My Gripe with Neil handing out those princely sums to Turner, Crabbe and Meyers was that it was spent on such obviously mediocre talent -- Turner was and is is nothing but a solid backup level player for the length of his career, Crabbe was and is a one-trick pony (although that one trick he does very well) and Meyers was and still is all hat, no cattle. If Neil had been overpaying to keep a title contender together you can maybe justify going deep into the luxury tax, but when you lock yourself in, hoping that 'D+' to 'C+' talent are going to mature into solid 'B' players to push you over the top it feels like a longshot strategy and forces some hard decisions with other guys that come up for their deals later. And if you want to get rid of those bad contracts you usually have to give up picks or other young assets you need to round out your roster and keep your talent pipeline moving.
I agree that the cap space was a sort of use it or lose it proposition last season, but it's the strategy to aim for last summer that seems dubious. Neil's job isn't just to draft guys and make trades, it's to structure your cap in such a way that maximizes your opportunities. Either by plan or accident he put himself in position to have cap space when 26 other teams were also going to have significant cap room, which means that there were going to be more dollars chasing fewer players -- not exactly an ideal position for a small market team that has never been very successful wooing quality free agents. Also, the crowded field of teams in free agency aside, what was the plan last summer? Who were the free agents Neil thought were going to be worth pursuing? I remember names like Greg Monroe, Chandler Parsons, and a Dwight Howard pipe dream. That was it? That was what he was angling for? That was supposed to be the payoff for clearing space? Okie dokie . . .
