08-06-2024, 12:34 AM
(08-05-2024, 10:58 PM)SleepingHero Wrote: 1 " I don't think the assets in the cupboard (or lack thereof) matters at all IF you have the top level talent on the court."
That IF you have in your first sentence is a pretty big IF. And vague as well. What is top talent?
2 Having a full cupboard ALWAYS matters since it gives you all the flexibility in navigating the NBA. Like OKC at the moment can go and grab literally any player (barring maybe 3) they want if they really wanted to. That kind of power is always important.
3 Identifying the player that takes a top team (or a non-sucky team) over the edge is rarely consistent. I doubt ANY of us here thought the Gafford+Washington additions at the TDL made us finals bound. I mean heck you had a thread in January calling the season a wash!
1 I agree it's a big if. That was the point I was making about Simons, from both directions (if you are sure, and if you are otherwise right there, then go for it). The difficulty in knowing where you are already, and what you need and whether you should pay it, is why the GMs get the big bucks.
2 I never said an empty cupboard is to be preferred, all things being equal. But - adding key talent to be on that top tier of legit contenders TRUMPS keeping a full cupboard. It's not a cupboard war -- you only win titles by having TALENT to do it. There is a time when making a move or two for the right talent to take you to that top level and perhaps win this year is far more valuable than hoarding your assets.
3 I definitely did not see any avenue to getting the player(s) needed to get that much better. But the GM saw the right pieces and at the right prices, and he didn't fret over what effect it had on the cupboard. Are you saying he should have kept the cupboard full for later? Should have been scared away because it could be the wrong move?
I stand by what I said, and think the Mavs executed it just right -- " if you have a team that is one player [or so] away from being top tier and a threat to win a title over the next few years, AND YOU HAVE IDENTIFIED AND CAN GET THAT PLAYER, then you use whatever assets it takes." That's what the Mavs did, and I think it was definitely the right approach. You'd prefer they kept the cupboard full for later?