I somewhat agree with this but Dre has proven he is a good one on one defender in the NBA. I really agree that any championship hopes we have run through him. He has to be the X factor both offensively and defensively in order for us to get over the top. The best case that shows that was his impact in the New York series. However he hasn’t been consistent enough.
To answer the OP’s question though I would say 7.5.
The other thing I was thinking about is that the front office seemed like it was intentional on creating more minutes for John, JJ, And OO17. Their growth and opportunities seemed to be factored into this roster. Gallo had a significant role so John has room to stretch out now.
I think we have done enough to be a top ten team in the league. How far we advance in the playoffs comes down to things like injuries, other teams melting down, luck, and consistent effort. I would like another veteran like Solo or someone who has championship experience and who is rough around the edges and vocal. We should have sent a contingency out for Haslem on the first day of free agency. Lol.
He is playing for a job. It is not a foregone conclusion he will make the team. If he doesn’t play, does somebody like Aaron Holiday walk in and take his possible minutes? If does play well other teams are watching too. Do they make a play for him and giving him minutes? Like i said he is in a tough spot. If he was a late first round pick, he would have more security and could easily sit out a thumb injury.
The guy clearly is playing through a thumb injury. He is in a tough spot. He has to make it through camp. If he can hold his own with Trae and Murray in practice, he will create a spot for himself.
I recall Nate giving JJ the choice to continue playing for the the Gleague vs coming up to the big squad. I remember the staff saying that took a lot of guts from JJ to stay on the Gleague team. Folks have to remember JJ had not played a lot of organized basketball for about two years due to his high school situation and him sitting out at Duke. Not to mention covid. I don’t think that Nate could be blamed here. The one time where JJ would have had to play is when everyone got covid, but unfortunately he did too. I think it was the right decision for him to get a lot of minutes in the Gleague last year. Hopefully he will show out in camp this year and earn some good minutes.
Another thing Murray will bring that no one is talking about his constant activity and offensive rebounding. One thing I could never understand is why our guys would stand around and watch a long three point shot from Trae and no one anticipates that it will miss. Active teams like Miami, The Bucks, and Golden State always have a wing crashing the boards. Murray will instinctively do this and it will lead to easy points for him and improve our offensive efficiency. He also moves well without the basketball and Trae always finds the open cutter.
Everyone is talking about how Murray will help Trae defensively, but I think the biggest beneficiary will be Dre. Dre no longer has to guard the best wing or switch on to Murray's man. Those screens were killing him last year and he will have far fewer. Also, he is a great team defender and half court defender and not a steals guy or block shots guy. Clint and Murray will complement this very well.