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Originally posted by: grndmstr_c
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Jamison scored a lot of points, but didn't seem to affect the game when it mattered. That's why despite his gaudy fg%, there was hardly a peep when he was traded.
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The lack of peeping was due to two things: 1) we got a very nice return all things considered, 2) too many people made the mistake of lumping him in with Walker under the "too many scorers ruined our season" tab rather than doing the research necessary to differentiate the impact made by the two. By every measure AJ was a real positive for the team, far moreso than Walker, and played agressively and well in the playoffs before his injuries. It's only because of the hopes I have for Devin, Stack, and Damp (via Laettner) that I don't spend time lamenting his departure.
As for the general critique of players from losing teams, while you certainly have to look beyond a players standard stats when evaluating what they'll bring to the table, to simply say that because a player doesn't have a rich playoff pedigree they're not worth acquiring is irresponsible and muddle-headed. If the player from a losing team brings the level of talent (I feel very confident all our acquisitions have high talent levels), and the types of skills to the table that fit well with his teammates (I'm cautiously optimistic in this regard) and comes with a good work ethic (nothing has yet indicated otherwise), that's really all that matters.
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I agree with your last point. I was in favor of ever deal we made. I'm not saying we're doomed and I don't thin the GM was saying that either. Good teams generally don't help teams in their own conference so sometimes the only to add talent is from losing teams. Like I said, hopefully we've established a culture of winning.