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MemphisX' post in the Nuggets thread about our team makeup gave me the idea for this thread.
Memphis, despite having many of the same players from the 2003-2004 season, has played drastically different in the 2004-2005 campaign. The team isn't getting enough from the point guards, our shooting guards have been sink-or-swim, and we fall apart in the fourth quarter (completely opposite from 03-04 season, when we led the league in fourth quarter comebacks). Some could point to having a new coach as the reason for some of these things, but we were doing all these things at the beginning of the year when Hubie was still coaching us. Some could look at the staggering amount of injuries and players' inconsistent minutes due to those, but I agree with MemphisX when he says the makeup of the team is getting stale and beginning to drift away from the strengths of our team.
So who should stay and who should go after the season is over?
Stay
Pau Gasol - No-brainer. On this team, he's the closest thing by far to being a legitimate NBA All-Star or even a first option on offense. He's got a big extension, and we've invested alot in him. With a little more work and the right players around him, he has some serious potential to be a Top 10-15 player in the league.
Shane Battier - Stepped into the starting SF role and has performed well, although not as well as James Posey did last year. I don't think anyone's complaining though. Battier brings it every night, and his attitude and hustle infects the rest of the team. Lost in the shuffle is his vastly improved three-point shot, which is among the top 20 in the league. He's the best community guy to have in the NBA, and he's never a problem behind the scenes. I hope he retires with this franchise.
Brian Cardinal - In many ways, Cardinal serves the same role as Shane. His even greater hustle - unsurpassed by anyone in the league - makes up for his lesser talent. Also a great guy behind the scenes who will not rock the boat, and like Battier, we've invested in with a longterm contract. His high basketball IQ, free throw shooting (88 percent) and willingness has bailed this team out a number of times this year. With more consistent minutes and less depth on the bench, he'd be a contender for sixth man of the year.
Mike Miller - Miller has come around this year, shaken off the injuries and developed into an important guy to have on the floor. He's shooting 50 percent from the floor, good for 19th in the league (No. 2 among guards and No. 1 among shooting guards!). He also hits threes at a 42 percent clip (10th in the league). He isn't always reliable, but not nearly as shaky as he was last season, and also subscribes to the sacrificing-your-body mentality. He's fearless, as well as being a very good basketball player, and we need those on the team.
Keepers - Not on the Trading Block
Lorenzen Wright - Lorenzen has made big strides in his game since December and really put this team on his back while Pau was out with injuries. He averaged a career-high in PPG per month in March. A big competitor on the court, who was transformed by Shane and Brian's play into a warrior for a decent stretch of time. He's still giving up a ton of size, and he's definitely not the longterm answer at center. Still, he'd be a great piece to have off the bench to spell whatever beefy rebounder we hopefully wind up with. Don't look to get rid of him, but make a deal if someone finds his expiring contract attractive and is willing to deal someone who could make a huge impact on our success.
Dahntay Jones - The future is now for this guy. He's shown this year he can hold his own with all the other swingmen on the team, and it's a shame he hasn't gotten more minutes than he already has. His outside shot has come a long way, he's an athletic oddity and has the ability to just shut guys down completely on defense. He'll be a new reserve role given the minutes freed up from the departing Bonzi Wells and James Posey.
Antonio Burks - An ideal reserve point guard who handles himself like a veteran, despite this being his rookie season. He's money from midrange and doesn't make a ton of mistakes, given his experience. He's a hometown favorite who could find a niche here for a long time to come. With his minimum salary, I'd have a hard time thinking of a situation where he'd absolutely be necessary for filler in another trade.
Go
Jason Williams - Sorry, but his time is up here. He doesn't finish ballgames (but neither does his backup), he's inconsistent, his assist numbers have been down, he doesn't feed our best player like he should (refer to the Pacers game at Memphis), he supposedly causes problems backstage, and it's a given for him to miss roughly 10 games per year. Don't deal him for scratch, because he's not a terrible player. But he's not a guy who will bring a team success in and of himself, and his welcome is all but worn out.
