TripleThreat wrote:WaltLongmire wrote:Don't see them taking OK4 unless they have some kind of trade planned. How do you satisfy Noel, Embiid, and OK4 in the post. Makes no sense unless you have a trade in mind for Embiid.
And why do they have to make that decision today?
If they decide they don't want Okafor and he lands to them at 3 and they take him, they can trade him. Or they can let him play a little and see how he develops. Then trade him. Or keep him. If they decide to trade him, I assure you they can get a much much bigger haul for trading a young cost controlled big than a point guard who spent the last year stashed across the sea. The last trade deadline, a massive number of point guards moved. Because they are so valuable? No, because they are SO DISPOSABLE in the modern game.
Hinkie has shown he will keep churning the point guard position. He trained under Daryl Morey, who did nothing but churn the point guard position.
Who ended up running at point guard for the 76ers to close out the season? Isiah Canaan and Ish Smith. Both former Rockets. Were they All Stars? No. But were they serviceable? Sure.
Sarics contract status is actually "tolled" meaning he doesn't actually accrue NBA service time until he's on the 76ers roster. He's a cost controlled rookie. So is Embiid, Noel and Saric. It costs the 76ers nothing to see what they have. Even if they holdover those three plus Okafor, still plenty of developmental minutes to go around at both the pivot and PF positions.
Saric is 21 years old, and can stay under contract for another year in Europe if he wants and the 76ers want.
What makes no sense is leaving value on the draft board. Whether they "need" Okafor doesn't mean they must take a point guard or wing. Now if they traded for an established NBA veteran pivot or PF, then you could argue that makes no sense because they would be infusing a "ready now" asset into their frontline rotation that would kill minutes for their developing bigs. Big difference between a free agent or a trade at a sizeable cap hit versus a guy on a rookie contract.
Put it this way, if the Knicks were in the 76ers shoes right now, had their roster and asset situation, and you were the GM and you had Embiid, Noel and Saric and you found that Okafor fell to you at No#3, would you bypass the the more highly rated talent by general consensus simply because you "already have too many bigs"?
Or would you take the best value on the board left, i.e. Okafor, then let it all sort itself out, and if you needed to trade someone later, then your option tree of variable options would be far vaster than if you just had a Mundiay.
I've said since the last offseason, don't treat the Knicks winning the draft lottery as absolute. Several guys just wouldn't relent, they treated it a if it was a stone cold lock. And look what happened. And I'm saying now, don't expect some wild draft day reach by one of the other teams in front of the Knicks in this draft. Sure it would be nice to think the guy who is listed as going No#2 or No#3 could fall to fourth overall. But it's just not likely to happen.
With cost controlled rookie scale contracts, you have the luxury of a little time to see how fit matters after you amass value.
Not saying anyone has to make an immediate decision, but at some point you have to pull the trigger and get a player who can run your offense, assuming that player is there.
Don't see Houston breaking through to the next level yet, despite their talent, so I'm not sure they are necessarily the model I would want to follow. In Harden you have a guy who can give you some great stats, but he is not exactly part of the "makes everyone else better" club, and some might even stay away from Houston because of him. Is this part of the Morey master plan?
Is the goal to continue to keep on losing as long as you follow that master plan which seems to lead nowhere?
If I was loaded with bigs and didn't need OK4 or think he was the next Duncan, and I knew someone really wanted him and was willing to overpay, I would trade down and make them pay big time for him.
I can understand what's going on with Saric, but you still expect him to play for you, otherwise drafting him was a waste of a draft pick (I think they traded for him).
You seem to be looking at everything as a game where you are taking in and using assets and have some kind of system for judging value which does not necessarily include actual victory on the court.
Don't know if this is some kind of fantasy league analytics stuff where the games don't have to be played on the court for there to be a winner, but you're wasting your team's time and your fan's time if you keep putting off the finishing touches.
I would give him another 2 maybe, 3years- and if Philly has not even began their turn-around period, he should be canned, analytics or no analytics.
EnySpree: Can we agree to agree not to mention Phil Jackson and triangle for the rest of our lives?
6/10/2015 2:00 PM
