Big L

Number 1, yeah I love the nickname. But, what I really like about Gortat is how driven he is. He doesn't quit, he keeps working on his game. The progess he has made from last season to where his game is now is a giant leap. If he continues to improve at this rate, he could definitely start along Dwight one day. For all the hype about Lopez, Beasly and others, our man outrebounded and blocked more shots than all of them. Which is what we need on our team.

It's cool JD, not everyone hates each other here. It's just sad that if anyone post anything about a player that is negative some people take it personally. However, a lot of us are pure Magic fans, not just fans of individual players on our roster. I mean one could be a JJ fan and still acknowledge that getting MP was a good thing, or a Meer fan understanding that we need size at PG.

OK, so we went Sg in the draft. We'll get a backup Pg in f/a, white chocolate maybe? So now our pressing need is pf. Kurt Thomas is one vet that most everyone can agree would work well for us. I'd also like to see another younger pf/c added to our roster as well. Diop would be my number 1 addition. NJ is set for bigs and he is an UFA. 7'0 280 26 years old, solid defender, in 17 min avgd 3 ppg 5 rpg 1 bpg. Doesn't offer much offense, but that is not our need, we need defense and rebounding. Kwame Brown is an interesting option as well. I know he was a draft bust, however he was a bust as a number one pick. As an average big man he was fine. He just was never going to be a superstar. Again we don't need great numbers from him, we could use what he brings. 6'11 270 26 years old. In 19 min avgd 5 ppg 5 rpg .5 bpg. Better offense than Diop, shot 50% from the field. However not as good defensively as Diop. Still brings decent defense and rebounding and good size. AGAIN, listen to me, I'm not saying he will all of the sudden be great, but we don't need great, we need serviceable and that he could do.

quote: Originally posted by SmackDaddy: quote: Originally posted by ball junkie:I was on the Pietrus wagon too for the reasons listed above. You guys don't think Stan could get corey playing good team defense ala what the Celtics did with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen? Those two are certainly not known for their defense around the league but they had a brick clogging up the middle(Garnett). You guys don't think Dwight could anchor our defense similar to what KG does? As long as Jameer remains our PG, and there are no indications that will change, I think we need an uber-defensive SG playing next to him. IMO, we had a very respectable defensive SG combo last year, and our backcourt still got smoked OFTEN. Pietrus is so friggin versatile, that he can (and has) defended the 1-5. And with all his defensive notariety, he is still young and developing an offensive game. Right now, I believe he is capable of averaging 12+ ppg. Give him a few years, and I will lay money down that he is an 18ppg guy. Pickups like Maggette, get teams in the headlines and on SportsCenter. But pickups like Pietrus get trophies. Either would be fine w/ me. Those two guys would improve our back court drastically.

Bump.

I'd be ok with V being here, he is still an upgrade over our current PF situation.

That's why I'd like to see maggette for a s/t and then go after Diop. W/ Diop and Howard in the front court we could play a bit of zone and change our defensive schemes and concentrate on team defense vs one on one. Meer Maggette Shard Diop Howard If we could keep Turk and have him come off the bench great, if not oh well. However, that lineup is better balnced than last years. If Shard can maintain his defensive intensity from the playoffs even better!

Maggette and Diop would be my next targets.

quote: Originally posted by magicdepth:Its funny how easy Otis's job appears to be. The free agents fall in his lap! This is what I would like to see.... Sign Maggette to MLE Trade Cook or Battie, Redick and 1st rounder (we wont have a great pick next year based on these moves...some where in the high 20s) to Miami for Haslem Sign Jason Williams to Vet Min Resign Mo Evans, go over the cap (we have bird rights) Those moves would be major and a statement that this is our year. We get a Vet SG, PG, and PF and make a strong move to the title. They have already said we can run Lee at the point as a combo guard. New line ups would look like this... Howard Haslem Rashard Maggette Nelson Gortat/Augie Battie/Augie Turk/Evans Evans/Lee Williams/Lee/Rookie from summer league I'd be very happy with that scenario. YES on Maggette!

I like Turiaf also, I just don't think LA will allow him to walk away. I'm big on Diop because of his age, defensive ability and rebounding prowess. Kwame I figure is better than Foyle or Pat again. All we need from him is his size, rebounding and post defense, nothing more. That being said, I would love for Otis to get off the dime and do a decent trade for Haslem or another proven big. I just don't think he will.

