We need a true SG. What steve smith are you referring to? not the recently retired Steve Smith I hope.

JR is available because he is so fundamentally unsound that even Byron Scott can't do much with him.

We have enough of those. Trade him for Nate? Reezy? Ok. Not much else.

If anything, Larry wants more established players.



[Edited by - nalod on 02-11-2006 11:50 PM]

I hear ya, we need an off-guard bad. Q and Jamal really aren't the answer. I also think we need an interior defensive presence and eventually we'll need a SF as well. But consider this for the plan moving forward:
First, we ride this thing out the rest of this year with what we have, meaning no more rediculously elaborate, quick-fix trades (unless they involve solid draft picks coming our way), and just let Penny come off the cap. That means no K-Mart and his bad knees and back (terrible contract and, oh yeah, tell me acquiring this guy doesn't have Antonio McDyess written all over it), no Theo Ratliff (older and his production has really fallen off), Darius Miles (inconsistent and hurt, the Jamal Crawford of SFs) or Ruben Patterson (baggage and he's just not that good), and no Earl Watson (I guess he's an OK backup point guard, but makes zero sense with Jalen now on board and Steph coming back after the break. Plus, where's the commitment to develop Nate Robinson with such a move?) Come on, none of these guys are gonna make us that much better. The player they really should've considered taking a chance on was Ron Artest solely because of his talent on both sides of the ball, he's still relatively young and they could've got him for far less then what he's really worth, but Zeke wasn't interested, so I'll move on...
Next, we look at one of our own upcoming picks to draft a 2-guard. Ronnie Brewer, Maurice Ager, Brandon Roy, Hassan Adams, Aaron Afflalo, Richard Roby, Guillermo Diaz and Taquan Dean are all possibilities, though Brewer and Ager will probably be gone by the time we pick.
Again, we could use a shot-blocker/interior defender but at what expense? Theo Ratliff? No way. Why trade for Theo Ratliff and take back such a bad contract when we have a good shot at drafting Hilton Armstrong in the draft? There's your interior defender right there Larry, just be patient.
Speaking of Larry, I just don't see what all the hype is surrounding this guy. I consider him, above all else, the sole reason why this season is in the toilet. After about 50 games, this guy still has no idea who he wants to play, who should play where, who looks good playing with who, etc. It's a total mess and I hold him more accountable then anyone. Then the guy actually has the balls to question the personnel and demand that Zeke go out and get him some veteran help, then recently remark that our 2 draft picks could very well be packaged in a deal for a veteran. Is this guy really concerned about the future of the team or concerned more about getting a few has-beens in here in the hopes of winning a few extra games and saving face? Zeke runs the team and I really do believe he has a plan in place, he just needs to stick to it and the time to execute it. He sure as hell doesn't need this idiot in his office every 5 seconds demanding anything. Brown's done a terrible job but I will refrain from calling him a complete failure as long as he develops the young talent on the team. If we go into next season not knowing exactly what we have with our young talent then the Larry Brown signing is an absolute bust in my eyes. PLAY THE KIDS AND NO TRADES JUST TO MAKE TRADES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree Marv. Listen, If Zeke and Dolan decided to part ways with Larry tomorrow I probably wouldn't be all that upset about, it to be honest with you. Fact of the matter is that if any other coach they brought in put forth this bad an effort so far, they'd be fired. But to be fair Larry should probably be given more time. I guess he's earned it.
I just don't think Zeke should be catering to LB, which is what it looks like with the Jalen Rose deal (although I liked it because of Jalen's short-term deal, the fact that Rose can still play a little and at one of our weakest positions and the pick that we received - this deal was really a no-brainer and I'm sure it appealed to Isiah in the same way, but still, I think Isiah ultimately pull the trigger on it because Larry approved it), the "gimmie a list of players you want" scenario that surfaced and Zeke's overall surprising remarks recently about wanting to please Larry and get him the players he wants. You're right, he should tell Larry to just go coach the team as it's quite clear that Larry doesn't really have any idea as to what it will take to turn around this franchise personnel-wise. Thing is for me, he also doesn't appear to be that great of an Xs & Os guy either and doesn't really seem to have the respect of his players, from Marbury on down.
Also, regarding JR Smith, I like his upside and youth, but I doubt N.O. would give up on him for Ariza and/or Butler as that's all I'd be willing to part with in order to bring him here as I'm now dead set against expanding deals to take back bad contracts in the process. We have a good shot to get a decent 2-guard as good as Smith or better in the draft with one of our own draft picks.