Kevin Pelton thread

[ball junkie 277]

From his chat yesterday....First answered question is for Catman:

 

Paul (Gainesville) [via mobile]

Hey Kevin, can you help me settle a bet ?...My friend says the Jazz are grooming Dante Exum to play shooting guard ...I say the league is filled now with ball dominant attacking PG's and that will likely be his career position...I made the statement Dante would not have the letters SG written by his name in the box score for any game this coming season. Need your opinion to settle this.....

 

Kevin Pelton (2:20 PM)

I suppose there is a chance he starts at shooting guard at some point due to injuries or Trey Burke's emergence, but the Jazz certainly envision him as a point guard.

 

John (Tampa) [via mobile]

Hello Kevin, love your stuff !...Could you give me your outlook for the Magic next season ?...Playoffs ?...Is the roster still unbalanced ?

 

Kevin Pelton (2:10 PM)

The playoffs are certainly a realistic possibility for them next season, but I still think less likely than falling just short. 2016-17 is a more likely playoff return.

 

Robert (Florence, AL)

Were you surprised about how little the Magic received for Kyle O'Quinn? There must be a team that would have offered more than the Knicks did: cash and the option to swap second rounders.

 

Kevin Pelton (2:26 PM)

While not all GMs call every team in the league before making a trade, it's usually fair to assume they have done their due diligence. In this case, it's certainly possible that other teams that valued O'Quinn were hoping to sign him outright and were not willing to offer anything in return

 

Keith (Iowa)

What do you think of Harkless now getting out of Orlando, and having a chance in Portland?

 

Kevin Pelton (3:49 PM)

Excited about it. He deserved a shot to play. Can't believe the price was so low -- a top-55 protected pick.

 

John (Boston)

Do you feel similarly about Perry Jones, as you now do about Harkless?

 

Kevin Pelton (4:17 PM)

No, because he's a couple of years older and has never been as productive over an extended period of time as Harkless was his first two seasons. Still worth a shot but not nearly as likely to pay off in my opinion

 

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/51885/nba-insider-kevin-pelton

[CTMagicUK 1,482]

The Magic could have held Harkless hostage trying to get more and ended up leaving him rotting on the bench all season in a contract year which could kill his entire NBA career and still got us nothing. Something is only worth what people are willing to pay for it and so in this case Harkless was worth what we got which was virtually nothing. At least we did right by him which will help our reputation among agents etc.

[ball junkie 277]

Pelton Trade Grades....

 

Portland Trail Blazers: A

 

It's fair to say Neil Olshey has a type. Since losing his team's veteran core to free agency this summer, the Blazers general manager has been stockpiling players in their early to mid-20s with the potential to develop as they gain experience together. Specifically, Harkless fits a similar mold to Al-Farouq Aminu, whom Portland signed earlier this summer. (My SCHOENE projection system actually estimates Aminu is the third-best match for Harkless statistically at the same age.) Both players are terrific athletes who were drafted in the first round and saw their development slowed by limited outside shooting. Harkless has been buried in Orlando because of the difficulty playing him with the Magic's weak-shooting backcourt of Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton. Journeymen such as Ben Gordon and Willie Green played ahead of him last season, causing Harkless' value to plummet.

 

There's still talent here. Harkless turned only 22 in May. Believe it or not, he's younger than four players drafted in the first round this season: Jerian Grant, Frank Kaminsky, Larry Nance Jr. and Delon Wright. He has shown defensive potential, posting steal and block rates better than 2 percent during both the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons. And his shot is not completely broken. Harkless actually made 38.3 percent of his 3-pointers in 2013-14, though his career mark (30.9 percent) is probably more indicative of his true ability.

The Blazers will give Harkless a chance to play and see what he can do. This is an odd group Olshey has put together. With Aminu, Harkless and veteran Gerald Henderson Jr. on the wing, there's not much shooting. Portland coach Terry Stotts will have to try to cover that deficiency by getting shooting from big men Meyers Leonard and Noah Vonleh while hoping that the athleticism on the perimeter can cover up poor interior defense. Realistically, though, how the Blazers fit together right now doesn't matter. Portland is building for a couple of years down the road, and Harkless is another example of value talent acquisition. The only downside is he has just one year left on his rookie contract. Don't be surprised if the Blazers try to quietly sign Harkless to a modest contract extension this fall if he performs well in training camp.

 

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Orlando Magic: C

 

After drafting Mario Hezonja and re-signing Tobias Harris as a restricted free agent, the Magic saw their wing rotation go from crowded to overflowing. Behind starters Harris and Oladipo, Orlando has Hezonja and fourth-year player Evan Fournier, along with second-year combo forward Aaron Gordon seeing some minutes on the wing. So it's understandable the team would cut bait on Harkless now entering the final season of his rookie contract.

 

My biggest question from the Magic's standpoint is whether the team could have gotten more value for Harkless had he actually gotten some minutes last season. A second-round pick that apparently won't come for a few years -- Portland doesn't currently have any picks in 2016 or 2017, and Sacramento has the option of swapping picks with the Blazers in 2018 -- isn't much of a return.

 

 

http://espn.go.com/n...aurice-harkless

[magicblue 315]

Not sure why this thread is necessary (unless ball junkie will commit to only posting it and not others)? Otherwise I vote for lock, as if this is a democracy

[Fultz4thewin 2,464]

Not sure why this thread is necessary (unless ball junkie will commit to only posting it and not others)? Otherwise I vote for lock, as if this is a democracy

 

Nah, we're not locking this

[Catman 380]

BJ your friend just said he could START at SG at some point and you are telling me that it won't happen? Lets slide past the fact that Pelton is not even right about his predictions half the time and I will over look that you once again changed the wording of your original bet (which I have already won, and did you a favor by not collecting on it). The bet was that he would never be listed as a SG. I already showed where he was. Now you change it to - play a game at SG this coming season. You clearly lack confidence now in your original proposition.

 

Clearly, the first issue is that if you want to make bets you need to word your posts a lot better. The second is that a guy starting at SG tells me has the coaches confidence at that position and is already playing at the spot now and then in practice. You don't START a guy at that position unless he has familiarity there. You use him as a reserve.

 

Dante Exum will play SG, and will not be as good at PG as Elfrid Payton. Accept it.

[Trey Time 186]

People like Pelton are why Insider is a scam. Why would I pay money to read something written by someone who knows less about basketball than me?

[A Better DJ & Photographer 457]

IMO the Harkless trade was a kind gesture simply for his benefit.

[A Better DJ & Photographer 457]

IMO the Harkless trade was a kind gesture simply for his benefit.

[Miller4Prez66 545]

Nah, we're not locking this

 

You should just delete it.

[ball junkie 277]

IMO the Harkless trade was a kind gesture simply for his benefit.

 

Agreed...I think the point Pelton is making that some may be missing is that Kevin felt Harkless should have played more last season to try and increase his value there by increasing the return.

 

Instead of sitting him on the bench behind Ben Gordon and I'm guessing Ridenour...We also had injuries to make guys like Fournier and Harris miss many games which should have further opened the door for Moe to get some burn.

 

Add to that how much we sucked and we're just playing out the string of games to end the season and well....I see his point.

[Catman 380]

Moe had internal stuff going on. He was not focused on road trips (stripper/cell phone saga one example). In other words he was not earning any PT. Meanwhile Ben Gordon is busting his butt when put in games and producing in small bursts, plus mentoring the young guys off the floor and never causing a problem. There are reasons coaches play guys over others that are not always as publicized.