I think the SG position is the main prob right now especially the Western teams have taller men in that position when you compare that with our team. How do you think CD will get thru this, Thru FA signing of those amnesty cuts or thru trade?
Maybe Latrell will come groveling to us after no one offers him any cash. Hey, the LLE won't feed his kids, but it'll at least gas up his yacht.
PG - Sura / James / Ward / Moochie SG - Wesley / Barry / Head The backcourt's awfully crowded as it is. I think JVG overplayed Wesley, his legs were pretty dead during the postseason (he did the same thing the year before with JJ). If a trade does go down, DW will probably be the first to go. Despite what people on this board say, MJ is probably the best backup PG in the league, and we've wanted him for a while, so I don't see him going anywhere. I don't see us making any moves other than maybe Allan Houston or Aaron McKie for the LLE, provided they can pass a physical. But I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by midseason Paul Pierce will be available in a salary dump for anyone willing to take on Blount's contract.
Because all we have is the LLE, we can't get a SG better than DW from free agency or amnesty. The only way we get a new starter is by trade. I'm not sure we should even use the LLE this year.
I think as the season progresses we will pull a 2-3 for 1 trade to acquire a SG. I think DW will be packaged with some expiring contracts and possibly a pick or 2 to get a good SG. I am kind of holding out hope Tor season goes down the toilet very quickly and there is a way we could pry Mo Peterson loose. I think his size, shooting ability and D would make him a nice fit for us. We might have to take a bad contract in the deal but I personally would not mind, others might object. I might do something like MJ and DW and other expiring picks to make it work and possilby a future first for Altson and Mo Pete and maybe a second rounder or 2. I would have Sura and Alston split time at the PG. Just a thought.
If..........Phoenix decides to keep JJ and trade Marion, maybe they will trade Marion to the Pacers, and the Pacers will send Artest and Croshere to us and we can send some expirings to Charlotte..........and Charlotte can resign Gerald Wallace and send him to Phoenix along with a trade exception, and a couple of picks from us. It puts us solidly in luxury tax land, but with a starting 5 of Sura, Artest, TMac, Swift, and Yao, plus a bench of Deke, Howard, James, Head, Barry, Bowen, and Baxter....we should be playing Miami next May. We're probably waiting to see what happens with Finley before we make any more moves.
That would be sweet, but I don't think Phoenix keeps JJ. I know the Pacers are in some trouble cap wise. I wonder if we took Croshere and maybe another contract if we could get Artest. I personally think Croshere could be a nice (albeit expensive) piece off the bench for us. He rebounds fairly well and has some nice range on his shot.
Croshere has the same problem Moochie has. He got a guaranteed contract and it removed his motivation to improve. He's never been the same since. It's pathetic that happens to some guys when they get their payday. I don't want him on my team.
I think Luther is the X-Factor. If he can handle 10-15mpg at either guard position, we should be fine with Sura, Wesley, James, and Barry. While CD is always open to an upgrade, it sounds like our main concern is just not being stuck in the high likelihood that one of the four go down for a period of time. If Head can handle being the primary backup at either position for a dozen games at a time, we don't need to make further moves this season.
Is there anywhere to find a list of the still available free agents, Ive lost track of who is available. It seems there are still a number of unaccounted for free agents. Is everyone waiting to see the amnesty players that are cut?
Guys like Lee Nailon can be hfor that lle and the Rox can move Tracy back to the 2. Nailon is consistent and not a volume shooter. When Mashburn was hurt during those playoff runs, he filled in and put up numbers on a PLAYOFF TEAM. Many people on this board always talk about numbers on a losing team, but he did it on a playoff team.
Nailon played for a playoff team once, in 2001-2002. He played 9 games, started 1. Other than that, he has no perimeter shot, and is probably one of the worst defenders in the league. There's a reason the guy has been bounced around as much as he has. The thought of him starting over Wesley is asinine.
I personally think that Luther is heading to the NBADL. We have team jammed full of guards. The log jam will probabally not be cleared in time for traingin camp. Luther will play some minutes in the preseason, but I think he needs a year to develop.
