childress22
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rome8180 said:
I think Miami has a lot of bigs and point guards, but less depth on the wings. Based on this, there are four things they could do:
1) Keep no one on a non-guaranteed deal and enter the season with 14 guys.
2) Keep Tyler Johnson, who's pretty versatile and has played well in SL and pre-season.
3) Keep Dawkins, who has also played well in SL and pre-season, has a defined role, and is good at it.
4) Get rid of one of their other guys and keep both Johnson and Dawkins. Not likely, but at least one beat writer has hinted that it could be possible: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miam ... story.html
childress22
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Update: Heat have released Tyler Johnson, Shawn Jones, and Larry Drew (whom they just signed).
This leaves Dre and center Khem Birch as the "training camp guys" fighting for that last roster spot. That said, Justin Hamilton, a backup center who was with the Heat last year, also has a non-guaranteed deal. It's possible that they could keep Birch and Dawkins and release Hamilton. Or they could keep two bigs, but they're not short in that department (already have Bosh, Birdman, McRoberts, and Haslem as guys that have played some 5).
Birch got playing time in the last game while Andre didn't, although Dre has looked good when he's played. The Heat are thin at 2-guard. It's just the occasionally-injured, often-resting Wade and Shannon Brown, unless you count Chalmers as a SG. And none of their small forward guys make sense at guard with respect to their speed or ball-handling (Deng, Grander, James Ennis).
This leaves Dre and center Khem Birch as the "training camp guys" fighting for that last roster spot. That said, Justin Hamilton, a backup center who was with the Heat last year, also has a non-guaranteed deal. It's possible that they could keep Birch and Dawkins and release Hamilton. Or they could keep two bigs, but they're not short in that department (already have Bosh, Birdman, McRoberts, and Haslem as guys that have played some 5).
Birch got playing time in the last game while Andre didn't, although Dre has looked good when he's played. The Heat are thin at 2-guard. It's just the occasionally-injured, often-resting Wade and Shannon Brown, unless you count Chalmers as a SG. And none of their small forward guys make sense at guard with respect to their speed or ball-handling (Deng, Grander, James Ennis).
childress22
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Minor Dawkins update: Heat played last exhibition game today. Dre got 12 minutes, went 2-4 behind the arc and 3-3 from the line for 9 points (and 1 assist).
Now the Heat have to decide to cut somebody (and will all the injuries they've had, I doubt they cut more than one). Cut will likely come from Dawkins, Birch, and Hamilton.
Then again, they could cut Shannon Brown, who is nominally a "shooting guard" but can't shoot worth shit. His deal is also non-guaranteed.
Brown would make 1.3 million if he makes the cut. Justin Hamilton would make $816K. Dawkins or Birch would make $507K.
Deadline for cuts is 5 pm Monday.
Now the Heat have to decide to cut somebody (and will all the injuries they've had, I doubt they cut more than one). Cut will likely come from Dawkins, Birch, and Hamilton.
Then again, they could cut Shannon Brown, who is nominally a "shooting guard" but can't shoot worth shit. His deal is also non-guaranteed.
Brown would make 1.3 million if he makes the cut. Justin Hamilton would make $816K. Dawkins or Birch would make $507K.
Deadline for cuts is 5 pm Monday.
childress22
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DurhamSon said:
Great news for Lance! He's a better fit on a team like OKC that is looking to win now than he was on NO the past couple of seasons anyway. OKC also has young frontcourt talent to develop, but they have a lot of injuries they're dealing with, and LT is such a versatile defender.
childress22
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He'll make the rookie minimum: $507K
deepdarkblue
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Happy for him. Meanwhile, Seth Curry got cut by the Magic.
rhfarmer
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It's hard to believe that Dre pretty much saved Duke's title run in 2010. Kid went through so much shit. So stoked for him, but IMO, another strange episode in K's recent coaching. The 2010 team now has Singler, Miles, Mason, Lance, Kelly , and Dre on NBA rosters. Only Singler really played solid minutes for his Duke career.
Hard to believe so much NBA talent can't get off the bench for K.
Hard to believe so much NBA talent can't get off the bench for K.
childress22
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rhfarmer said:
I'd say that Lance, Miles, and Dre are perfect examples of guys that have NBA roles playing pretty much exactly the same kind of role they did at Duke. None of those guys "couldn't get off the bench," and they all were very good at what they did.
Kelly and Mason, on the other hand, are guys that just flat-out got better and saw more time pretty much every year they were at Duke, and they played plenty as juniors (26 mpg / 28 mpg) and seniors (29 mpg / 35 mpg).
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Like the rest of Duke fans I am extremely happy for Andre Dawkins. What great news!
Thanks for the updates Childress - I guess Birch was cut?
Thanks for the updates Childress - I guess Birch was cut?
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childress22 said:
I agree about Kelly and Mason, K even mentioned at one point that he should have red shirted Kelly his freshman year. And honestly, I completely agree that Dre, Miles and Lance all have particular skills that translate to the NBA. But it doesn't change how I feel about K's rotations and substitution patterns. I think that Lance and Dre making NBA rosters is both because of AND despite K, if that makes any sense. K certainly develops people, and I respect how he is more interested in molding a successful man than just molding a basketball player.
I don't want to hijack this thread any more than I have, so maybe mods move to general rant.
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This is partly why it's so frustrating whenever Sulaimon attempts to score off the dribble. He's never going to make it in the NBA in that role. Even Seth Curry can't make it in that role, and Seth was one of the best scorers off the dribble I've seen at Duke. You have to be top 100 in the world to provide value as a possession eating guard in the NBA. Sulaimon would help his team and improve his own draft stock by becoming more of a Dawkins type than a Nolan or Seth type - focus more on spot up shooting (and defense). With Okafor around, Sulaimon and all the other guards are going to get a ton of wide open spot up 3s. The goal is to show NBA teams you're more Andre Dawkins than Nolan Smith or Seth Curry, though depending on who returns next season, Duke might benefit a lot more from Sulaimon becoming Nolan for one season.
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SeanMayTriedToEatMe said:
I agree with you, but with the caveat that if Nolan and Seth were 6'4.5" like Dawkins is, they would have had a greater chance of sticking in the league, too. Seth shot 43.8% from three as a senior, on more than 6 attempts per game -- that's certainly enough evidence to compete for a three-point specialist.
rome8180
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K has mentioned that Sulaimon's best shot at success in the NBA will be as a defensive specialist.
Sulaimon looked better at scoring off the dribble last night, so hopefully it turns out to be a positive skill of his for this team, if not at the next level.
Sulaimon looked better at scoring off the dribble last night, so hopefully it turns out to be a positive skill of his for this team, if not at the next level.