The way I look at it, neither Ingram nor Ball is gonna take the league by storm by their 4th year. If we consider those two to be the cornerstones of the franchise, then I don't have any problem trading the excess youth to bring quality veterans. One thing that is overlooked is that the FO has aspirations to sign max level contracts (two) in next summer. That means we are looking to not only make the playoffs, but also trust those veteran players to be the main engines of the team as a starter. If the prediction that Ingram and Ball improves to be a good to great player down the road, then it makes sense to close the gap until they blossom into one.
I think some of the current "young" players do not meet this timeline - Randle and Clarkson to be exact. And some of them are in the middle - Russell and Nance Jr. If were to make moves, we should start from Randle and Clarkson. And if necessary, parting with Russell should not be a problem. The below is the current outlook of the team:
Luol Deng (10yr exp)
Corey Brewer (10yr exp)
Timofey Mozgov (7yr exp)
----
Tarik Black (3yr exp)
Julius Randle (3yr exp)
Jordan Clarkson (3yr exp)
----
D'Angelo Russell (2yr exp)
Larry Nance Jr. (2yr exp)
----
Brandon Ingram (1yr exp)
Ivica Zubac (1yr exp)
David Nwaba (1yr exp)
Lonzo Ball ®
#28 ®
Low value mediocre contribution
Mediocre value mediocre contribution
High value mediocre contribution
We need mediocre/high value high contribution players in order to improve the record. (We already lost Lou who was one of them)
Edited by Tensai, June 13, 2017 - 07:32 PM.