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Demps to shift back to offense in Free Agency?
Posted on 6/10/15 at 12:54 pm
Posted on 6/10/15 at 12:54 pm
An article from The Bird Writes on how Gentry will free Demps to go back to his offensive tendencies. I didn't realize just how offensively skewed he had been prior to this year until you see it all laid out in one place.
LINK
quote:
Dell Demps has always leaned towards offense
We can go all the way back to the failed Chris Paul trade. I believe Dell Demps showed his hand early in his career by displaying an overwhelming preference for offensive players: Goran Dragic, Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom and Luis Scola. All 4 players have never been confused with being excellent defenders, rather their claim to fame was their abilities to contribute on the other side of the court.
Next, have a look at all of Demps' major roster moves that followed:
Signed Gustavo Ayon
Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor traded for Rashard Lewis
Traded for Ryan Anderson
Signed Brian Roberts
Traded for Tyreke Evans
Traded for Jrue Holiday
Signed Anthony Morrow
Signed Alexis Ajinca
Signed Luke Babbitt
Should anyone really be shocked that Monty Williams and Dell Demps commonly had differences of opinion? Hell no! If I were a betting man, I'd wager Monty nearly suffered a stroke when Ariza and Okafor were shipped out for salary cap relief. At practically every turn, the Pelicans general manager seemed to prioritize offense.
However, the past year, there was a bit of a shift in this strategy. Demps spent a valuable asset to acquire Omer Asik, and several months later, Dante Cunningham was signed. Later in the 2014-15 season, both Norris Cole and Quincy Pondexter were brought to New Orleans via trades.
LINK
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Posted on 6/10/15 at 1:04 pm to TigerinATL
Might as well stick this in here too
quote:
Michael McNamara ?@McNamara247 18 minutes ago
Pelicans source on offseason priorities, "Position versatility on the defensive end, high level of awareness on the offensive end."
Posted on 6/10/15 at 1:16 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
Position versatility on the defensive end
That doesn't bode well for players like Asik and Ryno who don't really have much positional versatility on defense. Players such as AD, Jrue, Pondexter, Tyreke*, and Cunningham do possess defensive positional versatility that it seems like they are looking for. Not sure what to think about Gordon, I guess he has some versatility in being able to guard the 2 and 1.
*Tyreke doesn't seem to fit the offensive awareness they are looking for
Posted on 6/10/15 at 1:40 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
Demps to shift back to offense in Free Agency?
I'm not doubting that Demps prefers highly skilled offensive players, but I think some of the examples listed probably shouldn't be there with the others, especially while leaving out defensive signings like AFA and Steimsma.
quote:
Next, have a look at all of Demps' major roster moves that followed:
I wouldn't consider signing Ayon, Roberts, Morrow, Ajinca, or Babbitt "major roster moves." Also, Jrue is known for his defense as much, if not more, than his offense, so I don't think you can use that trade as an example of Dell's offensive preference. You remove those acquisitions from the list and you're left with:
quote:
Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor traded for Rashard Lewis
Traded for Ryan Anderson
Traded for Tyreke Evans
Like he goes on to state, Ariza and Okafor were traded for cap relief. So while Rashard Lewis was technically what we received, it is a bit deceiving listing it like that.
This post was edited on 6/10/15 at 1:42 pm
Posted on 6/10/15 at 1:45 pm to TigerinATL
quote:
Position versatility on the defensive end,
This is why Anderson needs to be traded. Gentry is bringing the Warriors defensive mindset. Constantly switching on screens and having 4 or 5 players who can guard any position
This article just made me more excited about the Gentry/Dell combo
Posted on 6/10/15 at 7:07 pm to TigerinATL
I felt like you could always tell the difference between Monty and Dell. Every player Dell went after was offensive oriented with the exception of ariza and Babbitt. And he only went after Ariza to appease Paul
Posted on 6/10/15 at 9:35 pm to DJ3K
quote:
Michael McNamara ?@McNamara247 9h9 hours ago
The expectation is for most, if not all, of core to return but all options are on the table. Would like to add a guy who can defend 2,3,& 4
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:11 am to LosLobos111
I think Bird Writes wrote an article about it, but Jared Dudley makes the most sense for this team. Supposedly he likes it in Milwaukee, but he also recently stated that he loved playing for Gentry, and who wouldn't want to play, potentially start, along side AD?
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:19 am to LosLobos111
quote:
The expectation is for most, if not all, of core to return but all options are on the table. Would like to add a guy who can defend 2,3,& 4
That's really going out on a limb. Now, define core.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:30 am to mm2316
quote:
Supposedly he likes it in Milwaukee
He was on Zach Lowe's podcast a few months back and he seemed to genuinely like the situation: their trainer healed him immediately with the right rehab exercises that the Clippers never suggested, and he liked being the looked up to veteran for a young team. But he did complain about the weather (it gets cold up there) and he did retweet Marc Stein about Gentry getting the job. So he likes Gentry enough to follow him in the news. I think the Pelicans can offer a similar role with a coach he likes in a warm client, and one thing the Pels have that the Bucks don't is the heir to the throne. He'd be closer to a ring in NOLA than Milwaukee.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:34 am to Galactic Inquisitor
quote:
That's really going out on a limb. Now, define core.
