Thanks R2K, it's too bad that the new contract amounts are extra cash for the player. Players would have then focused on where they wanted to play instead of how much they could play for. Houston would have been one of the top destination spots. Oh well...
Oh God, Antoine Walker will destroy our franchise. He is, IMO, the worst player in the NBA because he is the PLAGUE. He has talent, but he ruins teams. He may make bad teams look a little better, but if he comes to a good team, he will ruin it. He has horrible shot selection, attitude, I just can't stand the guy.
The Mavs are trying to drum up trade interest in Finley. He will most likely wind up at Indiana who just lost their verteran shooting guard.
Finley would be a bargain at the vet. minimum, but he does not fit this team. I'd rather keep Wesley at SG than bring him in. Finley is kind of in the same category as Jim Jackson was. Just not quick enough and good enough defensively for us if we want to play T-Mac at the 3. Sure he's still got a pretty good shot, but that's about it.
Walker is good enough to make a bad team good (Boston). He just can't make a good team a championship level team. And it's not due to a lack of talent. It's just the style in which he plays is not conducive to playoff success. The playoffs are all about great defense and smart efficient basketball with few mistakes (Detroit, San Antonio). Those are Walkers two biggest problems.
I'm betting the double-dipping is in fact the case. This ability to waive players is something that is in the CBA, so the players' union had to consent to it. They would not have, imo, unless (1) it was stipulated the bought-out players received their full paychecks and (2) they can get extra money from the next team. Why? Because they want extra money for the guys who get waived, and they don't want some cheap veterans pulling down values for other guys on the market. It's bad enough there are extra guys in the pool, the union doesn't need them working for cheap too.
How about: Finley for the full MLE for 3 years. Walker sign and trade for Wesley and Sura to give Boston some veteran depth. A. Daniels sign and trade for James and Ward to give Seattle an affordable backup PG so they don't lose Daniels for nothing. Daniels / Head / Span? Finley / Barry / Head T-Mac / Bowen or a SF free agent for the LLE Walker / Howard / Spoon Yao / Deke needs to be resigned. That would be a pretty solid lineup with a bunch of veteran players that aren't completely over the hill and are ready to win now.
Mcgrady has always been a much smarter and much more efficient player than Walker. He has never turned the ball over as much or taken as many bad shots. And he at least showed in his pre-Magic days that he was capable of being an excellent defender. A better comparison for Walker is Steve Francis.
Huh? Finley hit almost 46% of his shots and nearly 42% from long range against us in that series. I'd say Finley was the X-factor in the series for the Mavs. He was not good in the losses (particularly the first two), but in the four Dallas wins he scored 15.8 points against us on 52.2% shooting and over 45% from long range. He wasn't sharp against Phoenix in the next series, but to say he was a non-factor against Houston suggests you may not have watched the games. Finley just had regular season career-highs in three-point percentage the last two seasons. His shot is not "about gone".
Thanks for the scoop ... I would tend to think Finley would then consider himself an MLE candidate rather than willing to take a vet minimum. I'm not sure I'm as excited about that. I would love to add Finley and still have the MLE to play with however.
I just posted a really long explaination, but I guess I did not submit it before I closed my browser bottom line, the whole MLE arguement is a moot point, since it it my understanding that teams will wait until the last minute to release these guys (just in case they can work a trade) - so more of the MLE money will be gone by then
I think he's as quick as David Wesley on ball defense. And taking under consideration Van Gundy players clearly up their intensity on the defensive end. I also consider him able to play alittle small foward which enables T- mac to switch defensively. He'de hurt more than help this team youde have to agree with that. And your comparison of Dallas having both of them and not being better than third in the midwest division isn't a sound statement. Considering that dallas had Nowitski as a starter at the 4 and jamison and walker as backups. Our situation would be different because our two studs play different positions ,the team as a whole gets stronger at all positions. If it means Finley with a short contract versus Simmons with a long one , I take Finley over Simmons.
I think he does fill one of our needs, and if left open, I think he hits the shot. Unlike Wesley. But for how much longer I do not know. And can he run the floor with T-mac and finish. We really need someone who can do that...
He isn't. He just isn't. He has bad hamstrings, and he's just old (I realize he's younger than DW, but his body has had to deal with a lot of wear and tear). He's taller, but he doesn't play physical defense. At this point in his career, that's really the only position he can play. I do. Why? Simmons is younger, and better. Michael Finley's a name, and nothing else. He's only going to get worse, and rapidly, no doubt. He was forced to play way too minutes earlier in his career, and it's coming back to hurt him. I'd rather have Sprewell. And that's saying A LOT.
Here's the stats for Wesley , Sure ,Simmons and Finley for 2004-2005 season M.Finley PPG:15.7 RPG:4.1 APG:2.6 FT%:.831 FG%:.427 3PT%:.407 D.Wesley PPG:11.9 RPG:2.9 APG:3.3 FT%:.857 FG%:.398 3PT%:.375 B.Sura PPG:10.3 RPG:5.5 APG:5.2 FT%:.750 FG%:.427 3PT%:.355 B.Simmons PPG:16.7 RPG:5.9 APG:2.7 FT%:.846 FG%:.466 3PT%:.435 Honestly, I think we could land him with a vet minimum.
Ide like Spreewell over Finley too. But as far having choice of using ALL of our MLE on Bobby Simmons or Spreewell ,i'll pass. Van Gundy likes proven players and Finley is more proven right now than Bobby Simmons. Look at our pick ups since Van Gundy has been head coach with Weatherspoon,Barry,Ward,Mutombo,ect. Everyone thought Mutombo didnt have anything in his tank but he gave us solid minutes while he was on the floor. I'm just saying Finley would very well do the same thing for us if given the opportunity.
