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Vonleh assigned to D league


Captain Obvious

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This Rich Cho thing has about run its course.

At this point, I see two ways to view the Rich Cho era:

You can look at how he was tasked with finishing tearing down the Gerald Wallace-Stephen Jackson era and see that he did leave us with a roster that has the ability to be very fluid by managing the cap and our assets well enough to be a trendy pick to be a breakout team just a few years after going 7-59.

On the other hand, what have you done for me lately, and this team has a very good chance to finish last in the southeast division. And while the bottom of the east has improved slightly thanks to the awfulness of last season, under .500 still gets you in to the playoffs, and we may not even get that far.

With this context in mind, you look at all of the picks and money Cho had at his disposal (alot of which he created himself) and the roster we have on the floor right now, and it just doesn't add up.

The excitement surrounding Cho was that he oversaw the creation in Seattle of the Thunder team we know today, but of the players he's drafted, there's only one guy I see that has the potential to make this franchise relevant, and poor MKG still needs a few seasons to get that shot right. The rest are solid role players at best. Vonleh has Bosh-LMA potential, but how long is that going to take?

Bottom line, we didn't tank years just to wind back up in that 10th or 11th draft spot we always had with Wallace-Jackson.

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Blaming Cho for the lack of franchise changing talent at our pick may be misguided. This market and franchise still has a long way to go to being an attractive option for free agents.... Shopping Lance after giving him a contract will not help matters either.

I feel like the Marvin Williams signing was a panic move bc of the McBob loss and lack of perimeter options in free agency.

Noah was the best guy at the pick.. McDermott has done nothing... Is injured. Yes Noah is yet another raw guy on a team with raw guys so it sucks and stagnates any progress for the franchise.

I dont know what pick /player would have made a difference but thisfranchise needs an injection of european players too. I am not sure why we have zero ability to recruit or chase eruos who have the offensive skill sets we seek. Is that a Jordan/Cho/Clifford thing?

If they are worried about defense Marvin Williams, Al jefferson, Kemba are not stellar in that area either.

If Cho has failed at anything I think it is seeking other agressive options to offset the lack of quality free agents.

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If Lance comes around, it solidifies him. If Lance busts, then he has to do something drastic quick.

I don't blame him for Zeller, that entire draft was garbage. MKG over Beal and Lillard is looking worse- even though I love me some MKG. Biz was Cho's star and that is the killer. Kemba was MJs pick oddly enough. We have to see with Vonleh and PJ. But the trade back for PJ and cash was done perfectly.

FA Moves:

Warrick/mcbob was a thing of beauty. Sessions was a solid pickup but to turn him around for Neal was really good. Marvin has been very underwhelming for the money we gave him. Roberts looks like a serviceability backup. The big one was Al Jefferson but he is starting to revert to his old ways. in the end, not bad but not great

By the way, would you have rather have Vonleh or Detroits unprotected pick this year? Just food for thought

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By the way, would you have rather have Vonleh or Detroits unprotected pick this year? Just food for thought

 

That sums up Charlotte basketball in a nutshell. What was thought to be a turn of good fortune is going to turn out to be a curse.

 

Noah Vonleh instead of Mudiay or Johnson or Towns? Yikes.

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Blaming Cho for the lack of franchise changing talent at our pick may be misguided. This market and franchise still has a long way to go to being an attractive option for free agents.... Shopping Lance after giving him a contract will not help matters either.

I feel like the Marvin Williams signing was a panic move bc of the McBob loss and lack of perimeter options in free agency.

Noah was the best guy at the pick.. McDermott has done nothing... Is injured. Yes Noah is yet another raw guy on a team with raw guys so it sucks and stagnates any progress for the franchise.

I dont know what pick /player would have made a difference but thisfranchise needs an injection of european players too. I am not sure why we have zero ability to recruit or chase eruos who have the offensive skill sets we seek. Is that a Jordan/Cho/Clifford thing?

If they are worried about defense Marvin Williams, Al jefferson, Kemba are not stellar in that area either.

If Cho has failed at anything I think it is seeking other agressive options to offset the lack of quality free agents.

 

I agree, the contingency plans for free agents has been a disappointment at best. I feel like with the name change on the way, they simply wanted to win the offseason, and with Hayward off the board they scrambled to make a play for Lance without thinking about the fit. There's simply no excuse for the Marvin signing. Brian Roberts, as anonymous as he is, has been great value off the bench.

 

I applauded them for not doing it this offseason but looking back I can't help but wonder what this team would look like with all the free agents from last season back in tow. I remember seeing an article about how Atlanta had a really disappointing offseason with a very underwhelming free agency (to my knowledge, the only new addition they had in FA was Kent Bazemore) and now look where they are. What makes it worse is this could have easily been done once they realized they were going to miss out on Hayward.

 

As far as Cho drafts go:

 

2011 - Bismack Biyombo, Kemba Walker. On the board: Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Nikola Vucevic, Kenneth Faried, Nikola Mirotic, Reggie Jackson

 

2012 - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. On the board: Damian Lillard, Andre Drummond

 

2013 - Cody Zeller. On the board: Nerlens Noel, Giannis Antetokounmpo

 

"Who was there to pick?" is no excuse. As you can see, talent was clearly available, but, as with every draft since 2004, we cannot find talent, let alone develop it.

 

Also, you'll notice we commit the cardinal sin of drafting for need over talent. By addressing point guard and center in 2011, it takes Lillard and Drummond off the board in 2012. By addressing SF in 2012, it takes Greek Freak out of the picture in 2013. Underwhelming picks begat more underwhelming picks which leaves you with the underwhelming roster of the Charlotte Hornets. 

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I give Cho a pass, simply because he owns in trades. I can't hold the draft against him. Only pick I have been really mad about was Biz and MKG. Biz he basically earned a free pick by bitch slapping the Kings and Bucks in a trade. But all before that draft I kept saying Biz's ceiling was Ben Wallace and that he was always going to be an offensive liability. Ben Wallace was great once he became Ben Wallace, but it took him years and multiple teams to become that, and still, he was an offensive liability.

MKG is coming around and when he is assertive, we're starting to see what he can be. His shot is becoming more reliable and teams have to respect that now. He is becoming a great all around player that can dominate a game outside of the stat line.

So really, only pick I am mad about is Biz, but he has developed into a good backup, paint protecting center.

Truth is, I give Cho tons of leeway on the draft, even on the picks I knew weren't the best available because it's such an inexact science. Why did so many teams pass on Damian Lillard? Do you think the Blazers actually thought he was going to become what he became? But look at all the scrubs that fill supporting roles that they drafted before and after him. Meyers Leopard anyone? Cj McCollum? Will Barton?

How could anyone take Darko Milicic over Melo? The list goes on and on. Even the #1 pick has historic mixed results.

So, I give him a pass. He needs to fix this and it's hard to figure out how he thought this current roster was going to mesh, but I trust he can fix it because he is a master at acquiring assets.

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