Finestrg wrote:If Grunny really wants to put an awesome couple of finishing touches on this roster -- (1) see if we can grab Beasley -- if his head's really up Miami's ass, don't bother though; (2) cut Tyler (just can't justify taking a project big man who suffered an injury like this on the 15 man this close to gametime---plus, I don't see the Karl Malone-type upside everyone else seems to see) and Leslie -- That would leave us with 3 open spots:(1) Hassan Whiteside -- Gets a slight nod over Earl Barron for me, who I still like for us btw (and would've got it over a healthy Jeremy Tyler). I see Theo Ratliff worst case/Serge Ibaka best case. Even if he's a slightly taller Ratliff in his prime, the rim protection alone makes him a worthwhile addition as a backup C. I see more here with this guy though -- he may need a little work but eventually he could supply shot-blocking, rebounding, mid range jump-shooting and some post play--all at a high level. All these elements are there -- he just needs refinement and development...Take the chance on this amount of upside -- see if he's another Ibaka....Even if we got him and assigned him to Erie for 10-15 games or so at 35 mins a night just to get him ready. And even if we got him and threw him right in the mix with the big club, trial by fire---with 15 mins a night backing up Chandler and Bargnani 5/4, I think he'd have an impact. I don't see our guards getting beat off the dribble too much; Melo and Bargnani--that's a different story. Let's face it: neither guy is known for their defense (Melo may have an adjustment period in the beginning if he transitions back to SF too). It'd be nice to have a deluxe shot-blocker back there as a 2nd line of defense. I think Whiteside is definitely NBA ready in that respect. Hey man, 6 fouls some shot-blocking & rebounding -- if that's all we got in a limited capacity this year, it'll help. Remember Steven Hunter on MDA's Phoenix teams several years back? That guy produced and had a positive impact when D'Antoni used him. I think Whiteside's more skilled than Hunter..
(2) Toure Murry - dude's 6'5", can play both guard spots and he can play both ends of the floor. I love the loyalty he showed us over Miami. Part of me really wants to reward that. Bottom line though -- he's skilled and looks good enough for the NBA.
(3) Beasley - only if we can get him. I'm not begging this dude. I'd be OK adding Whiteside (or Barron--immediate 2nd choice) and Murry and then calling it a day...Sell him on getting mins. at both forward spots, on NYC and on being part of a team that's good enough to challenge and possibly unseat the King and his Heat (a team that discarded him at one point for nothing -- remind him of that). If we can't get him, I'd take a chance on 6'8" DeQuan Jones. This late bloomer showed a lot of progress and potential last year for the Magic. I think his upside is higher and current game/skill level is higher than CJ Leslie's. And he's just as good if not a better athlete than CJ, so it's not even like Leslie, for all his athleticism, has an edge there. Jones is an AMAZING athlete...Excellent upside and he proved last year that he can handle some NBA rotation mins right now. Much like Murry, Jones is relatively unknown yet very capable, showing damn good potential on both ends of the floor...A couple of years down the road, a Toure Murry/DeQuan Jones backcourt gets me thinking, man. Has me drooling a little actually.
Whiteside (or Barron), Murry and Beasley (or DeQuan Jones). A solid big, more quality backcourt insurance and a little more quality depth at SF. Plus, some more youthful building blocks for the not-too-distant future when we eventually have to turn this roster over.. That would be amazing. 
Totally agree with the cuts, use of roster spots, and filling the positions Fine has but I have some slightly different targets
Cut CJ Leslie, cut Jeremy Tyler, and 1 extra roster spot, so we have 3 total roster spots to use
1- I have no problem with Whiteside, but my personal opinions would be
Haddadi - legit 7 footer with great instincts on DEFENSE to stop penetration and putting a body on C's as well
Darko Milicic - very under rated player with legit size and all round skills, has good post presence to go with his passing ability, and is a solid shot blocker/rebounder when given minutes
Earl Barron
Marcus Cousins/Whiteside
Jared Jeffries (non guaranteed contract) I think he was great and was a big difference when healthy as a mobile PF/C that is very smart and under rated as a help defender
I know Jeffries isn't a legit Center compared to the other players above, but he has chemistry with some of the players we have already, and if healthy he could be a great FIT and familiar with our coaches, system, and players
Like Felton, I don't think Jeffries wanted to leave NY, and he plays his best as a Knick, appreciating all the hustle, dirty work, intangibles, and DEF that he brings
He also has a decent handle, good picks *BOTH ON AND OFF THE BALL*, and makes good cuts
I think we all know we cannot rely on Tyson Chandler and could use an upgrade at PF/C
While Jeffries does not have the ability to defend the BIG CENTER's like Hibbert, Lopez, Bynum, etc, he does improve our overall TEAM DEFENSE with his mobility, length, and IQ
We miss his ability to sacrifice his body for charges and helping our team DEFENSE while usually recovering in time for his own man, and putting a body on them
Jeffries was big part of our DEFENSE in Tyson's first year, while he has the ability to play PF limited minutes with Chandler and play backup to him as well
Tyler has good upside but we need bodies that can contribute and cannot wait for him to develop, with this spot, we cannot give a guaranteed contract so we can change our minds for other available talents if it doesn't work well
I have mixed feelings about who to target here but I like Haddiddi, Darko, Earl Barron, since they have the legit size that we likely would need to compete but JJ's would also improve our TEAM DEFENSE, especially with the weak links of AB, STAT, Melo at PF
2- I agree with Murry, I think he could help our DEF out and has good potential, his PG play is decent, much better than Iman's ability, while he has the ability to defend 2 positions at PG/SG, and would be great with Iman Shumpert, especially with JR possibly out for awhile with injuries/suspensions
Felton/Udrih/Pablo simply are not very good defenders and they can mentor Murry to being a better PG
NixLuver made great points about how Murry has to learn to defend quicker guards but utilizing his length and not cheating as much
I still like ex Laker, Darrius Morris to play the same role, and ex Maverick, Roddy Beaubbois *he has shown he can shoot the 3pter and has great length for DEFENSE*
3- I really like James Johnson, think he has great size/length/decent athleticism to be a SF/PF as a strong rotation player
He still is very young and his only weakness is his suspect shooting in which Hopla could really help improve
If he can hit the baseline 3pt, he would be a huge upgrade to Ronnie Brewer's role
He actually has the size and ability to defend the Lebron's, Durant, Paul George, Rudy Gay, etc
at 6-9, 260pds, with GREAT length and decent athleticism, he would be an ideal rotation player, Artest simply is too slow to defend these young guns, while our other players like Iman, JR, are SG's that are too small to defend the SF's with the size/strength SF/PF's with G skills and speed/quickness
CJ Leslie is a project that would need at least another year or 2 to fill our his body while Johnson still has upside and has legit NBA experience
Beasley is a very talented scorer like Melo and JR Smith, but lacks IQ, heart, DEF, and are scorers that don't know how to play off the ball with consistency
But there is only 1 basketball and we already have Melo and JR Smith that have the green light to take bad shots which we should try to limit and more TEAM emphasis that Johnson can bring
I think these moves would greatly improve our overall TEAM DEFENSE, practice squad to push each other, and are great FIT's to Woodson's defensive schemes
9/7/2013 3:54 PM