I understand your position on Smart. I guess I look at it this way; if we get Cousins then where does that leave Sully and Amir? You aren't going to play either of them alongside Cousins so one of them will be a backup and the other is expendable.
Actually, I'd be quite happy playing Amir alongside Cousins.
Cousins is a dominant inside scorer but he's also very confident taking the three these days, so he gives us a legitimate inside/outside threat. Combine that with his ability to rebound and defend the paint, and he's a pretty easy guy to pair with.
The perfect compliment for Cousins I think would be a fairly mobile, high motor, defensive minded PF who doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective - Amir sounds pretty close to perfect. Amir is a very good offensive rebounder, an excellent finisher around the basket, a good passer, and a very good interior defender who can also switch on the P&R. The only time he really struggles defensively is against really strong, physical bigs - and Cousins can take that guy.
I'm not as comfortable with Sully + Cousins because both guys are relatively slow moving and neither is really equipped to handle the quicker bigs. Also both are known for being absent minded occasionally on defence.
I'd be ok starting Cousins/Amir, and bringing either Jerebko/Sully, Olynyk/Sully or Mickey/Sully of the bench. I'd be perfectly OK with that.
The trade would be on draft night so Sully's status is still unknown, and I have us giving up KO in the deal as well.
So would you rather get a more long term asset in Sully but take he risk he leaves or stick with Amir? I can see the argument for both sides.
We really don't have any risk of Sully leaving. He's a restricted free agent, so if we REALLY want to we can bring him back, and we can go over the cap to do it.
I'd probably have the conversation with Sully's agent, see what type of money he's going to be looking for. If it seems perfectly clear that he isn't willing to return for less then $10M-$12M a year, then I'd take up the option on Amir and bring him back. He's a better fit next to Cousins (in terms of play style and attitude) and could serve as a nice veteran leader - whereas Sully would likely either be a poor influence on Cousins, or else would just frustrate him with his inconsistency.
If Sully is willing to sign up early (like Bradley / Crowder did) for a $8M a year or so, then I'd consider bringing Sully back as a back up big. I wouldn't bet on that happening though. I think Sully believes that he is more desirable then he actually is, and so I could see him refusing to sign up on the cheap and holding out for a starting role and bigger payday on another team.
I'd rather commit to Amir, who I think is probably more loyal and more likely to accept whatever role he is given moving forward.
I'd quite like to be able to pick up a stretch 4 in FA to go alongside Cousins and keep enough cap space to re-sign Turner and have the cap space to chase Durant in 2017 when I think he'll be more gettable. So to me that makes it worth moving Amir, but there are obvious risks involved in that
Well Amir only has one more year, so even if we pick up his option, his salary would still come off the books after the 2016 season - leaving Boston free to chase Durant.
This year if Boston lets Sully and Zeller walk, then I think we'd still have the cap space to re-sign Turner and sign a stretch four (maybe Batum?). There is also the option of adding a stretch big via the draft using the Mavs pick.
Topic: Vlade Wants To Keep DeMarcus Cousins But Willing To Test Market For First Time (Read 19785 times)