MAVS NEWS:

[Smitty]

Just thinking out loud.

I think Lively is so important in whether this thing works out or not.  I believe he is a winning player.  A unique player.  Although, what if he is the person to have the diffit conersation with over PJ and maybe Klay?  Fact is, PJ is not a small forward.  Sure he can play there, but it is not his strength.  He is a PF.  Cooper is not a SG.  He is a SF/PF wing combo.  Asking him to start his career at SG to fit the current roster is a lot to ask.  We all know AD wants to play PF, but is it really worth it if this causes others to play out of position?  So how about bringing Lively off the bench?  PJ can do some center stuff to take some of the banging off AD.  A front court of AD, PJ, Cooper allows both Cooper and PJ to fit into more advantageous roles.  Cooper will still need to be a secondary creator.

The negative for me is I think Lively would be ok coming off the bench.  I think I would still like to get him to finish games but that opens a lot more can of worms.    It is just an awkward fit and Lively, in my mind, should be one of our top 4 players moving forward.  Tough if that guy is not on the floor at the end of games.

In this scenario, Gafford is moved.  It also gives you some time.  If this team does not look like a contender-ish team, then you can make a pivot.  Fire Nico, move AD and reset.   

Just thinking out loud.

I've said this numerous times since the lottery win. AD is a 5. PJW is currently a better player than Lively. Sorry, that'll hurt some feelings, but it's true that Lively regressed his sophomore season and played even fewer games than the first. Lively off the bench, while limiting his minutes is the way to go. You simply tell AD he's a 5, getting the #1 overall pick changes things...