TheFuture wrote:What I don't understand is why its okay for everyone here to give up on AB when he's had 2 seasons riddled with injury, is only 21, and showed good improvement over the summer? Flip treated him poorly in my opinion. I wouldn't doubt he was held out last year with an "injury" like all the rest of our players. Wasn't he out for almost 2 months with a sprained ankle?? I also don't buy the logjam at the Big position this year. KG will miss games, pek may not play, towns/bjelica haven't played a minute in the NBA, Payne is as big of if not more of a project than Bennett, dieng is rock solid. With the shape Bennett was in he could've found mins between pf and sf. Prince never should've been signed.
I just don't understand how we have held out hope for 23-25 year old players like Payne, wes Johnson, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, foye, etc. Etc. Yet we already cement Bennett as being no good. I see tremendous talent that just needs a coach behind it who gives him run on the court to get comfortable. Not one who yanks him at every first mistake.
I really see us/flip regretting this one in 2 years.
Flip screwed things up by dealing for Payne. Neither Bennett or Payne have proven anything yet. However, based on last year's sample with the Wolves, AB put up a PER of 11.4. Payne's was 7.8. AB is also 2 years younger than Payne. But it was obvious that Payne was Flip's guy and AB was going to go.
Had they not gone after Payne, we'd be going into this year with:
* PF combo of KG/Towns/Bjelica/AB
* An extra $2M (Payne's salary)
* An additional future 1st round pick
I haven't completely given up on Payne. But, that just seemed like an unnecessary deal at the time and more so after the additions of KG, Towns and Bjelica.