I'd take him over Luther Head in the rotation any day of the week. He looked great for the warriors in the first 1/4 of the season.
I agree thats why we need to get our players through trades. We need to be patient and imo the right deal will come along and we will be able to get the player to push us over the hump without hurting our core. In the meantime it's smart to sign guys like Azubuike because you never know what might happen. But if the trading deadline passes and guys like Azubuike are in our rotation it will just be another 1st round exit.
I agree about patience, but not on the rotation bit, because I think we are WC contenders with nothing more than health...... And if you take Luther out and add this guy, we are a little better, but that makes the overall team a LOT better..... Sometimes just adding the right minor piece pays off amazingly well. And I think this is a good thread because it is a REALISTIC option for the team. Everyone talking about Miller or Artest or Hinrich or Calderon.....we might be able to get one, but we would have to create another hole on the team to make it happen.... So, if there is a big swing availalbe, look at it, but I prefer to take smaller swings until the right trade happens. DD
Agreed, but my only concern is that he BETTER play as a SG and not a SF, cuz once again we will be adding another short player (for his position) to our roster.
We need an attacking wing player SG/SF.......he is 6'5" with AMAZING athleticism.......if he were playing with Tmac he could be the SG and TMac the SF.....same with Battier...... We have enough SF's we need attacking, slashing wings...... Which is what my sig is about, realistic options for this off season. DD
If T-Mac goes down and plays the SF position along with Battier that takes care of the size issue down low. Putting Kelenna up at SG helps to shore up that position with a big Shooting Guard. However, nothing can replace T-Mac's minutes at SG and I'm not sure that Kelenna can bear the full load of Starters minutes at SG. I'd say that we would use him as the backup to T-Mac at SG or slide T-Mac down to SF for a bit and let Kelenna play at the same time. It does give us more options. I still think we need to add a big SF to back up Shane Battier.
Even if we will have Yao with the current team we are not contenders imo bro. In order to be contenders we need to upgrade at starting pg (A long shot) , or we need to trade for a backup 2/3 who can create for him self most importantly but also is not a liability from outside , just needs to be a decent shooter. We don't have great pieces but we have more options than previous years. We gonna need to have luck and get a player through trade to upgrade this team , free agency is for insurance or to plug some holes , there is a very little chance we will get the guy who will put us over the hump in free agency. Personally I like Azubuike but I don't think he is good enough to be better than our 9th man. I would rather go for Pietrus , or Childress ( gonna be hard since he is restricted).
Ya I like Pietrus. I think his talent has not been fully utilized with the Warriors. He is also a good fit. He is 6'6" and so I would not put him in there as SF either the way Nelson used him. I think he's better as the shooting guard too. He can play either position. But for my money I'd rather have Kelenna. The Warriors have a wealth of small forward/shooting guards. Last year, this position was one of the team’s great strengths. It was where the Warriors versatility lied. It was the position their best defenders played. This year, they weren’t so good. The Warriors, with the way they play, need swingmen who produce consistently. One of the reasons for the lineup shuffling was the inconsistent production of the swingmen. Stephen Jackson: He had a career year. He averaged 20 points for the first time in his career. He averaged four assists for just the second time in his career (both coming with the Warriors). He shot his best percentage from 3-point range ever. He averaged 39 minutes, five more than last season. His previous career high was 36.8. So Jackson certainly had a big year. He wasn’t as good defensively this season as he was last season. He wasn’t the stopper he proved to be a year ago, and he didn’t make it to the defensive end way too many times. That is mostly due to the amount of minutes he played. Grade: A Mickael Pietrus: He was the distraction this year - not Baron’s health, not Jackson’s temper, not Monta or Biedrins’ contract. But Pietrus’ contract issues and trade demands, then late-season injury woes, was the biggest locker room issue. That’s a sign of a good locker room. His play picked up late in the season, negating a horrible first half of the season. He evidently relaxed when the trade deadline passed. What he gained with stellar bench play, he lost with an elongated groin injury. Grade: D Matt Barnes: He just didn’t bring it this year. He has reasons. His mother dying. The disappointment of not getting the deal he wanted plus the pressure of trying to do even more to get a bigger contract. Nellie riding him. Barnes certainly had distractions this season and they obviously took away from his play. Not only did he shoot drop three points off his scoring average from last season, and dropped from 36.6 percent from 3 a year ago to 29.3. But he didn’t have the zeal on defense, the all-out hustle, the blue-collar, do it all resolve he showed last season, especially during the playoffs. Grade: D Kelenna Azubuike: He improved this season. He played more, raised his scoring and rebounding averages. Came up with some big plays. Solidified himself as an NBA regular. He did have some growing pains. He stepped out of his role too much, especially down the stretch, and he wasn’t as consistent from behind the arc. His defense was poor sometimes, but that could be expected from a second-year player. He’s cheap, so his production looks a whole lot better and his mistakes are a way easier to swallow. Grade: B- http://www.ibabuzz.com/warriors/category/mickael-pietrus/
Well I think a lot of teams are going to be trying to get Pietrus and Azubuike. It's a matter of money here. Can we afford him. Azubuike's salary is low right now but he might be viewed a lot like Landry. He's going to get a huge salary bump after this year and a lot of teams will be viewing him as a guy with potential to have a breakout third year.
Most player show their most growth between years 2 and 4.......that is the time to take a chance on a guy, once they get to year 4 or 5, they are what they are going to be for the most part.....there are some exceptions with very young players but not many. Luther has had 3 years....I expected some serious growth out of him this year, I am sure the coaches told him what to work on, instead, I saw serious regression, he needs to go.... DD
Yes I do, as I said there are some exceptions with very young players......which is why I would sign him and have low expectations... DD
Okay, just making sure you knew that he had been around that long and hadn't grown enough to get playing time on a post-KG Timberwolves team.
Why do people continue to parrot the idea that JVG didn't want guys to go to the rim or make cuts. Do you really think he told guys to just shoot 3s? All I ever hear/heard him say is to try to get something going by going to the rim. I remember watching Azubuike in the preseason trying to make the Rockets squad and the guy sucked. I couldn't figure out how such a big, strong, athletic and seemingly skilled guy could suck so bad but he found a way.
i don't think he'll fit the rotation...i saw him play our preseason games...he's very aggressive-but i don't think he'll fit...
there's no way stephen jackson is walking through that door... but i do think either pietrus or barnes can fit the rotation..pietrus specifically
