Having competition for starting spot is generally not a good sign -- it means you don;t have anyone good enough or established enough to just seize the position. Its certainly an indication of how far we have fallen. But if you are going young, its my preferred modus operandi -- I don't trust either kid to necessarily make it as an NBA starter. But now you double them up, and your odds get much better than one or the other will emerge and be somebody. You can't do it in a year when you're trying to win a title, but if that pressure is off, and it most certainly is for us as we're currently constructed, you cna at least take the time to explore and see what you have.
My thing is that if you are already doing that at one position, already letting two late first round picks fight it our for minutes, then you are tacitly admitting that you aren't really serious about a title run this year. Fine -- sometimes you need to take a step back to take two steps forward (althoguh sometimes it just turns out to be a step back). But if you're making that commitment, then now is the time to make it at other positions as well. PF obviously, but maybe even some of those occupied by our putative "core". In 5 years our "core" will be 34, 33, 32 (Brad/Peja/Mike) and pretty much beyond the age where they would have chance to contend. If we are going to add an infusion of youth in an attempt to find a special player to get us back to the top, it has to start NOW if that kid or kids is going to be ready in time to do anything but wheel the "core" into the NBA retirement home.
