Hehe -- Anthony Bennett Buyout

[TAFKASP]

90% chance we look back on this no different than we do DWill. Immense talent without the ability to capitalize on it.

[Brooklyn_Wolves [enjin:14608167]]

This is the kind of move a losing franchise makes. Cutting a young guy with loads of potential to save a few bucks because the position is loaded with just as big of unknowns. Flip better be sure AP is gonna be a better player or this will go on the bad move list. At this point AP has to become a good rotation player because they essentially gave up a first round pick and Bennett for him to play for us.

Not sure why people get worked up about marginal NBA talent. Top end talent rules the league and Bennett isn't one.
Players of his quality are plenty available at low cost.

[Brooklyn_Wolves [enjin:14608167]]

90% chance we look back on this no different than we do DWill. Immense talent without the ability to capitalize on it.

perfect example.

People were banging their hands when we got A Moute. Now nobody cares caged lion.

[KiwiMatt]

Well that solves our crowded front court problem. Best of luck to Bennett in the future. For his sake I hope the Raptors take a punt on him. Going home could be the best thing for AB.

[worldK]

i like bennet more than payne. But this was inevitable after we traded a first for payne. This makes sense but I would have just prefer that we didn't trade a 1st for payne in the first place.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

90% chance we look back on this no different than we do DWill. Immense talent without the ability to capitalize on it.

perfect example.

People were banging their hands when we got A Moute. Now nobody cares caged lion.

Ah yes, I remember all the hand-wringing over Derrick Williams and the "he just didn't get enough playing time to develop" arguments.

That being said, every player is different. I wouldn't have minded keeping AB around, but it's tough when you have an option for $7+M that pretty much makes you commit to him for the next two years. We were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Unlike D-Will, I could see AB get his shit together and eventually be an impact rotation player. It just felt like too high of a price to pay to wait and find out.

[Carlos Danger]

90% chance we look back on this no different than we do DWill. Immense talent without the ability to capitalize on it.

The only difference is that DWill played 1400 minutes his first year, 1900 minutes his second year and came back for a third year for another 160 minutes before being dealt. So...about 3500 minutes over 2+ years to get a good idea he's not good. Compare that to Bennett who's only played 1500 over two years/two teams. I know most have made up their minds on AB and they are probably right. But...part of me still thinks that's a pretty small sample. That said, obviously he's not impressing during practice or something because the Cavs completely gave up on him early and Flip never really seemed too high on him here. Anytime a team goes out and trades for two guys (Payne and KG) that play your position - it's not a vote of confidence.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Yeah, I held out much more hope for AB than Williams too, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that it wasn't going to happen for him here. Bjelica's solid performance in the FIBA tournament was the final nail in the coffin for AB, I think. Mitchell is going to slot Nemanja and Payne in behind KG, and maybe even use Towns there occasionally. There just wasn't going to be time enough to evaluate whether picking up AB's option was a good idea or not, so better to save a million or two and give AB a chance to catch on with another team. I still think that if he can stay healthy and is given some steady minutes, he can be a solid contributor for some team. It just wasn't meant to happen here though.

I don't begrudge the Wolves trying to save a few dollars, especially since it seems like a positive thing for them to do for AB. Bennett seems like a good guy and certainly has some talent, so I hope he can realize his potential with another team. The Wolves will be just fine at PF, though, with KG, NB and AP.

[Monster]

90% chance we look back on this no different than we do DWill. Immense talent without the ability to capitalize on it.

The only difference is that DWill played 1400 minutes his first year, 1900 minutes his second year and came back for a third year for another 160 minutes before being dealt. So...about 3500 minutes over 2+ years to get a good idea he's not good. Compare that to Bennett who's only played 1500 over two years/two teams. I know most have made up their minds on AB and they are probably right. But...part of me still thinks that's a pretty small sample. That said, obviously he's not impressing during practice or something because the Cavs completely gave up on him early and Flip never really seemed too high on him here. Anytime a team goes out and trades for two guys (Payne and KG) that play your position - it's not a vote of confidence.

On the flip side of that argument Williams proved to be a much more effective and healthy player over the same time period. To me Bennett's reasonable upside is a Patrick Patterson type talent and he has a LOOOONG way to go to even achieve that.

[Monster]

So I predicted that Bennett could get cut released bought out etc (although I didn't think it would happen) but what surprised me about this move was that the opposite scenario played out to get to that point. I figured Bennett would be unimpressive this summer etc and show nothing and another player would beat him out in training camp etc. Instead the opposite sorta happened. He had a nice summer looked good all that type of stuff and likely said he wanted a shot and the Wolves said they couldn't guarantee anything like they probably told him after the season was over. This isn't about saving money but if Bennett wants out he has to give up some money or maybe they keep him because he may have some value to them. I can't blame him for wanting a different situation and quite frankly I've always thought that was the best thing for him but part of me wonders about him not wanting to step up and try and win minutes on a team with no absolutely clear long term talent at PF. The Wolves continue to do players and agents favors. That may pay off down the road if it hasn't already.