TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[mvossman]

Perhaps.

But the Gafford case is interesting. I don't watch those games, so I can't speak from observation as to what you get with Gafford, and whether he does any little things or not. Most informative in the little things would be his screen-setting, of course.

But the Basketball Reference numbers make it look like he's Powell, able to do everything Powell does well, and some of it even better, but with much better defense and rebounding skill too.

https://stathead.com/basketball/pcm_find...?request=1&sum=0&player_id1=poweldw01&p1yrfrom=2023&player_id2=gaffoda01&p2yrfrom=2023

So I'm generally the guy arguing that on/off numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt due to the noise and the need for a very large sample size, but Powell has generally had one of the best net ratings on the team every season.  It's a huge sample and has to mean something even if the box score and eye test don't necessarily agree.  Amazingly, as bad as Powell's box score stats looked in the playoffs last season, he still had the highest net rating on the team.

I'm coming in with the assumption that Powell will take a haircut on his next contract.  I could be wrong.  I get the idea of replacing McGee/Powell with Gafford.  I honestly find it very hard to believe we can send out McGee and get anything in return that is not a huge negative asset.