Our lineup would look as follows: Meer/Jwill/Lee Bogans/JJ/Lee Shard/Turk/Cook Diop or Brown/Battie/Thomas/Cook Howard/Gortat/Thomas Similar to this years lineup, but better balanced. Improve defense and rebounding plus scoring balance in our second unit.

OK, so we went Sg in the draft. We'll get a backup Pg in f/a, white chocolate maybe? So now our pressing need is pf. Kurt Thomas is one vet that most everyone can agree would work well for us. I'd also like to see another younger pf/c added to our roster as well. Diop would be my number 1 addition. NJ is set for bigs and he is an UFA. 7'0 280 26 years old, solid defender, in 17 min avgd 3 ppg 5 rpg 1 bpg. Doesn't offer much offense, but that is not our need, we need defense and rebounding. Kwame Brown is an interesting option as well. I know he was a draft bust, however he was a bust as a number one pick. As an average big man he was fine. He just was never going to be a superstar. Again we don't need great numbers from him, we could use what he brings. 6'11 270 26 years old. In 19 min avgd 5 ppg 5 rpg .5 bpg. Better offense than Diop, shot 50% from the field. However not as good defensively as Diop. Still brings decent defense and rebounding and good size. AGAIN, listen to me, I'm not saying he will all of the sudden be great, but we don't need great, we need serviceable and that he could do.

I don't put too much stock in this crap. One can alter any number of formulas once you already know the outcome. I don't need a formula to know that Haslem should have been drafted. Anyone can see that now. I would have been impressed if he knew that then. D. Gooden is rated higher than Boozer, Okafor, Bosh, D. West, Haslem and Horford. Really?? This is an improvement???

quote: Originally posted by CRAZY SERB: quote: Originally posted by Big L:The money is not that bad. When VC signed that deal a few years back it was a lot of money. Jordan didn't make the same amount of money as Kobe or half the stars now, it's about economics at the current time. In 3 to 5 years from now, Shards contract when compared to the top athletes will be very reasonable. When Bron and the rest of them sign 150 mil plus contracts the 117 will be forgotten. Otis did what he had to do to secure the right guy at the right age for this club. You want to see a horrible contract look no further than Ben Wallace. Besides if Devos doesn't mind paying, why do you guys? if there wasn't a salary cap i wouldn't mind at all. and i don't see lebron getting $150mill, there is the CBA and the salaries won't rise that drastically. Before Kg and the likes, did anyone foresee 21mil per year contracts???

Trade Hedo if we can get a starting PF or Sg. If not he needs to be our 6th man.

quote: Originally posted by O-dub:Who was better 08 season? Ron Artest or Hedo? BTW...Ron Artest is a Small forward.....tsk tsk tsk. The guy guards small forwards such as pierce and t-mac. Its not a trick. T-mac and Pierce used to play SG is just that their teams went small. Anyway Ron can play SG.

Najera or Diop or both would be fine with me. Diop is younger and a better rebounder, but Najera just has that attitude that I covet.

No, he gave him a deal prematurely. That contract negotiation should have taken place this summer. Plus, who knows maybe stan's rotations would have been different since there would be no pressure to play any given rotation.

quote: Originally posted by Kberto:For the people who been following this draft very closely, why is CDR slipping? From what I saw of him at Memphis, he's a long, fast, athletic two guard that has a nice mid range game, can slash to the basket and finish, and is a good defender. I wouldn't be dissappointed at all if we drafted him. My first choice would be Rush, but it looks like he might be a lottery pick now so that isn't even an option unless we traded up. So why is he slipping? Just bad workouts? Is every one ignoring what he did in college and just drooling all over workout heroes? yeah, I put more stock in their body of work vs how good they look in the gym.

