(12-24-2025, 08:41 AM)KillerLeft Wrote: Not sure this is the place for this discussion (not meaning you giving us the info, but rather my response to it), and it has basically ceased to matter at this point, with horrible guard play and injuries basically tanking this season in fewer than 20 games, but...
...man, this has my eyebrows raised. Lots of coded speak here, and this is EXACTLY what some of us were worried about all summer. Ironically, those on the other side of the argument will read something totally different in these words than I do, but to me, this is basically Kidd saying he can't play Gafford enough on this team, even WITHOUT Lively in the mix. He's overtly saying that the reason he feels the need to get Davis some time at the 4 is in order to get Gafford more time on the floor. Like, word for word. This is about hierarchy and pay scale. It's about roster balance. Even in the roster's current, injury-depleted state, Kidd can't play his best players together if he wants to win.
The roster was not balanced properly. Most of us knew it. How much better would these first 30 games have gone if they had traded Gafford for an equivalent talent at PG when he signed his contract? I mean, even a slightly less than equivalent talent, but at PG? Instead, depth at ONE POSITION was prioritized over having ANY proven players at THE MOST IMPORTANT POSITION, to the point where an 18 year old was asked to learn the job on the fly, having never done so in his life. Thankfully, they figured out this was a bad idea quickly. Yes, the experiment helped and will continue to help Flagg develop quickly in certain ways, but how anyone thought this was going to translate to victories this season seems impossible to me in hindsight, and I speak as someone who was about 60% convinced I was crazy by the end of the summer.
Stupid, stupid, stupid. Never again. If you don't have a PG, you don't have a basketball team.
Good insights and thoughts. Maybe if we had a team of centers who could play inside like Shaq, shoot 3s like Steph, had the vision, handles, and BBIQ of a point guard, who could create their own shots from anywhere on the court, could run like a gazelle it would be ok. But we don't. Yeah, the roster is unbalanced. AD is a center--and should never see the 4--except in emergencies, which it seems we have all too often. Gafford is a very good backup center, and can start if necessary. Lively is...injured. Of the three, Gafford is the most durable. I don't think Flagg should ever play point--except in the natural flow of the game. He still needs to work on his right side game and 3PT shots. Flagg has some qualities that may make him one of the best to play. Doesn't mean he will, but he has that chance.
I don't think your point guard has to be the best on the team, but he better be pretty damn good. Nembhard is not ideal, but he's the best PG we have. On a team with a great point guard, Nembhard would be a good back up. 2 way players and multi-position players are very rare. I don't mean someone you can plug into different positions and they just wander around, but those guys who can actually play different positions.
Yeah...this team is unbalance, but it's the team we gotta play. I'm hoping for some good trades--but we have no GM. How's that going to work out?
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