[BGMaverick9]

As a general rule I just think it makes sense to try to construct your roster in such a way that you can mix and match pieces in a lot of different ways, else you end up playing (and paying) guys who are good enough to get 24 mpg for only half that.

I guess I understand that, but I think Orlando tried that for a bit with Gortat and Howard over the course of the season and it never really seemed to stick. Obviously it could have been an issue in the makeup of those two players but maybe not.

No arguments here. He's limited defensively. I'd expect the Howard/Miller pairing to be used primarily against less offensively gifted frontcourts, and for Miller to guard whichever player was less mobile.

That might actually work in the Eastern conference for sure, I don't think that'll be able to work against teams in the West (LA, Dallas, Denver, OKC, PHX, etc). Obviously they're worried about the guys they play the most, but if the Finals are the big picture, that's a problem.

I may not have been clear enough on that point. I was referring to Miller's passing out of the high post to guys moving without the basketball rather than to his ability to shoot the three.

That's true...Orlando's lineup doesn't strike me as guys who move entirely well without the basketball. They're just stop and pop shooters or sit out there and wait for the ball to come to them, maybe that's a dead wrong assessment.

I have a few thoughts on this: 1) what guard/wing is going to be available for the MLE who'd be enough of an upgrade over what they've got to justify the cost, 2) budget management, even for rich owners, is still the name of the game, and Gortat is the most replaceable budget-buster on their payroll, and finally 3) for all we know they've already got a tacit agreement to trade Gortat to Dallas once the 1-year wait is up and it's just been kept quiet up 'til now.

That's a fair point about who might be available, it seems like a S&T would be the best route for them to look. I really didn't look at the list originally when I made that statement. Are they planning on keeping Barnes? The only people that might be able to be in the conversation that fit their style of play are Ray Allen and Korver. That could actually be an option because, what hasn't been mentioned (if I remember correctly) how much are they planning to offer to Miller? If they're looking on the low end of the MLE or pray he'll take the LLE, then that opens some more doors.

That would be an amazing feat to have that agreement in place for a full year and no one say a peep about it, I'll take it though.