I just ran this by a buddy of mine who knows his stuff. Surprised to find out he doesn't care for Lavine -- thinks he's too flashy, compared him to Doug Christie. I don't agree---I see a much better talent than Christie. Also surprised he doesn't value picks 31 & 33 as much as I do. There's no doubt we could get two good rotation players there. Picks 31 & 33 would yield better players than anything we have on the current roster sans Melo, even in their rookie years next season. I probably wouldn't do this if I were Minny but for the 4th pick, you gotta think it would be enticing. It's a good proposal that makes a lot of sense--nice job. If we're gonna trade this pick, please let it be something like this -- for a young player(s) with standout potential and upside and/or multiple picks. Please don't let it be for a package of high-cost, aging vets that won't be good enough. That's my biggest fear -- the idea of loading up on high-salary vets to go with Melo and "go for it all" next year or the year after. That's extremely short-sighted and WILL NOT WORK. Been down that road before -- it never worked!!! Take your time, Phil, and build this thing up the right way!! I don't care how long it takes to get it right -- in fact, I'll enjoy the ride getting there watching promising young players develop.
Here's a combination of what I think will happen and what I hope will happen:
5 - Alexis Ajinca (Roy Hibbert potential, esp. offensively -- could be better than Hibbert eventually)
4 - Greg Monroe (forgone conclusion he becomes a Knick -- wouldn't be my first choice, just trying to get used to it--at least he's young and can board/score down low)
3 - Melo
2 - Winslow (hoping for something close to James Harden II 
)
1 - Shved
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5 - Jordan Bachynski (got a good look at this guy in the DL -- 7'2" and a legit rim-protector. 2.22 blks/game in under 20 mins. Over 4/game his senior year in college. Good complementary piece alongside Ajinca/Monroe)
4 - Lavoy Allen (David West/Marreese Speights/Kurt Thomas hybrid)
3 - Early
2 - Hardaway Jr.
1 - Calderon (really hoping he gets traded or stretched but I fear neither will happen 
)
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5 - Aldrich
4 - Khem Birch (athletic, jumping-jack offensive rebounder, good shot-blocker, pretty coordinated and surprisingly effective offensively around the rim)
3/2 - Thanasis Antetokounmpo
2 - Ledo
1 - Galloway
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Won't happen but a version I like a little better:
5 - Alexis Ajinca
4 - Monroe
3 - Melo
2 - Winslow
1 - Shved
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5 - Bachynski
4 - Lavoy Allen
3 - Eric Griffin
2 - Scotty Hopson
1 - Joseph Young
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4 - Khem Birch
4/3 - Jerrelle Benimon
3/2 - Thanasis Antetokounmpo
2 - Ledo
1 - Galloway
Assumes Calderon is stretched, THJ and Early are both traded for a low 1st round pick/high 2nd rounder and a future pick, hopefully in next year's draft (Galloway and cash are also on the table here); Eric Griffin and Scotty Hopson are brought in as cheap replacements for THJ/Early (I'd argue they'd both be upgrades -- I like Hopson's overall game more than THJ's (he's a better version of Ricky Ledo) and Griffin's better than Early's) and Joseph Young is selected with the low 1st/high 2nd round pick we acquire, a quick scoring point who would add firepower. Key defensive upgrades: Bachynski/Birch (legit shot-blockers) and Winslow/Antetokounmpo/Griffin (3 potential shutdown defenders that can guard multiple positions--Griffin's also an adept shot-blocker from the wing--Thanasis too, to a lesser degree). I see more value in carrying an all-around skilled, young mobile 4-man in Jerrelle Benimon (a guy with enough talent to move up in the rotation and play some significant minutes if need be, Khem Birch as well -- maybe each outplays Allen and competes for the starting 4 spot or at the very least a primary rotation spot on the 2nd unit) over a 3rd string C like Aldrich (if something ever happened to Bachynski, Monroe and even Lavoy Allen could play some 5 and we could always ink up a backup C on the fly like Earl Barron, Alex Kirk, etc.). Only thing with this version is you'd probably want to have a little more of a vet presence to go along with Melo -- I could see keeping Calderon over guys like Hopson, Ledo or even Galloway, even though my gut say F it -- roll with the young guys--we're not ready to win it all with or w/o Calderon. W/o Calderon, at least one more young player gets a look and could possibly get developed (even if he's carried as part of the 15-man and sent to Westchester to play and develop). Key expenditures that impact the cap: Monroe ($15mm--could he be convinced to take a little less or at least a little less his 1st year? That could help us), Ajinca, Allen, Shved, Winslow at pick 4. Hopefully that equals the $26+mm we have to spend. The other players are basically minimum level signings. Stretching Calderon + asking Monroe to defer a little cash his 1st year might be necessities to make it all work. I might look to get Monroe, Ajinca, Lavoy Allen and Shved all on a conference call together with Phil and Melo -- individual salaries needn't be discussed, just get everyone on the same page as far as visualizing the potential of the roster and playing with one another as the headline players that surround Melo and the draft pick at 4 (Winslow?).
6/1/2015 9:28 AM
I mean what NBA PF or C is he guarding at 208 lbs??