TeXaSalsa Since this thread has turned into a Grizzlies' discussion, let me just comment on your proposal and opinions on the Grizzlies (I know you said that it was unfair later): I disagree Sky pilot. this trade while not necessarily the best trade they r proposed, helps the grizz at many of their weaknesses. Yeah, but it makes some of their other weaknesses even weaker. Vancouver's Weaknesses Center Position- Kelvin Cato has ALOT to learn. but he is already a major improvement over big country reeves. at least he will be able to dunk and finish some plays. kelvin can at least block some shots too. big country cant do any of this. and they dont want his contract which we will take. Status- Improves the center position significantly I like Cato, but what's he making? $7 million a season? That's almost as bad as Country's contract! I believe that Kato has six years left on his, while BC has three. As stupid as it may sound to you, BC has some talent, albeit he hardly displays it. He's a very good shooter when he feels good about himself, and he's a big body who's made Shaq have some very mediocre games, as Country's one of the few Cs whom Shaq can't push around. Kato is more of a PF, and with the second selection, be it Swift or Martin, the Grizzlies will get a much better version of Kato who will be a lot cheaper over the next five years. I saw Kato play a couple of times this season, and he didn't impress me too much. I like his athleticism, but from the little I saw of him, he's not a great defender, and he fouls way too much. Country was terrible this season because Lionel Hollins really seemed to hate him and it really ate away at him. Hollins focussed on a purely guard-oriented offense (see the development of Dickerson and Bibby), and Reeves and Harrington didn't get any plays called for them so that they could exploit their strengths, like they were under Brian Hill. PF- The grizz are lacking a PF that is athletic and versatile. jerome moiso is a 6'11 extremely athletic PF who can shoot the ball. he is raw and needs work but has TONS of potential. he needs to work on his D, but if he plays more intense he will be able to block alot of shots. O harrington wants out. Status- Improves the PF significnatly As much as I'd like to have a guy with tons of potential, that's exactly what the Grizzlies don't need. They seem to be continuing with their youth movement, but they simply cannot afford to wait two or three years for a player to develop, especially if he needs to work on his D. You say that "if he plays more intense he will be able to block a lot of shots." That's EXACTLY what people say about those oozing with potential who don't live up to expectations (aka busts). You can say that about so many players, but their intensity is part of their playing style. There are so many that seem to have unlimited potential, but don't have the work ethic to succeed. Status- Moiso is not a good fit as the starter on the Grizzlies, and is not for the time being an upgrade over Harrington, whereas Swift and Martin are immediate upgrades who can play D, block, rebound, intimidate, and score. the bench- the grizzlies have no people to come off the bench and score besides lopez. kenny T has alot of talent and would provide offense and RBs immediatly. if we decided to throw bryce drew in whos not that great, he will be an ok backup PG. if we had to id throw walt in, who can also provide instant offense and is a seaonsed veteran. Status- Makes the grizz's bench alot deeper something they need. Grant Long's also on the bench, but I'll concede that the bench is a major weakness for the Grizzlies. I'd take Kenny Thomas, but I'm a little weary of Drew and the Wizard. I don't think either of them are near worthy of the sixth man award, and are at best mediocre bench players. Status- Yes, it would deepen the Grizzlies' bench, but do you really think that it would help the team more than a Stromile Swift? lets see what one player does Stromile Swift- has a higher ceiling than moisso and is a better player. will provide interior offense something they lack. provides great D. has unlimited potential. can excel beautifully on the open floor. BUT is he going to play on the bench? no. is he going to play center? no. is he single handedly going to make the grizz a playoff team? no. Is Moiso going to do any better? NO! Swift has "unlimited potential." Moiso doesn't. Swift provides "interior offense." Moiso lacks it. Swift plays great D and loves it. By most reports, Moiso is quite to the contrary. Swift is an absolutely phenomenal shot blocker who will instantly address one of the Grizzlies primary needs, while Moiso won't. I won't go on. It goes without saying that Swift