I'm just happy you could give a solid argument. Thomas Robinson definitely offers more upside and offense but defensively he has struggled and he's also an undersized PF and we already have two of those. You can call Perkins a dead body that's fine but analytics still show him to be above average defensively and the leadership he provides can't be matched. I think what separates the two is you know what you are getting out of Perkins for your championship push this year and you aren't sure what you will get out of Robinson because he isn't proven. I don't think I would have been mad about Robinson but he is undersized and can be a libility defensively. Either one of them would be a significant upgrade over Haywood and that would be what was most important here.This keeps getting asked, and it's not really a question that can be answered with certainty. Only Griffin knows who was "available."
We can go off of the guys that we know are available, like Blatche or Thomas Robinson.
Personally, I'd have preferred Robinson to Perkins.
Why? Because I think Robinson has upside. He could be a total bust, but even then he's still going to give us those 6 fouls that Perkins' dead body would.
Is he going to give us the same leadership, camaraderie, or toughness as Perkins? Not likely, but the toughness part is debatable.
But I do think Robinson has more in the tank than what he's demonstrated so far in the NBA. And I'd be willing to gamble on Robinson before I'd settle for Perkins.
So personally, as I said previously, it's not a great pickup in my estimation; but it's also not a make or break moment for the Cavaliers.
And I don't want to beat a dead horse, nor do I want to bring people's hopes down. I certainly don't think the moves hurts the Cavs; I just don't think it's what I would have done if I were in Griffin's shoes, and for various reasons.
Concisely, I'm not thrilled with how Griffin manages assets. But that's an ongoing grievance that was bound to resurface at the trade deadline with the Cavaliers finding themselves with no assets.
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