Yeah, that’s the thing. They’re going to have a high pick this year, and they theoretically have a starting 5 of top 20 picks from the last 4 drafts (that currently stinks). Something obviously does not fit (clearly, no shooting, but the defense is also horrific despite having a few guys who profile as mildly positive right now (certainly Thompson does, Stewart was a legitimately good defensive center (not a center now!) and Duren seems fine). The rest of this year should be some combo of putting Cade as the primary ball-handler and playing him next to Ivey (and theoretically Morris if he’s ever alive) and let those guys play with the ball and see how that looks.
It’s going to be a tough eval given what they have to work with, but they really need to figure out what Cade is (and personally, I don’t think it’s an old-school Harden/current day Luka 1-man offense).
Is the best move to still trade Bogey? He just seems like the archtype you want to surround Cade and others with THIS YEAR to understand what they are a little better.
I obviously understand the downside of not moving him…but I don’t know if the draft capital he’d provide back is worth more than the value he’d provide in assessing Cade and Ivey’s roles with other competent players/vets.
The only way it would salvage his trade value is if he’s back on court, but he’s been out for a while. It’s best to see him and Morris on court to actually evaluate Cade. Every time I watched them play, there’s defense packing the paint because they have zero respect for their shooting.
He’s supposed to come back this week. But I don’t think that salvages his trade value. He has missed a ton of time for what has been called a “calf strain.” Teams will be worried about it being a lingering injury for a 34 year old (35 before the season ends). I think the trade value is cooked. Certainly compared to what it was before
There is literally not 1 single quantifiably correct statement in this quote, as in statistics say the precise opposite of all of this:
Monty Williams on Marcus Sasser: “He and Killian right now, they’ve been the top complements to Cade. Not only can those guys get us organized, but they can both knock down shots and they’re both pretty good defenders, on-ball and off-ball. Sass is just a fighter.”
It’s a neverending set of problems with this coach and his inability to consistently find situationally correct solutions. The rotations and starting lineups flat out don’t make sense, there is little rhyme or reason to any decision and if there is, it’s largely inconsequential. If he stumbles on sound logic, he’ll make sure to show you it was purely accidental. From top down this franchise is a disaster but I’ve been out on Monty 14 games in. I don’t know if he’s doing a single positive thing here whereas I could at least find some silver linings with Dwayne Casey.
His love affair with Killian is baffling despite Hayes putting up his best performance of the season, which unfortunately gives him 10 more games in the starting lineup to hang himself with. You know what? Let’s talk about his love affair with sadism. It’s not that he has an obsession with Killian Hayes, it’s that he has an obsession with torturing young players who put up good performances. Any time anyone not named Cade or Hayes plays well, he’ll bench them. Umude plays well and he’s never to be seen again. Bagley magically turning into a somewhat servicable player? DNP and not because of injury. Ivey is a case study of basketball terrorism.
And then we get to James Wiseman. Brother, this guy should be playing in Overtime Elite or the Romanian Superliga, why is he on the court so frequently? Astounding level of spite towards the fans, this is surely some form of unconventional warfare against the audience. He can chuck a pass to someone in row z and it won’t matter, this dude is getting his minutes because f*ck you, the viewer, I guess?
Everything about this club is turturous, what these guys do to Pistons fans is a warcrime and I am hatewatching the ever living f*** out of this, just like the rest of the NBA.
I wouldn’t limit that type of speculation just to Ivey. Will Cade want to stick around? Duren?
I get that the roster is flawed, super young, and full of injuries. I don’t think there’s really a clear path to making this group of players “good”. Yet somehow despite a coaching change, healthy Cade, adding Auser, and a year of experience for Ivey/Duren we’re headed for the worst season in this entire rebuild. I don’t want to write off Monty based on press-conference sound bytes, limited data, or his inability to make chicken salad from this…but…he sure isn’t building confidence with anything he does or says.
It’s so hard to evaluate this roster when there’s no shooting and Monty’s refusal to insert shooting or actual good players into the rotation. His insistence of playing Killian is so counterproductive to the team. Even if Monty emphasize defense, they’re not good at it so that’s a double whammy.
At this point, I would’ve rather have Gores not interfere with the coaching search and let Weaver choose his own guy which is Kevin Ollie. If it failed, it makes it easier to clean house but they’re stuck with Monty with the richest contract in the history of NBA. Yes, it’s not part of the salary cap, but the owners does not like to double dip into coaching contract.
I was very surprised to see Killian get back into the starting lineup (I feel like it was glossed over in this thread that Ivey had finally gotten that gig).
Was starting Livers over Ausar something you guys endorse? Does that become Bogey in a few days, or does he start alongside Livers? Or go back to Ausar w/ Bogey?
Is Duren the starting 5 no matter what?
Monty’s out here throwing darts at this point. Sheesh.
I would prefer a shooter from the wing so I’m kind of okay with Livers starting. Ausar should be off the bench as a utility player who can sit in seamlessly as long as there are shooters around him. At this point, I would start Bogey and evaluate from there. Maybe, the best lineup would be Cade, Jaden, Ausar, Bogey and Duren.
Duren is clearly better than Wiseman and Bagley, but he’s not 100%. I think he needs to go to Steph Curry and figure out how to improve his ankle strength. Beef should be a backup big.
For next season, I would yeet Killian, Bagley, Wiseman out of the roster or at the very worst, keep Bagley as a 3rd big.
