We need an upgrade on Theis in the middle, not because he lost us the game tonight (he was only one of many contributors to losing) but because he gets in foul trouble too much. Playing against someone as physical as Bam who has decided to drive the ball is hard enough at the best of times, without having 4 fouls as well. Bam attacked him off the dribble because he knew Theis was on 4 fouls and 2 min later he had fouled out. I know he gets a bad whistle but he puts himself in a position where the refs call him for stupid stuff like reaching in, or fouling a jump shooter, or bumping someone. Otherwise I like the prototype of what he does, in terms of the type of 5 that we need that complements our team. Ideally someone bigger or someone who has more bulk but still good lateral movement who can switch multiple positions on D. I don't think we need an Embiid type 5 the way we play. Though if D'Antoni ends up with the Philly job, Embiid might be on the market
Of our existing talent, the 2 Williamses are probably the ones that we should look to. Timelord needs to improve his pick and roll defense and getting switched onto wings and guards on the perimeter, that has to be his No1 focus this offseason as that's what's restricting his minutes. He's a solid rim protector as long as he doesn't overhelp on pick and rolls and doesn't jump on ball fakes. While Gwill can be a great piece for a small ball lineup, he can stay in front of guards and switch 1-5 as long as he's not defending an Embiid. If he can develop a reliable 3 point shot (reliable throughout the season not just for 5 games) he could be a great pick and pop threat.
I'm ok with all the other pieces we have. I'd like Gordon to ideally restructure his deal into a longer one for less money per year, say a $70m - $45m 3 year deal. I think he was far from his best these playoffs due to injury but played because even at 70% he was still better than Semi...but at his best I think he makes the Jays, and Kemba, and Smart, better. But Semi's not getting paid a max contract...and I think Gordon will opt in. I just hope we can restructure his deal. As for Kemba I'm ok with his contribution. He's playing within himself to let the Jays flourish and it's rare to find All Star caliber players like that. In an ideal world we wouldn't be paying All Stars max money to be support players, but that's the market rate for players like that...
We also need upgrades to the bench, Smart going back there will add 10-15 points to the bench but it would be nice to have a shooter to come off the bench who can shoot cold, as opposed to Carsen who as the year went on it became clear he needs time to play himself in, he can't just come in and shoot 3s off screens like Robinson or Herro. I'm hoping Langford develops into a decent shooter but it should be worth looking for a veteran shooter. Danny should be more amenable to making a move since we made the ECF a year after the team was broken up with Kyrie, Al, Rozier and Mook leaving. Maybe at the start of the year he was in more of a wait-and-see mode.
Topic: Way too early offseason predictions/suggestion. (Read 14902 times)