What do you think are the floor and ceiling of this team? How high can we realistically climb and how low can we fall? What grade would you give them at the moment, even if it’s just 14 games in? Are we in dire need to make a trade as soon as possible or should we wait another month and see how things develop with the current squad?
Shop Kleber, Hardy, Holmes and even THJ for defensive upgrades. I would try to work for a package like Caruso and Drummond from Chicago. Green should also be on the table for someone more consistent.
The hard fact is no matter how good our offense is, we are not a contender as long as our defense is below average. And it is not merely below average, it is as bad as last year’s. Lively, DJJ, Exum and Grant should have all been upgrades over last year’s rotation but we aren’t seeing it in effect because it has been offset by falloffs from Green, Tim and Powell (our three best defenders last year.) We can’t afford to not have three elite defenders next to Luka and Kyrie if we want to be a top 10 defense.