Judging The New Front Office After Their First Wave Of Moves!

I understand why they made the trade, but I do wish we held on to D'Angelo.

We had to clear cap space for 2018 for two reasons:

1. To make space for another free agent other than PG to come here. He's not going to come here with a bunch of kids on the team guys, he's going to need another veteran next to him to get things going.

2. With that in place, it caused pretty much EVERY team to take a step back on any deal involving him because it just made the whole 1 year rental and no extension possibility even greater, giving us even more leverage to not need to trade away even more assets to get PG.

Indiana's price tag was 2 first rounders and a starter. We weren't ready to give up the #2, and no way were we going to give them Ingram. We only had the 28th to work with and the only player that could have commanded a first round pick was D'Angelo. I don't think Clarkson would have and Randle was putting in work.

The only reason why we couldn't get any higher than the 27th was because no one wanted to take Moz in a salary dump. So Rob tried to kill two birds with one stone in getting a second first rounder pick while dumping Moz. He got the first round pick and was able to get Moz out, but the pick was most likely too high for Indiana to consider.

My issue was timing, because I did want to see what a Russell-Ball backcourt would've looked like, but I get it, by making this move, we put Indiana and the rest of the teams in a serious bind, and it couldn't have waited to the trade deadline after reevaluating it.

I think overall, the move increased our chances of getting Paul George here a lot more than just sitting around.

I'll give them a B- for now, and we'll wait for what comes of next summer for a Final Grade.

 

there were big name rumors in the previous regime. nothing like george's power play, but...i don't see george's moving truck in southern california right now.

 

Eh. Not exactly. I think people question the timing of the move and how little value our young guys have on the trade market more than actually trading Russell.

I'll say this, I'm all for Magic and Rob cleaning up any riff raff and changing the culture of the locker room. There was a focus on high character guys last night and given the results we've had on the floor the last few years that's completely understandable.

 

Another part that really annoys me is they got rid of the better player in Mozgov instead of dumping Deng. Mozgov at least contributed something.

 

he's probably moved to an apartment in the meantime until he does. probably sold his house knowing that he'll be traded anytime, so he'll be ready to go instead of having to deal with selling his house during the season or something.

 

Or perhaps they tried and no team wants Deng.

 

Maybe Kobe will let him stay at his house.

 

We took back another center that contributes more than the one we traded.

 

Do you think he'll be here after this year?

 

Who knows, there could be situations where he stays and where he goes. Depending on trades, FA, and how young players pan out that could go a lot of ways. In the end it leaves the team having much more flexibility.

 

Lots of good discussion here. A lot of questions brought up will all be answered if PG comes here in one way or another.

I'm not a fan of bringing on this many rookies to an already young team but we added guys who have the right mentality and capabilities.

I'd imagine we'll continuously be shopping JC, Randle, Deng, Brewer and Black to fill out the roster and to clear space.

 

Hmm, it's no secret you, trodgers, abeer, and zenmaster were LB's biggest dlo supporters. You'd probably be singing a different tune if it were randle included in the trade. And honestly, I don't blame you. Because I'd be on the your side of the fence if it were randle.

 

I don't think so.

He'll probably still command a high price tag, and although he's a decent shooter from range, he's not the ideal small ball big the league runs with today.

We'll see how he works out this year.

 

No and I view it as a positive. No way we resign unless he takes realistic money and there is still space for 2 big deals He got his big contract. My point was why Moz instead of Deng. As for beyond next year at center. Zubac.

 

I support anyone who has the Laker jersey on. No I wouldn't like it if we didn't get good value for Randle or Clarkson although I don't think they are as talented as Russell was.

I stated multiple times no one on this team was untouchable in my eyes and I meant that.

 

That's my point though. You value Russell higher than most folks in this thread. In reality, his value was much lower. The FO didn't feel it was worth the risk of holding onto Russell any longer and executed.

And I've always felt Randle to be more valuable than Russell on the trade market.

 

But we're not getting any takers on Randle or Clarkson either. Randle, Clarkson and two picks weren't enough for George when Butler was had for a less talented group in my opinion. I think singling out Ingram as the only guy we really wanted to keep was a bad move by the current regime. Had we pumped up all the young guys, we may be getting more takers out there.

If you go back, I think you'll see that when I have suggested trading any of our young guys, it was always for high value like Butler, George, etc. I don't hate Randle, but I'd absolutely give him up for George. If he's still on the team come this season, I'll cheer him on and hope he improves.

 

We don't even know the validity of those rumors. And the hostility in the Pacers clubhouse makes it impossible to judge George's true worth.

Russell's value plummeted last year with the Young incident and never really ascended. Especially with a disgruntled former coach (Byron) engaged in NBA circles. And word does get around. Russell had to go.

I would not give up Randle for George given the situation the Pacers are in. I see star potential in Randle that most people don't, so I'd be upset if that trade went down, but I wouldn't criticize the FO for their decision.