method man
June-24th-2004, 07:39 PM
First of all is it possible for us to get K-Mart? He really likes EJ and would come here but I fear we may not have the cap. However to continue on....
Getting Jamison and the revealing of the fact that kwame brown can play center changes the dynamics of who we should pursue.
Goals through FA:
1. Try to get a power forward or a small forward whichever one is cheaper. Jamison can be another Odom, a small forward playing PF. the thing about jamison is that he will not really be playing all that out of position because he has averaged over 8 rpg before. he is athletic enough to own slower power forwards. However, at the same time at small forward, his true position, he can do things like post up against smaller small forwards. jamison is not a good defender. there are less potent small forwards out there than power forwards. I think Hayes as our 6th man would be great for us. One thing we need now is a backup for Hughes. Hayes can be our main backup at shooting guard and small forward. Or we can still go for the center and let everyone play their natural position. I do not completely buy the argument of Brown playing center.
wishlist:
1. steven jackson
they guy had a nice year last year that went totally unnoticed. Although naturally a shooting guard, at 6-8, he is big enough to play small forward. If he is willing to sign for a little less than the mid-level exception (4.5 to 5 mil for 3 seasons) then we should sign him.
2. stromile swift
the guy is about the same size as jamison. he is coming into his own. he has awesome leaping ability and we will not have to break the bank on him. stro at PF would give us a really athletic starting lineup.
3. mark blount
The guy is a true center. We will have lots of competition for him. Grunfeld said he wants players with good attitudes. But Blount was sort of mad at management for trading away his friends. That is why he isnt resigning with the Celtics. However he is pretty good center. Only major weakness is his hands.
4. Mehmet Okur
Young and full of potential. As a reserve he averaged about 10 ppg and 5 rpg in 25 mpg last season. There are concerns that he is not fast enough however.
5. Bruce Bowen
I put him this low because it is really unlikely we will get him anyway. I am not so sure he would like to leave a dream situation for him with the spurs. THe spurs are so under the cap anyway that they prolly would be able to offer him more than we can. Their only major FA concern besides bowen is ginobili who will not exactly get a 10 million dollar contract.
6. Hidayet Turkoglu
He is overrated but he is till 6-10. That is great size for a small forward. However his shot selection does not seem all that great. I saw one of the games in lakers-spurs series where he kept taking 3's and kept missing. I would rather have him starting over Hayes anyway. We do not have euros anyway.
6. Greg Ostertag
A big vet. Good defensive player and was the leader in the jazz locker room last year. If we want real leaders then this is a guy we should target. We would not really need him to score tons of points. He would be a solid defensive presence that will take pressure off of kwame and make teams respect our frontcourt.
7. Brian Skinner
With the revelation that Brown could play center next year, Skinner can be our power forward. He averaged 10.7 ppg and over 7 rpg last year. I think we can get this guy with maybe half of the midlevel exception. He is off a lot of ppl's radars. The reason he opted out of his deal was because he was paid just a nose over 1 mil per year.
8. Kenyon Martin
I put Martin this low because the Nets prolly would not want to lose him at any cost. He is a restricted FA and the nets would prolly match any offer to Martin. The only way I can see us getting him is thru a sign-and-trade.
9. Vin Baker
This guy seems like a bad-character vet and I am not sure how cheap he could come. He is old also. He is not the rebounder he used to be. But he is a guy we should consider.
10. Keon Clark
He seems like a nice guy. He could be our starting power forward. He has been a backup for most of his career. He is however coming off a season-ending injury. However I believe he would be willing to sign a 1 year 2 or 3 mil dollar deal or something to so he can prove himself by next FA market.
11. Antonio McDyess
This guy is sort of a big name on the market. He has been decimated by injuries over the past few years tho. I think he may be washed up. He is not the player he was 4 years ago. However he is a decent player who may come cheap because of the injury problems. The sun sprolly dont want to resign him they are trying to clear up as much cap as they can to make a move for kobe. Plus with his injuries, he is not a blocker anymore and he can probably play maybe 25 minutes a game at max. However he is nevertheless intriguing.
Goal 2: Without stack and possibly hayes as our starter we have no depth at our backcourt. I think this problem can be solved if we somehow end up with kevin martin in our pocket in round 2. It is likely hughes is going to get hurt next year. We must sign a decent backup that can play a big role. I do not trust juan dixon as the primary backup. Instead we should go for guys who we can sign for the vet minimum or more if Goal 1 is satisfied with a . Here are some guys:
1. DeShawn Stevenson
He is decent. He was a bust in utah but started to show signs of turning it around in orlando. If we try signing him to a small offer sheet then the magic will probably match.
2. Marquis Daniels
The key here is to try to potentially diver t the Mavs attention. We should hope that their plan to trade for a center fails. If it does then I see them go after blount. THe mavs wont be able to use the larry bird exceptoin on daniels bcause he is in only his 1st year. if satisfy goal 1 with a guy who will cost us 2 to 3 mil like brian skinner or potentially stro then we should take a shot at daniels. Hell, even to entice him I would give him the full mid-level exception because he could be our 6th man while hayes is a starter. He could even replace Hughes is he is gone.
3. Calbert Cheaney
Here is an ex-wizard that has been failing since. He is still a decent backup. He is a classic vet minimum guy. Altho we all hate him, I think he is a dependable backup at SG.
4. Courtney Alexander
Another ex-wizard. He is a restricted FA. Ever since we traded him he has not played much for the hornets. We could try signing him to a vet minimum. He could be a dependable backup at SG when healthy.
Goal 3: Resign Etan Thomas.
Summary: I think getting if we get Cheaney and Stro we will be in good shape. Those two moves will not break the bank. We can offer Stro a 3 year 3 to 4 mil annual deal or something. Retaining Etan is key if his price stays below 4 million.
