I don't disagree with much of what you said. I said from the beginning, that putting Evans at the SF position takes away all the strengths he has at the SG and PG position. Here's the problem as I see it. And I'm looking at the bigger picture going forward. We seem to be a team of reaction when it comes to roster changes, or improvement, as you will, instead of a team of action. By that, I mean we seem to make decisions on the fly, and then after finding out what the collateral damage is from that decision, make the next decision. In other words, our decisions seem to be based mostly on hindesight.
I would liken it to taking your car to a mechanic to find out what the problem is, and then the mechanic just starts replacing parts, without really knowing the cause of the problem. Eventually, he may stumble on the source, but in the meantime, your paying for a lot of parts you don't need. To this extent, I don't really blame Smart. He inherited this roster of ill fitting parts. He needed continuity on the floor, so he put IT in as the PG. To a large extent, its made a positive difference. But by doing so, he left Tyreke without a position. Logic tells you that the most obvious position would be SG. But there stands Thorton, who just signed a nice contract, and probably looks at himself as one of the best players on the team. So to avoid any more turmoil than necessary, Tyreke goes to the SF position where no one has locked down the job.
In other words, he didn't go there because it was the best position for him (its not), but because it was convenient, and wouldn't ruffle anyone else's feathers. From an on court social point of view, its a great move. But from an on court functional point of view, its a bad idea. But in fairness to Smart, he didn't have many options available to him. If indeed, Tyreke is the future SG on the team, then that means Thornton has to go to the bench. And I'm fine with that. The question is, is Thornton fine with that. Hard to say. Thornton has the warrior mentality, and I love that in a player. However, that can also be a players worse enemy if he can't translate that energy into a team concept. And I believe Thornton struggles with that, and sometimes at crucial moments of the game.
I also believe that Tyreke is struggling with adapting to his new role. Thus the inconsistency in his game at the moment. But, I also think he's trying his best to do whats asked of him. When you make major changes in your game, whether physical, mental, or both, you usually take a couple of steps backward before moving forward again. Sometimes putting a player with potential in a very uncomfortable position, causes them to realize their deficiences in real time as opposed to, just on paper. How they respond can determine the rest of their careers.
Anyway, I'll withhold judgement on Smart. I like a lot of the things he's doing. I want to see what he does when he has a more balanced roster. I agree that he's thrown out some very strange rotations at times. But at the same time, while being accused of playing small ball, which I have no love for, he's also increased Cousins minutes as the season has gone on. He reinserted Thompson back into the starting lineup. His problem as I see it, is that his first big off the bench is 6'6" Hayes, and then zippo! Once you get past Cuz and JT, this team is currently devoid of big men. No offense to Hasson, who apparently Smart has decided to bring along slowly. And I agree with that approach. He needs to build Hasson's confidence, and you don't do that by putting him in against Dwight Howard. Yeah, I know, thats an exaggeration, but it make my point.
In closing, this team doesn't need to be ripped apart, but it does need some serious tweeking, with additions. This is a big offseason coming up. I think the fans in sacramento have been extremely patient. They deserve to be rewarded for that patience, and sooner than later.
