I think Gaines might be his own worst enemy right now. Every time the coaches seem to give him a legitimate look, he jacks up a shot real quick without getting in the flow of the game. I think Gaines may misunderstand what type of role we need from him. In my opinion, Gaines role is to come in provide energy, defense, rebound, run the offense, and score easy shots that come to him. His goal when he comes in should be to bring more possessions to the team through defense and rebounding and not taking possessions from the team through bad shots and turnovers.
I think Gaines thinks his way to play time is through trying to score like our other guards; however, he is never going to play if that is the case because the other guards have stronger skill sets than him. Gaines mindset should be I need to be more productive to the team than EJA and ORN. If Gaines can be more productive to the team than those two he could carve himself out a role in small ball lineups when JJJ is at the 4.
Gaines seems like a great kid and teammate, but if your goal is to win championships you got to make some hard decisions. If Caleb Mills is interested in signing with the Vols and is a fit with the culture, you take him, even if it causes someone to leave.