I think we should throw our whole MLE at Amir Johnson from Detroit. They are only a couple mil under the luxury tax, and still trying to resign Chauncy Billups, and hoping they can sneak him under the radar for only a couple mil. They already have Maxiel, who they are grooming behind Wallace, McDeyss, and Davis, and I doubt they could afford to pay him that much, even if they could match. But, the guys a stud, and I beiieve a great fit here and for the future, compared to Tyrus in CHI, but more skills. Here's another thread about him: Amir Johnson Here's Wikipedia: Amir Jalla Johnson (born May 1, 1987 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player. Johnson is a power forward who was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 56th pick of the 2005 NBA Draft. He is listed at 6'9" (2.06m) and 210 lb (95 kg) but has reportedly grown to 6'11" (2.11m)[1] since being drafted. Known for his athleticism, he was drafted straight out of Westchester High School in Los Angeles, deciding to skip a collegiate career. He had committed to play at the University of Louisville. At present, he stands to be the last high school player ever selected in the NBA Draft. Starting with the 2006 NBA Draft, American players must be at least one year removed from the graduation of their high school class in order to be eligible for the draft. Johnson scored his first NBA basket on a very impressive windmill dunk against the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 24, 2006. On February 27, 2006, the Detroit Pistons assigned him to the Fayetteville Patriots of the NBA D-League. Johnson was recalled by the Pistons and on April 17, 2006 scored a career high against the Milwaukee Bucks with 18 points (6/6 field goals, 2/2 3-pointers, and 4/4 free throws), all scored in the second half of the game. Johnson spent most of the 2006-07 season playing for the D-League's Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he earned D-League Player Of The Week honors and notice for his play[2].[1] The Pistons recalled him for the final four games of the season. On April 19, 2007, Amir Johnson scored a new career high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds (6 of them offensive), 3 steals, and 4 blocks in 37 minutes in the season closing game against the Boston Celtics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then, see if NY would part with Channing Frye to backup both C and PF, and let Rafer go home to where he was a superstar of And1 basketball in NY. He'd be a great backup to Marbury, and a marketer's dream there, adding fans to the stands. Hopefully, NY buys out Francis, and he comes here, and we can trade for someone like Duhon in CHI or Marcus Williams from NJ, and perhaps VSpan will get his act together. I'd trade Howard to Minnesota for James, Head to NO for Cedric Simmons or Hilton Armstrong for depth (they're looking for SG, and are deep at PF). Pickup Almond in the draft, and our team would be a lot stronger, athletic and deeper. If we can't get Williams or Duhon, and Crittendon is still on the board, then we take him instead of Almond. This is fairly aggressive, and would require Morey to believe we need a major overhaul, and would require the players to be available ... but, it's my take on what I'd try on my first option of what to do this off-season. Of course, reality requires a bunch of backup plans ... lol ... one of those backup plans might even include Artest, but only if we have someone like Francis and James who can lead, so there's no vacuum for him to fill, and we'd need to see if Battier could come off the bench. But, I think we need someone at PF who is not currently on the roster. Yao/Deke/Frye/(Tsak) Johnson/Hayes/Simmons Battier/Snyder/Novak TMac/James/Almond Francis/Williams/VSpan (less someone who get's traded for backup PG)
Amir Johnson is a little too unproven for comfort to give him the full MLE. Don't get me wrong, I think he's a promising player with a ton of upside but we simply don't have the flexibility to strike out this offseason if we intend to ever become a serious contender. I'd definitely look elsewhere first.
Who? I'm not seeing anyone that's posted who is attainable, with a better upside, or with the skills we need. We need someone younger who can grow with Yao, even if he's a year away. We have other ways to bring in pieces besides the MLE. We need quality pieces, and that will probably involve some risk. This last off-season, we got a bunch of players cheap, but the only one worth keeping was Battier. I don't want to do that again.
If/when Francis gets bought out I would much rather make him a priority before targetting any unproven talents like Amir Johnson. What happened the last time we threw the MLE at a young PF with a ton of upside? We traded him after one season and even Stro's 10-12 PPG/5-7 RPG Memphis numbers were better than the what, two good games Amir has had throughout his career? Amir is a good talent to keep an eye on but I think you might be overshooting the runway a bit thinking he deserves the full MLE.
I agree, he would be a good fit with Yao. What does his contract look like? And what do we have to offer the blazers?
Guess what he is a free agent this summer and his previous contract was only 8 mil with Portland. So I can definitely see this guy taking MLE money especially after his fallout from the Blazers. The guy is not a head case or something but he has had a little lack of motivation the last few years. He has the tools to be a great post player and now he needs a winning environment and positive attitude to really shine. Only 28 years old and a bargain waiting to happen this summer. Remember big men are not easy to find especially one that is flying under the radar of other teams with more money. I say we make it happen this summer.
Magloire or Miki Moore... or both . Would solidfy our PF position. Now we just need a pg/scorer from the draft and some solid players through moving our expiring contracts around.
Channing Frye and Jamal Magloire. Frye - There was a report NY is shopping Frye and Robinson if a team will help them unload Q or Malik Rose. I think Frye could be a good jump shooting pf to complement Yao, but he needs development. Magloire is a free agent. Would provide size and power. I like the idea of him having Yao's back, shutting down the lane, and being able to fill in at center. Decent low post second option if Adelman pulls Yao out some for high post.
I got the answer for you......Big Baby, Baby Shaq, Glen "not the old Astros player" Davis as our 1st round pick! (and PJ Brown)
I'd like to see if we could steal Troy Murphy from the Pacers, who are supposedly going to blow everything up this offseason. Something like Juwan, Sura, and our 1st round pick this year for Murphy. The guy is still young, has a lot of range, he's a hard-nosed rebounder, and he's big enough to play center (a huge plus considering Yao's health and Mutumbo's age). Sure, he's slow, but how much do we run anyway?
Including a pick would be over paying for him. He hasn't shown anything positive this past season. Us taking over his contract (I think it has 4 more years) should be incentive enough.
I'd give a thumbs up to that...but still draft Glen Davis or some sort of big enforcer in the paint to help yao
I disagree. Nellie wouldn't use him this past season because he can't run, and then he landed on a sinking ship in Indiana. So he just had an off year, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to cheat the Pacers. His contract isn't that bad considering what he offers. Besides, how great is our pick this year anyway? Yeah, it's a deep draft, but we're way down there.
It's not how much the Rockets run. Quickness is important to the ability to help Yao defend quicker players. It's the same reason Yao and Chuck are so much better than Yao and Juwan.
Big Baby is not an enforcer. He is a shorter version of Eddy Curry. Or a taller version of Michael Sweetney. He'll probably have a career somewhere between the two. Anyway, we don't need a low-post scorer with a weight problem. If we did, JVG would've given Bonzi more playing time.