Getting Jamison and the revealing of the fact that kwame brown can play center changes the dynamics of who we should pursue.
Goals through FA:
1. Try to get a power forward or a small forward whichever one is cheaper. Jamison can be another Odom, a small forward playing PF. the thing about jamison is that he will not really be playing all that out of position because he has averaged over 8 rpg before. he is athletic enough to own slower power forwards. However, at the same time at small forward, his true position, he can do things like post up against smaller small forwards. jamison is not a good defender. there are less potent small forwards out there than power forwards. I think Hayes as our 6th man would be great for us. One thing we need now is a backup for Hughes. Hayes can be our main backup at shooting guard and small forward. Or we can still go for the center and let everyone play their natural position. I do not completely buy the argument of Brown playing center.
wishlist:
1. steven jackson
they guy had a nice year last year that went totally unnoticed. Although naturally a shooting guard, at 6-8, he is big enough to play small forward. If he is willing to sign for a little less than the mid-level exception (4.5 to 5 mil for 3 seasons) then we should sign him.
2. stromile swift
the guy is about the same size as jamison. he is coming into his own. he has awesome leaping ability and we will not have to break the bank on him. stro at PF would give us a really athletic starting lineup.
3. mark blount
The guy is a true center. We will have lots of competition for him. Grunfeld said he wants players with good attitudes. But Blount was sort of mad at management for trading away his friends. That is why he isnt resigning with the Celtics. However he is pretty good center. Only major weakness is his hands.
4. Mehmet Okur
Young and full of potential. As a reserve he averaged about 10 ppg and 5 rpg in 25 mpg last season. There are concerns that he is not fast enough however.
5. Bruce Bowen
I put him this low because it is really unlikely we will get him anyway. I am not so sure he would like to leave a dream situation for him with the spurs. THe spurs are so under the cap anyway that they prolly would be able to offer him more than we can. Their only major FA concern besides bowen is ginobili who will not exactly get a 10 million dollar contract.
6. Hidayet Turkoglu
He is overrated but he is till 6-10. That is great size for a small forward. However his shot selection does not seem all that great. I saw one of the games in lakers-spurs series where he kept taking 3's and kept missing. I would rather have him starting over Hayes anyway. We do not have euros anyway.
6. Greg Ostertag
A big vet. Good defensive player and was the leader in the jazz locker room last year. If we want real leaders then this is a guy we should target. We would not really need him to score tons of points. He would be a solid defensive presence that will take pressure off of kwame and make teams respect our frontcourt.
7. Brian Skinner
With the revelation that Brown could play center next year, Skinner can be our power forward. He averaged 10.7 ppg and over 7 rpg last year. I think we can get this guy with maybe half of the midlevel exception. He is off a lot of ppl's radars. The reason he opted out of his deal was because he was paid just a nose over 1 mil per year.
8. Kenyon Martin
I put Martin this low because the Nets prolly would not want to lose him at any cost. He is a restricted FA and the nets would prolly match any offer to Martin. The only way I can see us getting him is thru a sign-and-trade.
9. Vin Baker
This guy seems like a bad-character vet and I am not sure how cheap he could come. He is old also. He is not the rebounder he used to be. But he is a guy we should consider.
10. Keon Clark
He seems like a nice guy. He could be our starting power forward. He has been a backup for most of his career. He is however coming off a season-ending injury. However I believe he would be willing to sign a 1 year 2 or 3 mil dollar deal or something to so he can prove himself by next FA market.
11. Antonio McDyess
This guy is sort of a big name on the market. He has been decimated by injuries over the past few years tho. I think he may be washed up. He is not the player he was 4 years ago. However he is a decent player who may come cheap because of the injury problems. The sun sprolly dont want to resign him they are trying to clear up as much cap as they can to make a move for kobe. Plus with his injuries, he is not a blocker anymore and he can probably play maybe 25 minutes a game at max. However he is nevertheless intriguing.
Goal 2: Without stack and possibly hayes as our starter we have no depth at our backcourt. I think this problem can be solved if we somehow end up with kevin martin in our pocket in round 2. It is likely hughes is going to get hurt next year. We must sign a decent backup that can play a big role. I do not trust juan dixon as the primary backup. Instead we should go for guys who we can sign for the vet minimum or more if Goal 1 is satisfied with a . Here are some guys:
1. DeShawn Stevenson
He is decent. He was a bust in utah but started to show signs of turning it around in orlando. If we try signing him to a small offer sheet then the magic will probably match.
2. Marquis Daniels
The key here is to try to potentially diver t the Mavs attention. We should hope that their plan to trade for a center fails. If it does then I see them go after blount. THe mavs wont be able to use the larry bird exceptoin on daniels bcause he is in only his 1st year. if satisfy goal 1 with a guy who will cost us 2 to 3 mil like brian skinner or potentially stro then we should take a shot at daniels. Hell, even to entice him I would give him the full mid-level exception because he could be our 6th man while hayes is a starter. He could even replace Hughes is he is gone.
3. Calbert Cheaney
Here is an ex-wizard that has been failing since. He is still a decent backup. He is a classic vet minimum guy. Altho we all hate him, I think he is a dependable backup at SG.
4. Courtney Alexander
Another ex-wizard. He is a restricted FA. Ever since we traded him he has not played much for the hornets. We could try signing him to a vet minimum. He could be a dependable backup at SG when healthy.
Goal 3: Resign Etan Thomas.
Summary: I think getting if we get Cheaney and Stro we will be in good shape. Those two moves will not break the bank. We can offer Stro a 3 year 3 to 4 mil annual deal or something. Retaining Etan is key if his price stays below 4 million.