Mock Plan with questions from you guys

[pupsingh]

First of all, this plan is based on IT being the real deal, i really think this kid is the truth

Trade, ( whether at deadline or offseason): Marcus Thornton, jj hickson ( +pick?) for Danny Granger. When Granger does not have to be the number 1 scoring option, he can be an elite defender. With him, tyreke, and the draft pick we can have a good defensive team. Now im really not sure what a reasonable offer for gragner would be, but lets just say marcus and jj will be enough plus maybe absorbing a contract from them.

Draft: if we dont have to trade our pick for granger, is there a defensive stallworth that might have ibaka potential in the draft? if so, we should take him

Free agent: marco belinelli

Starting:

Thomas
Evans
Cousins
Granger
Draft Pick

Bench:
Pg: Jimmer
SG: Belinelli
SF: Greene
PF: Jason Thompson
C: Hayes

 

[UK_King]

Why do they give up Granger for that? I mean with them seemingly a playoff certainty i don't see why they give him up at all. Unless he suddenly stinks up the place, feuds with the coach or punches a fan.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I really don't believe that Granger is available. There seem to rumors to that end year in and year out, but so far as we know, never any serious trade talks. And of course, we can't trade a pick presumably until the day of the draft because of the conditional pick in the Hickson trade.

On top of that, Granger is in a pretty big decline this year. We hate on John Salmons for shooting 36% (on 8 shots per game) but Granger is shooting 39% on 16.5 shots per game. That's pretty brutal shooting - it's like having two John Salmonses who hit one extra jump shot for every thirty-three that they take. He costs almost as much as two John Salmonses, too. Is he the solution? I'm not really so sure.

 

[pupsingh]

Granger is MUCH better than John Salmons though, a better defender, and more proven and consistent

 

[Mass]

I'm not sure about that. Granger is fine, but in the next draft there are some SFs that I would really like to get (Barnes, Gilchrist). It's a very deep draft, and we could get a very good player even if we pick at the 8th or 9th spot. Also, Indiana is doing pretty good and I don't think they would trade Granger.

Then, please no Belinelli. Believe me, I'm italian and I've seen him a lot. He is not an efficient scorer and shooter, but he really believes he is the next Reggie Miller. He does not play any defense, and having him and Jimmer as our guards off the bench would be a huge mistake.

What I would do is waiting and being patient for this year. Le's finish the season as good as we can. I'm ok with trading JJ before the end of the year, because I'm sure they won't resign him and JT, and I prefer JT. So, if we can get something in return, let's do it. Maybe we are able to find a veteran like Hinrich (Atlanta could be interested in trading for a young athletic big man, especially with all the injuries they had). Then, after the season is over, go to the draft and hope to get lucky at the lottery. Even if we don't (and we never do), there are so many good players that it will be hard to be disappointed. We could go for a SF like I said, or for a big man if we are lucky (I like Henson a lot). We could even go for a SG like Lamb, and using Thornton as a 6th man, which I think it's his best role. Anyways, there are a lot of options coming in the next draft. We just need to be patient for a little bit more.

 

[pupsingh]

yea but i think the solution to the SF problem needs to be a veteran rather than another young player

 

[pupsingh]

i do like the Hinrich idea though, hadnt thought about that. is he an unrestricted free agent at the end of this year?

 

[Glenn]

yea but i think the solution to the SF problem needs to be a veteran rather than another young player

I agree BUT the draft is very strong at centers, PFs, and SFs. If where we land the BPA is a SF, we are kind of stuck. We could get a starter and should draft that person. Given that our team is a few years away from being a serious team, I think that's just the way it goes. On the other hand, we might land ourself a guy who could replace JT as a starter and that would change our needs. I'd wait on those positions until after the draft. If we end up trading for a SF, we have to give up a SF as our collection of SFs is getting overwhelmingly deep.

 

[cuad]

I don't want to give up Thornton, but I guess I like Granger since he might be the most available (cause of Paul George) and because he likes to score (however, his FG% is terrible).

 

[KevinSalvadori]

I don't want to give up Thornton.

Can't see Granger either, and agree that Thornton could be our "super 6", like Harden. We could make a play in some sort of bigger deal as the 3/4th team in a Howard/Williams deal to help take on salary and a starting big (Gasol? Okafor?) in exchange for JT or JJ, Jimmer, and a bench guard like Cisco. In the offseason, I'd amnesty Salmons and go hard after Batum, Beasley, or AK. I'd sign Udrih (who is likely to opt out, being miserable in MIL) or Miller (who get higher minutes here than DEN, and lives in town) and draft the best PF/C available. My team:

C: Cousins
PF: Gasol/Okafor
SF: Batum
PG: Thomas
SG: Evans
----------
6: Thornton, SG
7: Hayes, C/PF
8: Udrih, PG/SG/Miller, PG
9: Draftee Big, PF/C
10: Greene, SF/SG
11: Outlaw, SF
12: Whiteside, C
13: Honeycutt, SF

It's a start, but we keep our key young talent while adding proven vets and players with major upside.

 

[cuad]

I'm going to watch Batum tonight. And Gasol is 7'1 you know. I'm very interested in Batum because he's shooting 46%, which is sadly better than most other SFs. Plus, he was dominating the Euroleague during the lockout.

Harrison Barnes tho...

 

[Gilles]

I'm not sure about that. Granger is fine, but in the next draft there are some SFs that I would really like to get (Barnes, Gilchrist). It's a very deep draft, and we could get a very good player even if we pick at the 8th or 9th spot. Also, Indiana is doing pretty good and I don't think they would trade Granger.

At this point we should probably talk about at least 4 or 5 guys - Quincy Miller, Terrence Jones and Jeff Taylor should also be considered with the latter having the biggest impact right away if drafted. There's also another excellent athlete with fundamentals and rapidly improving shot in sophomore Terrence Ross from UofWashington. Granger is a vet who likes to chuck so he might be a slight improvement over Salmons. Well, that's an exaggeration but still he doesn't seem like a good fit. Batum on the other hand...

 

[cuad]

Terrence Jones reminds me of Donte Greene, for that reason I wouldn't pick him. I'm worried about Quincy Miller because he moves like a 35 year old Chris Webber.

 

[Mass]

I'm not a big fan of T. Jones and Miller, even because I believe that we will have a pretty high pick, and we will have the chance to get a better player.

I definitely agree we need veteran experience. We need a floor general at PG (Andre Miller or Udrih, like KevinSalvadori said are just fine), and a good experienced starter, depending on the position we draft. If we get a PF/C, we should go after AK47 as hard as we can. If we get a SF, try to get a Okafor kind of player, who can be our C and defend on PF.

 

[cuad]

I don't think any of the SFs in this draft are what we need. Gilchrist does nothing that Evans couldn't do. Perry Jones, Q-Miller and the other SFs all suck. Barnes is the last hope, but he's not likely to be on the board when we pick, so I think the Kings should go big in the draft.