rushing to improve the bench this season is only a necessity if we have a legit shot at the title. Without a healthy Hayward, I don't see it. ECF and possibly the finals but beating GSW without Hayward in a 7-game series is just improbable.
Solution: wait til next year for natural improvements
- starters are Kyrie, Hayward, Horford and probably Brown. 5th starter is likely to be Tatum.
- Barring trades, bench becomes Smart (likely resigned to reasonable deal since his offense is still hit or miss), Rozier, Morris (hopefully finally healthy), Theis, Semi. That's not too bad provided there's a mix of 2 starters out there at a time.
Deep bench: C's 1st rounder, Yabu, maybe Lakers' first rounder.
Baynes has likely played himself into a deal larger than the MLE which would be all we could offer.
Bird and Allen may have the 2-way deals again.
Larkin and Nader are very likely gone.
C's have the MLE (if not Baynes) to pick up a decent bench guy or 2.
I'm more than ready to move on from Rozier because he's way too inconsistent and he doesn't have that knack to make big plays in close games that Smart does. The question becomes, who could we trade him for that would consistently contribute?
I agree with your assessment that no drastic moves should be made till next season.
Next season the Cs will likely start a lineup that mimics the Warriors "death" lineup. In its shooting and spacing prowess. With an eye towards next year assuming Smart can be retained and Baynes can not then the Cs may need to look into moving Morris and Rozier to restructure the bench in preparation for a legit title push.
I agree that as much as I like Rozier he is somewhat redundant to Smart and a more pure shooter is a better fit off the bench. Not that either are likely options but I would rather see a Seth Curry or Tyler Johnson type shooter in this role. For that reason a small part of me would be interested to see a vet min Jimmer Fredette get a shot on the Cs. This also makes a case for Bellineli with the DPE.
If Baynes is lost to a higher bidder the Cs absolutely must bring in another true big man. Starting Al at C is fine as long as his back up can provide the minutes and skill set that Baynes currently is. Theis is a nice option at the 5/4 but against the larger centers he is to over matched.
Filling this shooter and big man role may ultimately mean having to move Morris and Rozier.