To me since we are in a win now mode, I would trade any of my next 3 first round choices to get try to get good players in return, provided they are reasonably young 25-27 yrs old. I think we are a definite playoff team the next three years so our draft choices will be middle to bottom of the round. We have at most a five yr window with Yao and TMac. Yao's window is probably longer provided he stays injury free. I would target Murphy from GS, or maybe look for a 3/4 hyrbid type that can shoot with range. THe only PF s I worry about in the west are Duncan and Brand. I feel like as Yao improves and gains further all-star status he can guard TD with out getting in foul trouble from bogus calls. Same with guarding Brand. I think Yao takes up so much space inside and is so tall they will have to step outside and shoot jumpers, and I'll take that from TD and Brand all day vs them posting up and drawing fouls.
Yea, the LA Clippers (as surprisingly good as they were) did not match up well against us last year. We crushed them! Now if we could only do the same against the other teams in our division (S.A., Dallas, & even N.O.K. who owned us last year).
Get Jeff Foster, from Indiana, he is a big rugged PF who can carry a team in rebounds while also providing defensive hustle. He can also fill in at backup center for Yao when there is need, because Mutombo is getting too old.
I agree... I think if we sent JHo and a first round pick we could possibly get Murphy or someone along those lines. With a PF like Murphy and MJ at guard... would our line up not be the best in the league?
I think Seattle has potential as a destination to offload Juwan. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2003102904_webwilcox03.html IMO, Wilcox will be a bust after he gets his big contract. However, if Seattle can't get Wilcox maybe they'd want Juwan in exchange for Earl Watson?
First a few points that I believe most people will agree with.. 1. Yao has improved every season and in all likelihood will continue his 2nd-half-of-the-season dominance. 2. There are increasingly fewer centers in the league that can match up to Yao. 3. More and more teams are shifting away from 2 large inside presences to only 1 inside presence surrounded by a mix of quick slashers and outside threats. (Phoenix, Dallas, Miami, etc.) Now, keeping these 3 points in mind, I ask: Do we really need a big banger at the 4 when we have Yao at the 5? Second question: It seems a lot of people are wanting the ideal PF: grabs rebounds, has a mid-range game, defends other 4s, etc. How many of these ideal (read: "legit") PFs are there in the league? Dirk, KG, Rasheed, Duncan, Brand.. anyone else? Not many. Assuming we get James and there are only minor health problems, we'll have the best center in the league, one of the top-5 swingmen, and a top-5 3pt shooter. What we're really missing is the workhorse of the team, the guy that does all the dirty work, and brings all the intangibles. Can't Battier supply this? I really don't think we need an awesome 4. We just need a guy to do dirty work.
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4014237 If the Fisher deal goes down, it'll likely be that GS won't be as concerned about moving Murphy's contract anymore.
I think Mutumbo was talking about retiring at the end of the season (05-06). And even if he isn't, he probably should. He's getting slower and slower every season, and if Yao goes down again, we're screwed. So I think the 1st front-court priority should be getting a legit back-up center, who can also rotate to the 4. I'd love to get Cato back, but Detroit may try to lock him in now that Big Ben is gone.
I could live with a Howard-Hayes-Battier rotation at the four assuming we could get a longer, more physical post player who can give minutes at the five in a faster paced game against a smaller lineup, while also giving us a quicker option at the four who also has the size to defend a Garnett, Nowitzki, or the like.
im surprised yall havent mentioned jamaal magloire from the bucks considering how JVG seems to be in love with players from kentucky. he's 6'11" and basically averaged a double-double last year. he's a great rebounder and could play the 4 or 5 depending on our opponent. because the bucks traded t.j. ford for the 6'11" villanueva, it's obvious they will trade magloire. with magloire, we would finally have the PF/back-up center to protect yao on both ends of the floor. who knows what the 50-yr old mutombo will be able to bring to the table next year. with the new nba favoring guard play and penetration to the basket, having yao and magloire clogging up the paint will be chaotic for opponents (we should totally call that frontcourt the chinese-canadian curtain). im sure we would definitely lead the league in fewest points allowed in the paint. we already drafted novak so we dont need another forward who can spread the floor. tmac will jack up at least 20 shots from the perimeter, if we sign mike james, he'll put up at least 12-13, novak will occasionally miss his 3's, and alston will throw up brick after brick, and even yao will miss every now and then. with that said, it is absolutely CRITICAL that we acquire a solid PF who can rebound on the defense and more importantly on the offense. he probably won't be involved in any set plays for us, so rebounding would be all he'd have to concentrate on. in close games, having 15-20 extra possessions from offensive rebounds and preventing opponent's offensive rebounds could be the difference from winning and losing.
Well put. This is why JVG has said that he wants a PF that can shoot well from 18 ft and even 3pt land. Folks keep saying we need better rebounding from our PF. The '94 Rockets were the worst rebounding team in the league. If you do other things well, rebounding doesn't have to be so important. The '94 Rockets spaced the floor well to get open shots and they played good defense (oh, and had the best player in the league). We have a chance to have two top 5 players, will have good perimeter shooters and will play top-tier defense. If we get a little more depth on the team, we'll be in position to be contenders if TMac/Yao are healthy.
I am closer to Rserina point of view. Look at the persons playing the 4 spot one likely has to defend late in the playoffs--Josh Howard or Dirk, Marion or Diaw, Haslem or A. Walker, or Horry (or whomever the Spurs puts their since Duncan is their only capable center left and must play primarily there). One common theme and trend in the league is quickness and perimeter skill in the 4 spot is increasily being emphasized over a traditional low post game and low post defense. To me Battier and Tmac make an excellent pair of forwards to pair around Yao--especially given Yao's primary limitation is lateral quickness. To me it has to be what CD and the Rockets were thinking, that Battier makes a better 4 across most of the situations the Rockets will face than either Swift or J. Howard.
Scott Pollard is someone who I would take a look at. Could spell Yao here and there as well. Melvin Ely is another possibility. He averaged 9.8 pts, shot over 50% and grabbed just under 5 boards at 23.6 mins. He's restricted though. We could probably get Aaron Williams at the vet-minimum. Bangs the boards, blocks shots, great work ethic....a little old, but I doubt JVG would care. Unfortunately I cannot say that I believe that any of those 3 qualify as legit starters, but with not much money to work with....who knows.
That is correct. I honestly believe Battier would average about as many minutes at the 4 as Swift did last year--and we will probably be more effective with Battier at the 4 than with Swift or JH. But one consequece of the trade is Swift can pick up more minutes at the 5, and gave us a long term back-up 5 for Yao, while Battier will pick up a sizeable chunk at the 3. That said, a Yao, Deke and JHow center combination is better than probably anyone else. You just don't face many legit true C's anymore, and even fewer back-up centers who Deke and JH can't play. I look for JHow to pick up some back-up C minutes as the roster looks now.
I think battier gives us the option to match up against small 4's like marion in phoenix, but i still believe we need at least one more big coming off the bench. Chuck Hayes and Mutombo dont give me alot of hope if Yao or Jho get into foul trouble.
Someone mentioned in a thread that Battier's true size was 6'9 240 lbs. Can anyone verify that? Even his home page lists him at 6'8 220 lbs.
Agreed. My other reservation is JHo seems to have a firm rep. as being less effective coming off the bench. But I think we can live with that, what worries me is the 2. Ugh.
