They gave their teams massive "home-town" discounts in the last 5 years; they are never going to recoup that money, but they did it because their owners have shown loyalty to them, and/or the chase for championship(s) have become more important to them, since they've already made so much money. It is the owners/gm's who have shown no loyalty, and no discipline; that can't stay within the salary caps that they helped establish that have had the most trouble, unfortunately, ours included. We all want our teams to spend, spend, spend to bring in the best players and win championships, but when they overspend on mediocre talent it makes bringing in top talent harder.

You absolutely do not need to trade him now, but you need to use the restricted status to work for you. You can try and extend him an offer and lock him up at a reasonable price now, or you can wait until the end of the season. If he has a great season it will boost his value and probably cost you more, if it is about the same then you might still lock him in reasonably. Even a break-out season doesn't guarantee that he will get a max offer. How many teams 1) will have that much space, 2) will be in the market for a PF/combo F, and 3) will be willing to take a chance on tying up their cap-space for a week while we decide to match? Look at how few RFA have gotten big offers lately, not because of lack of interest; but because the thought is their current team will match and you will miss out on other potential FA because the team with the RFA's rights locked up your cap space for a week and then matched. The trick is always communication. You immediately make the qualifying offer (unless he completely comes off the rails), and then start to negotiate in good faith. You even let it be known that you are planning on matching any offer, which may actually discourage other teams from making them. If you are pursuing other FA, and need to defer signing to work the cap space, you let him know; that respect can go a long way when it comes to the long-term with any player.

Trying to figure out why we waived Georges-Hunt, but still have Garino on the roster? Huh? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Sure you can-Dwight Howard did it at least four years here