Great topic! ok i'd say sacramento has the edge in keeping the team.
SO....!!!! that also means that Petrie/Smart and friends are out.... so unlike last season i'd expect whoever takes over this mess. is going to have 2 main objectives both relate to IT.
#1 - EVANS- what to do? he shouldn't be too hard to keep. but the question is do we? this team is still loaded with 2's or guys that play like SG's... Jimmer, IT, Thornton, Evans, and Salmons applies here too. I just dont see any new GM giving up Evans unless its a blockbuster deal or if some team totally loses its mind and goes MAX contract type of a deal. with that said i think we keep Evans under the assumption that it was the previous front office and coaches fault that he sucked, and with a strong foundation starting with the NEW OWNERS! TO THE FO AND NEW COACH!!! Evans can thrive!!! so im betting we keep him. in that case it takes us to
#2 - fix log jam at SG and get a SF..... no way Jimmer, IT, Thornton, Evans and Salmons all end up on the roster next year. this midget ball reign comes to an end!!! thank the heavens! ok so as someone else pointed out IT is due basically PEANUTS next year. Jimmer is pretty cheap also with Thornton due 7mil.
to me it comes down to this... EVANS is the starting SG... he can be paired with a more traditional PG or a shooter/SG and take over the PG position from time to time. or every once in a while even slide to the SF spot. with Evans starting at the 2 it makes it tough to start MT moving him to the 6th man could have totally worked if not for Smarts stupid rotations and mins. I think MT could STILL be a amazing instant offense 6th man.
which brings us to IT... IT is a great player and deserves to be in this league. but in reality is just a instant offense/ great 6th man not a starter. which means that the choice the new front office has to make is do we trade IT or MT? we really have 2 guys that are undersized and basically do the same things. minus IT is a better PG. I think trading IT will allow us to get a draft pick or allow us to dump someone with him. Trading MT could possibly open up more cash to sign an ALL-STAR type player (thats if we amnesty Salmons also which we should) and land us a draft pick. If we trade MT then we still have a undersized "instant offense" guy off the bench who is better fit to play PG on the sec team anyway. As much as i love MT and his clutch-ness... I think IT can fill the same roll off the bench and keep the pay roll down... I would ask who do we trade MT for ______?_______ and a draft pick?