What is Kahn thinking?!

Or maybe we sit here with an even bigger bum, but one who needs the ball and will get the ball and will throw the ball away.
Telfair is an extremely capable backup, still very young and on the upside of his career. Craig Smith gave GREAT production when he came into the game. Madsen, while terrible, was a good locker room guy, a good cheerleader (he puts the TWolves dancers to shame), and he spoke spanish. I would not complain too much if we got him at the veteran’s minimum next year. Not a penny more though because I never want to see him set foot on a basketball court again.

All three of those deals were expiring contracts. The only advantage as I have pointed out before is that it went from 3 to 1 (which is easier to make a deal with, but we have plenty of bigger expiring salaries).

then why are we taking on 1M more in salary this year? To trade for a star? Obviously that would not be the case then.

Telfair is a serviceable backup. He has a great assist to turnover ratio and he is more than competent at running an offense. Again, he is on the upside of his career and would be a nice piece in that 3-5 years at 2-3M per year.

I dont disagree that Smith isnt a part of a championship team, but he was one of the most productive backup 4s we had.

Madsen isnt a part of a championship team? Hmmm, the Laker’s gave him some sort of a ring, I think it was maybe possibly for winning a championship with them… Madsen has a part on any and every team, just not on the court.

I don’t mind getting rid of these guys, its just the fact that it was for Richardson. We could have gotten something more from someone… Telfair hurts me the most I think. I think the kid will get a ring before his career is over (as a backup).

They may not be starters on a contender, but neither are over half of the guys on the Lakers, on the Celtics on the Cavs, etc etc. They are role players, and pretty damn good ones. Telfair is a backup level player on a contender, Madsen is a locker room guy though and through. Craig Smith is the guy who makes everyone else happy to be on a team. He makes people friends instead of just teammates. Not to mention, he is also a tremendous offensive player for a second rounder.

But like you said, I would prefer to get a core group of players, whether it be the starters or not, and try to at least stick with them. Bassy being one of those I would stick with and Craig being another. Bassy is less replaceable of the two if you ask me. I have already said that I think Craig Smith makes this team more enjoyable to be on and I stick by that. That can not be said of too many guys in a business like this.
I was being a little facetious with the comment about Madsen, mostly just pointing out that it’s not just on-the-court players that we need. He shows the young guys some good work ethic and he is a great example of a good teammate. In order to add to a team, you don’t have to be on the floor, otherwise why would teams be so interested in a good coach or good veteran presence. And he is cheap enough at the veterans minimum.

We obviously did this trade for financial reasons, but sometimes a player is worth more than his numbers or his salary (not very often….). When we draft a guy like Rubio, he isnt going to want to stay because MN is an attractive place to be. He will want to stay because guys like Craig Smith can make his experience an enjoyable one and he gets attached to the team more than the market and the weather. Without winters above 40 degrees on average, we need to count on the people to convince guys to come here and stay here. Craig Smith did this very cheaply. He is worth more to me in the locker room than on the court. Much more than his salary gives him, but luckily we don’t have to pay him more for talents like that so his services are valuable and cheap. We win. Not anymore.

When we are competing for a championship, we will hopefully have a solidified 8-10 man rotation. We have more roster spots than that and those spots can be taken up by cheap guys who do more than on the court stuff. Hopefully we can get Craig back for cheap when his deal expires next year. I would welcome him back with open arms…. Scratch that, I would personally beg him to come back. Madsen is another guy who I would pay a veterans minimum but ONLY if he agreed not to play a minute ever again. Like you said, Bassy is replaceable, but I would rather stick with a guy who has a spot on a contender so we can at least get something truly special started than just keep replacing a guy that we will eventually need anyways. Team unity is underrated. Thats why teams like Jordan’s Bulls, Duncans Spurs, Stockton/Malone’s Jazz, Chauncey’s Pistons have been able to do so well in the past with just 2 stars or bubble stars and some nice role players instead of todays Lakers/Celtics/Suns/etc who need 3 or 4 allstars before they can make a run at it.