I'd rather the Rockets get this guy. He's young, and plays tough/hustles. He has more of an upside than Mr. 'Softy' Lewis. Do we need another player that can't play D? How about packaging kenny thomas and someone else for him?
There is no chance the Jazz give this guy up, not for what you are offering. He is a stud and a future star in this league. The Jazz believe that he has the same upside as our own Eddie Griffin. That says alot!
That is true I don't know if AK has more upside than a 22 yr. old who averaged 17 & 7. We have Boki so we should see how he works out and IF Kerilenko has more upside than Lewis why in the hell would they trade him for KT and someone else? It won't happen so I don't think we should even worry about it too much.
Leaving Boki aside for a second, let's just look at the trade idea of Kirilenko for K9. Starting with a hypothetical, in a 7 game series against Utah with Kirilenko going against K9 at SF, who would win that matchup. imo, K9 is leaps and bounds better than Kirilenko is both the SF and PF position, especially on defense and all-around fundamentals. He never really impressed me in the games I saw, especially his defense. Yet another Jazz role player getting recognition for not being guarded much always boggles my mind. So, I guess the only reason for suggesting that trade is some belief that K9 will not sign an extension and walk as a restricted FA next summer, so we better get something for him. Think about it for a second, Rice is gone just as Nachbar gets started. Why can't we just keep our 3 PFs who all can play solid minutes at the SF position, as well as spell our Centers by using 2 PFs at once. THere are plenty of minutes to go around. Don't trade K9 for someone who he is better than on both offense AND especially defense/rebounding. K9 is exactly the player we need as an energy guy off the bench.
AK47 is full of energy! i don't see where you say AK47 is a worse defender/rebounder. sure he's a twig, but he has good height at 6'9" Given the same amount of minutes, he'd could be comparable in the points/rebounds categories. He'd fill up the rest of the stats even more too. Plus he's 4 years younger... Either way, no way Utah does it... AK47........... KT PPG 10.7......PPG 14.1 RPG 4.9........RPG 7.2 APG 1.1........APG 1.9 SPG 1.41......SPG 1.18 BPG 1.94......BPG .92 FG% .450.....FG% .478 FT% .768......FT% .664 3P% .250.....3P% .000 MPG 26.2......MPG 34.5
And K9 isn't fully of energy? Kirilenko cannot play PF. K9 can defend two positions and score at will against man-defense at two positions. K9 can guard Kirilenko, and I don't see Kirilenko being able to guard him. K9 had to score as a PF in the West with crap around him, and if he played SF off the bench he could easily overpower the field much like Corliss. I also have a bias against Utah stats from role players, since they have Malone and Stockton with them and seem to never equal those stats on other teams. I must admit that I didn't know Kirilenko had the blocks and steals he did, but does that mean he can play one-on-one defense or is he an opportunistic hustler. I don't know; I've seen Stockton b**** at him in a game for blowing assignments, and I do know Utah played a lot of zone, allowing help-defense type stats. Maybe I'm making too much out of the 4 Utah/Rockets games I've seen of him, but I'm not impressed, whereas Pau made an immediate impression on me, and so did Griffin's defense, and I believe K9's positional defense is near perfect and flexible for 2 positions.
I have to disagree with that. Griffin and Ming should both have an opportunity to play. They should be on the floor for at least 30 minutes each. The only way that is possible is if either Cato or one of our other power forwards are traded. Oops, I forgot about Rice. I guess we could find time for KT and Griffin if Rice was not on this team. In either case, Griffin and Ming need their minutes. I believe the future is brighter with those two composing our frontline than any other combination.
That's my point. This BBS is stuck on looking at this year only. Few are looking at the PF glut past this year. In the very near future, we might only have one SF. I'm not going list the individual mpg here, because it is off-topic, but I think it is easy in coming yrs (if not immediately) to give our 3 versatile PFs a total of 80 minutes, and we should.
Heyp- Unlike most members of this site, I think Rice is an asset. He is the only member of this team that has won a championship. His experience would be helpful in the playoffs. Also, we both know how marketable a player is in the last year of his contract. Next summer, I predict Rice will be part of a blockbuster trade. But, I think we will be getting a big man. I think KT(or Mo Taylor) will be another pawn in next years blockbuster trade but I guess I am also getting off the current subject..
First off, Boki and Kirilenko are TOTALLY different players. Boki's main asset is offense, while Kirilenko's is defense/hustle. Secondly, if, heypee, your assumptions of KT vs. Kirilenko are correct, it wouldn't matter. Because we won't be acquiring Kirilenko to play 4 games a year against KT only. Kirilenko is very good at swingmen (ask Kobe). He provides great shotblocking and rebounding too. His offense is average, compared to Euro players. But it's definitely much better than, say, T-Mo's offense. Plus, to say that we need 3 PF's for when Glen Rice retires? Why go out of our way to keep 3 PF's? Griffin will play tons of minutes at PF. In a year, who's to say Griffin won't have agained another 10lbs and is completely unable to play SF? Are you forgetting that T-mO is at the 3, along with Nachbar? Why NOT trade KT for Kirilenko? That way, we don't have to go out of our way to play 3 PF's. We would have 2 contrasting looks at SF. Kirilenko and Boki bring different games to the table, and that's a perfect combo. Also, tell me one thing. When Rice retires, we wil stil have the following players: Cato/Ming Griffin/MoT/KT Nachbar/T-Mo It's impossible to work out minutes for all of them to be happy, unless there is ANOTHER trade, right?
I only hope we can trade one person from the Rockets and that would be Bum Cato. The guy doesn't really fit our system. He is a complete liability on offense and is no Mutumbo on defense. I think in the future a team of: Ming/Maurice Eddie/KT Nachbar?KT Mobley/Francis Francis/Moochie will be good enough to go deep into the playoffs. Every single one of those players (except for Moochie sometimes) is capable of shooting lights out from midrange.
Since Baker was traded to the Celtics, I can guarantee you that Lewis won't come to Houston. No way Seattle does the Baker deal unless it's for Lewis. We're perfectly fine, as long as we trade KT. Rice and Nachbar will take the main minutes at the 3. I'd say 20 minutes each? Then at PF, if Griffin gets 28 minutes, and Mo T 15 minutes (with 5 more at C), that leaves 5 more minutes at PF. 8 minutes behind the SF's, and 5 minutes behind the PF's will go to T-Mo. We don't NEED KT. We might as well use him to improve in other areas. We really should trade him for a backup 2, or trade him for a pick, and re-sign Torres.
As stated above, Utah won't part w/AK. He is a great young defender, but we have EG. I really like AK's game, but don't think this is a realistic trade. KT is a versatile player and someone we should keep as our primary F off the bench. I really don't see MoT hanging with this team beyond this year...EG will take the minutes over the nnext few seasons and KT deserves what's left. Hopefully MoT has a solid year and we can trade him and resign KT. Just my 2 cents.
