According to eminent basketballtolgist Zach Lowe Pat Riley is looking to move a veteran or two or six during the trade window on February 7. Lowe says Riles could get at least a second round draft pick for Wayne Ellington.
Lowe says the "Heat" are interested in moving guys who are "out of the rotation." Ellington has not been rotating this year so he fits that criteria. But how do you define Erik Spoelstra's "rotation?" That is a big part of the problem from the players' perspective. Erik's used something like 19 different starting lineups.
Giving it as much play as reasonable I think Dion Waiters would fit "out of rotation" and using Lowe's trade return for Ellington as a marker then Dion Waiters, who has floundered after a hot start back from injury, should fetch more; no, not a first rounder but a couple of twos plus a player.
But what of James Johnson? He's in the rotation and should not be. JJ is done. What could you get for him, more precisely, what could you get for his salary hit on the cap? I don't see anything. If I was a rival GM (I'm not.) I wouldn't give up even a two for JJ and his salary.
Erik Spoelstra suffers from Overchoice. He--and Pat Riley acknowledges this--has too many similar players of similar skill and similar length. Spoelstra makes choices based on minutiae in computer game simulations. It forces decisions based on differences in computer simulations that are not real differences, but he has to choose.
Spoelstra is in this position because of his commitment to the concept that he came up with himself: positionless basketball. LeBron James knows no position! But Spoelstra doesn't have James anymore and most NBA players have one or two specific skills that define them for a specific position on the court: outside shooting, especially from range (guard); rebounding (center), defense; shot blocking (center), play making (point guard).
Miami has got a glut of guys who are okay at some of those, great at none, terrible at one or two. Believers in positionless basketball say it puts the emphasis back on team basketball: you don't have a specific role, you have a general role to make the team better. Do whatever that requires. Players cannot do "whatever;" they can only do what their skills allow them to do. Forcing players to do everything, rather than what they are good at, focuses on the weakest link in their skill chain. That is not good for the player's psyche and leads to benching, which ditto.
Riley and Andy Elisburg have to relieve Erik Spoelstra of Overchoice and get rid of some of these interchangeable parts.
Lowe says the "Heat" are interested in moving guys who are "out of the rotation." Ellington has not been rotating this year so he fits that criteria. But how do you define Erik Spoelstra's "rotation?" That is a big part of the problem from the players' perspective. Erik's used something like 19 different starting lineups.
Giving it as much play as reasonable I think Dion Waiters would fit "out of rotation" and using Lowe's trade return for Ellington as a marker then Dion Waiters, who has floundered after a hot start back from injury, should fetch more; no, not a first rounder but a couple of twos plus a player.
But what of James Johnson? He's in the rotation and should not be. JJ is done. What could you get for him, more precisely, what could you get for his salary hit on the cap? I don't see anything. If I was a rival GM (I'm not.) I wouldn't give up even a two for JJ and his salary.
Erik Spoelstra suffers from Overchoice. He--and Pat Riley acknowledges this--has too many similar players of similar skill and similar length. Spoelstra makes choices based on minutiae in computer game simulations. It forces decisions based on differences in computer simulations that are not real differences, but he has to choose.
Spoelstra is in this position because of his commitment to the concept that he came up with himself: positionless basketball. LeBron James knows no position! But Spoelstra doesn't have James anymore and most NBA players have one or two specific skills that define them for a specific position on the court: outside shooting, especially from range (guard); rebounding (center), defense; shot blocking (center), play making (point guard).
Miami has got a glut of guys who are okay at some of those, great at none, terrible at one or two. Believers in positionless basketball say it puts the emphasis back on team basketball: you don't have a specific role, you have a general role to make the team better. Do whatever that requires. Players cannot do "whatever;" they can only do what their skills allow them to do. Forcing players to do everything, rather than what they are good at, focuses on the weakest link in their skill chain. That is not good for the player's psyche and leads to benching, which ditto.
Riley and Andy Elisburg have to relieve Erik Spoelstra of Overchoice and get rid of some of these interchangeable parts.