is in a class of his own, and certainly in one much higher than is Moiso. "Is he going to play on the bench?" No. So what? "Is he going to play center?" It's possible, especially if he is 6'10 as reported and has Garnett-like capabilities. "Is he single handedly going to make the grizz a playoff team?" He could, although not in his rookie season, and Moiso certainly won't in his first few seasons. I think a starting lineup of Reeves, Swift, Abdur-Rahim, Dickerson, and Bibby with Harrington, Long, Lopez, and another player, be it a vet or a draftee in 2001 is capable of making the playoffs. They just need a coach who will utilize ALL the multiple talents that the players have. Honestly, if the Grizzlies do get Swift and he pans out as expected, I can say without any bias that they will be a great team for many years (assuming that they can continue to sign their pending free agents). ditto for this on kenyon martin. If Martin can play now as he did pre-injury, he'll fit in as well as Swift and will give the Grizzlies a few more W's in his first season, although I see Swift as being the better player in the long run. sky pilot im not trying to propose a bad trade taht would hurt the grizzlies. if they upgrade at say 3 weaknesses, would that not be better than having one gigantic upgrade at one position? For argument's sake, let's say that the Rockets need bench help because Cuttino Mobley leaves, so they sign Tony Delk. They also needed a starting PF, and draft Moiso. They are also lacking a starting C, and they get somebody who's a slight upgrade, or maybe even a downgrade to Kato because of their contrasting styles of playing (I can't think of somebody off the top of my head, but you get the point). How much do they improve? OR, they could get Shaq as a "gigantic upgrade" at C. Now how much more do they improve? My guess is that they get a lot better with a dominating player like Shaq that they would should they upgrade slightly in three areas. I think that Stromile Swift could be a gigantic upgrade for the Grizzlies, although obviously not as much as Shaq would. It's just my opinion, but I think the Grizzlies would be better off with Stromile Swift that they would with a raw PF, more athletic PF type C, and a slight increase in bench depth. unfortunetly i think ur right, even if they like this trade which they should, swift left some jaws dropping yesterday when he worked out for em. i was just speculating no need to jump all over my case. I'm not jumping all over your case, and if you think I am, it's not my intention. I'm just a little bored and feel like playing devil's advocate for a bit. The one thing you mention that does scare me is that Swift has been reported to have impressed the Grizzlies' staff, which is always a warning sign to me. Last year, Stu Jackson was always mentioning Lamar Odom's name when talking about prospects, didn't say anything good about Brand during his workout here, and probably didn't even say "Steve Francis" even once. GMs never want others to know who they like, so they pretend to be impressed with some prospects and unimpressed with others when they feel nothing of the sort. ------------------
Da Man, an inch or two doesn't mean anything when you have Hakeem talent, Zo talent, or Barkley talent--which I don't believe K-Mart does, but it does mean a lot for most post players. For instance, if McDyess was only 6 7.5 with a couple of less inches of wingspan, I don't think he would be anything special at all. Take a couple inches of Kevin Wills, and he would have had Grant Long's career. Not bad, but a big difference. Harvey and Horace Grant were similarily outstanding college players, but look at the difference between Harvey and Horce Grant effectiveness in the NBA-- largely based on like 1.5 difference in there heights. This is a great example because they are twins and if anything Harvey had a little more range on his shot. I am not saying K-Mart won't be a good player, but measuring out at under 6' 8", if true, would be a concern of mine. Others have pointed out Fizer measuring out at 6' 7" or less as a huge concern, but he has other physical and mental apsects I think mitigate this concern, namely his large rear end, strength, face up ability, and court sense. Of course he could be another Big Nasty or Chuck Weatherspoon too (marginal starter quality), it wouldn't completely suprise me though I don't think this will be the case. Like I said if Swift measures out at 6'9"+, I wouldn't think of taking K-Mart or Fizer over him. ------------------ "The Rockets were ahead of the Suns by 20 late in game 2 of the series, but when the going got tough, we just Pippened . We would not be done in the series though."
