TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[KillerLeft]

I'm not sure what you are arguing for.

I would argue that the Mavs have pulled out all the stops on trying to get him to the next level from day one. And are continuing to do so. And it's still problematic. And they are still hopeful, and will continue to try, I would expect, because even if he isn't a keeper, they need to make him sellable.

They aren't holding him back. They see his scoring skills. But they have been demanding (in exchange for minutes) he work to fix the flaws - which, if not fixed, will make him a disaster to re-sign, and which will keep him from being what they really need.

The reality is that Wood has bounced from team to team, and his scoring skills have not overcome his lack of skill and focus in the rest of the game. The Mavs have to make a huge commitment in a big hurry, or move on in a different direction.

And we all WANT him to be better (as do the Mavs, of course). But they are stuck in a time crunch on decisions with some hard deadlines. Right?

And I would argue that they were using him in the worst possible way, and one guaranteed not to be successful, right up until other players started getting hurt and forced their hands. 

You're trying to bring this back to a debate about whether the onus is on him to learn how the profession works or them to give him a role, just because, only that's NOT where the discussion lies.

What I'm talking about concerns positional strengths and skills, and how they can fit with others. Synergy. Skillsets. I'm fine (and have been since day 1) with them asking him to earn a role, but the role they wanted him to earn isn't one that A) is right for him or B) had any chance of actually helping the team. 

He is a center with uncommon athletic ability and foot speed for the position. He's a good shooter, which is worth 100x more when it results in the opposing center being pulled out of the paint. Giving the opponent a chance to matchup a forward with him is DUMB. He has a ways to go to become a consistent defender (not nearly as far as the groupthink here seems to believe, but he's not there yet) but has NO chance to be a good defender against forwards. None. He can, however, defend bigs, play screens at level or even higher, and defend the rim a bit. Those should be the skills they're asking him to become consistent with. That's all I'm saying. If he can, you're back in the game, timeline wise. If he can't, fine - back to the drawing board. 

I'm not asking them to give him anything, I just think the game Kidd is trying to play has been outmoded for the past decade.