Both have been blowing up lately and both are potential Centers for the Blazers next year. Hickson has been in the league two more years, but is actually two years younger. Here is a side by side comparison Hickson seems to be a little better this year, but it's close, and Pek is better on offense and is a bigger body on the inside. They will both likely cost a pretty penny next offseason, but Pek is a restricted FA, so Im not sure how likely it will be to get him, the Blazers might have to give something up.
Not sure what you mean by "giving something up" . You think Minnie might trade him to us? No way. They have no other center and they sure don't want us to get him. They will re-sign him. Plus I think Leonard can be as good. I would rather keep Hickson who can play two positions. I hate to say it but if JJ keeps posting double doubles most nights, 8 million will be the starting point.
I'd rather have Pek because I think he has more upside on both offense and defense. Unfortunately he will cost more money and I doubt there is any contract that Minny won't match. Resigning Hickson for 8 to 10 a year at 3 years wouldn't be horrible. Any longterm contract we give to a big i'm going to assume that once Leonard gets the starting nod we will look to move the other contract. There are 4 bigs that I would be intrested in next year that i'm assuming all will get 10m a year contracts. Jefferson/Millsap/Hickson/Pek.
i would guess we offer pek a giant contract at 1201 july 1st, just to give minny something to chew on
The Kahn rule. Don't forget, we'd have to renounce JJ to make a legit offer sheet to Pek. So is it worth renouncing any rights to Hickson, just to have a chance at Pek?
So you think Hickson will play center for the rest of his NBA career? If so the NBA has a big problem! The NBA was so much better back in the late 80's- 90's when you actually needed a true center to play the position..
Why would Pek have more upside? Hickson is two years younger and already has higher PER, EFF, WS, TS and just about everything other than 2.2 pp36.
comparison of Milsap, Jefferson, Pekovic and Hickson Check out the link, it's interesting. By the numbers, Hickson seems to be as good or better than all of those others. And for those that have a issue with Hickson at center, Millsap is listed 1 inch smaller, Jefferson 1 inch taller.
"By the numbers" doesn't always tell the whole story. I think generally Hickson is frequently over-matched as a post defender and seems to overlap an awful lot with LaMarcus (in that they both seem to be offensive oriented bigs). Pekovic intrigues me because he's strong, there's nothing finesse about his game and I think he'd actual be a good compliment to Aldridge. Thought needs to be given to putting this team together with an eye towards clearly defined roles and complimentary skills wherever possible, long term I suspect that Hickson and Aldridge as a starting front-court isn't going to bear much fruit; Aldridge and Pekovic might.
Who cares what positions JJ and LA are. They are playing great together. I'm glad we have them both. It's a good combination. IMO, PF and C are not the problem on our team. We need a backup PG and SG. Will Barton or Elliott Williams might become the SG but we definitely can't rely on Price/Smith. That spot must be improved. Jarret Jack would be FABULOUS. He put up 29 pts and 11 asts off the bench vs the Lakers. Lillard hasn't even put up numbers like that yet.
I have nothing agaisnt Pekovic, haven't really seen him play much. But I swear to God, we will regret the day we let JJ Hickson go, if we do. With his contract for this year, he's by far the best value in the NBA. We'll have to pay a lot more to keep him past this year, but we should. He's 24, hungry, and I believe he's loyal to Portland for being the team that took a chance on him after he got waived. JJ HICKSON!
"by the numbers" Hickson is the worst defender "by the numbers" Hickson's opponents PER is almost identical to his own
Interior defense and post offense are absolutely a problem with this team. Part of that is guys on the wing playing better man defense and the team playing better team defense as a whole, but LaMarcus and JJ together is not exactly an ideal pairing. To throw big money at him this off-season would be a big mistake in my opinion. Personally I'd prefer to see some kind of sign-and-trade worked out in the off-season (so we don't lose an asset for nothing) but inking him to a long-term deal isn't really the answer if LaMarcus is your starting power-forward for the next few years.
I agree with this part of your quote. We could possibly sign Jarrett Jack with the MLE or something near that amount. And he's versatile as he can play the 1 or 2 as a bench player. That's bullshit. Lillard put up numbers like that. Refer to the following link for Lillard's stats: http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01/gamelog/2013/
