Free Agent Dennis Smith Jr. to Training Camp

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Mediocre Man said:
For a roster that wasn’t the problem defensively, we sure are bringing in some defensive guys, or at least better defenders
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I mean, Olshey admitted he should've had more impact defenders off the bench last year but people chose to ignore that (wonder why...) This shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
 
Tince said:
Do you really feel that switching out bench players is enough to make them a contender?

Maybe the term "running it back" isn't the best term and should be replaced with "moving deck chairs on the titantic"?
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I mean, the starting lineup performed very well down the stretch and was solid in the playoffs despite running little offense and constant drop/switch on defense. I guess you forget how our lead shrunk when we tossed a horrific Melo+Kanter pairing into the game. Now we have a 4 & a 5 of the bench who can defend and pass. Our changes will make a bigger difference than you think. We're gonna be legit this season.
 
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GDiama said:
I'm pretty sure if it was some other team doing that we would say they changed almost nothing and ask why they would expect a different outcome. We probably raised our floor with those moves, but the ceiling is pretty much the same.

i mean c;mon

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Easy.
1) Norm first off season here. Should make a difference.
2) New head coach. Ex. If the Bucks fired Bud and made no roster changes, I’d say hmm… good move. Don’t burn it down completely. Change the foundation (coach) and see what happens.
3) Most teams don’t have the second best offense and 29th ranked defense. While doing that, they typically don’t have a starting lineup that is top 3-5 in the league — that once again — didn’t have an off season or play a full season together.

And you could say this for damn near every team in the league this year. Who really made a big move?

Lowry?
DeRozan?
Westbrook?

Might as well give the bucks rings again next year since most teams have changed “almost nothing”
 
Tince said:
Do you really feel that switching out bench players is enough to make them a contender?

Maybe the term "running it back" isn't the best term and should be replaced with "moving deck chairs on the titantic"?
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Moving deck chairs?
How about replacing deck chairs with fucking luxury la-z-boy premium ultra recliners? If we play 7 in the playoffs (again) I’ll eat my own dick. And realistically we had 5 or 6 really worth playing. Melo, RHJ, Kanter should never see an NBA playoff floor.
 
Scalma said:
none, but it had little to do with the roster.
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I posted in 2016? 2018? That moving forward until we had a different head coach I fully expected us to make the playoffs and flame out.

this is the weirdest off-season in a while. First time I actually have hope for this team in ages and I feel like I don’t know the outcome already. Shit. We could miss the playoffs this year for all I know. And I was fairly certain that wasn’t gonna happen with Stotts at least. But I knew we weren’t winning a fûcking thing.

but my thoughts on Stotts being one of the worst nba coaches EVER is well documented
 
BonesJones said:
I mean, the starting lineup performed very well down the stretch and was solid in the playoffs despite running little offense and constant drop/switch on defense. I guess you forget how our lead shrunk when we tossed a horrific Melo+Kanter pairing into the game. No we have a 4 & a 5 of the bench who can defend and pass. Our changes will make a bigger difference than you think. We're gonna be legit this season.
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I didn't forget. I also didn't forget that you felt we had a good bench last year.

I do agree with you that this years bench has more flexibility and that will help us. Enough to move us out of the 1st/2nd round team we've been for years? I don't believe so. We still have the same core issues that have gone unaddressed for 7 years.
 
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JoshuaHall said:
Moving deck chairs?
How about replacing deck chairs with fucking luxury la-z-boy premium ultra recliners? If we play 7 in the playoffs (again) I’ll eat my own dick. And realistically we had 5 or 6 really worth playing. Melo, RHJ, Kanter should never see an NBA playoff floor.
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I don't think how many minutes the 8th man on this roster plays is going to be critical to us becoming a contender.

This ship will likely sink IF Dame demands a trade. I didn't feel this team was a contender before Dennis Smith Jr and this move hasn't changed that feeling.

I hope Billups adds 10 wins, I hope Zeller/Nance/Snell are battling for 6 man of the year, and Dame is so thrilled at the end of the season that he commits to retiring here. I just don't except any of those things.
 


