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Zach Lowe: Biggest winners and losers of NBA free agency
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:19 am
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:19 am
quote:LINK
Winner now, loser later? New Orleans Pelicans
In a vacuum, exchanging Cousins coming off a catastrophic injury for Randle is fine. Ditto for replacing Rondo with Elfrid Payton. But re-signing Cousins provided a pathway to sustainability: either keep him, or trade him for long-term pieces. The two sides couldn't agree on the general parameters of a deal. Sign-and-trades proved unworkable. Cousins walked.
Randle can opt out his deal next summer. Since he's on a one-year contract, the Pelicans probably will be limited to offering Randle a starting salary of only $10.3 million. If he has a good season, that might not be enough.
A whirlwind of win-now trades has left Anthony Davis as the only homegrown first-round pick on the roster; Frank Jackson and Cheick Diallo came early in the second round. Those guys are promising. Davis and Jrue Holiday represent a nice two-man core. One of Randle and Nikola Mirotic figures to be on the team beyond this season.
There just hasn't been any guiding vision over the past half-decade. How many teammates can Davis look at and think to himself: "That guy will help me compete for a title in two or three years?"
6
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:27 am to different arse
quote:
How many teammates can Davis look at and think to himself: "That guy will help me compete for a title in two or three years?"
While that's a fair question I think it also ignores the fact that Davis is a top 5 player. I think it was corndeaux that pointed out the most significant development of the offseason might be AD accepting being a center. Small Ball built around AD/Jrue doesn't need as much star power to be good.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:27 am to different arse
Not completely unfair. My one counter would be: Why does it matter HOW the team got young guys?
Randle is 23
Payton just turned 24
Niko is only 27
Jrue just turned 28 a month ago
Would those guys be magically better if they were "home grown"?
The Pels have a young team around AD. Would they be "young and promising" if they were all drafted in house, but they are a "win now" mode if they were acquired? I don't get that argument. Dell allows other teams to waste all their time and resources grooming 19 and 20 year olds and then grabs them when they are in their early 20s. To me, thats pretty smart.
Randle is 23
Payton just turned 24
Niko is only 27
Jrue just turned 28 a month ago
Would those guys be magically better if they were "home grown"?
The Pels have a young team around AD. Would they be "young and promising" if they were all drafted in house, but they are a "win now" mode if they were acquired? I don't get that argument. Dell allows other teams to waste all their time and resources grooming 19 and 20 year olds and then grabs them when they are in their early 20s. To me, thats pretty smart.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:42 am to different arse
Lowe loves AD and likes to shite on the Pels
Niko is a 6'10 bomber that can fill it up and plays solid defense
Jrue Holiday just made the first team for All-NBA defense
Randle is young and has improved his game every year. His per 36 is 20 and 10 iirc.
A rare shitty take by him.
quote:
How many teammates can Davis look at and think to himself: "That guy will help me compete for a title in two or three years?"
Niko is a 6'10 bomber that can fill it up and plays solid defense
Jrue Holiday just made the first team for All-NBA defense
Randle is young and has improved his game every year. His per 36 is 20 and 10 iirc.
A rare shitty take by him.
This post was edited on 7/11/18 at 8:43 am
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:49 am to different arse
He’s not really wrong on anything except assuming Cousins comes back from this. He could be right, but the Pelicans played that situation the best way possible imo. He’s right about Demps’ past moves, but it’s refreshing to see things seemingly turning into a much different rodeo around here.
I think the biggest question this season could be one that isn’t talked about. Can Jrue replicate his postseason success at even an 80-90% clip? Let’s say 23 PPG on 48/38/85 splits. Jrue taking that next step forward could be the most pivotal reason AD inks that long term extension.
I think the biggest question this season could be one that isn’t talked about. Can Jrue replicate his postseason success at even an 80-90% clip? Let’s say 23 PPG on 48/38/85 splits. Jrue taking that next step forward could be the most pivotal reason AD inks that long term extension.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 8:57 am to ShamelessPel
Couldn't agree more. If you get Jrue from the Portland series, those two studs and three replacement level guys make you a top 5 seed. Let alone Niko, Randle, Moore, and others
Posted on 7/11/18 at 9:04 am to different arse
I don't know man we got saddled with giant albatrosses of contracts in Eric Gordon, Omar Asik, and Reke Evans that we absolutely missed on.
It's refreshing to see an organization change and not take that risk again on an injured Boogie and try something different.
It's refreshing to see an organization change and not take that risk again on an injured Boogie and try something different.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 9:23 am to Crewz
quote:
Couldn't agree more. If you get Jrue from the Portland series, those two studs and three replacement level guys make you a top 5 seed. Let alone Niko, Randle, Moore, and others
Assuming Randle and Niko play well this year and the team in general plays well, any opinions realistically to keep both?
I mean I know the market will have $$$ to spend, but would it be foolish/possible to imagine both guys only getting roughly 15-20m/yr at most?
