Are We Behind the other young teams in the league?

[Wurider05]

I was reading a rumor that Orlando was interested in JR SMith and I was thinking that he would be a great fit for their team. That got me thinking as to whether or not we are behind, Toronto, New Orleans,Orlando, Charlotte, and Utah the young teams in the league. I mean for the most part it seems as if they have some direction as to where they may be going and that their players know what position they are going to play.

This isn't another knock on Billy Knight thread but here is something to think about. By the time we do get a decent team that can make the playoffs how far ahead will the other teams be of us because of them making solid decisions when they were cellar dwellars.

It just seems to me that the other teams with young cores are closer to being complete than we are. This year alone both Toronto and Orlando where better that us and let's not forget about Charlotte who had alot of injuries. Thise three teams are in our conference. Throw in Chicago and there go a potential of 4 of the 8 EC playoff spots.

[Diesel]

All the other young teams have young dominant stars on the way up.

Orlando - Nelson & Howard could be a duo that could possibly dominate basketball for years. There play down the stretch was worth taking note of. They still need a few players.. namely a SG/Sf.. but those are the easiest positions to fill.

Charlotte - Charlotte is just plain scary. They have Wallace, Felton, and Okafor. If they can ever get Healthy with those three, Brezec, May... They have a very young core that plays well. I think they are very defensive and good.

N.O. - Chris Paul and David West. Nobody honestly expected anything from N.O. this year. However, Paul showed that he was one of the best young PGs to come out in the last 20 years. Now, everything depends on how they build. If they build smart, they will have a strong team that is a serious challenger in the West.

Milwaukee - There again Milwaukee is our mirror imagine in terms of Salary/Players/age. even though we're much younger, they have the same structure that we have... even with all of our duplication. HOwever, it's better to duplicate at the Center position than it is at the Sf position.

Utah- Shouldn't be on the list. Did you realize that Okur was a 18/9 PF last season? Mix that with AK47, Deron Williams, and good coaching and they may have something. Hell, even Araujo may find his game in Utah.

Toronto - CB4, CV3, and Coangelo. I think they have a big rebuidling process underway. I can't say that they have any bad pieces right now. I think they sit in the best spot to get the most done. We're actually further along than them.

Our future depends heavily on this offseason.

[mudderfudder77]

Hey - Isn't Chicago still pretty young?

[Lascar78]

I'll take our future over Charlotte, milwaukee, utah. Yes their positions are better defined, but does charlotte have a player as good as JJ? I don't think so.

I think NO and Toronto are in the same ball park as us. Maybe NO is a bit ahead.

Orlando is ahead with the beast in dwight.

[Diesel]

Milwaukee has Redd.

Charlotte has Okafor, Wallace, May, Felton, and for now Knight plus the 3rd pick in this years draft.

When you look at us, we have a lot of pieces, but most of our pieces are redundant... Moreover, JJ alone is not better than a whole team.

Lastly, consider Utah.

Okur, DWill, AK47... Three guys that are proceeding to Allstar level of play. Plus they have much better coaching.

[drzachary]

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Milwaukee has Redd.

Charlotte has Okafor, Wallace, May, Felton, and for now Knight plus the 3rd pick in this years draft.

When you look at us, we have a lot of pieces, but most of our pieces are redundant... Moreover, JJ alone is not better than a whole team.

Lastly, consider Utah.

Okur, DWill, AK47... Three guys that are proceeding to Allstar level of play. Plus they have much better coaching.

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Hm, I don't really consider DWill 'proceeding to Allstar level of play' quite yet.

I still like him a lot, wanted him in the draft last year, but the jury's still out.

I'd rather have JJ over Redd any day.

[drzachary]

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I'll take our future over Charlotte, milwaukee, utah. Yes their positions are better defined, but does charlotte have a player as good as JJ? I don't think so.

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And with Okafor's injury problems, I'd put us slightly ahead of them too.

[Diesel]

Okafor is indeed questionable...

But if everyone is healthy, Charlotte is much better than us. Sorry Hawks fans.. But they were totally injured all year and they still had the same record that we did..

When everyone is healthy they probably has the best young team playing.

[AHF]

I would take Orlando's roster if I could choose one of the teams we are discussing here. Dwight Howard is going to be a standout star and Milicic and Nelson are great pieces around him. They will probably draft someone like Carney who can come in and score points on the perimeter this year and have an even better young core then.

[drzachary]

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Okafor is indeed questionable...

But if everyone is healthy, Charlotte is much better than us. Sorry Hawks fans.. But they were totally injured all year and they still had the same record that we did..

When everyone is healthy they probably has the best young team playing.

