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That's gross.I couldn't care less about being politically correct, but attacks on people's mothers? Not a fan.
Except for defense, and rebounding, and only one guy who can shoot from 3, I agree. Looks really good.
Nice to see Cleveland fans taking this in stride.
Would not have gone well. But Orlando/Florida sports don't have quite the tortured history Cleveland does. Here you can just go to the beach, or watch other teams (Rays, Bucs, Gators, Marlins) that have had somewhat recent success. Cleveland gives you gray skies, fat broads and the hope that Grady Sizemore gets back in time so you can overtake the Royals for 4th place.I liked the Cleveland Plain Dealer front page with a picture of LeBron walking away. It had an arrow pointing to his right hand with the caption, "seven seasons, zero rings". I wonder how ORL fans would have reacted if the Shaq signing with the Lakers took place in the Twitter/FB/blog era.Nice to see Cleveland fans taking this in stride.
Any news on T-Mac?
At age 38, how much would Howard have left in the tank?I think Howard has the worst ratio of "regular season games played" (1116) to "playoff games played" (29) in the history of the NBA.
The Knicks might sneak into the playoffs but there's no way they win 48+, IMO. Wizards are another interesting team to watch. If Arenas is healthy at all, I think they will also be in the mix for the 8th spot.
Played fairly well last year for the Blazers. I'm not sure what more they can realistically expect to get with minimum slots (assuming that's what they are offering).
Felton shot 39% from three point land last year. Randolph has fantastic per 36 rebounding numbers and Stoudemire is solid enough (17th in the league in RPG).
I think they can do better, he is pretty much a 12th man at best. He can't do anything except hit a mid range jump shot, I wouldn't touch the guy. If you are looking for a pick and pop PF/C ,Kurt Thomas, Tony Battie, and Joe Smith all offer similar skills except they try to rebound. I really thought Howard should have been out of the league a couple years ago.
DWade sent Bron to run his errands.
Toney Douglas shot well from 3 last year too (39%), and Azubuike has always been a good 3 point shooter (career 41%) and rebounder. They aren't going to lead the league in rebounding or 3 point shooting, but they should fall right around middle of the pack it rebounding and shooting rates. They still have some room to get another player or two to help out I think too.
Is Kurt Thomas a minimum guy? I wouldn't be terribly excited about adding either of the other two you mentioned either. The minimum big man market isn't all that great. If they are looking for rebounders, there has to be some Joey Dorsey/Jon Brockman types available in the D-league or who don't get camp invites from the summer league.
They'll be really fun to watch though!!
Funny that you cite Randolph's per36 and then only use Amare's RPG. I showed earlier Amare is a poor rebounder for the PF spot and even worse at C. You just need to check rebounding rates. I think Knicks fans will be disappointed with the team next season.
Incredibly young, too. The entire team is 25 or under.
Randolph only played 20 minutes a game so citing his per game numbers is sort of foolish. Stoudemire averaged less than 36 minutes per game, so if anything, he is shortchanged in per game numbers.
You are forgetting the fact that players get better from year to year when they are 21 and 22 years old. There is little doubt that both those guys willl be better.
The Knicks did not have the option of Randolph and Lee. Do you think that Amare's rebouding decline is due to his position switch from C to PF? Lee's defense was/is terrible, Amare is a huge upgrade over him in this regard as well as offensive scoring. Amare will command double teams and open up the floor for shooters such as Gallinari while Lee simply doesnt have the offensive game that requires a double team.
The key will be identifying the core players. It seemed like every player was in the doghouse from one time or another, from Flynn, to Love, to Jefferson.I really like Love as a role player, he can rebound, and he can pass very well for a big guy. I know they get ridiculed for passing on Cousins, but I think Johnson is going to be a solid player in the NBA, even though he is already 36. Beasley can be that scorer they lack, but his refusal to play any defense might limit his minutes. It looks like they have a lot of very solid role players, but no stars, although some of their young players can obviously develop.
True they couldn't have both Randolph and Lee. Amare a HUGE upgrade in defense? He's a pretty bad defender, IMO.... just slightly better than Lee but that match up tilts in Lee's favor when you factor in rebounding. Amare is the superior offensive player no doubt, but Lee isn't too shabby either. I just don't value one dimensional players much, especially when that dimension is scoring. Amare is an elite score, but average/below average rebounder. Lee is an above average scorer and above average/elite rebounder.
Cavs are in talks about trading for Jefferson. They are also to be rumored in wanting Flynn also.
- Use TRB% from basketball-reference.com or Total Rebound Rate from hoopdata.com in order to have an apples to apples comparison. This will solve the problem regarding AR's lack of minutes and the fact that Amare gets more minutes as they are based by possession (B-R.com % stats uses Team Possessions while player is on the floor as the denominator vs. Hoopdata Rates which uses player individual possessions (FGA, FTA, TO, AST) as the denominator). I thought you were cherrying picking stats to make Amare look better than he is at rebounding.- I understand players improve and I was going to mention that, but I chose not to because I don't think Chandler or Gallo will get THAT much better than last year that it will make much of a difference. Chandler is a solid all around player but I don't see him being anything other than a role player and Gallo can be a Rashard Lewis type at best (does that happen next year? maybe.) which means he's just great at scoring.
