But Horford's game is not founded on athleticism, he just knows how to play basketball, he'll age well. And he's also a smart player, which is something we lack desperately.
Horford is a skilled big he still has like 4 years left of prime play in him. Actually for most bigs their late 20s and early 30s are their absolute prime. When your game relies on athleticism like Howard though....
Not sure if hes a free agent or not but I thought Marvin Williams would be a nice pickup, has played great this year, could play the 3 and 4. Dude having a contract year this year! I wouldn't be mad at Maxing out Barnes, still young and can grow with Harden. The Pipe dream is obviously KD and Horford though. Would be stoked if that happens but not holding my breath.
By most statistical comparison Howard was better than AL in the regular Season and playoffs last year yet everyone is clamoring for Al Horford:
Aside the fact that you're talking about last year, there's absolutely ZERO chance that any coach/gm in the league would sign Howard over Horford as today, literally zero. Yeah, Dwight is still a better rebounder than Horford, but that's it. - Horford can shot from anywhere. - Horford is smart. - Horford can play two positions. - Horford knows how to box out, how to be a solid defender, how to rotate well, how to defend the pick & roll, and can also stay away from goaltending two times per game. - Horford can pass. - Horford can shot free throws. - Horford is not a mental midget. - Horford is not declining (with the risk of being close to be irrelevant) since he's not a player build only or for most on his athleticism. - Horford is not going to ruin your locker room or to get your coach fired asking more touches even if he can actually post up. So yeah...he's the better player as today, and probably will be even better going forward.
Dwight's numbers are inflated by when he was still in Orlando. Even since he became a Laker, he's been a mediocre player.
you actually proved the other posters argument by accident. Look at MP. Dwight has played 33%+ more minutes in his carreer so far than Horford. So even if they are same age, one has 1/3 more mileage on his body not to mention has suffered more serious injuries and his game was based on athleticism.
Of course, Durant is the gamechanger I worry about rebounding with Horford.... I don't like the idea of paying the Max to guys we are unsure will show up when it matters: Batum Barnes I don't like the idea of paying the Max to a totally unskilled center who can only dunk on offense.....AGAIN Whiteside Don't forget about 50% of the game: Fournier looks to be a horrid defender. Fournier is #84 out of 98 SG's in DRPM. His NBA.com defensive stats look bad too. Afflalo has also nosedived in defense apparently. He is #83 out of 98 SG's in DRPM. Bradley Beal also appears to suck at defense - #88 out of the 98. Teletovic is #99 out of 100 PF's in DRPM. Ryan Anderson is #92 out of 100 PF's in DRPM. 1000000% in favor of these 3&D guys: Jared Dudley Courtney Lee Darrell Arthur I don't know anything about Bazemore. If you want somebody who can create his shot when Harden sits for the cheapest, rock bottom price (because he can't play D and is an unreliable shooter) Ramon Sessions - dude attacks the basket & gets to the line. Doesn't settle for the jumper. Cheap substitute for Harden when he sits. Sorta what everybody expected from Lawson. Will not cost much at all. I think he's close to the vet minimum. Still even goes off for 20+ respectably often when he gets the minutes. I like the idea of getting a serviceable journeyman to platoon with Capela at center Channing Frye (bonus - spreads the floor) Cole Aldrich Jarmon Dorsey (was he really that bad? Or was he the reason for our success??) Bismack is not a FA
He has a player option this off season, with the cap increase, him having a nice year, and being young with little money made over his career I see no reason why he wouldn't opt out for more guaranteed money.
I've liked D Arthur for a while as an underrated player. I don't know if his 3pter will hold up but I think he can defend and be a decent starting PF.
I said it once and I'll say it again...no 1st tier PG will play here especially after the Lawson fiasco.
We need a leader, a player that plays hard and speaks for the team. We need Jokim Noah. Doesn't matter how much is left in his tank.
We will go nowhere without a new PG. My first option would be to trade for Jeff Teague. He's on a very friendly contract and I wish we could've gotten him before the deadline while he was on the trade market and his value was down. He's like the East coast version of Mike Conley. I actually like his game more than Conley's. Option 2 is Mike Conley. He's gonna get the max. I would rather divide that money on multiple players but if we offered and he signed I'd welcome him with open arms. Option 3 is Rajon Rondo. A player that knows how to get players the ball at the right spot, at the right time. Has excellent handles, mid range game, can penetrate, good rebounder and defender, championship experience, will relieve Harden from having to play hero ball and over handling the ball. You know you're good when you made Kendrick Perkins relevant once upon a time. Potentially great value signing. Wild Card options 4 and 5. Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight. Both of these guys can flat out ball and either would be great as our starting PG. Bledsoe is coming off an injury but he should be ready to go and I love his game. Knight has great size, can score, pass, defend ... He does it all. Phoenix signed both of these guys to 5 year 70 Million deals. One of them gots to go and we should be eager to try and trade for either. Actually, the more I think about it I might make these 2 option 1A and 1B based upon availability, contract, fit, age, skill set etc.
Stay away from Bledsoe, he needs the ball in his hands a lot and those knees...Knight though, i'm not a great fan of his game overall, but for some reason i think he can be a good fit with Harden.
