F#@k Luol Deng!

[TheStig]

My conspiracy about Deng was that he couldn't hold up because of the number of games he was playing year round between reg season, playoffs and gb team but he didn't do either last year, healed up, had most of the summer and is still down. At this point, I'm willing to write him off as damaged goods. It seems things will only get worse as he ages.

 

[Shakes]

Don't know that he's damaged goods, sometimes guys who struggle with injuries get healthy (Big Z playing for years hardly missing a game after being written off for example). If we can't find a reasonable trade we've just got to play the injury lottery with him and hope we win I guess.

 

[TheStig]

Shakes wrote:

Don't know that he's damaged goods, sometimes guys who struggle with injuries get healthy (Big Z playing for years hardly missing a game after being written off for example). If we can't find a reasonable trade we've just got to play the injury lottery with him and hope we win I guess.

Big Z is the exception to the rule. There are a lot more guys who don't have that happy ending. With an owner deathly afraid of the LT, a sliding cap, compounding injuries, its time to move on. You can't continue hoping that Kirk and Deng become what we need. If you miss the playoffs and passed on clearing deng and kirk out for a second max deal, you have egg on your face.

 

[Shakes]

TheStig wrote:

Shakes wrote:

Don't know that he's damaged goods, sometimes guys who struggle with injuries get healthy (Big Z playing for years hardly missing a game after being written off for example). If we can't find a reasonable trade we've just got to play the injury lottery with him and hope we win I guess.

Big Z is the exception to the rule. There are a lot more guys who don't have that happy ending. With an owner deathly afraid of the LT, a sliding cap, compounding injuries, its time to move on. You can't continue hoping that Kirk and Deng become what we need. If you miss the playoffs and passed on clearing deng and kirk out for a second max deal, you have egg on your face.

The problem is what is the alternative? I'm sure we can trade Deng, but the question is what for. Do we trade Deng for garbage that's healthy 82 games? I don't really see how that makes us a better team.

I'm not saying we want to play injury lottery with him, or that a Z like revival is likely, I'm just saying it might be the best of a set of bad options.

 

[TheStig]

I disagree, it has screwed us the past couple of years. Where was deng last year? Where is he now? When he is on, he is good but I am not saying trading him for someone worse on a long term deal. You can probably get short term deals for him. Portland would probably do Deng for Pryz and Webster. Pryz is an expiring that can be flipped as an expiring at the trade deadline and Webster makes less than the mle for a couple more years.

 

[Shakes]

I don't know how he's "screwed" us, if we'd started Webster instead of Deng at SF all year we sure as hell wouldn't be talking playoffs right now. He makes less than the MLE because he's garbage.

I just don't see the point in downgrading that far on talent just because we might have the privilege of seeing them play a few more (crappy) games a year. While we're at it, Noah has missed time, maybe we should get rid of him for a healthy player too. Think the Hawks would take him for Zaza Pachulia?

 

[TheStig]

Shakes wrote:

I don't know how he's "screwed" us, if we'd started Webster instead of Deng at SF all year we sure as hell wouldn't be talking playoffs right now. He makes less than the MLE because he's garbage.

I just don't see the point in downgrading that far on talent just because we might have the privilege of seeing them play a few more (crappy) games a year. While we're at it, Noah has missed time, maybe we should get rid of him for a healthy player too. Think the Hawks would take him for Zaza Pachulia?

Its not just to get more games out of lesser players. Its to clear a long term albatross contract. Webster is under contract for 1/2-1/3 of the money for two years and fills a need. Pryz will give us toughness and an expiring. You cut the money owed from 4/50 to 1/12 and 1/5 or 2/17. Plus we will have a nice expiring in a buyers market.