Assets

Agree with your assesments of value, and that no one is safe from the trader's block, save your big three, plus one stuck with.

Two things. Steph has matured into a much more effective all-around player. Stevie is out of here one way or another.

And while you and Bo Diddley would strenuously disagree, I see Jamal as a key component. Boy did we ever miss him in the fourth quarters: he could create his own shot, inside or outside, and he could get Eddy good looks.

Inconsistent. Sure. But two things: part of that inconsistency was that the kid was playing with a stress fracture--and when do you remember us having players we had who could put up 50-points on a given night? Patrick? Bernard? Richie Guerin? Eddy is going to have a 50-pointer sometime soon, and likely with Jamal on the court.

The emergence of Mardy is hopeful, because Steph simply can't play 40+ a night anymore. N8's trade value notwithstanding, he has shown he can be a catalytic player. Last night both he and Mardy made some adrenalin plays down the stretch that resulted in costly turnovers, but by and large, they played well, considering their youth and inexperience.

Crawford, Lee, Richardson. If we can depend on all three next year that is in my mind's eye a positive, because all showed significant improvement this year.

Szerbiak? Injury prone. Patterson? Love his game, but we have Renaldo. Webber? Still has game, but for how long.

Nagel's trade fantasy in which I belive it was Frye, Rose and Francis going, and Jermaine O'Neal and Jamal Tinsley coming back certainly has appeal. Jermaine can block shots and defend, and likes to play off of the block, and would be a nice compliment to Eddy. But Tinsley gives us yet another guard who needs minutes, so similar problems as Francis.

Rashard Lewis to me would be ideal, but what kind of sign and trade would bring him here, and would he want to come.

Deals, deals deals. More likely, we need to get healthy. And do a lot of work this summer. Develop what we have to be more effective. Hey, we were in last night's game to the bitter end. We've been in a lot of games we could've won.

If Quentin can give us a consistent 25-30 a night at SF, with Balkman there to fill in, at their best, that is not a bad combo. Quentin was our best player for half the season. Knock on wood. And God forbid Renaldo could develop a more consistent jumper.

At PF-C, Lee and Frye, with Frye pulling minutes behind Curry along with young Morris and Jeffries. Rose is an effectgive veteran presence, but Jerome's days might be numbered...he hasn't worked out, and while his conditioning is slightly better, and he seems to have overcome injuries, he would have to have some kind of summer to see daylight. Cato would seem a satisfactory IR-Practice Player. If there are any moves, it would seem that potential trading chips would emerge from this group.

Still, I am not sure any big deals await us. Isiah has been brilliant in the draft and more dubious with the MCE. Grunwald acting as a counter-balance is positive, and I give him props for the Morris signing.

I think it is more likely we work out some sort of herd-thinning deals, be it trades or buyouts. Perhaps we package our #1 from the Bulls with someone, but more likely we stand pat. A drop dead SF at our draft position, like that kid from Florida, who has lenghth and can defend? Or a stud monkey like Rashard or Gerald Wallace? I'm not holding my breath.

I leave it to Isiah and Grunwald to hopefull find a drop dead shooter somewhere in the 20s or to include the pick in a package. I mean, where are our roster spots as presently constituted?

Curry-Frye-Morris

Lee-Jeffries-Rose

Quentin-Balkman

Jamal-Steph

Mardy-N8

That's 12, with James and Cato in reserve.

How do we nurture our present talent or convert redundancies so as to create better roster coherence.

That's the $64,000 question?