I don't know how CBS Sports ranks players but I think Faried is an upgrade over Kieff. He may not be as good offensively but he'd make up for it defensively and in rebounding. Sure Kieff can score but that's really all he does. He's not a good defender, he's a terrible rebounder for a PF, and he basically only passes to his brother. I don't think this team would miss his scoring since it could be replaced pretty easily by giving Dragic, Bledsoe, or Len more opportunities. Faried doesn't need the touches or plays that Kieff gets, he'd pick up most of his points like he has in Denver which are from put backs or easy close passes from driving guards.
Using CBS Sports rankings that you mentioned Kieff is right there in the middle when it comes to starting 4's in the league which pretty much says that he's an average player. He hasn't shown that he's a reliable option in the post or on the perimeter. If you look at his game log his consistency is limited to him getting about 10 points each night. Given the fact that neither our starting C & SF are averaging in double digits each night his scoring is almost by default. He only has 6 double doubles out of 41 starts and averages just under 6 a game. He hasn't improved his rebounding even though he's now getting more minutes and is the teams starting PF and closing C in almost every game this season. He has more technicals than double digit rebounding games, he actually leads the league with 9.
With both of their recent attitudes showing more I doubt they would handle being separated well. That locks the team into 2 players at forward for the next 4 years at 13 million per season who are average at best. I read a lot last season about those 2 being a big part of the teams chemistry but this season with all of the technicals plus decline in chemistry from last year I wouldn't be surprised if they're a larger part of that then we know. Kieff has 9 technicals and Marcus has 5, the team has 47 which is second in the league by only 1, behind the Clippers. Kieff had the best game of his career in a win against a team who has been touted as a contender in the east and blew off the reporters afterwards, Marcus thinks it's ok to yell in his coaches face when things don't quite go his way in a nationally televised game. I think it's better to move them now while they have value before they get labeled as a cancer like a Josh Smith type. The team bought out Beasley for attitude problems and they were trying to build a team with better character, I'm not saying the twins should be bought out or are at Beasley's level of foolishness yet but it's not hard to see them heading in that direction.
I don't have a problem with moving the twins but I think we're making a mountain out of a molehill about their attitude. They need to tone it down but have you actually watched them get their T's? I've been following the game for a long time and I swear I've never seen any player pick up so many mystery technicals. I don't mean the refs necessarily blew the call, it's just that on TV I often have no clue why/when a Morris is being T'd up. With other players, even on TV, it's been pretty clear who has crossed the line and how but not with these guys.
Other than the Marcus outburst the other night, it's not like they are throwing tantrums or anything - it's usually just a word or two and then a very quick whistle. According to our announcing crew Markieff was actually called for a T just for yelling "and one" as he scored. Could you imagine how many T's Amare would have collected if they did the same to him? The twins need to get it through their thick heads that they are under a microscope with the refs but I just don't see is as the unmanageable situation it's being built up to be.
I keep seeing this complaint but I definitely don't buy the "they never pass to anyone else" because it simply isn't true. They might need to pass more often but I've seen each of them make nice passes to other teammates and I'm not talking about once or twice either. And bad or not, Markieff averages 2 assists per game to Faried's 1.4. We don't run the offense through Markieff, we run it to him so 2 assists per game isn't out of line for a power forward.
It's also not true that Keef plays no defense and he isn't even a "terrible" rebounder, at least career-wise. As far as I can tell he looks to be a slightly above average defender if you ignore the rebounds (and doing otherwise would be gigging him twice for the same issue). If you look at his yearly numbers he's down over a rebound per 36 minutes this season which to me suggests that it's more of a system issue than a player weakness. Last year he averaged 8.1 rebounds per 36 which just isn't that bad.
He's also, by far, our best closer. Which for us should be a huge consideration because he's on a team of very poor closers. And I don't know what you mean about his inconsistency. That's another forum myth AFAIC. I don't think it's any more true than it is about most players and even if it was, it would only be a major issue if he were routinely inefficient (which he isn't, quite the contrary). If you want to see inconsistent, check out Faried's box scores. Faried has scored in single figures 14 out of his 35 games - Keef has been held to single figures in just 10 of his 41 games while averaging almost 3 fewer minutes per contest.
I won't contest that Faried is a much better rebounder but even there he's horribly inconsistent. This season alone he's had rebounding games of 5, 1, 1, 5, 5, 5, 3, 3 and 4. His gaudy average is the result of grabbing 80 boards in 4 games. It helps a lot in those 4 games but it means he's averaged fewer than 7.5 rebounds in his 31 other games. Anyway, maybe you're right and Kenneth is an upgrade over Keef. But he'll be making 4.5 million per year more for the next 4 seasons and I don't see how that can be anything close to a team upgrade.
Steve
