Re: Trading Pek
Posted: Tue Mar 25, 2014 12:48 am
Kawhi is probably untouchable**
Remember when Pek sparked that nasty bidding war between us and... us? Why does anyone think there exists a favorable trade market for a center who doesn't defend the paint, costs ~80% of the max, has several years left on his deal, and plays ~75% of the schedule?
The reason the wolves are failing is very simple: we have maybe two players producing at or above their pay grade in Love and Rubio, and everyone else is a mixture of badly to slightly overpaid. In a salary cap league, you can't overpay damn near everyone on the roster and expect good things to happen.
Brewer isn't terrible... unless you're paying him twice what he's worth. Same goes for chase, JJ, pretty much the whole roster. And our guys on rookie deals? Other than Rubio, they're either crap or underutilized.
Personally, I think we're screwed. We don't have high draft picks coming our way. We don't have moveable assets. We won't have appreciable cap space any time soon. We have very limited avenues for improving a flawed team. This, as we wallow in a perpetually brutal conference with an impatient and entitled superstar.
Our best bet for ascension is actually Gi. He's showing flashes of a solid, defense-first big. If he can grow into that role on his rookie deal, we can shift Pek's salary (via likely unfavorable trade) to a wing player. Then, with a new coach focusing on player development, we might give ourselves a chance at becoming relevant. Our present course? I think we've peaked.