Posted by Finestrg:
[quote]Posted by SupremeCommander:
I know you aren't supposed to do big for small swaps, but how about David Lee for Sergio Rodriguez?
I feel ya on this dude, I called for something similar over a month ago - actually I was thinking a little broader as in Sergio and Martell Webster for Lee and cap filler (Balkman, Chandler, etc...). I like Sergio's youth and the excitement he would undoubtedly bring. Armed with consistent PT I could see him calming down and really running the show. He's not as good a shooter, but with starter-type minutes I could see him being a sort of Steve Nash lite. A guy that you could definitely see being in the top 5-7 in the league in assists, maybe even better - he's that good a passer. Plus he likes to run and when you run you get easy buckets - another plus on our offensively challenged team. This guy will get the ball to the right people at the right time. In addition, he can score, either driving or shooting it (although you can tell he'd much rather look to distribute first with is nice to see) and although not know for his defense he has the size and the quickness to at least be adequate in this area. I mean, is Steve Nash known for his defense? Bottom line is I think he's got a bright future. Right now for him is that he doesn't get the PT in Portland he needs to develop properly and I don't see that changing any time soon, not with Steve Blake and Jarett Jack ahead of him on the depth chart (at least in McMillian's mind) and the selection of Taurean Green last year. So you could definitely see the Blazers making him available in a deal. He's a player that has the youth (here's a guy who's 3 yrs. younger than Lee - born in 1986) and a high enough ceiling to take a chance on - good call Commander, I'm with you on Sergio Rodriguez. Personally, I like him better than Jack as an option for the Knicks - he's 3 yrs. younger and has a much more natural ability and God-given talent. And if we're worried about defense at the point if we even brought Sergio over here and gave him the keys to the bus, maybe that's where Mardy Collins finally comes in. It's just a shame that we haven't really seen what Mardy can do on any consistent basis (you're ready to start the guy ahead of Marbury in Phoenix, Isiah, and now, with Marbury outta here for good in all likelyhood & after you created all this controversy, he doesn't even get off the bench for you??? Whatever Zeke....), but we've seen enough of him at Temple and during that stretch at the end of last year to know that the kid has excellent size and can really play some defense. Sergio Rodriguez backed up by Mardy Collins - well-balanced. That could work....
For David Lee and filler though, I'd want a little more in return. That's where Webster comes in. Although he starts in Portland, he doesn't appear to get the minutes, the touches and the shot attempts (especially in with the emergence of Travis Outlaw) to take his game to the next level. And again, like Rodriguez, I don't suddenly see that changing. But if we grabbed him and gave him 35-40 mins. per and more touches than he's getting now, look out. Ultra young, athletic with an excellent stroke from deep. Another guy I could see the Blazers making available in the right scenario.
Sergio Rodriguez and Webster - these could be our starting PG and SF for years to come.
Truth be told I do like Briggs' idea too though. And I agree totally in theory, you build it around defense. I like the idea of taking a chance on Thabeet if we wind up selecting 5 or below. And even though I like Sergio a little better than Jack personally, I wouldn't cry over a Lee for Jack/#13. That's fair (although we might have to sweeten it a little bit with a Balkman, Chandler etc. which I wouldn't let hold up any deal). I like the looks of this kid Thompson from Rider also Briggs. The only thing if we went this route with a Jack/Thabeet/Jason Thompson re-tooling is, what the hell do we do with the Curry/Randolph duo? That's the thing. If we ever succeeded in bringing a Thabeet/Thompson combo. here I'd wanting them playing right away and developing, not sitting behind Curry and Randolph collecting dust - I'm sure you'd agree Briggs. Or do we finally make use of the D-league like Golden State has done with a guy like Patrick O-Bryant? But we're on the right track here fellas - I like everyone's ideas on this thread a lot.
No matter what we do we have contract commitment for a lot of these players who will make up a significant portion of the team again. There is no way out of this. You CAN retool the team UNDER the team that is here. There may be some lesser financial leeway by removing/releasing Jerome James and making only smallish type of player acquisition so that as you build players underneath--you also have a time line where we can fully go at it with cap space as well. My aim here is to copy what New Orleans did with West and Chandler--that just sets the foundation upfront--and over the next two years we can add players that fit the new system systematically while we wait for the contracts to subtract. There is no quick fix.
3/12/2008 6:41 PM
