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I think you make a great point. But let's remember one thing, while youth is nice in the regular season, but who do you want playing in crunch time in the playoffs. Once the stiffs begin the rotation will be shortened to 7-8 guys. I am willing to take the pain right now, as these group of guys are who we want theme it comes playoff time. Also, as these players get older, they are not putting in the work in the offseason, they are using the beginning part of the season to get back into game shape. We are seeing this right now.I'm not going to over-interpret a 6-7 start, and I was in favor of the Miller signing this summer, though I acknowledged there were some ominous signs in his record/statline from last season...Miller still has time to show he is worth his salary.
But if the only reason he and Jones and Amundson were brought in was to be role models, well, my preference would have been for guys who can actually still play and contribute. These great role models haven't prevented a slow start. They certainly haven't done anything on the court to help. And now people are complaining about the weak bench. Well, your bench can be role models (or valuable contracts like Haywood), but that doesn't mean they are necessarily players. At least Marion has shown he can still contribute at a high level, in addition to whatever he is doing as a role model.
Now the Cavs admittedly were operating at a disadvantage filling out their roster since they had to wait for LeBron to make his announcement by which time the free agent market was already well advanced. But there were still younger players out there who ended up signing for the minimum. Off the top of my head, I am thinking of Aminu, Ed Davis, and Ellington. Were these guys great role models? Some weren't, and none were "champions." But at least we wouldn't be wondering if they were still NBA players, and each has had and continues to have success in the NBA as a "role" player -- Davis as a rim protector and rebounder, Aminu as a perimeter defender and rebounder, and Ellington as a shooter. Sound like attributes people are saying this team needs? I'm still really confused why these three players in particular were so undervalued.
Now I will admit, if we are having the sames issues come Jan/Feb then I will be worried.