The money is not that bad. When VC signed that deal a few years back it was a lot of money. Jordan didn't make the same amount of money as Kobe or half the stars now, it's about economics at the current time. In 3 to 5 years from now, Shards contract when compared to the top athletes will be very reasonable. When Bron and the rest of them sign 150 mil plus contracts the 117 will be forgotten. Otis did what he had to do to secure the right guy at the right age for this club. You want to see a horrible contract look no further than Ben Wallace. Besides if Devos doesn't mind paying, why do you guys?

quote: Originally posted by cunningstunt:i'm still too back and forth to call a whole team's offseason, but i do think we're undermining hibbert and lopez, not too many people are considering those two, but they are good players if they happen to slip to us i wouldn't mine taking either one, in the last draft hibbert would be considered the top 10, and he had an off year for whatever reason, a couple of seven footers are hard to come by, just look at previous drafts, remember how teh bucks got bogut with the number 1 pick? seriously. you can't teach tall, but i can teach a guy like lopez to shoot. Yeah, I'm with you. Look how those big bodies in Boston affected LA.

Well, there's a lot of talk about big names in F/A and the Draft. However, those days are over for us. We are not a lottery team and we don't have tons of cap room, therefore we need to tweek the roster much like the Spurs and Pistons have done it in the past. Lets just look at what fits and allows us to improve, no drastic changes since we did have a good season behind us. The Draft: I think we should stay at 22 and see what we get since this draft is deep. I would be happy with any of the names here, however keep in mind that I'm looking at who should be available between 15 and 25. Rush Lee Lopez CDR Hibbert Arthur Now, depending on wether we draft a SG or PF (in Hibbert a C) that will decide for us how we approach F/A. If we get a SG: I think we should go for Diop or Najera. If we get a PF: I think we should go for Pietrus Plus we should look to get K. Thomas and Duhon if poss or white chocolate. I think Dooling will be too expensive. Our roster would then be reshaped into: Meer/Duhon or W/C Pietrus/Bogans/JJ Shard/Hedo Battie/Thomas/Lopez, Arthur or Hibbert/Cook D12/Gortat/Thomas or Meer/Duhon or W/C Rush, Lee or CDR/Bogans/JJ Shard/Hedo Najera or Diop/Battie/Thomas/Cook D12/Gortat/Thomas Either way I see that as a better lineup than we had last year. Plus by moving Hedo to the bench and Shard back to the three we should have a much more balanced team. Hedo will still see plenty of minutes and should be used like Manu. Our bigs problem should be addressed and we get some size in our back court. My question is, would you consider this a solid offseason?

quote: Originally posted by TheRevTy:One thing I find curious is there aren't very many big men available for the MLE. Diop I like, less so Najera. I would like to pursue a guy like Craig Smith, Ryan Gomes, Chris Richard (all from Minny, ironically), Turiaf, or Millsap. Turiaf I like, I just don't see LA giving him up. Diop is intriging, I think he's 26, big body, good defender, rebounder and shot blocker. However, no offense so it could allow teams to double dwight faster.

Not 1 bite???

Well, there's a lot of talk about big names in F/A and the Draft. However, those days are over for us. We are not a lottery team and we don't have tons of cap room, therefore we need to tweek the roster much like the Spurs and Pistons have done it in the past. Lets just look at what fits and allows us to improve, no drastic changes since we did have a good season behind us. The Draft: I think we should stay at 22 and see what we get since this draft is deep. I would be happy with any of the names here, however keep in mind that I'm looking at who should be available between 15 and 25. Rush Lee Lopez CDR Hibbert Arthur Now, depending on wether we draft a SG or PF (in Hibbert a C) that will decide for us how we approach F/A. If we get a SG: I think we should go for Diop or Najera. If we get a PF: I think we should go for Pietrus Plus we should look to get K. Thomas and Duhon if poss or white chocolate. I think Dooling will be too expensive. Our roster would then be reshaped into: Meer/Duhon or W/C Pietrus/Bogans/JJ Shard/Hedo Battie/Thomas/Lopez, Arthur or Hibbert/Cook D12/Gortat/Thomas or Meer/Duhon or W/C Rush, Lee or CDR/Bogans/JJ Shard/Hedo Najera or Diop/Battie/Thomas/Cook D12/Gortat/Thomas Either way I see that as a better lineup than we had last year. Plus by moving Hedo to the bench and Shard back to the three we should have a much more balanced team. Hedo will still see plenty of minutes and should be used like Manu. Our bigs problem should be addressed and we get some size in our back court. My question is, would you consider this a solid offseason?