Posted on 7/11/18 at 9:27 am to htran90
I think Randle would have to be a quasi All-Star to get more than the 1+1 at 21 mil that we would offer him and the wink-wink to take care of him after that. I know there will be more money, but there will also be more players worth good money in next years crop. And how many teams will be dying to add a big who can't shoot at a big price tag? It works here because of AD and Gentry's tempo. How many other places would Randle be worth 15-20 mil per year?
And if you are operating over the cap, won't be hard to keep Niko since you have Bird Rights. I think they will be able to keep both if they want to. The question will be whether they want to commit that much money to the 4/5 position when you can get solid bigs for cheap in this market.
And if you are operating over the cap, won't be hard to keep Niko since you have Bird Rights. I think they will be able to keep both if they want to. The question will be whether they want to commit that much money to the 4/5 position when you can get solid bigs for cheap in this market.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 9:35 am to different arse
I think i would rather Randle AND Niko over Boogie.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 10:15 am to Crewz
quote:
Dell allows other teams to waste all their time and resources grooming 19 and 20 year olds and then grabs them when they are in their early 20s. To me, thats pretty smart.
Yep always been a fan of Dells plan--and pretty sure we would have had much more success with his plan if it weren't for the mass amount of injuries we've had to deal with. Can't really blame Dell for that.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 10:58 am to The_Duke
quote:
Yep always been a fan of Dells plan--and pretty sure we would have had much more success with his plan if it weren't for the mass amount of injuries we've had to deal with. Can't really blame Dell for that.
I'm not a fan of it when it came time for things like giving up a Robin Lopez (proven, solid defensive oriented center) for Tyreke.
But the trades for guys like Niko, Jrue, and even Boogie were all good trades. Its the weird mistakes like Solo and Asik that frustrates me because it was long-term compounded mistakes that hurt.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 11:31 am to htran90
Monty did not know how to use RoLo. Vasquez and him couldn’t defend a high pick and roll if their lives depended on it.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 2:09 pm to ShamelessPel
AD doesn’t like playing center. He likes the stretch 4 role. There are still a few bruising centers out there. AD is fragile as is. Keep him healthy as possible.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 2:16 pm to kysportsman
quote:
AD doesn’t like playing center. He likes the stretch 4 role. There are still a few bruising centers out there. AD is fragile as is. Keep him healthy as possible.
Right, I think people are thinking that these moves AD is playing center, but I think Randle/AD will kinda play interchangeable 4/5. I wouldn't be surprised at all if Randle is listed as the center and AD the power forward. AD is best when he can roam as a help defender.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 2:43 pm to whatiknowsofar
Isn’t Lowe a Pels fan?
Posted on 7/11/18 at 2:49 pm to theducks
Not that I am aware of.
But I completely see where he's coming from on this one. Dell has a long long history of deals that haven't done much for us. He's got AD and Jrue and 1 more year of Niko or Randle and that's really about it, and some pretty bad contracts in Hill and Ajinca.
I loved how the team turned it around after Boogie went down, and I think we may be better this year and a legit playoff team, but I don't think I'll ever be a Dell fan. He is middle of the road at best, and I think that is being generous.
It is what it is.
But I completely see where he's coming from on this one. Dell has a long long history of deals that haven't done much for us. He's got AD and Jrue and 1 more year of Niko or Randle and that's really about it, and some pretty bad contracts in Hill and Ajinca.
I loved how the team turned it around after Boogie went down, and I think we may be better this year and a legit playoff team, but I don't think I'll ever be a Dell fan. He is middle of the road at best, and I think that is being generous.
It is what it is.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 3:05 pm to Fun Bunch
He's had shite luck, and made some bad deals, but he's also made some good deals.
I think he was really handcuffed at some points, but it finally appears that he's on the same page as the coach and I feel like that's a big deal.
I've said it before, but it finally feels like we have a "Gentry roster", and I'm excited about that. Randle is almost the perfect fit next to Davis, and for this offense.
I think he was really handcuffed at some points, but it finally appears that he's on the same page as the coach and I feel like that's a big deal.
I've said it before, but it finally feels like we have a "Gentry roster", and I'm excited about that. Randle is almost the perfect fit next to Davis, and for this offense.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 3:17 pm to kysportsman
quote:
There are still a few bruising centers out there. AD is fragile as is. Keep him healthy as possible.
Meh, maybe 3 years ago. We are at the point now where Davis is physically equal to most centers in the league. The ones who get significant minutes, anyway. The real "bruisers" are the backup Cs with nothing to lose
Remember, Randle has cut a lot of his bulk, and his wingspan isn't large for a guy his size. In the end, Niko may be the best option as a "post" defender. He's a liability on the perimeter but has the best size outside of AD on our roster.
Posted on 7/11/18 at 3:25 pm to Hester Carries
Randle and niko can actually play. Mirotic is the right guy for today's game. Randle is improving. Two B guys.
Cousins might never be a star again. Glad pels mgmt listened to me. Don't gamble.
Right now, star boogie is a fantasy.
Cousins might never be a star again. Glad pels mgmt listened to me. Don't gamble.
Right now, star boogie is a fantasy.
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