jmmagicfan 299 Report post Posted December 16, 2021 So I just read that LAL are applying for a “hardship” exemption, and my question is why haven’t we done this to get another ball-handler instead of playing Hampton as a backup PG? “The hardship exemption was put into place by the league to allow a team to exceed the full 15-man roster limit if dealing with sickness or illness to at least four players simultaneously for a period of at least two weeks.“ We have had Fultz, Isaac, Moore, and MCW out for a month, and Suggs out for several weeks now. Not even applying for this is just plain poor management in my opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South_Aussie_Magic 90 Report post Posted December 16, 2021 Not sure if I should be surprised that knives are out already for a coach 30 games in during a season where the best thing for the franchise long term is to continue our pursuit for a franchise player... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJZFL 618 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 43 minutes ago, South_Aussie_Magic said: Not sure if I should be surprised that knives are out already for a coach 30 games in during a season where the best thing for the franchise long term is to continue our pursuit for a franchise player... No. The best thing for the franchise is to try to develop our young players and not tell them it’s ok if they lose because we’re trying to tank anyway. Gordon was right when he commented on how that message impeded player development. We are on track to be worse than our expansion teams, and they never tried to tank or thought losing was ok. You have to hold the players responsible for the things they can control or they understandably don’t know what you are trying to achieve. Winks/nods that it’s fine to lose because they’re “learning” will only make them worse. Not caring about this season because we’re waiting for fantastic draft luck is a mentality that will probably lead us to 15 more years of futility. I sincerely hope management doesn’t share that idea. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
South_Aussie_Magic 90 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 " The best thing for the franchise is to try to develop our young players and not tell them it’s ok if they lose because we’re trying to tank anyway. Gordon was right when he commented on how that message impeded player development." The idea that this is an open mandate is speculative at best. Edit: further to this. I assume Weltman and Hammond were brought here with the goal of winning a championship and creating a sustainable winning environment. So no, continuing to tread water by putting middling pieces together and saying "we'll pursue what is best for winning the most games this season with this here right now" is not the best thing for the franchise at all. Every respectable winning culture in the league past and present starts with a transcendent player, not the supporting cast. I do not understand how many times this has to be wheeled out. We have who we have this year, this is unavoidable. Going out and chasing the Kendrick Nunn's, Devonte Graham's and Jae Crowder's of the world to "Stabilise our young talent" is not going to win us any favours now or in 10 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJZFL 618 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 4 hours ago, South_Aussie_Magic said: " The best thing for the franchise is to try to develop our young players and not tell them it’s ok if they lose because we’re trying to tank anyway. Gordon was right when he commented on how that message impeded player development." The idea that this is an open mandate is speculative at best. Edit: further to this. I assume Weltman and Hammond were brought here with the goal of winning a championship and creating a sustainable winning environment. So no, continuing to tread water by putting middling pieces together and saying "we'll pursue what is best for winning the most games this season with this here right now" is not the best thing for the franchise at all. Every respectable winning culture in the league past and present starts with a transcendent player, not the supporting cast. I do not understand how many times this has to be wheeled out. We have who we have this year, this is unavoidable. Going out and chasing the Kendrick Nunn's, Devonte Graham's and Jae Crowder's of the world to "Stabilise our young talent" is not going to win us any favours now or in 10 years. Never suggested chasing any of them. I’m advocating developing what we have now, adding to it through the draft and smart trades, and in so doing actually build a team. As opposed to losing as many games as possible every year until you get that “ transcendent player” which may take 25 years or may never happen. You can’t roll out a product like this year after year while treading water unless you’re willing to lose your fan base completely. Furthermore, you don’t need a “transcendent” player to overachieve and develop winning habits. Remember heart and hustle, for example? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke_FfS 247 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 13 hours ago, jmmagicfan said: So I just read that LAL are applying for a “hardship” exemption, and my question is why haven’t we done this to get another ball-handler instead of playing Hampton as a backup PG? “The hardship exemption was put into place by the league to allow a team to exceed the full 15-man roster limit if dealing with sickness or illness to at least four players simultaneously for a period of at least two weeks.