My Dream big is
Simons and Hauser for Gafford and Christie
tank for AJ
White/Pritchard
Brown/Christie
AJ/Hugo
Tatum/Minott
Gafford/Queta
Is Gafford good enough to make the team a title contender again?
Without a top pick like Dybantsa I mean.
Or do they need a better big man than Gafford?
I think he is good enough with that lineup
I don't see him as any real improvement over Queta at this point and unless the C's hit it lucky in the draft, they're not getting AJ so have to look more realistically at what the roster looks like next year after that trade.
White/Pritchard
Brown/Christie/Hugo
Walsh/Scheierman
Tatum/Minott
Gafford/Queta/Garza
and some first rounder taken as BPA
That's a top team in the East that could reach the finals but relies on White and PP bouncing back to form next year, Minott/Walsh/Hugo all continuing to improve to be solid rotation players and C's getting a late lottery pick that can actually contribute. Gafford doesn't guarantee getting back to the Finals but would be a solid player to add to the team
Only reason that PP and White are "regressed" is due to not having Tatum out there.
hardly. They've been bricking open shots since the start of the season. whoever else on the court doesn't impact that. if they were missing because their shots were all now tightly contested that assumption might be somewhat true but they've been bricking away regardless of how open they are.
Naw, I do disagree. There is a big difference mentally in being a 3rd or 4th option and being forced up a level.
these 2 have shown over the years they can step up to the moment. It's not a confidence issue preventing them from making open shots nor a matter of who's on the court with them. they're both shooting like crap this season so far. odds are it's a fluke for both of them but it really hurts the team with both of them going through a slump at the same time
again, if this was about them missing contested shots where their defender is one notch better than they'd normally get if Tatum was on the floor, that could be worth a discussion. wouldn't explain away how they excelled the last few years with Tatum on the bench or when he's missed an occasional game but strictly speaking of the open shots they've been missing, Tatum has nothing to do with those.
OR, we can approach it this way. suppose they get it together at some point this season and they start consistently making those open shots, not talking about contested ones at this point, what's the reason then? Tatum's still out. He's not on the floor making it easier. Stands to reason, Tatum has nothing to do with how they're making/missing open shots. Must be just due to them shooting poorly at the same time this season.