06-25-2021, 04:15 PM
(06-25-2021, 12:18 PM)ClutchDirk Wrote: BE PREPARED...
For just about anything. A few random thoughts.
Like most, I really like the Harrison move...at least conceptually. I don't know him at all, but the "idea of Harrison" (kind of like the idea of KP), feels like there could be a lot of upside. What other GM will have as direct a relationship with star players as Nico. Let me repeat that. Donnie was tight with certain agents. Cuban probably is also. Nico is tight with PLAYERS.
I'm keeping a page of Nike players open on one of my screens. Now when rumors come out, I'll have to look at agent and shoe contracts. Sorry if this bothers you as the agent thing did for some. But, until proven wrong, I'm going to keep an eye on it and track it. Are we going to do Nike favors like we've done agent favors in the past? It won't shock me to see Dallas in a rumor for a player I'm certain we don't really want, only to look at the shoe contract and go "oh, that's why". BTW, that doesn't bother me at all if it makes it more expensive for a competitor to sign that player.
This Nike thing can cut both ways. We've all jumped on the idea of getting this Nike player or that Nike player. What do you do with Luka's fellow Jordan Brand buddy THJ? We sending him packing? We want shoe contracts and prior relationships with Harrison to matter to the FA's of other teams. Will it make it harder to say good buy to our own FA's if they are properly aligned?
Do we shoot our wad this summer? Do we plan for powder next summer? I have no freaking idea. Everything we've ever assumed to be true has really changed. Hopefully we are past this idea that the only way to get good players is to have cap room. No, get resources and when these Nike stars decide to force their way off of other teams, you trade for them. I've been harping on the 2023 pick for a while now, but I think getting one is VERY important to getting that true star (especially since there really isn't one available in free agency). It is possible we spend this summer gathering assets (which can be done without negatively impacting on-court compared to where we are now), with the big move still to come. Frankly, I hope we are aiming higher than Beal (old) and LaVine (poor D).
I mentioned JET Terry in a post last night. I glanced at lineups Kidd coached in Brooklyn, Milwaukee and LA and was shocked to find him as a player under Kidd in both Brooklyn and again in Milwaukee. Didn't remember that at all.
You usually don't get a great people person who is fantastic at relationships who is also great at leadership/vision and the nuts and bolts or operating an organization. I still don't know how duties and titles will shake out here, but it feels to me like Harrison is a stallion and you let stallion's run and support the areas that aren't their strength. Hopefully Finley is that and we become a team that is not only good at recruiting, but good organizationally as well. Both would be a welcome change. BTW, it wouldn't shock me to see someone added in more of a consultant role like Rod Thorn is doing in DC or West did in multiple locations.