now why in the world do i give my star player and a nice young big man project for Marion ?
One word: STAR POWER ! (now since these are 2 words i might give a lengthy explanation as well)
Marion is a star, capeable of taking over games at both ends of the floor. He's 34, I know but he doesn't slow down and I believe he has 2 more fine seasons ahead of him. Plus playing Matrix at SG gives me the opportunity to move Schabinger to SF where I believe he is more effective.
Lenard, hmmm, what should I say. Great shooter and scorer, can hit 30 any day, against any defender and doesn't give it away. But there are often those 13pt games (where he took 10 shots) with 3 rebounds and mediocre defense. Marion doesn't have those games. Plus the 3pt shot is still shaky. I believe he needs to get a LOT better to get near Matrix level and I'm not sure he ever will.
Of course I lose 6 years, but thats a risk I need to take (and would have with Dirk too).
Priddy doesn't hurt nearly as much as I think it would. He's young, he shows a lot of potential, but he's no starter now. I tried it. Great rebounding, and his defense is ok against most guys, but his offense is way behind. I doubt he would have played over Thomas or Boozer.
What's next? Who knows. I gave myself a 2yr window of opportunity to make some noise. Hope for the best ...