I can understand wanting to build up a win-now roster -- makes perfect sense. This club could finally be on the threshold -- let's put a few more experienced pieces together (Earl Barron?), improve the depth a little more in some key areas to weather any potential storm (mainly multiple key players going down at the same time, God forbid), give Woody a few more capable options that won't wilt under NBA pressure if thrust into action, and let's get after this thing! I get that thought process and support it...Here's my thing though: we've put ourselves in a position where we have virtually no draft picks over the next couple of years. Win or lose, this roster most likely gets turned over when Melo, STAT, Chandler, Ray Felton, etc. all expire off the cap. When it comes time to turn it over, it'd be nice if we had a couple of building blocks already in place -- some capable youngsters we add that can contribute NOW in reserve roles as well as grow and develop into something more for the not-too-distant future. Guys like Hassan Whiteside, Toure Murry...and DeQuan Jones all come to mind.

Take a look at some of this video of Jones. He's a tough guy to quantify because he hasn't done much so far, even in college, esp. as a 4-year player. I think that's why he gets lost in the shuffle. People just don't have that much of a sample to evaluate -- never really played a lot of mins, never took a lot of shots, never graduated to a prominent role on his Miami team, etc...Even last year while showing good signs, he only got limited PT...I'm not ready to dismiss this kid however. He looks the part 100% and plays like he belongs. Off last year's play with the Magic, he's ALREADY PROVEN that he can play at the NBA level and contribute. The question now is -- how good can he become? The player this guy most reminds me of is Corey Maggette. Maggette was a damn good player for the Clippers and GS before he began to slow down some. Based on what I've seen I think this kid Jones could get to that level fairly quickly, maybe even become a better player than Maggette eventually. I'd take a chance on this dude, man. Grab him now for next to nothing & pick up where the Magic left off with him. It wouldn't be like we'd be starting at ground zero -- he's already started his NBA development process last year. Now he's ready for the next step.

Anyone out there have a take on this kid -- why on earth the Magic let him walk, why he never had a bigger role in college even as a senior, etc.? Not that any of that matters much -- I'm focused on where he's at right now. I think he could be on the cusp of becoming a special player if he continues to work at it and put the time in. I'd just like to know why no one in college saw the monster potential and worked to build him up more. Hard not to think that that Miami Hurricane program failed this dude a little bit..

BRIGGS wrote:fine I think he was signed by Sacremento

Damn. Must've just went down today. SMH man..Missed opportunity. I betcha he makes that Sac. roster. I think they got themselves a good one... Funny how all we've been hearing about is this team signing this player, this team signing that player...What the hell are we waiting for? We should've been able to put together a top 18-man training camp roster by now. What's next -- are we gonna read tomorrow that some team signed Hassan Whiteside, another team scooped up Earl Barron, etc.?

Any word on who we're bring in for training camp besides Murry and Chris Smith?!?

BRIGGS wrote:

Finestrg wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:fine I think he was signed by Sacremento

Damn. Must've just went down today. SMH man..Missed opportunity. I betcha he makes that Sac. roster. I think they got themselves a good one... Funny how all we've been hearing about is this team signing this player, this team signing that player...What the hell are we waiting for? We should've been able to put together a top 18-man training camp roster by now. What's next -- are we gonna read tomorrow that some team signed Hassan Whiteside, another team scooped up Earl Barron, etc.?

Any word on who we're bring in for training camp besides Murry and Chris Smith?!?

Chris Smith making the big league training camp is a joke. I thought Terrance Jennings earned a spot and with Tyler down and our lack of bigs--was hoping the Knicks would atleast give him a shot--he earned it

This was expected, since Knicks are joke franchise, which knows how to half *** it. You have Fab Melo, Beasley, Hadadi and Whiteside out there and they are wasting time with Chris Smith. If there was a deal made with JR Smith, for his brother to tag along, it should be nulled by the drug suspension.