Earl Watson - Exciting as he is sometimes, he just makes some stupid decisions out on a basketball court and has little to no idea how to run a fastbreak offense. Oftentimes, he'll drive to the hole himself on a three-on-one fastbreak likely because he doesn't know what else to do. His defense is better than JWill's, but it's still fairly overrated. His shot has improved, but not enough to justify keeping him around or signing him to the big contract he may get in free agency. A sign-and-trade would be welcomed.
Bonzi Wells - Not because he's a problem but because he might be our most attractive expendable. Pick up his option and then find a taker, possibly using him in a package with someone else. He's like Miller in that he's streaky, but we have Dahntay waiting in the wings. Bonzi is great when he's on, which he has been lately, but he too often tries to do too much. He's amazing in the post and has cleaned up his act since coming to the Grizzlies. Someone will want this guy.
James Posey - It hurts to type this, because I became a big fan of his last season, and he's still an attractive piece to package to get someone who'll make a big impact. His injuries have prevented him from making any impact at all this year, and unfortunately for him, other players have stepped into the role and are performing nicely. He can still play some great defense and IMO is still the team's best one-on-one defender. But he's just not needed much, if what we see from Shane, Mike, Dahntay and Brian aren't illusions.
Stromile Swift - An athletic freak who still has potential, but has greater potential to not live up to it. Stro's had his greatest career moments and stretches this season, along with some of his most mediocre. He simply does not have the mentality to become a great player, and if we can get someone significant in a sign-and-trade, it'll be more worth it than the contract he's looking for.
Trade Filler
Ryan Humphrey might not be back regardless. Jake Tsakalidis is a solid third-string center in the league and signed to a reasonable contract. I've never had a problem with him. Andre Emmett has some promise, but we're loaded on the wings, and he hasn't proven to be as valuable as Antonio Burks. Keeping these three guys would be perfectly fine by me, but losing them wouldn't affect our team one way or the other.
Memphis, despite having many of the same players from the 2003-2004 season, has played drastically different in the 2004-2005 campaign. The team isn't getting enough from the point guards, our shooting guards have been sink-or-swim, and we fall apart in the fourth quarter (completely opposite from 03-04 season, when we led the league in fourth quarter comebacks). Some could point to having a new coach as the reason for some of these things, but we were doing all these things at the beginning of the year when Hubie was still coaching us. Some could look at the staggering amount of injuries and players' inconsistent minutes due to those, but I agree with MemphisX when he says the makeup of the team is getting stale and beginning to drift away from the strengths of our team.
So who should stay and who should go after the season is over?
Stay
Pau Gasol - No-brainer. On this team, he's the closest thing by far to being a legitimate NBA All-Star or even a first option on offense. He's got a big extension, and we've invested alot in him. With a little more work and the right players around him, he has some serious potential to be a Top 10-15 player in the league.
Shane Battier - Stepped into the starting SF role and has performed well, although not as well as James Posey did last year. I don't think anyone's complaining though. Battier brings it every night, and his attitude and hustle infects the rest of the team. Lost in the shuffle is his vastly improved three-point shot, which is among the top 20 in the league. He's the best community guy to have in the NBA, and he's never a problem behind the scenes. I hope he retires with this franchise.
Brian Cardinal - In many ways, Cardinal serves the same role as Shane. His even greater hustle - unsurpassed by anyone in the league - makes up for his lesser talent. Also a great guy behind the scenes who will not rock the boat, and like Battier, we've invested in with a longterm contract. His high basketball IQ, free throw shooting (88 percent) and willingness has bailed this team out a number of times this year. With more consistent minutes and less depth on the bench, he'd be a contender for sixth man of the year.