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Yep. Big if though.

I'd say that they actually started off in a better situation than we did, in their first season.

[Nicholasp27]

i'd say we are fine compared to the other ones

the only one i envy is orlando due to dhoward

we have potentially the best 2/3/4 combo in the league in a few years

and the best 6th man in chill and best backup center in zaza

and the best bench sniper in slim

we just NEED a starting pg and center...if we get good ones, then we will be a force in the future

if we can't get them, then ugh

orl/charlotte/utah/nola/mil are ahead of us in terms of PG/C but not in the otehr positions

[Nicholasp27]

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All the other young teams have young dominant stars on the way up.

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we already have a young dominant star that is already up: JJ

and smoove is one that fits your description, especially considering his post-allstar break play

and marvin is also potentially a young dominant star on the way up

for all of the teams, it just depends on how their cores pan out and how well they can get the right pieces around them

we do have our 3 key bench players (playoff teams usually run with 8 players) in chill/zaza/slim along with an interchangeable forward tandem in marvin/smoove and a star in jj

we also have a bruiser off the bench (batman)

again, we are a good starting pg and good starting center plus experience and development away from a strong playoff team

[Guest Walter]

I think your analysis of Orlando is right on. They filled thje hardest positions to fill. We spent our draft and trade capitol on the easiest positions to fill over and over and over and over. It will be VERY hard to fill this team out properly.

W

[Lascar78]

Of course big men are the hardest to find. If we had had a shot at Dwight or even Bogut, they would be hawks. Hell we tried to get Dwight. Unfortunately, the lottery gods are not hawks' fans. It's too easy to overlook the role that luck has played here. Of course they did good getting Darko, and I thought we should have traded Al for Darko, but oh well.

[Guest Walter]

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Of course big men are the hardest to find. If we had had a shot at Dwight or even Bogut, they would be hawks. Hell we tried to get Dwight. Unfortunately, the lottery gods are not hawks' fans. It's too easy to overlook the role that luck has played here. Of course they did good getting Darko, and I thought we should have traded Al for Darko, but oh well.

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Not only have we not made possible deals to get a big, we didn't draft one of last year's 3 franchise Pgs. Pg is a much more difficult and important position to fill than Sf, which, BTW, we had filled at least twice over with JS and Childress.

W

[Lascar78]

the sole reason we are behind teams like Orlando is big men. Big men are harder to find than PG's. So to act like Orlando or Milwaukee are geniuses for having their big men is ludicrous because the only reasno they have those guys and we don't is luck. I'd also like to see what Paul would have done without guys like West.

Of all BK's picks, he never missed out ona big man that he should have picked, and there is only one pick where in retrospect he probably should have taken a PG

[Diesel]

Sorry... N.O. filled PG and they are better. Hell, they got rid of their big (Magloire).

I noticed that you didn't want to recognize N.O. either.

Look at the facts. N.O. almost made the playoffs in the WC. If they were an EC team, they would have been in the playoffs.

N.O. has 2 1st round picks this year.

David West only came on after he got a good PG. You see sometimes a good PG makes the difference.

Plus N.O. has a ton of FAcy cash to spend. I wouldn't be surprised at All to see them get another big, a swingman, and a shooter out of this offseason.

Our situation is not as pretty. We don't have a PG nor do we have a defensive Big that is worthy of talk.

We have redundancy in the easiest position to fill.

Look at this draft: Rudy Gay, Morrison, Novak, Shawnee Williams.... these are forwards that are in the draft off the top of my head... There's also Carney, etc. All of these guys will be easy to get. Moreover, a guy like Shawnee Williams has just as much (if not more potential) than Marvin... But we spent a #2 on Marvin and somebody will get Sh Williams after 10 in a weaker draft.

[Guest]

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Milwaukee - There again Milwaukee is our mirror imagine in terms of Salary/Players/age. even though we're much younger, they have the same structure that we have... even with all of our duplication. HOwever, it's better to duplicate at the Center position than it is at the Sf position.

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They have way more committed to the cap. And they are loaded on the positions we need and we are loaded at the positions we need. They have Mo Williams and TJ along with Bogut, Magloire, Smith, Gadzuric. I think we are similar but in the "they have what we need and we have what they need" kind of way.

[BBallPrincess]

I agree that they are a good team. They have a beast in G. Wallace. I have seen alot of their games. I've been to see them play everytime Orlando's played them and they have a center by the name of Primoz Brezek that is showed some promise and you know they got the little engine that could in Brevin Knight.

[BBallPrincess]

As long as they make D12 happy he'll be in Orlando. Just a little insight.....D12 would not mind playing for the home team.