Danny was the guest commentator today. Basically unless a big overpayment is coming our way, the starting lineup next year looks like
?
Sullinger/KO
Green
AB
Rondo
He really likes Green and mentioned several times how easily/quietly he scored 26 points tonight. He loves his unorthodox layup finger roll. Green was very agressive tonight. Had lots of good things to say about AB (he sounds like he will match any offer). He obviously likes Rondo who he hopes will be back to full health next season. Optimistic of how Sullinger and Olynyk will turn out. He went through questions and answers and of course the #1 question again was, what is the teams biggest need come next season. With a smile and sounding like a broken record he stated again, the team is looking for Rim protection.
There are no center FAs upcoming that are considered to be good rim protectors (Okafor, Gortat). Stiemnsma is a FA but is at best a role player off the bench. We could trade for Asik, but the more i think about it, Danny will not give up Green for him nor waste a 1st for a guy who will only play for one season and will cost 14 million dollars. If we got Asik we would of grabbed him via this past trade deadline.
So this leads me to a conclusion, he is going to try to meet the #1 offseason need via the draft. WCS just a few hours ago stated he is going to stay another year in college. Nurkic and Capela are considered the other top center prospects and one is hardly considered a rim protector and the other is not ready for the nba until a few years later.
So it comes down to Embiid or Vonleh. Two guys that are within our reach when we draft.
- Embiid is likely to go first or definitely in the top 3. He is 7 ft tall, has a huge 7'5 wingspan, wide frame, athleticism, quickness + skills to become a dominant center one day. He is still raw though and there is a minor redflag due to his back problems. At this point we would have to give up both of our 1st or our pick plus a future 1st to try to grab him unless we win the lotto
- Vonleh is 6'10 in shoes, which is considered a tad underdized for a Center in today's nba. However is 240 pounds (likely to rise to 245-250 in a few months), has a 7'4 wingspan, above avg athleticism/quickness that should enable him to battle most centers in the nba. His defense (post, perimeter) is excellent, has a promising looking game from the post, has suprising ball handling skills and a sweet looking jump shooting stroke. Biggest issue is mediocre feel for the game. Just an ok passer and off ball defender. But for a Center, those things are considered luxuries anyways. Worse case, you get a guy who is a very good rebounder, shot blocker , has a nice hook shot and can make the open jump shot (range to the 3pt line). He is going to be available from 5-8. As a bonus he was born from the Mass area.
What do people think? As an alternative to missing out on Embiid, would you be happy with drafting Vonleh to play as the teams center/rim protector for next season?
potential starting lineup for next season
Vonleh
KO/Sullinger
Green
AB
Rondo
Bench
KO/Sullinger
Bass
Wallace
Pressey
Johnson
Faverani
2014 2nd 1st - BPA
1 or 2 Free Agents
Can this lineup make the playoffs?