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HurricaneDij39
The Middle of Everywhere: NWI
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First let's talk about Cousins, the guy that was actually traded. Sacramento Kings general manager Vlade Divac took a lot of criticism for the trade of Cousins at this year's deadline. But if you look at this trade in full depth, this was actually a good deal for them. While Divac was at the butt of several Kobe Bryant jokes in late February (the guy Vlade was once traded for on draft night), and I don't know how much longer he will remain the GM in Sacramento, the Boogie-for Buddy and picks trade is a one move he got 100 percent right. Though any remaining Kings fans are bound to be frustrated since the trade essentially put an end to any short-term hopes of snapping the team's lengthy playoff drought, it gave the organization a realistic opportunity to keep their 2017 first round pick. Had the Kings missed the playoffs with Cousins and had their pick fall out of the top ten, it would have gone to the Bulls. Sacramento had traded the pick to Cleveland back in 2011 for J.J. Hickson, and they later flipped it to Chicago for Luol Deng.
Buddy Hield at the time of the trade had been having a solid, albeit unspectacular, rookie season for the Pels. Even though the trade was lopsided on paper, this was not a riskless move for New Orleans. If Cousins fails to pan out down there, they risk losing not one but two All-Star caliber players in free agency down to line, along with Anthony Davis. Had DeMarcus stayed in Sacramento, he would have been due for a contract upwards of $200 million, the going rate for franchise players in the most recent NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, and to win around 35 games every year. Is Cousins really worth that? No, not really. At least this trade gives them hope for better days ahead.
Now onto Paul George of my Indiana Pacers, and I’m sure you 50-year-old wannabe frat-boys thought of me at the trade deadline when it was first rumored that a George-to-Lakers trade was a possibility. The Pacers have several issues to address within the organization, so Paul George has every right to keep all his options open with one year left on his contract. First and foremost, Nate McMillan has been worse than anyone could have ever imagined. This game has passed him by. His frontcourt rotations especially have been atrocious, as well as his inconsistencies of how he used Monta Ellis in games.
Ellis obviously has not aged well, and it is not completely out of the question that his skill set may have become obsolete in the modern NBA given his lack of three-point range. Watching him play though, the ability is still there. Coach McMillan is just as bad as Vogel, but at least Vogel could coach a little defense even though he arrived in Orlando just in time to help his GM get fired. The high point during the regular season for the Pacers came during a seven-game winning streak after which the team stood 29-22. Even at that point, no one in their right mind believed this team was a contender of any significance. And sure enough, they proceeded to lose 18 of their next 26 games.
All that being said, George is not the exception to these organizational issues of the Pacers. He had a rather inconsistent 2016-17 season in himself, and there’s a reason he did not make an All-NBA team this year. At times he looked like Danny Granger 2.0, settling for jumper after jumper and rarely getting to the free throw line. Committing $200-plus million to Granger 2.0 would be awful, but the way I see it - He's closer to being worth the money the Cousins, and George was sensational down the stretch in helping us get into the playoffs and avoid a major choke job. At least for the time being (Game 3 against the Cavs was a whole different story altogether).
If George wants to be the next Carmelo Anthony and think the big market is going to bail him out, then good riddance. To me, the most telling sign that our management is prepared for the possibility of George signing with the Lakers in 2018 was when they signed his buddy Stephenson at such a peculiar juncture of the season.
Unlike George, Jeff Teague and Myles Turner are good examples of two of our players that have consistently played their hearts out even if they haven't always gotten results. I would rather see those guys go down fighting than clog up our payroll with a bunch of garbage, overhyped, Laker prospects in a trade for George. The only current Lakers player that I would have even remote interest in acquiring would be Julius Randle, and there's no chance they move him even if they think they have a slight chance of landing George in free agency. Swallowing the Lakers contract of Jordan Clarkson would be beyond retarded, for lack of a better word.
Ultimately, the message I would like to send to my fellow Pacers fans as well as anyone who works within the Pacers organization is that we need to be able to embrace the challenge of building a team for next year and prevent George from going to the Lakers. George isn't the only Pacers star to have expressed interest in the Lakers. Exactly ten years ago, Jermaine O'Neal did as well.
Buddy Hield at the time of the trade had been having a solid, albeit unspectacular, rookie season for the Pels. Even though the trade was lopsided on paper, this was not a riskless move for New Orleans. If Cousins fails to pan out down there, they risk losing not one but two All-Star caliber players in free agency down to line, along with Anthony Davis. Had DeMarcus stayed in Sacramento, he would have been due for a contract upwards of $200 million, the going rate for franchise players in the most recent NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement, and to win around 35 games every year. Is Cousins really worth that? No, not really. At least this trade gives them hope for better days ahead.
Now onto Paul George of my Indiana Pacers, and I’m sure you 50-year-old wannabe frat-boys thought of me at the trade deadline when it was first rumored that a George-to-Lakers trade was a possibility. The Pacers have several issues to address within the organization, so Paul George has every right to keep all his options open with one year left on his contract. First and foremost, Nate McMillan has been worse than anyone could have ever imagined. This game has passed him by. His frontcourt rotations especially have been atrocious, as well as his inconsistencies of how he used Monta Ellis in games.
Ellis obviously has not aged well, and it is not completely out of the question that his skill set may have become obsolete in the modern NBA given his lack of three-point range. Watching him play though, the ability is still there. Coach McMillan is just as bad as Vogel, but at least Vogel could coach a little defense even though he arrived in Orlando just in time to help his GM get fired. The high point during the regular season for the Pacers came during a seven-game winning streak after which the team stood 29-22. Even at that point, no one in their right mind believed this team was a contender of any significance. And sure enough, they proceeded to lose 18 of their next 26 games.
All that being said, George is not the exception to these organizational issues of the Pacers. He had a rather inconsistent 2016-17 season in himself, and there’s a reason he did not make an All-NBA team this year. At times he looked like Danny Granger 2.0, settling for jumper after jumper and rarely getting to the free throw line. Committing $200-plus million to Granger 2.0 would be awful, but the way I see it - He's closer to being worth the money the Cousins, and George was sensational down the stretch in helping us get into the playoffs and avoid a major choke job. At least for the time being (Game 3 against the Cavs was a whole different story altogether).
If George wants to be the next Carmelo Anthony and think the big market is going to bail him out, then good riddance. To me, the most telling sign that our management is prepared for the possibility of George signing with the Lakers in 2018 was when they signed his buddy Stephenson at such a peculiar juncture of the season.
Unlike George, Jeff Teague and Myles Turner are good examples of two of our players that have consistently played their hearts out even if they haven't always gotten results. I would rather see those guys go down fighting than clog up our payroll with a bunch of garbage, overhyped, Laker prospects in a trade for George. The only current Lakers player that I would have even remote interest in acquiring would be Julius Randle, and there's no chance they move him even if they think they have a slight chance of landing George in free agency. Swallowing the Lakers contract of Jordan Clarkson would be beyond retarded, for lack of a better word.
Ultimately, the message I would like to send to my fellow Pacers fans as well as anyone who works within the Pacers organization is that we need to be able to embrace the challenge of building a team for next year and prevent George from going to the Lakers. George isn't the only Pacers star to have expressed interest in the Lakers. Exactly ten years ago, Jermaine O'Neal did as well.
