That was actually pretty well done. You never know what you are going to get with national guys, but that was a pretty good breakdown.
Weaver has shown a good eye for talent (I think Cade, Ivey, Duren weāre pretty straightforward picks (and weāll see how the final two do) with IDāing Stewart, Bey, Livers.
I have mostly grit my teeth and winced on any signing heās made or players heās traded for during his tenure. Heās yet to put together a coherent roster (acknowledging that such a thing may not have been a priority in years past), and I truly donāt understand the 5 centers.
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I appreciated their criticism of what he got back in return in those trades. I agree that it seems so far his real strong point is identifying talent in the draft, whereas getting value and trades, contracts and free agent signings are weaker areas so far.
I donāt think Weaver or Casey view a few of those guys as centers though. They obviously tried Stewart at the 4 in Summer League, so thatās a potential option for him. Olynyk has the shooting to play the 4 alongside a traditional center. I see it more that you canāt play any of Bagley, Duren, and Noel together because of spacing, but you could play any of those 3 with Stewart or Olynyk. Noel is clearly a short term guy while Duren learns the NBA and Olynyk is also not in the long term plans.
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I still donāt view that second trade as being that lopsided. Sure you can say they shouldāve got a 1st round pick out of it instead of a 2nd, especially since NY has so many 1sts, but what if Weaver liked the players he was getting back? Noel has been rumored to be of interest to Detroit for awhile now and Burks is a veteran guard/wing who can shoot and fills a big need. If Noel and Burks are a solid veteran presence on a young team and play rotational minutes, then itās not just taking on bad contracts where they should be given a better draft pick. Two potentially useful players on expiring contracts isnāt so ugly to me that you need to demand a 1st round pick gets attached to it.
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Iām pretty skeptical of Stewart at the 4 next to any of the other guys (except Olynyk which will likely literally never happen)
I think Olynyk is probably the only one that can play with any of them if they lean into a jumbo 4 look. They also have Hami who is just a shorter version of the same problem.
This kind of gets to my skepticism about the team building aspect - Iām not sure how this roster cohesively functions.
Cade, Ivey, Bey, Livers, any center is a cohesive lineup
If you need to put a jumbo 4 in, Olynyk needs to be one of them or offense is going to be a real slog
If Livers, Bey, ot Cade sits, you almost have to have Burks on the floor or you wonāt score
If two sit, I donāt know what they do.
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Weāve had the worst league in the NBA in the past two years, Criticizing Weaver for not creating a coherent roster out of bums is kinda weird.
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Iām coming around to Stewart at the 4 for some stretches. His shot looks good enough to keep a team honest and with Cade, Ivey, and Bey to a degree being able to create off the dribble, Stewart can just sit on the 3 point line or run pick-n-pops. This is definitely the season to try it out and if it doesnāt work, you look at him as the backup center or look to trade him.
I think itās possible to sign and or trade for players that will help your team take the shape of a modern basketball team instead of Plumlee, Bagley, Noel
The Rockets played 2022 NBA basketball, just poorly
I canāt say the same for Detroit?
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Iād tend to think that trying one of your 5 centers at the 4 is more a result of failing to build a roster with more than 3 forwards rather than a reason to do it?
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Rockets best moves have been in the draft as well. What FA signings and trades have they made that really fill out their roster in a coherent sense? Their best pieces are the players theyāve drafted - just like the Pistons.
Team is still rebuilding. Roster doesnāt make sense if theyāre trying to make the playoffs. But theyāre not.
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Well I guess thatās what Iām saying - they didnāt spend money or trade assets for Mason Plumlee, Marvin Bagley, and Nerlens Noel.
I think itās possible to not go āall in for the playoffsā while still creating an offensive ecosystem for Cade and Ivey that doesnāt involve having two defender parked in the lane filing their nails.
There is no way to prove it because I donāt know Troy Weaver to ask him the question, but isnāt it at least plausible that he went and got a couple centers because he views Stewart and Olynyk as playable at the 4? That seems much more likely than him being a complete moron and signing 5 centers without realizing it.
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Noel was part of a package to move up for Duren. I donāt really see a problem with it. Plumlee isnāt even here anymore. Bagley was an overpay but heās not on a long term deal for backbreaking money.
These are only a problem if they hurt the development of the young guys. And I doubt thereās 5 centers on the roster for the whole season.
Beef Stew is going to stretch the floor this year. Livers and Bey can shoot. Burks and Olynyk too. Ivey will probably shoot somewhere in the 30s. And theyāre not trying to win. I dont see the problem.
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Thereās two Qās here, right? One is, does this roster construction impede the development of Cade and Ivey and Duren? And the other is, isolated from that, are these various roster filler moves reasonable bets on players to be significantly positive assets given the investment? If the answer to the first is no, then while you do want to really take advantage of every possible margin, the downside here is pretty small. Maybe theyāre bad bets but the odds they missed out on a future starter on the next good Pistons team is small, right?
If itās yes, thatās a potentially big deal and you really canāt let Weaver off the hook for that.
I forgot who on The Ringer was saying it but he was talking about how the Pistons want Stew to basically be a bigger P.J Tucker and when I think about it like that I can talk myself into him at the 4 as well
I mean didnāt they give up 2nd round picks to get Bagley early (instead of just outbidding the market four-fold in the off-season which they did anyway)
Itās small but itās not the best on the margin.
I think watching Cade and Ivey dribble into brick walls while like Bagley and Stewart Rock Paper Scissors over the dunker spot sounds frustrating!
The Noel deal was like a week after the Duren trade?
Is it possible Duren spends time in the GL and they trade a center at the deadline? This reducing the strain there?
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If youāre going to discuss the roster, you also have to account for:
Also, canāt talk yet about what he got in return for those trades until you see if he gets something for Olynyk, Noel and/or Burks at the trade deadline.
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