08-22-2021, 11:15 PM
If I had to judge Nico solely based on this off-season, I don´t think anything has changed, but the names on the cover. Didn´t do anything in the draft. Didn´t do any asset management/youth movement either.
BUT....
....the summer is not over yet....
AND
....you have to give him another 12 months. You can´t fix the sh*t he inherited in four weeks. But I think two summers and a TDL, plus lots of contracts expiring or entering the final year, he gains a ton of flexibility to move pieces around, so his actual long-term plans become clear. Assuming he has long-term strategies, which is never a sure thing with this franchise.
So there is still a chance that the roster looks completely different in 12 months. For example as long as Porzingis stays healthy for six months, you could most definitely dump him for expiring contracts to a rebuilding place like Orlando, Detroit or even Sacramento. That´s easier to do with two years left than three. With two you are more than half way through the tunnel and can see the light at the end already.
BUT....
....the summer is not over yet....
AND
....you have to give him another 12 months. You can´t fix the sh*t he inherited in four weeks. But I think two summers and a TDL, plus lots of contracts expiring or entering the final year, he gains a ton of flexibility to move pieces around, so his actual long-term plans become clear. Assuming he has long-term strategies, which is never a sure thing with this franchise.
So there is still a chance that the roster looks completely different in 12 months. For example as long as Porzingis stays healthy for six months, you could most definitely dump him for expiring contracts to a rebuilding place like Orlando, Detroit or even Sacramento. That´s easier to do with two years left than three. With two you are more than half way through the tunnel and can see the light at the end already.