I think we're all more sad about this because of the kind of person Heber is. One of the best pure people in that locker room, and it hurts to see such a fan favorite leave. That said, if we're being honest he was not the same player after the ACL injury, and this is probably the right move for that reason. He was on a salary that demanded more production than we got in 2022, and the way the team played didn't really mesh with his skillset anymore.
As for all the outgoing players -- we are clearly breaking up the 2021 championship team. This break-up was coming soon; a lot of these guys were getting up there in age (Heber, Maxi, Johnson, Callens, Chanot, etc), so these players were going to be leaving one way or another over the next few years anyway. From a pure roster management scenario, it's probably better to drop players a year too early than a year too late. Dropping players a year too early means you can find new players. Dropping players too late means we probably miss the playoffs.
I am going to assume we are preparing a lot of new signings -- and big ones - to replace these players. There is no point in rebuilding and missing the playoffs in this league. Unlike in other American sports, there's no point in finishing last. This is going to be a fast retool on the fly. Very interested to see what David Lee and company have up their sleeve, because you have to think we are making some major signings this winter. Training camp begins in two weeks and our first preseason game is on Jan. 18, so the clock is ticking.
Davo15 said
