NBA PM: Who Survives the Cut?

Hey all,

From earlier today – a look at all 30 teams and who has a shot to make it to opening night:

NBA Teams can carry up to 15 players into the regular season. Who will make it past training camp to opening night?

http://www.hoopsworld.com/nba-pm-who-survives-the-cut/

Thanks

EP

Re your thoughts on the Lakers, I hope you are right.

Who "should" and who "will" are probably going to be much different....... sadly.

We've spent a ton of money on the top 6 players.... everyone else may have a hard time even making the 12th man on most NBA rosters unfortunately......

I'd say, if a guar'd contract player is to be released it should be Morris. It less expensive and a 4th PG is not necessary. There will be a half-dozen on the waiver wire if the injury bug hits (no whammy).
I go with these 15 (and expecting that Glock will be let go before his deal guar's in January or if a player becomes avail and roster slot is needed or in a 2-1 trade, and that Duhon's partial for next year might be moved by the t.d. With Clark and-or Ebanks as filler if needed) :
Nash*/Blake*/Duhon
Kobe*/Meeks*/Glock
Ron*/Ebay*/CDR
Pau*/Jamison*/Clark
Dwight*/Hill*/Sacre
*rotation
That's just me though.

Cut Morris to make room for Odom. Cut Clark to make room for Douglas-Roberts.

Nash/Blake/Duhon
Bryant/Meeks/Odom
Artest/Ebanks/Douglas-Roberts
Gasol/Jamison
Howard/Hill/Sacre

I hope the Busses continue their "all-in" attitude and just make these right choices to give our team the best chance of success. Douglas-Roberts on the team does more for us than Clark does. Sacre really has made a great case for himself. And Odom's athleticism is too unique and valuable to pass up. He's been far more impressive in the whole 11 minutes or so that's he played so far than Morris has in two years.

I have a bad feeling they're gonna cut Odom, CD-R, and Glock.

They're really high on Morris for no reason, and Glock has a history of living in MB's doghouse--no sense in keeping players that MB doesn't wanna play.

DJ Odom, Sacre and CDR should stay. The rest...

So the regular rotation is Nash, Blake, Kobe, Meeks, Metta, Ebanks, Pau, Jamison, Dwight and Hill -- and that's actually pretty good, excellent even. Then you have the deep bench of Duhon (1), Odom (2), CDR (3) and Sacre (5) with one spot open just in case. That's all we need realistically.

I'm all for keeping Sacre and CDR, but how has DJO been doing in the preseason?

XXIV wrote:I'm all for keeping Sacre and CDR, but how has DJO been doing in the preseason?

In extremely limited minutes he's looked... intriguing. He's definitely not a PG, but an undersized SG. His athleticism though is off the charts. If he played in a system that didn't require a traditional PG like the Princeton, he can be a PG.

He hasn't knocked any socks off, but he's looked like a better version of Goudelock.

^ Yeah I can see that. He's shown a ton of explosiveness and it's very similar to Westbrook in that regard. I'd say offensively he's already a better shooter although we have yet to see that from him in his limited time.

I'd say he's a mix between a poor man's Harden and a poor man's Westbrook. If he were 4 inches taller he'd be a star.

dj vitus wrote:I have a bad feeling they're gonna cut Odom, CD-R, and Glock.

They're really high on Morris for no reason, and Glock has a history of living in MB's doghouse--no sense in keeping players that MB doesn't wanna play.

I just don't think they can be that stupid can they?? Someone, probably Mitch? has to be giving Kobe the respect he deserves for what he means to this franchise, by discreetly talking to him about how he feels with each guy on the bubble. How pissed would he be if he sees real potential in CDR lets say, and has invested in helping the kid.....to cut "him". On top of no consult with him on the coaching choice. Mount Bryant behind the scenes.

therealdeal wrote:^ Yeah I can see that. He's shown a ton of explosiveness and it's very similar to Westbrook in that regard. I'd say offensively he's already a better shooter although we have yet to see that from him in his limited time.

I'd say he's a mix between a poor man's Harden and a poor man's Westbrook. If he were 4 inches taller he'd be a star.

Yea I remember reading during draft day that if he were a few inches taller he'd likely be a lottery pick.

I hope CDR & DJO make it to the squad, speed and athleticism is still our weakness.

Please, please keep Chris Douglas Roberts. Don't care about anyone else.

Sacre, CDR & Goudelock should make the team. F Morris and his guaranteed contract. Bye bye to Nelson, Aguilar, Somogyi, Clark & Duhon.

EDIT: I'm guessing Odom's out too, he hadn't been getting much PT and tonight he didn't play AT ALL...

Finwë wrote:Sacre, CDR & Goudelock should make the team. F Morris and his guaranteed contract. Bye bye to Nelson, Aguilar, Somogyi, Clark & Duhon.

EDIT: I'm guessing Odom's out too, he hadn't been getting much PT and tonight he didn't play AT ALL...

Unfortunately, it's not just Morris with the guaranteed contract. Duhon and Clark have them too.

As much as it would be nice to just waive Morris, Clark, and Duhon, it's a sizable chunk of change ($5.7 mil) to pay to players who won't be contributing their services to the team, even if their contracts are only guaranteed for one year. There's a chance we could pickup a backup PG at the trade deadline who's better than Blake, Goudelock, or whoever else we have coming off the bench by offering their contracts to teams looking to shed salary next season.

I don't know what the deal is with Odom. It's strange that he's not getting much playing time.

^ yeah Duhon would have to be paid out for two years. He's not being let go.

In general makeup I think you keep 5 guards. 2 PG, 2 SG and one tweener. With Kobe & Nash getting up there you may need a guy that can play either spot. I would have originally thought Morris was the 5th guy to develop but if he keeps struggling, I don't see the point. Can Goudlock guard PG (we know he can't play PG)? Why haven't we seen DJO?

Right now I would think the starting 5, Jamison, Meeks, Ebanks & Hill are locks. Sacre has all but made the team. You need a vet backup PG and right now I give the edge to Blake. You either keep Blake or Duhon. I think you need to trade the other one. Then to fill out the rest you want the best players left and you need size. I really think you find a way to keep CDR. He is a proven NBA player. You need another big. Not excited about Clark but who else is there and you have to pay him. That leaves room for 2 but they are probably only keeping 14. So I decide between Morris, Glock & DJO which one do I think can actually develop and send them to the d-league.

If possible I would try and package Clark + Duhon or Blake for a backup big if possible. I see no point in keeping Blake & Duhon though.

We'll see if that wand has anything left in it or not. Can we connivence someone to take Blake or Duhon? I'd say we'd have to package someone like Ebanks with them to sweeten the deal. The question is what can we get back if we do that?.....

Phil XI wrote:^ yeah Duhon would have to be paid out for two years. He's not being let go.

The 2nd year isn't fully guaranteed though. He's only guaranteed 1.5 million for the last year of the contract. Which is attractive to teams looking to shed salary.