In this case I think core probably means everybody. I've gone over the cost of switching centers ad nauseum. I think unless a guy we really like falls to the right spot in the draft, or something happens to where a team desperately wants one of our players, like Dallas or Denver trading/losing players to the point that they want Tyreke as their PG, then we'll just add with the MLE because there isn't much benefit to turning the guys we have into other players.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:37 am to Epic Cajun
quote:
That doesn't bode well for players like Asik and Ryno who don't really have much positional versatility on defense.
Asik can guard the 4 and 5 pretty well. Anderson can't guard much. I don't think this means either has a foot out of the door, though.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:40 am to Galactic Inquisitor
quote:
I don't think this means either has a foot out of the door, though.
Yeah, just because that's what you're looking for doesn't mean you want 12 guys that are 6'7 positionless players. Golden State has 5 guys like that, Klay/Green/Barnes/Iggy/Livingston
The Pels have 3 Holiday/Pondexter/Cunningham 4 if you count AD even though he's a big. So adding a Jared Dudley to the mix gives you 5 just like GS. Also, technically Tyreke could fit this criteria but we're talking defense so I left him out.
This post was edited on 6/11/15 at 8:41 am
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:44 am to Galactic Inquisitor
quote:
guard the 4
Which 4s? Zach Randolph? He's too slow to go out even to the midrange. And there is nothing wrong with that- he's a big center. There aren't any guys his size that can defend in space effectively.
The two players stuff is being read into way too much. I get it: it's summer, we're bored. But which coach doesn't want two way players? As much as people will talk about mimicking the Warriors in roster, it's a fool's errand just like following the OKC model. They got lucky, like all great teams, and capitalized on the unique strengths of their roster.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 8:47 am to corndeaux
quote:Couldn't agree more.
As much as people will talk about mimicking the Warriors in roster, it's a fool's errand just like following the OKC model. They got lucky, like all great teams, and capitalized on the unique strengths of their roster.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 9:52 am to corndeaux
quote:
Which 4s? Zach Randolph? He's too slow to go out even to the midrange. And there is nothing wrong with that- he's a big center. There aren't any guys his size that can defend in space effectively.
I'm not talking about putting him on Blake Griffin and asking him to guard him for 20 minutes, but he's capable enough to switch without looking like a total arse-clown. Like you said, though, he is here to be a center, and not many centers are going to lock down the athletic 4s in league. You can't just do without a center, either.
quote:
The two players stuff is being read into way too much. I get it: it's summer, we're bored. But which coach doesn't want two way players?
Absolutely, you will never have a roster full of those guys. You want as many as possible, but what you want and what you can get are often two entirely different matters.
quote:
As much as people will talk about mimicking the Warriors in roster, it's a fool's errand just like following the OKC model. They got lucky, like all great teams, and capitalized on the unique strengths of their roster.
Yep, OKC built around Westbrook and Durant, jettisoning Harden in the process. GSW have Curry and, to a lesser extent, Thompson to build around. None of those guys are very similar to Davis, so it makes no sense to copy their blueprint.
This post was edited on 6/11/15 at 9:53 am
Posted on 6/11/15 at 10:20 am to Galactic Inquisitor
quote:
I'm not talking about putting him on Blake Griffin and asking him to guard him for 20 minutes, but he's capable enough to switch without looking like a total arse-clown.
What? We watched him become unplayable v GS because he couldn't switch and hold his own in space or hedge and recover back to his man. Plus no one runs 4/5 PnR. You want to talk about one or two times a game where he gets caught in a switch in transition, have at it. But he is in no way capable of playing in a defense that asks him to switch on screens or hard hedge. And that's not a knock- there are no guys his size who can do that well. He is a paint protector and is pretty damn good at it.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 10:24 am to corndeaux
quote:
What? We watched him become unplayable v GS because he couldn't switch and hold his own in space or hedge and recover back to his man. Plus no one runs 4/5 PnR. You want to talk about one or two times a game where he gets caught in a switch in transition, have at it. But he is in no way capable of playing in a defense that asks him to switch on screens or hard hedge. And that's not a knock- there are no guys his size who can do that well. He is a paint protector and is pretty damn good at it.
Semantics. I'm not talking about switching on PNR. I'm talking about those instances where AD ends up under laying amongst the cameramen after a layup and doesn't get back on defense for 4 or 5 seconds. Asik is capable of picking up the PF in that situation without getting totally abused.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 11:12 am to TigerinATL
quote:
Demps to shift back to offense in Free Agency?
offense does win championships, so yeah, we should bolster our offense more.
Score more than your opponent, who cares about stopping the other team.
We will never win a championship unless we find a legit running mate for AD, and i just don't think Jrue is that guy. He's a great player, and he might turn into that guy, but i don't see it.
AD needs to become more dominant, even more than he already is at his young age.
Jrue needs to be more aggressive when it matters late in games.
Everyone else needs to play their role to the best of their ability, whether that role is to come in and be a chucker, play great defense, hit 3's, or bring intensity and hustle.
If Jrue can't become at minimum, a killer offensively like someone like Jason Terry was for Dallas' championship, then we need to find someone else to play that role. That's not easy to find.
The role players are easy to find.
I hope we can find that killer in the next year or two through free agency, when a ton will be available, and we should have money. If not, we are going to have a hard time maximizing our time with AD.
Posted on 6/11/15 at 11:17 am to Galactic Inquisitor
quote:
I'm talking about those instances where AD ends up under laying amongst the cameramen after a layup and doesn't get back on defense for 4 or 5 seconds
quote:
Asik can guard the 4 and 5 pretty well
quote:
Semantics.
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