Head Coach: J. Van Gundy
PG: Tony Parker, Ramon Sessions
SG: O.J. Mayo, Aron Afflalo
SF: Danny Granger, Austin Daye
PF: Boris Diaw, J.J. Hickson, Jonas Jerebko
C: Sam Dalembert, Zaza Pachulia, Dan Gadzuric
In Europe: Nick Calathes
I was a big fan of the roster you created after acquiring Boris Diaw. I think Diaw and Dalembert give you a strong defensive backbone and JJ Hickson is a solid first big off the bench. You also have terrific options behind them in Jonas Jerebko and Dan Gadzuric. Players who provide depth and contrasting skill-sets to best suit the occasion.
I also thought Diaw did a great job tying your team's offense together. You had two great shot-creators in Danny Granger and Tony Parker and but little else from a creative standpoint. Getting a power forward like Diaw -- another strong ball-handler, a wonderful passer who gets all of his teammates involved, an excellent two point jump shooter, excellent in transition -- would have a large impact on your offense. That made more limited offensive players like Arron Afflalo and Sam Dalembert more effective.
I liked the Austin Daye pickup too. A nice prospect going forward.
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The OJ Mayo addition. A tad disappointed I suppose. I loved what Afflalo brought to the table as your starting two guard. Both Parker and Granger are mediocre defenders and I liked seeing your squad have a quality perimeter defender out there in Afflalo to go with Diaw and Dalembert. I also liked how he fitted in offensively for your squad. So disappointed to lose that valuable role player. I don't like Afflalo and OJ Mayo playing together on the wing due to their limited size and rebounding. I think your team will be overly vulnerable there so Afflalo's minutes are now restricted to backing up Mayo (10-12mpg) versus the starter's minutes he was in line to get.
Back to Mayo, I'm not a fan of him as a two guard. He is a poor defender, a below average rebounder and brings little playmaking to the table. He is a solid scorer, a third option type. With two high usage perimeter players on the lineup already with Granger and Parker, I'm not wild about the fit. I think there will be some diminishing returns there. I also think Boris Diaw will see less touches resulting in more diminishing returns there also.
OJ Mayo will improve your offense but he'll also hurt your defense significantly. I only see him as a marginal upgrade to Afflalo.
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I like the idea of OJ Mayo taking a Ben Gordon like role. A combo guard and microwave scorer off the bench.
Then again, it would be a shame to lose Ramon Sessions. He will be one of the more effective backup point guards in the league now that he is away from that Triangle offense. Sessions was one of those low picks who brought a huge amount of value to the table. So to see him dropped to third string hurts.
Still, I think it's the best deployment of your current players.
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I would look into trading OJ Mayo in combination with either Boris Diaw or Sam Dalembert for an upgrade to one of your big man positions. I don't know what the market is like but there might be some interesting opportunities out there. OJ Mayo has a lot of admirers.