This trade is going to take a long time to digest. To help better figure it out here are my questions this morning
Is Jeff Green a good pick?
My philosophy on trades and drafts is that in the end it always comes down to talent evaluation. If you draft three consecutive centers and they all turn into all-stars it is a great strategy. If they bust then it’s terrible. In general terms getting the #5 pick in this draft is great, great value for Ray. Green himself is a guy I’m pretty unfamiliar with.
Does this kill the arena chances?
Maybe I’m missing something. Maybe I’m just a homer, but I don’t see it. I listen to KJR and all I here is about how the fans can’t get excited about this team now that Ray Allen is gone. I don’t think they were excited before. If anything I think that fans are extremely frustrated by the “stay the course†mentality of the prior regime and have largely tuned out the existing roster, and in reality never fell in love with Ray Allen the way we needed to in order to get an arena done. Ray is marketable in an “Alex Rodriguez†way, polished and distant. We need a Ken Griffey. We need a guy who will capture the emotion of the town and relate to people. In a lot of ways I think a shakeup will get people talking and interested in a way that they haven’t done in several years.
Can Jeff Green play SG?
I didn’t really think this was possible until I watched a bunch of footage of him last night. Now I wonder if we could see a lineup featuring Green at the SG, Lewis at the SF, and Durant at the PF. With Lewis and Durant able to spread the floor Green could be a 2 down low, just imagine Bonzi Wells with a good attitude and the ability to pass(in other words don’t think of Bonzi Wells). If they switch a bigger man on him then you shift RL or KD down low and abuse that matchup. At 6’8 I think there is at least some possibility of this being possible in spurts.
What’s next?
Of course the big question. What do we get for Rashard Lewis or does he come back. Do they re-vamp the entire roster or tweak and go forward. Obviously if this move winds up costing us Shard and significantly reduced value then it gets worse. If having Green allows us the flexibility to sign and trade Lewis for a better value package then this deal looks really good.
What are your answers to these questions and what questions are you asking when you try to evaluate yesterdays events?