According to NBA talk... Irvine faces upHill battle Don't hand Bill Laimbeer the Detroit Pistons' coaching job just yet. After watching the defenseless Nets make the Pistons look like the Showtime Lakers on Sunday, Detroit interim coach George Irvine told me that -- contrary to his earlier statements -- he wouldn't completely rule out staying on as coach if management wanted him. "It's possible I could change my mind," said Irvine, who has guided Detroit to a 9-5 record since taking over for the fired Alvin Gentry last month. "I haven't really thought about it. But I'm having fun, and when the team plays like it did today. . ." Irvine might first want to talk to star forward Grant Hill. Before the game, one Piston told me that Hill, frustrated by the team's up-and-down fortunes, is leaning toward bolting Motown at season's end. "He's leaving," the player said. "He's not coming back here, even for a one-year deal." ------------------ The clock is winding down, and Scottie has the ball, Cato is sprinting towards him, Pippen shoots and here comes Cato. Man did you see that block?!!! Ouch it hit Scottie right between the legs. ITS FINAL!! THE ROCKETS ARE THE CHAMPIONS OF Y2K!!!
Question is: Where would he want to play if he left Detroit? ------------------ HOOP-T Hey Shaq, Acme called, and they want their bricks back!
Yo can bet if Grant Hill leaves that it will to a team that has: 1) A chance to win 2) Cap Room My first impressions are either Orlando or Chicago. The Bulls could be very scary with Brand-Hill-Kenyon or Fizer (assuming they do get a top 2 pick). Although they wouldn't have a center they could offer Brand ot this years pick to pick up a quality center or trade down to get Mihm and either other picks or depth. Either way I like Grant Hill and I think he would be a great fit here, but I don't think we can afford him. ------------------
I agree if he leaves it will be one of those two teams. I still wouldn't worry about Chicago, Brand, K-Mart & Hill + the guards they have is still at best a 500 club. You have think about how completely sucky they are now. Even two players won't turn it all the way around, Hill after all has a few good players around him in Detriot and always had to scape to make the playoffs. I think Orlando not only has a superior nucleus of young players, but they have a ton of picks. Look out for them if they get Hill or Duncan plus a role player or two to build around. This team has got it going. ------------------
SirS: I partly agree with you, except about Grant's ability to lead a team. I don't think he has ever been on a very good team before. Even though I love Joe D. he was on the downside of his career. Also I think the Jerrys in Chicago are so desperate to win (especially win more than MJ in Wash) that they will mortgage the franchise to get Hill (or try to get Duncan although I don't think Duncan will leave). I think if you put Grant Hill in a good situation that he will sacrifice his game for the teams success. Hill is one of the NBA superstars (yeah I still think he is a superstar) who doesn't need the ball alot to be effective. That is one quality which will enable Grant to play well with younger players (who will want/need a lot of touches). ------------------
Anywhere Hill is going, he's signing a one-year deal, so that he can get a huge raise next year because he'll be in the highest pay rate. Sign him to one year contract with huge payday next year, if you could convince him. Or sign and trade for him. ------------------ Is it any coincidence that we are the only NBA (sorry for any confusion regarding my earlier signature, I do realize that the Braves and Stars are both mentioned in the national anthem) team mentioned in the national anthem? I didn't think so!
I'm going to be Devil's Advocate for a second... If we were going to spend mega-bucks to sign a superstar in the ranks of Grant Hill, (and for the moment we're assuming that such an event of grand proportions like this could happen out of the blue...) wouldn't it be much better for the team to get a four or a five? Getting Hill would force Thomas and Cato to hold up the fort in our forecourt, barring a miraculous blessing from God directly to Hakeem's aging body. Of course, getting Hill would pretty much assure us the best backcourt in the league, bar none, with the 3 guard lineup + Hill. But at the cost of nothing in the middle. Now let me take the good side. Chicago pulled this off. Course, we don't have a Rodman or Horace Grant rebounder, but oddly enough Chicago's rebounding actually went up with DRod out of the lineup. If somehow we could convince Cato to learn how to rebound, and stay interested, he would have a hey-day off of alley-oops. Thomas would have to focus more on his post-up game, but he should be capable of producing there offensively at least. Another good thing is that Hill is an excellent rebounder for a three. But again, defense would be a weakness for us. (again) But hey, we could run the Triangle. And Hill is more than capable of running the point forward, so Francis could be more of a 1.5 guard, and his scoring would go up. But hey... this is kind of a fantasy anyway, right? ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain -
DarkHorse, I agree with you I would rather have a 4 or a 5. In fact what I would like to do is wait until Hill and Duncan and McGrady suck up all the free agent money the next year (after Hakeems contract is done), and be the best team left to offer big money the following year. (Though I am not a capalogist, so I don't know our situation in 1-2 years). The guy I most want is Webber. If it could come down between us and Sac re-signing him, man that would be great. We could role of the red carpet (Houston nightlife and food versus Sac) and show him a legit championship caliber team around him. Other than Duncan being 3 years younger, now that Webber seems to have free throws figured out I think he would make just as much impact on our franchise as Duncan would. I believe if we kept our current team intact--even w/o adding some drafts picks, and added Webber to the mix, we would be among the top 3 or 4 teams for the onsuing seven years or so. The great thing about height and big men, is they last a whole lot longer than guys whos game is built on quickness. I am pretty sure the capalogist can poke a hole in my reasoning, but it is worth checking out. Hey Chris?? Come get some Cajin!! Come let Chuck show you around after midnight!! Come try to get a fist full of rings!! [This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited April 07, 2000).]
I haven't been shot down by the capologist's yet. Webber in 2001!!! Webber in 01!!! [This message has been edited by sir scarvajal (edited April 07, 2000).]
We don't need Weber, the way to win at 'Rocketball' is one star and a bunch of good role players. Malone and a bunch of scrubs in '81, Hakeem and a bunch of more or less scrubs in '94 and '95. Okay, so Clyde wasn't a scrub. Our bench was a joke though. This team winning 30+ this year is a major achievement, IMO. Teams just don't do what we've done in the first year of rebuilding. ------------------
Man... landing Webber would be a dream come true. I was never very high on him before, but he's taken his game to new heights in Sacramento. The only consideration is that maybe you want a guy to grow along with Francis, rather than an established player, (a la Stock/Malone) but the way I see it, Webber would be an excellent frontcourt leader with the likes of Cato and Thomas at his heels. That would be two pretty nice 3 man rotations, with Francis, Mobley, Anderson and Webber, Cato, and Thomas. Now if we could just solve the small forward problem... ------------------ "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and STATISTICS..." - Mark Twain -
If we get Webber in 2001-2002, we are going to the NBA finals...no question. Of course, that's if we still have Anderson and Mobley. And we pick up a Lewis or another young SF, but keep Walt has our 3-point specialist coming off the bench with Mobley. Cato actually works on his offense in the offseason. We get a good pick this year (6-9), and a decent pick next year (9-15). Then, add Webber, and we go to the NBA Finals. Simple as that! ------------------ Is it any coincidence that we are the only NBA (sorry for any confusion regarding my earlier signature, I do realize that the Braves and Stars are both mentioned in the national anthem) team mentioned in the national anthem? I didn't think so!
