BRIGGS wrote:Finestrg wrote:What does Sac. do with Toney Douglas?? They've got Evans running the show and a good backup in Beno Udrih (guaranteed close to $22M over the next 3 years). Plus they're OK at the 2 with Francisco Garcia (locked up for at least another 3 years with a 4th year player option), Udrih can swing over and play some off-guard & they just acquired Antoine Wright who played well for Toronto in spurts last season splitting time with Sonny Weems.. TD and a couple of 2s doesn't get you Jason Thompson. Hey don't get me wrong, I'd offer it right up, I just don't see the Kings taking that deal.. This is also why I can't see them being interested in a Billy Walker/Rautins/2014 #1 package for Thompson or even Landry for that matter... They already have better wings than Walker, Rautins isn't exactly some great sweetner and neither is a 2014 1st rounder which probably winds up going in the low 20s (I have faith we should be a fairly decent club by then)..Those are underwhelming packages for one of the better up-and-coming youngsters in the league..No way the Kings go for any of these proposals..We're not offering them anything with these deals. The real trade to make with Sacramento was right after the draft for the wild card Hassan Whiteside, right after he fell into their lap unexpectedly, before he went through summer league and before they got a chance to evaluate what they had with him up close..I can't see them as willing to deal him now as they may have been back then. I would've liked to see us try to steal him back when we may have had the chance.
Picking up TJ Ford on a vet minimum-type deal if he's released isn't a bad idea I guess (I tend to agree with Martin though -- I think I'd rather stick with TD over Ford) although I still think Patrick Mills is our best option right now for PG depth..Possibly cheaper too..All we have to do is make a fiscally responsible offer with the leftover cap room and see if Portland matches. I don't think they would..I'd rather have Mills over Ford to be honest -- a good five years younger, better shooter, probably a good 2 inches taller (Mills is a legit 6', Ford's more 5'10"-ish)..All this kid Mills needs is a chance..He's not gonna ever get that in Portland. They're just too deep in the backcourt. I see some Mo Cheeks/Darren Collison-type ability with this kid Mills. Higher ceiling than Ford for the same type of money..I'd look to steal Patty Mills away from the Blazers first before I thought about bringing in TJ Ford. But that's me.
fine--Patty Mills hasn't even made an NBA roster. I can see TJ giving the same type of production here as his last year in Toronto where he played just over 20 minutes yet avg 12-6-2 47% Im trying to win this year Im not trying to guess what a player might or might not do.
There is no doubt in my mind that Patrick Mills could help an NBA team off the bench for 15-20 mins a night right now. He's ready..The man has nothing left to prove for an NBA job --- he was a standout for St. Mary's, he really excelled with the Australian team against top American PGs in the Olympics a couple of years ago which should've been a real eye-opener for a lot of people--I know it was for me, dominated the D-League and the D-League all-star game during his stay there and played real well this summer for Portland's summer league team..The only thing with this kid is he needs to avoid the nagging injuries that tend to plague certain players (broken wrist in college & then broke his leg last year right before SL--the broken leg really set him back last year in terms of trying to make an impression in Portland. They were forced to move on without him basically. He never got a chance to prove how good he is to McMillan and co. And now, unfortunately for him, that Portland team is even more stacked in the backcourt than there were last year at this point)..The good thing is that neither of those injuries were career-threatening..He's recovered nicely from both, showing no ill-effects...And as far as talent goes, what can't the kid do? Nice stroke from deep and mid-range, he's cat-quick and can get to the rim at will (this dude's a scoring point which is actually a trait I always consider a plus rather than some negative--the more options you can put on the floor that are capable of scoring the ball the better), he's comfortable operating as a PG and knows how to find open teammates/displays very natural-looking PG instincts to me, and the big addition to the repertoire---he played excellent man-to-man defense this summer from what I saw and I saw every game..This kid's talent level tells me he's no project..He'd be able to jump in and help us right away backing up Ray Felton...No doubt in my mind whatsoever. I actually think he's got the type of talent and upside to push Felton the whole year and keep him on his toes -- I think he's that good -- whereas I don't see TD as the type of guy that could ever really push Ray Felton for a starting job. Just my humble opinion.
And just to be clear, Mills was drafted 55th last year and made the team despite suffering the broken leg even..They never cut him..And as I understand it, as a restricted FA he actually has a standing 1-year offer to return to the Blazers for $937,195 unless of course he gets a better offer from someone else -- in which case, the Blazers reserve the right to match any offer..But he's part of that team -- part of their 15-man as of right now..
8/11/2010 9:16 PM