monroe?
knight?
an injured Bledsoe?
no thanks.....
MonroeMonroe gives you scoring (20 Points Per 36), rebounding (11.5 Rebounds Per 36) and passing (2.7 Assists Per 36) along with an underrated defensive impact (DRPM of +0.9 in 2013/14, +2.3 in 2014/15, +1.4 this year). He's an efficient scorer (50% career FG) who gets to the line at an excellent rate (33% FTR) and has dramatically improved his midrange jumper this year (47% on twos outside 16 feet). He offers legitimate size in the front court, and his ability to draw attention and command double teams in the paint would perfectly complement our current lineup.
He's not a superstar, but he's Horford-like in that he is solid at everywhere...with the main difference being that he's bigger (6'11" / 250 pounds, 7'2" wingspan), is only 25 years old, isn't injury prone.
Plus he is locked in to a very nice $16m/year contract for the next thee years - that's Tristan Thompson money for a guy who is putting up better than Kevin Love production.
BledsoeBledsoe is a 26 year old guard who is averaging 20 PPG on pretty efficient numbers (45% / 37% / 80%) who also offers elite athleticism, very nice ball handling skills, solid passing skills, Avery-Bradley-like defense and the ability to get to the line at an IT like rate (35% Free Throw Rate).
He's had some injury history, but he's still played 80% of possible games prior to this season (he played 81 games last year) which is solid enough for me to not be worried.
Unless you get a top 2 pick in this draft, you are VERY unlikely to land a better all-round player better than Bledsoe, and even if you DO land a top 2 pick, there's still every chance you get somebody who isn't on Bledoe's level (e.g. Jahlil Okafor or D'Angelo Russell).
Factor in that the Suns were 12-19 (0.390) when he was playing, and have gone 2-11 (0.153) since he's been out, and his impact is obvious.
At 26 years of age he also still has the potential to improve, and he's locked in to a $13M/year contract for the next 4 years - that's ridiculous value for a 20 PPG scorer who also plays defense and who is proven to add wins.
Brandon KnightKnight is a tougher call, because he's a scoring guard who take a lot of shots and doesn't play great defense, so he's kinda in IT territory. However he's got decent size at the guard position (6'3" / 190 pounds) which allows him to play either guard spot, and he is a legit 20 PPG scorer who can stretch the floor (career 36% 3PT). He's also only 24 years old, with a lot of opportunity for growth.
I don't feel he could start alongside Thomas (defensive reasons) but I think he could have a massive impact for us as a starting PG alongside Bradley or Smart, or as a combo guard 6th man off the bench. Unless you get a top 2 pick, you probably won't get a better player than him...and like Bledsoe he's locked in to a VERY nice contract ($13M/year over the next 4 years) relative to his production level.
It's a bit of a gamble with Knight and I was kinda 50/50 on it, but I'd have to seriously think about it. But the fact is that 20 PPG scorers are VERY hard to come by. Honestly, if any draft gives you two 20 PPG scorers then that's a pretty impressive draft class (when was the last time that happened??) so you need to be pretty lucky to pull a 20 PPG scoring talent on draft day, and that leans me towards a "yes".
The way I see it, I can justify these moves because every guy I just listed is young, is putting up borderline All-Star numbers, and is locked into a solid contract for the next 3-4 years. They are low risk, high reward moves, and the players are productive enough that if I made this trade and then the pick went on to net a superstar, I'd be OK with that. At least I would know that I have a really nice and proven young player locked in for the next 3-4 years, which isn't a bad consolation prize at all.
Besides, this is a subjective list and is purely my personal preference, so you nothing to say you have to agree.
Topic: List of young non superstars the c's could trade Brk 16 pick for. Yay or Nay? (Read 4291 times)