ZonkertheBrainless wrote: You can see in practice how Gil is doing and that's enough.
Right. You can see in practice how well he plays against a 15-win squad that plays no outside defense.
It's entirely possible they hold him out the rest of the year as a healthy scratch, more out of fear of re-injury in a lost cause, why expose him to risk. But nevertheless I suspect it would be nice to check out how team chemistry looks in live-fire competition, which players work well next to Gil, etc, thus which players we're more or less willing to swap.
True, it's the weaker argument. But I don't think the squad cares as much about tipping their hand as they do about losing the fanbase. That said, over the long haul, winning games will earn the team more money and fans than anything else. Plus that number one pick would sell tix by himself. And win, more to the point-- if we win long enough, the dynasty effect comes into play, building a fanbase that remains economically invested and loyal even in a down year. So, right, I can see the team weighing against Gil's return since the benefits may be outstripped by the risks.
Right though, what's nice is that he has been scrimmaging reportedly on the same team as the young pups. So he gets his reps with them, learns their tendencies etc and vice versa. Still, ain't no substitute for real games. Just because you can blast a new orifice thru Mike James, don't mean you can drop 50 on Kobe again.
