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Sky,
1) You forgot a couple key names in your SF and PF combos.
SF - Andres Nocioni. He might actually be a legit answer for us IF the Bulls don't resign him or he looks elsewhere. Terrific shooter, hustler, energy and tenacious defender. Can rebound well too.
PF - Anderson Varajeo in the Dennis Rodman mold. Doenst care to score. Only defend, rebound and hustle. AND BOY does he do those things well.
His ability to draw charges almost rivals an elite shotblocker in terms of his impact on the paint.
Not someone we shoudl dismiss. AND if in fact they do resign him, Drew Gooden could potentially become someone who is available.
2) If the Cavs want to get rid of Hughes, a deal of Farmar and Kwame could get it done since Kwame cuts their payroll and Farmar gives them a PG.
Hughes fits the Ron Harper mold to a T. Former 20ppg scorer with suspect shot but somewhat decent defense.
In addition, if we can swing it to include Donyell Marshall, all the better.
3) Here's a likely trade that could go down IF the lakers wanted to make it happen.
Kwame, 19 and Farmar
for
Zach Randolph and Jarrett Jack
People knock Zach all the time for his inability to defend, but to me, he isn't that much of a liability when you compare him to the other players on this roster. The difference is, he is a great rebounder AND quite simply, an unstoppable offensive force.
You dont post a PER of 23.0 and average 24 points and 10 rebounds a game without a great offensive game. He shoots 47% from the floor and he takes a decent amount of jumpers doing so AND he shoots 82% from the line.
We had Kwame guarding him and he simply couldn't stop him and Kwame is one of the best in this business on the block. Randolph simply has an overpowering offensive low post game.
A smaller version of Shaq who can put the ball on the floor AND hit the midragne shot and his free throws to boot.
he may not be an anchor defensively, but if we are hell bent keeping Bynum in the middle and grooming him, it wouldnt hurt having Randolph beside him at PF and moving Lamar to SF.
At least one thing would be solved and thats REBOUNDING!!!
We'd probably get about 27-28 boards out of frontcourt alone if you go only by averages of this past year.
And the key of course beyond that is one Jarrett Jack at PG.
A player Phil loves.
Can Phil mold Randolph? I dont see why not. He's got all the skills necessary to play not only the 5 position but also the 4 position in the triangle. He can hit out consistently from 18-20 feet.
I think a lineup of
Bynum
Zach Randolph
Odom
Kobe
Jarrett Jack
is infinitely better than our current undersized, unathletic, slow and defensively/rebounding challenged lineup. We obtain a low post presence offensively and a true PF in every sense of the word in terms of impact and physicality. We are missing a physical player down low like Randolph.
Imagine for a moment if we had that lineup against Phoenix, who in their right mind was going to stop Zach Randolph on that Suns team. He'd have no choice but to be double teamed as Diaw, Amare and Marion would have basically NO chance at even containing him wihtout getting into serious foul trouble.
All while Kobe and Odom are still on the perimeter.
The tempo could have been controllled almost exclusively by the lakers as an example. And THATS where great offensive execution can lead to great defensive execution by limiting poor possessions and poor shots.
Also, by doing this trade, WE STILL retain our MLE to sign that missing wing defender like a Posey or a Patterson to really complete this team!
Or we can wait on Artest to opt out, but with Zach on the team already, it might be best to look at Patterson or Posey.
In the end, its about risks right. We always talk about risk vs. reward. Well, in this case, we take a risk, but a calculated one. We retain all our key pieces for hte gang of four AND get two important things to boot.
A low post player AND a very good PG.
Its these kinds of risks (i.e. Golden State) that teams make when they want to truly contend.
Something to think about folks.
