I still say we need to look into moving JT for Robin Lopez. With the 4 bigs we have now, all 4 think they should be starting, but I see no reason Hayes and Cousins will not be the starters in the long term. JT and Hickson both bring the same type of game, but I would bet on Hickson winning out the battle as the first big off the bench. That leaves JT as basically injury insurance for the time being, with Westphal having to try and shoehorn minutes into the game for JT, which will look a lot like last year with Cousins, Dally, Landry and JT all needing minutes, which wasn't going to work. JT is the odd man out here. Robin Lopez pretty much knows he isn't a starting caliber C, so he will be much more accepting of the backup C role that JT is going to see his minutes at, and he brings the size and shotblocking that we should be looking for in Cousins' backup.
If we try and keep both Hickson and JT on the roster, and try to fit minutes in for both of them, neither are going to be able to shine. I would much rather have either of them playing 30 minutes a night than each trying to show what they can do in 12-18 minutes, especially JT, who will get into a hurry and force things to try and make an impact in limited minutes with very little effectiveness.
Pheonix would most likely start JT nest to Gortat, and give him plenty of minutes to produce. It would give them the best rebounding big man tandem they have ever had around Nash. With Lopez here on the Kings, we would have an actual backup C who doesn't demand big minutes, but has the size and defensive ability to fill the C spot when Cousins is sitting out or in foul trouble, and we have a much better chance at retaining both Lopez and Hickson next year than we would retaining both JT and Hickson.
If we try and keep both Hickson and JT on the roster, and try to fit minutes in for both of them, neither are going to be able to shine. I would much rather have either of them playing 30 minutes a night than each trying to show what they can do in 12-18 minutes, especially JT, who will get into a hurry and force things to try and make an impact in limited minutes with very little effectiveness.
Pheonix would most likely start JT nest to Gortat, and give him plenty of minutes to produce. It would give them the best rebounding big man tandem they have ever had around Nash. With Lopez here on the Kings, we would have an actual backup C who doesn't demand big minutes, but has the size and defensive ability to fill the C spot when Cousins is sitting out or in foul trouble, and we have a much better chance at retaining both Lopez and Hickson next year than we would retaining both JT and Hickson.
