With Anderson we could keep lin but with Smith we probably need to give up lin. So it's Anderson and keep lin or smith and lose asik and lin?
I'd say lower, possibly around 9M ish. I am starting to get on this Anderson bandwagon now. Either way, I am happy. Guess it is a happy day, isn't it?
Yes, Omer is really good defensively. I think when he was on the floor, our D ranked 9th in the league, and when he was off it, we were somewhere around 28-29th in the league on D. That's a huge impact, and Dwight is better. He's quicker, a leaper, a natural shot blocker, a great rebounder. Dwight's like Asik on steroids, with an offensive game. He'll catch those bullet passes from Harden, Parsons, and Lin, and he'll score. What I'd love to do is keep Asik and cut Howard's minutes, or play them together from time to time. Asik is going to be missed when he goes in a deal. I'm not sure Anderson is who we should get for him. I like Anderson, and we need someone who shoots like he does, but Asik should bring more.
Why pour more assets into offense which is already our strength when we have a glaring weakness in defense? This makes no sense.
I'd rather hang on to Asik if this were the case. Wouldn't want to trade Asik to a divisional rival either. We can get stretch 4's other ways. If we trade Asik and Lin, we need to get an all-star type player. The only one left that fits the bill is JSmoove. Otherwise, we should keep Asik. Play him next to and behind Dwight. Give them both about the same amount of minutes with both TJones, DMo, Smith, and Parsons manning the 4. I'm sure Morey can get a stretch 4 without trading Asik for it.
Yes we were last in points given up last season; no we were not the worst defensive team, we just gave up more points because of our pace. And if you think our defense wouldn't get better with Dwight and Anderson, you're wrong. Anderson is a better defender than any of our 4'space last season and Dwight is better than Omer. The team will also improve naturally as our young players gain more experience and chemistry. With Anderson onboard, no team could even touch our offense and i think our defense, while not elite, would be pretty decent.
I agree completely. Keeping Asik, at least long enough to see if he and Dwight can share the floor together for spurts would be my first choice. But Asik's tweet wrt the day couldnt have been worse except being traded to Charlotte makes me think he is already resigned to leaving.
Man I can't wait to see those passes to Howard like we tried on Ask this past season. The Dunks!!!!!!
Dwight can pretty much single handedly change the defense of Rockets. He is just that good defensively. Reminds me of Nerens Noel from Kentucky in college or college version. Ryano is fine. But with the right price and assets.
Why would Pelicans want to part with Anderson when they just acquired Jrue/Tyreke who need to attack the lane? I doubt they do this deal for Asik tbh.
you're kidding me right? There's a reason those Phoenix teams didn't play a lick of defense. That pace is unsustainable at both ends, i don't care how incredibly conditioned you are. There are going to be sacrifices made when you go all out at one end. You do realize that James Harden was a good defensive player in OKC, right?
So, you're essentially saying add a paint clogger at the 4? Got it. Now that makes sense. Isn't that what Josh Smith essentially does? He can't shoot. Yes, he has a nice defensive game, but he's limited on offense and adds no spacing offensively whatsoever. You're applying a balancing test here - an offense with Ryan Anderson who brings to the table EXACTLY what you're looking for, OR a defense with Smith who could provide great rim protection along w/Dwight. You then have to look at what we're predicated on as a team; that would be offense. In this situation, and for THIS team, Ryan Anderson is a better play than Josh Smith.
If offense and defense factored equally to winning at the top levels, I might agree. But it seems to me that defense becomes more important once you get to the playoffs. You have to have the ability to slow down your opponents main weapon. Simply trying to outscore your opponent at that level just doesnt work in a long series.
i don't remember Jameer Nelson, Hedo Turoglu, or Rashard Lewis being defensive juggernauts. what was it? Dwight Howard.
