2020-2021 ROSTER TALK: Archived

[DanSchwartzgan]

Luka, McConell,      Terry
JRich, THJ,            Green
OPJ, DFS,              Hinton
Maxi,                     Bey
KP, Theis,              WCS (or let him walk and sign someone else)

I think we get very, very tough defensively with TJ and Theis. We get secondary playmaking with TJ. We get shooting with OPJ. Not flashy but it might work very well.

FIFY.  This is the antithesis of 3 stars.  It is pretty close to 9 starters and I like it.  We can quibble over the who and the how, but this seems a much easier path than the path to Collins or any other near-max guy (Holiday?).  This kind of thing, done over or under the cap, is more interesting to discuss than letting go of everyone and hope Mr. Free Agent picks us.   This is how Indy has operated in recent years.  Instead of waiting around for the pipe dreams, they just go get their guys and call it a day. 

I'll be surprised if we can trade Powell in a way that helps us, so I'll probably be leaving that out of my proposals.  However, I am optimistic we might be able to use Redick as outgoing in some deal.  Time will tell.  Obviously, the big question is THJ.  Do we keep him.  Do we S&T him or do we let him walk and operate under the cap.  Speaking of names:  

Theis is genius.  As a younger alternative, I wonder what it will take to snatch the other Collins from Portland.  Thaddeus Young was a trade deadline darling and we got a mention that we were involved with Nance just to throw out a couple more names.  The key is being big enough to not get creamed against bigger teams and quick enough to not get run off the court when teams go small (like that would ever happen  ).  It really helps if the guy in this slot can hit an occasional three.  I think you will always have to carry an extra center with KP on the team, so, I suspect there will always be at least one other playable big in addition to the spot Theis is filling (could be Powell or WCS)

I like OPJ.  I need to spend some time looking for alternatives.  Rudy Gay would help the bench scoring for a year or two while you wait for Green and Bey to grow up.  He probably comes a good bit cheaper than OPJ    

McConnell is the one I'm a little meh on.  I like Monk as an alternative.  He has a $13mm hold on a team with three good guards already in Ball, Rozier and Graham.  They need a big (to me that is where Collins should go) and that cap hold is in the way.  He isn't your dad's Buick any more (meaning he isn't the Monk of a couple of years ago).  He can create a little and is really good at hitting 3's these days.  He's a positive on-court despite having really good replacements take his place when he isn't in.  There are other guys who are older and more expensive who might fill this bench scorer role.  Mainly, I'd like to have one more mix and match guy to go with Brunson and JRich (assuming he stays) and I'd like to be able to play any two without Luka and any two with Luka.  

I've spent a lot of time saying I think THJ should be retained and that he's too valuable to risk on RFA dreams.  But, he's a pretty one dimensional guy who eats a lot of cap.  There are other alternatives to play his "bench scorer" role and you might be able to get two guys for similar money.  It would be nice to upgrade a starter, but there aren't a ton of shots available to attract someone like that.  There are certainly some opportunities to add to a very thin bench (basically THJ and Brunson right now).  As we've seen with Kemba, it doesn't always pay to chase the big name guy.  I think we would be much improved if we simply added a few more Maxi/Brunson level players and could field nine starter level guys instead of the current seven.