Here's betting Kris Dunn shortly becomes available. Memphis needs to LOSE bodies, not add them. (And yes, this is relevant to this thread because Dunn is another tenacious defender at PG whom I can see Olshey also inviting to camp.)
 
Tince said:
I don't think how many minutes the 8th man on this roster plays is going to be critical to us becoming a contender.

This ship will likely sink IF Dame demands a trade. I didn't feel this team was a contender before Dennis Smith Jr and this move hasn't changed that feeling.

I hope Billups adds 10 wins, I hope Zeller/Nance/Snell are battling for 6 man of the year, and Dame is so thrilled at the end of the season that he commits to retiring here. I just don't except any of those things.
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How many minutes the 8th man gets doesn’t really matter, correct
But it does matter when injuries happen and 6th man is now starter or 7th man is now 6th man.

it also helps being able to play more than 5-6 players in the playoffs so players like Dame don’t get gassed IN THE FIRST ROUND.

people love looking at one single issue and not the entire scope of the picture

All I hope to see is a well coached basketball team on both sides of the ball. However the record shakes out, is how it shakes out. I have a strong belief that we won’t be losing to an injured team in the first round, if that’s the case.
 
If there's anyone whose career arc can give Smith hope that his career in the NBA could take an upturn, it's Chauncey Billups...
 
JoshuaHall said:
How many minutes the 8th man gets doesn’t really matter, correct
But it does matter when injuries happen and 6th man is now starter or 7th man is now 6th man.

it also helps being able to play more than 5-6 players in the playoffs so players like Dame don’t get gassed IN THE FIRST ROUND.

people love looking at one single issue and not the entire scope of the picture

All I hope to see is a well coached basketball team on both sides of the ball. However the record shakes out, is how it shakes out. I have a strong belief that we won’t be losing to an injured team in the first round, if that’s the case.
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I believe the entire scope of the picture, which I've pointed out in multiple threads, points to a this once again being a team that loses in the 1st or 2nd round, as we have done for 6 of the last 7 seasons. Of all the people saying "this year will be different", I have yet to see one person who would bet this team is likely to be a true cotender who can get to the WCF or past. Personally, I can still really enjoy a season where we get bounced in the 1st/2nd round and I've got mocked for that numerous times. My concern this year is that Dame has made indications that he is no longer statisfied with a roster that ends the season with those results. I do care if Dame is going to demand a trade because I very much like him being apart of the organization. Having said all that, I believe moving around a bunch of guys making the vet min on the bench will not produce enough for Dame's desires and therefore I'm not thrilled that our big FA addition is Cody Zeller and our big trade is for a bench guy with injury history. I like Zellers game as a backup, I like Nancy's skill set, I'm excited to see what Billups does... but looking at entire scope of the picture, I don't think those marginal moves are going to be near enough.

When I gave last seasons moves a B- because I didn't think they changed the core issues of the team, people thought I was being unfairly negative and single issued as well.
 
It’s super early but DSJ leads the team in DBPM. He’s also showing an ability to run the offense and create for others; his assist % is second only behind Dame. I think he should stay in the rotation, at least for the time being, when Powell returns. It also makes Simons’ job easier.

shit like this
 
Scalma said:
It’s super early but DSJ leads the team in DBPM. He’s also showing an ability to run the offense and create for others; his assist % is second only behind Dame. I think he should stay in the rotation, at least for the time being, when Powell returns. It also makes Simons’ job easier.

shit like this
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We might actually need a 10 man rotation when Powell returns.

Dame Smith
CJ Simons
Powell Little
Roco Nance
Nurk Zeller
 
Scalma said:
It’s super early but DSJ leads the team in DBPM. He’s also showing an ability to run the offense and create for others; his assist % is second only behind Dame. I think he should stay in the rotation, at least for the time being, when Powell returns. It also makes Simons’ job easier.

shit like this
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I said it in the game thread last night but I think it's worth saying again. He kind of reminds me of Andre Miller, except he can actually jump over a phone book.
 
e_blazer said:
I doubt he plays much once Norm is back, but he's a heck of an insurance policy.
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Yeah Norm is better but if Lillard or CJ or just as we have seen with Norm out a game or two they can deal with it.
 
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