Boy, I'm really not sure how I feel about this. I like the fact that we didn't cave to the Lakers demands. They shouldn't get draft picks back for teams saving them a boatload of money. I'm glad they have to pay it now.
I'd have been very nervous about acquiring Gasol and then losing him this summer for nothing. I would be nervous about his injuries. That said I felt like if we could get him healthy for the last 25 games and get a healthy Eric Bledsoe back we could be a real dark horse in the playoffs. If somehow they had been able to get Gasol and Jordan Hill even better. That's a team with potential to miss the playoffs altogether or (and I know I'm going to catch some crap for this) go to The Finals.
By far our biggest weakness right now is center. It's really the 4-5 defense/rebounding, but at least we get some decent offensive benefits from the 4 most nights. At the very least they spread the floor. We get almost nothing from the 5 now.
I like Miles Plumlee and I really just haven't seen enough of Alex Len to figure out if I like him. The problem is that for the most part these guys are all potential. Neither of them should be a starting center right now on a good team. Miles Plumlee has dinosaur arms. His standing reach is the same as Markieff Morris's. Unless he times his jumping perfectly guarding the post, people shoot right over him. He makes a ton of mental mistakes on defense as well. He honestly reminds me of Amare Stoudemire as a rookie. He can make some highlight reel, exciting, athletic plays, but overall he's a big negative on defense. A healthy Gasol would have been a huge improvement on both ends of the court even if he does suck at guarding the pick and roll.
Some people are forgetting one thing about the Pacers pick. It is another asset.. You make it sound like we either needed to use it in a trade now or choose a player and draft them there. If you believe the hype that late first-round draft pick will still be a positive asset whereas it probably wasn't in the last draft.
Oh well, I hope the Phoenix Suns can sneak into the playoffs. I would love to see them get Portland in the first round or maybe even San Antonio if they still have health issues. I think the Suns would get destroyed by OKC, LAC, and probably Houston.
This is going to be a very interesting summer. I'm probably most concerned with what they do with Bledsoe. I'm not giving a huge contract to a second point guard with serious knee injuries when his game is based almost entirely on his athleticism. I think the Eric Gordon/Derrick Rose comparisons are spot on. It would suck, but I would almost rather have him walk for nothing.
I'm also really interested to see just how good this draft actually is. GM's must think it's something special since they are completely unwilling to include this draft picks in any deals. I'm not sure I believe the hype. I hope I'm wrong.
Time to get back to work. Go Suns!
Joe