“ We have had Fultz, Isaac, Moore, and MCW out for a month, and Suggs out for several weeks now. Not even applying for this is just plain poor management in my opinion. LA has obviously different targets than we have. I don't see giving reps to all our young core as a bad decision, as long as all the young group is giving it all every single night. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Luke_FfS 247 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 13 hours ago, South_Aussie_Magic said: Not sure if I should be surprised that knives are out already for a coach 30 games in during a season where the best thing for the franchise long term is to continue our pursuit for a franchise player... I just asked other users opinion, and I wrote it was an early take. :) But... as players, coaches too are obviosuly going to be judged, and I was just curious to know what the opinion was about the new staff. There're a lot of facets, individual and team improvement, in game management. We've been in a few close games, we have made the right decisions? Was the right play called? Off/def substitutions were smart? Every detail is necessary if you want to be competitive. I know it's early to axe them, but at the same time, some of those details could be already seen... and judged. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soul Bro 1,418 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 Our team is young and hurt. It seems some pieces have grown (e.g. Cole and Carter) while others have taken a step back (e.g. Chuma). I want to see Suggs back out there as soon as possible, as I don’t have a lot of faith in the long-term health of Fultz or Isaac. Two more things: The pick and growth of Wagner can’t be dismissed. And “no” to the tall skinny kid at Gonzaga. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jmmagicfan 299 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Luke_FfS said: LA has obviously different targets than we have. I don't see giving reps to all our young core as a bad decision, as long as all the young group is giving it all every single night. I did consider that, but unless we are seriously considering using Hampton as a PG in the future, are we really benefitting him or are we taking time away from his development at positions he is better suited/going to play in the future. I see him as much more of a SG/SF, so I'm worried him spending so much time trying to play backup PG might frustrate him and stunt his growth for what should be his actual position(s). Also, how much is not having a true, healthy, backup PG hurting the guys on the second unit? We've all noticed/commented on Chuma's play so far this year, but how much of that is the team on the floor with him? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MagicTurk 11 Report post Posted December 17, 2021 3 hours ago, jmmagicfan said: I did consider that, but unless we are seriously considering using Hampton as a PG in the future, are we really benefitting him or are we taking time away from his development at positions he is better suited/going to play in the future. I see him as much more of a SG/SF, so I'm worried him spending so much time trying to play backup PG might frustrate him and stunt his growth for what should be his actual position(s). Also, how much is not having a true, healthy, backup PG hurting the guys on the second unit? We've all noticed/commented on Chuma's play so far this year, but how much of that is the team on the floor with him? Maybe I'm the lone wolf on this sentiment, but I don't see any issues with playing R.J. at PG. This year is about player development and the youngin's learning to play together. Nothing wrong with playing him at PG and working on those skills. He'll be even better at SG/SF having gone through it. The Thunder threw Harden at PG and KD at SG for one season. Didn't work out, but maybe they are better players for it. If we continue to have bad results into year 2 of this rebuild then yes, let's make changes. One season won't kill us. They learn from each other this year, work on their games and we add better role players next year to boost this core. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TrueMagicFan07 660 Report post Posted December 18, 2021 MAGIC FANS (A Back-To-Back) MAGIC AT NETS Saturday, December 18 at 7:30 P.M., EST Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY TV: Bally Sports FL BE THERE. Don't Leave Us Hanging! :) I know many of you have your weekend planned: holiday shopping, college bowl games, drinking at a bar, etc. I will post the Game Thread Starter in a few hours (Saturday morning) 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJZFL 618 Report post Posted December 18, 2021 7 hours ago, TrueMagicFan07 said: MAGIC FANS (A Back-To-Back) MAGIC AT NETS Saturday, December 18 at 7:30 P.M., EST Barclays Center - Brooklyn, NY TV: Bally Sports FL BE THERE. Don't Leave Us Hanging! :) I know many of you have your weekend planned: holiday shopping, college bowl games, drinking at a bar, etc. I will post the Game Thread Starter in a few hours (Saturday morning) Thanks as always, TMF Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