Mike Miller - Miller has come around this year, shaken off the injuries and developed into an important guy to have on the floor. He's shooting 50 percent from the floor, good for 19th in the league (No. 2 among guards and No. 1 among shooting guards!). He also hits threes at a 42 percent clip (10th in the league). He isn't always reliable, but not nearly as shaky as he was last season, and also subscribes to the sacrificing-your-body mentality. He's fearless, as well as being a very good basketball player, and we need those on the team.
Keepers - Not on the Trading Block
Lorenzen Wright - Lorenzen has made big strides in his game since December and really put this team on his back while Pau was out with injuries. He averaged a career-high in PPG per month in March. A big competitor on the court, who was transformed by Shane and Brian's play into a warrior for a decent stretch of time. He's still giving up a ton of size, and he's definitely not the longterm answer at center. Still, he'd be a great piece to have off the bench to spell whatever beefy rebounder we hopefully wind up with. Don't look to get rid of him, but make a deal if someone finds his expiring contract attractive and is willing to deal someone who could make a huge impact on our success.
Dahntay Jones - The future is now for this guy. He's shown this year he can hold his own with all the other swingmen on the team, and it's a shame he hasn't gotten more minutes than he already has. His outside shot has come a long way, he's an athletic oddity and has the ability to just shut guys down completely on defense. He'll be a new reserve role given the minutes freed up from the departing Bonzi Wells and James Posey.
Antonio Burks - An ideal reserve point guard who handles himself like a veteran, despite this being his rookie season. He's money from midrange and doesn't make a ton of mistakes, given his experience. He's a hometown favorite who could find a niche here for a long time to come. With his minimum salary, I'd have a hard time thinking of a situation where he'd absolutely be necessary for filler in another trade.
Go
Jason Williams - Sorry, but his time is up here. He doesn't finish ballgames (but neither does his backup), he's inconsistent, his assist numbers have been down, he doesn't feed our best player like he should (refer to the Pacers game at Memphis), he supposedly causes problems backstage, and it's a given for him to miss roughly 10 games per year. Don't deal him for scratch, because he's not a terrible player. But he's not a guy who will bring a team success in and of himself, and his welcome is all but worn out.
Earl Watson - Exciting as he is sometimes, he just makes some stupid decisions out on a basketball court and has little to no idea how to run a fastbreak offense. Oftentimes, he'll drive to the hole himself on a three-on-one fastbreak likely because he doesn't know what else to do. His defense is better than JWill's, but it's still fairly overrated. His shot has improved, but not enough to justify keeping him around or signing him to the big contract he may get in free agency. A sign-and-trade would be welcomed.
Bonzi Wells - Not because he's a problem but because he might be our most attractive expendable. Pick up his option and then find a taker, possibly using him in a package with someone else. He's like Miller in that he's streaky, but we have Dahntay waiting in the wings. Bonzi is great when he's on, which he has been lately, but he too often tries to do too much. He's amazing in the post and has cleaned up his act since coming to the Grizzlies. Someone will want this guy.
James Posey - It hurts to type this, because I became a big fan of his last season, and he's still an attractive piece to package to get someone who'll make a big impact. His injuries have prevented him from making any impact at all this year, and unfortunately for him, other players have stepped into the role and are performing nicely. He can still play some great defense and IMO is still the team's best one-on-one defender. But he's just not needed much, if what we see from Shane, Mike, Dahntay and Brian aren't illusions.
Stromile Swift - An athletic freak who still has potential, but has greater potential to not live up to it. Stro's had his greatest career moments and stretches this season, along with some of his most mediocre. He simply does not have the mentality to become a great player, and if we can get someone significant in a sign-and-trade, it'll be more worth it than the contract he's looking for.
Trade Filler
Ryan Humphrey might not be back regardless. Jake Tsakalidis is a solid third-string center in the league and signed to a reasonable contract. I've never had a problem with him. Andre Emmett has some promise, but we're loaded on the wings, and he hasn't proven to be as valuable as Antonio Burks. Keeping these three guys would be perfectly fine by me, but losing them wouldn't affect our team one way or the other.
