Posted by TMS:
Posted by BRIGGS:
Posted by TMS:
we don\'t need Juwan Howard & he does nothing to fill any of our needs.
who is our 4th quality big man? jerome james?
what if zach lee or curry get hurt? what if we have FT? Juwan is a solid pro who can play
we need a defensive bigman who can block some shots... Juwan does neither... i'd rather see Morris getting playing time over him anyways... what's the point in adding him to the roster? we have Malik who can backup the PF spot & Morris who can play either PF or C, & when we go small we're going to see Chandler seeing minutes as well... sorry, Howard doesn't make any sense for this team... i'll pass... if we need to free up a roster spot that badly then just waive Dickau & be done with it.
Completely agree. If we make some move for a big man, he's got to be either (A) a young, inexpensive guy with a lot of overall promise that we can develop (which we have already in Randolph Morris) or (B) a young, inexpensive interior defender/hustler that knows and relishes his role (Justin Williams, Hilton Armstrong, Andris Biedrins, or Louis Amundson all come to mind. Any one of these 4 would, in my mind, clear the way for a David Lee trade btw. With Zach on board, I'm not against dealing Lee as long as we replace his intangibles. I think we could get something really nice for Lee). And Morris looked really good to me in the summer league. He may be a little, I don't wanna say slow, but mechanical in his moves around the basket, but he's got nice moves and a real soft touch around the basket and also showed the ability to rebound and block a shot or 2...
Anyway, Howard's a little older now and was always an offensive-oriented type who's no better or worse that a guy like Maurice Taylor. Remember him? How good did he fit? We have more than enough interior offense now with Curry and Zach. And for leadership or locker room presence, we still have Malik who can actually still play a little in a pinch. And I agree that if we acquired a guy like Howard and don't wind up dealing away Lee in an Artest deal or something else he takes time away from Lee, whose time will already be cut short with Zach on board. No way Juwan Howard, at this stage of his career, comes here and takes time away from David Lee. No way that happens...
Here's what you do:
(1) After going back and forth with this, I am now for the record against an Artest trade. I still think that he'd be good if he came here, but I think that with a healthy Richardson, Balkman, Chandler and Nichols we have enough at the 3.
(2) Sort out this cluster**** in the backcourt already. First, Nichols has got to make the team. He's young, confident, has good size, can flat out shoot the ball and is at least a willing defender at this point with potential for much more than that. He's an inexpensive option that has real good upside and addresses needs (outside shooting, perimeter defense). Not ready to give an opinion on Jared Jordan (haven't seen the kid play really) but, if nothing else, say he lights a little fire under guys like Nate and Mardy to come in a little extra hungry than normal to secure their spots, it's worth it.
(3) Trim all the fat on this team. I can do without Jerome James, Jared Jeffries, Fred Jones and Dan Dickau - with all due respect to Jeffries who looks like he's really put in a lot of work in the off-season. Only problem with Jeffries is there's at least 5 other players I'd rather see out there than him, sorry to say.
(4) Don't be against playing the young guys. I'm convinced more than ever that an influx of youth does wonders for a team. Second half of the Yankees' season - need I say more? If I'm Zeke and guys like Q, Steph, Craw and Curry all start out slow and show they don't feel like giving 100% on any given night - I pull them immediately for the kids with no hesitation at all. Like Isiah Thomas or not, he has done a damn good job (in a Brian Cashman sort of way) of restocking this organization with young, exciting and hungry players for us to root for and for that he's got to be applauded.
(5) Develop the chemistry anf togetherness which I'm confident will come. All the core players have been together for a few season now, which should make it that much easier.
(6) Make training came all about the fundementals - defense, FT shooting, etc. I wouldn't even stress offense. All these guys can score the ball in there sleep. Stress the fact that a commitment to defense and taking care of the ball will win games. Make these guys believe it!
10/1/2007 9:59 AM
