I watched the Lakers vs Suns game tonight. The Suns are horrible. I mean, really bad. They all look lost and disinterested. Gortat and Dragic looked terrible. The only hope I hold out is that the Suns make some trades and do some roster shuffling before the NBA's Feb 21st trade deadline. Maybe Gortat will find a home where he can actually play 35 minutes a game and get back to his 15 and 10 potential.
Utah put a whooping on OKC and Millsap and Jefferson had big lines. So, do the Jazz move one of them? Both of them? Neither? Is Derrick Favors a top keeper or not?
You have to think the Raptors will be moving Bargnani. So that does make him more valuable? Will he get traded to a team who lets him be the #1 option? What if he went to Charlotte? Could he average 20ppg again? Or are his shooting %'s just too big of a negative to handle?
Will Atlanta trade Josh Smith? The Suns want him pretty bad. Will Gortat be paired with Horford? The Suns are also rumored to be after Iman Shumpert but the Knicks said they are not trading him. Ummm? I'm sorry? Is this the same Iman Shumpert who has only been in the league for one season?? And he's the same guy who shot 40/30 last year? I get it - he's a very good defender already - but is he really good enough to labelled untouchable already?
You know who would be perfect for my Blazers? Luke Ridnour. The T-Wolves are apparently shopping him. and my Blazers could use a combo guard for their bench to spell Lillard and Mathews. Come on guys - get Ridnour.
Did anyone else notice Anthony Randolph played 27 minutes tonight and put up 16-7-3-2?? Must be trade deadline and the Nuggets are of course trying to leverage his 'potential' in hopes that someone bites.
I would think the Kings would be getting ready to blow things up but that's probably not going to happen because of the pending sale to Chris Hansen's group. I wish that would resolve itself sooner rather than later. I mean, are the Kings becoming the Sonics or what?? Is John Salmons on the market? Will they move Thompson to give T-Rob the floor? I've held on to the Kansas all year in hopes of him getting the starting gig. I'm starting to think that if he can't beat out JT after 50 games that either Keith Smart is an idiot (likely) or that he's just not that good (possible too). If the Kings don't make any moves by the deadline, I think T-Rob will be finding his way to the waiver wire. My patience is running out.
No moves outta French just yet. He's under the cap floor and needs to make some moves this week. Of course, he could sign a Free Agent get back over. Of course, he'd be wasting a roster spot on another injured free agent if he brings in the big dollar injured PG out of Boston. Or, he has to make a trade. We'll see what route he goes.
The roster situation in many JBL teams brings me back to my idea about reducing rosters by 1 spot next year. Again, my proposal would be to eliminate the IR spot. 15 spots total. If guys get injured, too bad. There are numerous teams just sitting on guys all year long. Why? Because they can. But if they had to use a bench spot for these guys - would they? Would Chilliwack have held onto Granger all year? Would Bynum be on a roster? Numerous guys have sat on the IR for weeks/months because their JBL team didn't have to decide on waiting for them to return or to use a free agent. Guys like Mo Williams, Andrew Bogut, and Anderson Varejao have all spent extended periods of time on the IR because their owners didn't need to drop them.
Also, look at a couple of strategic decisions that would have to be made with one less roster spot. Use Golden as an example. Right now, I have Big Baby on IR. I have Thad Young, Thomas Robinson and Carlos Delfino on my bench for next week. Without the IR spot I would have to drop one of those guys. Do I drop Davis or Young because they're injured? Unlikely. So, do I drop a valuable 3PT marksmen in Delfino or the #5 rookie pick in this year's NBA draft? A tough decision if I'm trying to win now and think about next season.
And what would Yuma do with one less roster spot?? Currently, he has Pau Gasol on IR. His bench is Andre Miller, Kris Humphries, and Marcus Morris. One would have to go. Would it be Gasol because of the injuries? And if it was - could you imagine the FA frenzy for his services? Or would be it be Miller or Humphries - both of whom are being rumored to be on the trading block where their value could be significantly impacted if dealt. Or would it be the young PF in Houston who could get more minutes (or less) if the Rockets make a big deal at the deadline. A tough, strategic decision would need to be made with Yuma only had 15 roster spots.
So - what do you guys think? One less roster spot would currently mean 9 more players back in the Free Agent pool. The other good thing would be a clean salary cap at $300 bucks. No more 'your roster is illegal' when you're at $309 but the IR spot is worth $20 bucks so you're really OK. It would just be 15 guys. $300 dollar cap. Don't go over. Simple and straight forward. I'm really OK with this idea and hope you guys are too. I'm going to post it as a poll and as per the JBL Constitution it would require 10 votes (out of 13) to be implemented.
I updated my 'On the Block' tonight. Dragic and Gortat both on the market. Both playing really poorly these days. I'm certainly not giving either of them away as both have the potential to be impacted by trades & roster moves in PHX in the coming week. So, if a good deal presents itself, I will review it, but I'm not giving up on them. I still like Gortat's potential in PHX or if he gets moved. He can block shots and shoot 50%. Unfortunately, neither of them have any keeper value for next season so they won't attract anyone in that market.
Anyways, that's all for tonight. I'm posting the poll about roster size for next season. Keep it at 16 guys with an IR spot or reduce the rosters to 15 maximum. I think the 15 player maximum adds more strategy to how JBL owners would utilize their benches. It would also add up to 13 players to our Free Agent pool at any given time. It also adds some drama as to when Injured players would be signed off of the free agent wire. It also makes for a clean $300 salary cap. So, I hope you agree with me and vote for the 15 player maximum next season.
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