Jonathan Feigen: Rockets turn attention to centers in free agency

@Nook.

I think?

He said, "Ever'body HATE that muhf**ka." I'm paraphrasing.

 

Why are the Magic giving up on Bamba? Sounds suspect, like when Detroit let Wood walk to sign with the Rockets.

 

“Orlando still has an interest in bringing Bamba back and is expected to work on negotiating a new deal when free agency opens. There’s also the possibility the Magic sign and trade Bamba to another team interested in him.”

“The Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat and Minnesota Timberwolves are expected to be interested in Bamba, a source told the Sentinel.”


Rockets gonna sign another center to a 4-year deal, only to have buyer’s regret and try to trade him at the trade deadline?

I’m with @Aruba77

 

Because he's soft as hell. He looks like he's all potential but then plays with 0 motor, toughness, motivation.
I don't know how much of it is lack of legs (still workable in a certain way, but he will be facing his 5th season), how much is lack of confidence and motivation and how much is lack of feel for the game or lack of character. But yeah, Magic fans have ended desperate with him.

A change of scenario will help him, but you may never see anything better than what you see now.

Hartenstein is right now a much more winning player. I'd understand the interest in Bamba though, if the Rockets have a thought plan for him and trust he's repairable.

 

Iirc @Nook I could be wrong.

 

They have a glut in the front court with the Wagner brothers, Okeke, Banchero, Isaac, and Carter

That being said, Magic fans have consistently said over the years that Bamba is a bad defender, has low BBIQ, and doesn't seem to care about the game.

That's a surprise he always seemed so happy and positive on and off the court, from my angle.

 

Roll the dice with sengun see what he's made of b4 panicking again to sign another center.

We made the mistake on theis and got bailed out.

 

I believe Theis was signed to be flipped; didn’t work out well. But, the dice? They wuz rolled.

 

…

 

Statistically Bamba was Orlando's best defender of all the rotation players last year.

Lead Orlando in DWS and DRtg. 2nd in DPM. Also, was 3rd on the team in WS/48. Interesting enough, lead the team in BLK% and was 3rd in TS%.

 

He is possibly the most disliked player around the league.

 

Reading Magic boards leading up to the draft they see him as not giving full effort and no love for the game. Just kind of coasts.

Most fans are high on Isaac returning and can’t wait until Bamba is gone.

No thanks to a long contract for any center. Just sign a vet to a one year deal.

 

@Nook

 

He doesn't have a very good feel for the game in the NBA, he reacts slowly and just hasn't adapted well.

He is known as a good guy but basketball isn't the most important thing to him.

Teams shot 51% at the rim when he is on the floor, which is a sign of good rim protection.

However teams scored more when he was on the floor than off.

 

PJ Tucker, Theis and Robert Williams say hello.

 

If Drummond re-signs with Sixers it could be game over.

Morey continues to do Morey things.

 

I think he just has to be a positive value contract who can play the center position we can flip later if opportunity arises. We aren't building a contender YET and the reality is we are signing him to give us some minutes in the rotation and hopefully eventually lose some minutes to the guys we have on the roster today with higher ceilings. That said - I think he has improved QUITE A BIT since he was last a Rocket so there may even be a view of him as a part of our rotation in the future....but yeah, right now - he's a relatively inexpensive young guy who is growing and could at very least be a decent bench guy on any team and anything else he grows into or gets traded for(from lets say a playoff team experiencing a rash of big injuries) is just a bonus for us.

 

I want Hartenstein. Would love to see Hart and Boban play most of the C minutes-- because, to me, Sengun/Garuba/Fernando are better at PF, especially as help defenders.