None of my opinions this summer got more heat than the ones I had about Bismack Biyombo. But I stand by them 100% and believe that they were mostly taken out of context.
Here was my point...
Willie Cauley Stein was the player half this forum wanted. We knew he was going higher than #16 and everyone was ready to go all-in and trade multiple picks to get him as our "center of the future".
We know that we attempted to trade 6 draft picks (four of which were 1st rounders... one of which was a Brooklyn pick) just to trade up to #9 and it wasn't enough. WCS went #6... it would have taken at least 7 draft picks to move up that high to take him. It seemed like a waste of assets to me...
Instead of wasting assets to get WCS, why not just sign Bismack Biyombo. Basically the same player and he was available for dirt cheap. Why give up 7+ draft picks for WCS when you could just get 80% of WCS for basically nothing. That was my point. I fully stand by it. Will WCS eventually surpass Biyombo? Maybe. But maybe Biyombo surpasses WCS. Basically the same age. Biyombo has a few years of NBA experience. WCS has a few years of College experience. Who knows how either will develop. What we do know is that so far:
Biyombo: 4.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 blocks in 21mpg PRICE: Basically free
WCS: 4.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 blocks in 18.9mpg - PRICE: 7+ draft picks
Basically the same player. One was free... one would have cost tons of assets.
We went with option 3... Amir Johnson for 12 million a year: 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 blocks in 23mpg. No problem.
Anytime you can get an older rich man's Biyombo/WCS for 12 million per year, you gotta do it.