New York: What do you say to a critique that having Zach Randolph come off the bench might be a mistake? ZBo and Lopez would appear to be a better combo in the starting lineup as Sanders and Lopez are really both natural centers and Sanders offense is extremely limited possibly causing there to be too much pressure for Lopez to be the only offensive inside option against teams starting and better defensive lineups?
My main question as well for New York. I would think that you'd need to start ZBo, to keep him happy/engaged, and also to allow Sanders to be as aggressive as possible on defense.
Another question: do you really view Derrick Williams as a 3 in today's NBA? He seems more like a stretch four (at least, this is where he played the overwhelming majority of his minutes last season). I think you'll likely need to shift Garcia to backup SF duty for most of his minutes.
Lastly, any concerns about your C rotation? Hearing positive updates re: Frye's return, but he's still a yellow flag at best, and you've got a first-year NBA player as your remaining backup.
Like I've stated I think ZBo will be very happy as the leader of the second unit. He won't have any problem getting touches, minutes, and playing his game here.
Williams is a tweener Forward and I believe he can play both positions. This squad will see him play mostly at the three on paper but in real game instances anything can happen. Foul trouble to anyone of the big three trio down low will see Williams bump to Power Forward. I just think it adds to the teams versatility to put Williams at the three. He can play alongside Randolph/Lopez and Sanders to go big, he can switch to the four and play alongside Randolph green/garcia to go small. It will create match up problems for other teams.
I think Williams is undersized at the 4 spot despite his body weight. He believes himself to be a three, (as he himself has said in interviews before) and has worked his physical condition to try and do so. He can stretch the floor with range although he isn't a sharpshooter. He still shot 33% from the 3 line last season. His versatility will only help the team not hurt it.
As for the lack of center slot, again, the team is so versatile I dont see it as a problem. Frye and the Suns have both said Frye will be playing next year. If thats the case he will be a great addition. If not, we have a first year European guy who can enforce the paint and bang down low for the 5 to 10 minutes we will need him in sparing minutes and I see no problem with that. Going back to my draft and trading strategy, I want versatile players who could play more than one position. Hinirch can move to SG, Garcia to SF, Green and Williams to PF, Sanders and even Zbo to Center. If one of the big three get into foul trouble, then Williams moves to the 4 and plays alongside Green and our problem is instantly and easily solved.
With the trio of Lopez/Sanders/Zbo eating up a majority of the 4/5 minutes I dont see any issue with my center slot. The players I picked their only accentuate the skill of the team as they are overqualified for their roles and will be ready to produce when called upon. Our versatility creates even more depth for us and plays to our biggest strength.