I really hope Dolan makes this happen.bg0546 said:From Rotoworld:
I watched the majority of Knicks games last year and while I love Lee and he has been the one bright spot on this team for the last several years he is not what this team needs. I truly think his big offensive numbers are a function of this system. His offensive game is rebounding and hustle. He does not have a post up game and can't create his own shot. He is an elite rebounder but not a physical presence and really is a bit undersized at power forward. He is very good player but really just a complimentary player and I think a step below both Bosh, Amare and Boozer of the free agent PFs. Even if you think he is as good as Amare without moving Lee we would not have added Randolph who I think can be a very good player. I also think the young guys will improve and Felton is a major improvement at point guard. I think this team is looking much better then last year and finally looks like it has a future.No. 16 said:
He's overrated as a doctor though.Abraham said:
BrandonTierneythe reports re: Isiah Thomas' influence within the NYK organization is ABSOLUTELY true. I was told that Amar'e stayed at Isiah's home BrandonTierneylast weekend, and that Isiah Thomas is the reason--not Mike D'Antoni's system--for Amar'e signing with the Knicks. I also learned that the breakfast w/Mike D'Antoni (prior to the agreement) was @ Isiah's house...bg0546 said:
Donnie Walsh has a max slot saved for next year in case this scenario plays out
We'll they're actually trying to build a team now instead of building cap space. Agree. Lee is a notch below Boozer and Bosh, IMO, but I guess I'm just not a big fan of Amare.
Theyre gonna have to do better than Miller. Resuming talks for Biedrins might do it. Being the source of as much fuss & focus as the King has to appeal to a player who's long toiled in his shadow and The Apple's increased appetite for a marquee player will ensure that. Denver better get serious BUT quick.
I'm glad they let Petro go for that amount of money, I feel the same way about this signing (to a lesser extent) as I did when the Nets signed Najera a couple years back, he was very helpful to the team, but not at that price. Here is a couple bigs they could target:Kwame Brown - Rebounding and Defense (a slightly better version of Petro)Craig Smith - Crafty scoringShelden Williams - Good rebounding, decent defense (very similar to Petro)Erick Dampier (soon to be FA)- Big and he rebounds and defendsIke Diogu - Injured last year I think, but it seems he is a good scorer but a bad defenderAaron Gray - Hes huge and reboundsEarl Barron - Don't know much about him but he seemed to show flashes last year (statistically)Louis Amundson - Scrappy player (Similar to a Najera) and hes from the area, the fans would love himRasho Nesterovic - Slow but has some offensive skillsBen Wallace - Not sure hes down to come here, but he would be an awesome fit on the cheapDJ Mbenga - Plays a little D, doesn't offer much elseIan Mahinmi - Don't know anything about him, and I don't think I've ever seen him play, but good stats in limited actionJoe Smith - Decent scorer, good rebounder, bad otherwiseBrad Miller - Slow, white, hits a 15 foot jump shot will probably be overpaid (anything more than the minimum)Big Z - Slow, white, hits a 15 foot jump shot but is 4 inches tallerTim Thomas - Great shooter, terrible motor, terrible rebounderIf I were the Nuggets I would look at Amundson, Diogu and Williams for the minimum and Brown, Smith, Dampier and Wallace for slightly more than the minimum (2-2.5 a year). If the Nuggets go into the season with something like Nene, Kwame and Amundson (and Brian Butch the dude the signed with a week left in the season) they may be able to keep in the hunt for the number two seed while Anderson and Martin recover.And I also think they still have Steven Hunters trade exception (according to the trade machine) and there are probably some decent bigs to be had for 3.5 million.
I don't like Biedrins at all for the Nuggets. Biedrins is like a poor mans Camby, he rebounds and defends the hoop but isn't much for post defense. Okafor is a better player IMO and would be a better fit, although a slightly larger contract. Here is my Denver Nuggets fan pipe dream that I through in the ESPN Trade Machine this morning: Billups, Martin and Butch/Karl for Okafor, Paul, Posey, Songilia... Saves the Hornets 7 million this year, and something like 20-35 million depending on if they exercise Billups' team option next year.
I don't think he starts this year and I think Turiaf starts at center but he is going to play alot and be the first guy off the bench. Given he probably doesn't get over 30 minutes a night I think he can do 13 and 7 this year as a reserve and think he can eventually be a 18 and 10 guy with upside. I think one of his issues is right now is he is so skinny he gets pushed around inside but you have to remember he is only 20. He will build into his long frame and be a much more effective player inside down the road.
Scratch that, he just blew out his knee in tonights Summer League game vs the Lakers. It looked terrible, definitely out for this year, might be a career type injury.
oof
Thats too bad, didn't know anything about the guy but I was curious to see if he was any good. At least he'll get to cash his paycheck for 800,000 grand or whatever.
Hes a decent 5th big sort of talent, nobody should be excited to have him, but you could do worse for a guy that should only be playing 8 minutes a game or so. Hes athletic-ish and tries, plus I think his wife is kinda cute, I'd take him for the Nuggets.
