There's a lot of panicked posters on this thread, which is understandable given this little 2 losses in 3 games stretch. But if you look at those games, we played well below our ability and still were a few plays/calls/bounces away from winning both. If we had got those bounces, would this thread even exist? I think not. So, a little perspective is in order.
That said, the bench's lack of consistency remains a problem. Unfortunately, I don't think we have any tradeable assets to improve ourselves with....the only deal we can make at this point is a lateral move. Personally, I'd just roll with the guys we have and see how it plays out instead of trading for similarly limited players and hope they both play above their ability and integrate themselves into the team relatively quickly. The safer bet is just to stand pat on the trade front.
Going forward, then, I'd like to see us put a major push on PJ Brown. If that's a no-go, I think Jannero Pargo would be a huge upgrade in the backcourt. He's basically a taller, better defending Eddie House, who can penetrate and score and run the offense as well. We could just cut Cassell, buy out Pargo's contract and we're set. Another thing to remember with Pargo is that he is a proven playoff performer. He's averaged 10 points a game in his last two playoff runs, usually only playing 15-20 minutes a night. Bring Pargo in and that also allows you to platoon Eddie and TA, which would be a nice option to have as well.
If no Pargo, I think option #3 is Antoine Walker. He'd provide veteran leadership, outside shooting, and give this team the ability to play small ball from time to time. He's better than Scal in EVERY respect and as we've seen in the last 2 weeks, we've really missed the little that Scal does provide. Imagine if we replaced that with someone who was better than Scal and had that Championship experience? Walker is a fine #3 option if we can't find anything better.
