Yeah. Smith would be a solid veteran big man for a team to have for a lot of teams. But like you said, adding him to this team isn't going to make a huge difference.
Why is everyone focusing on Joe Smith? As noted, the Nets have long coveted Chris Wilcox. They tried to get him in the Kittles trade, failed. They tried to trade the Clippers first round pick (from the KMart trade) back to the Clips for him, failed. They must have tried five times to get him. Now he is playing 21 minutes a game in OKC, after two years of 13 and 7 in Seattle. He will lose even more minutes when Krstic arrives. He has one more year on his deal. He's still only 26. Trade Swift for him (works straight up) and then let the Thunder have Krstic. If he works out, you have his Bird Rights. If not, it's not a big risk.
No way in hell Krstic average 16/7 with Harris and Lopez. No way Krstic getting 16 shots a game near the post with dribble drive Harris.
Here's another possibility. The Thunder also hold the rights to Devon Hardin, the 6'11" PF they took in the second round but told to get experience in Europe. He suffered a stress fracture in his leg just before heading East. Nets worked him out in 2007 and liked him but he decided to go back to Cal. They worked him out in 2008 again and said nice things about him. He was Ryan Anderson's teammate at Cal. He is about to be cleared to return to action. Nets could trade for his draft rights, keep him in Europe or in D-League, then sign him at year's end...or sign him now. I know they dont need another power forward, but this guy is no-risk and 22 years old. http://www.newsok.com/thunder-noteb...article/3328821?custom_click=headlines_widget
Wasn't that quite a while back? Hasn't Wilcox sort of lost the "amazing upside" tag by this point? Where does he fit on the Nets these days? For that matter, this seems like a game of chicken to me. I got to think that the Thunder should just say "Hey, I don't think you'll match" and not offer much back in a sign and trade. If they offer anything, it'll be something they don't mind getting rid of, at all. Oddly enough, Wilcox might fit that bill.
Ah, smart. Nets loved this guy and Thunder really have no room for him even before the Krstic signing so this would be a great deal.
I'm with NetIncome on this one, the one player everyone should be focusing on if a S&T occurs is Chris Wilcox. We all know that when Thorn is after someone, he keeps trying and trying and sometimes eventually ends up getting them. Take Keyon Dooling for example, who Thorn had been after for 3 seasons and finally got him.
First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if the Wilcox-mania was a Stefanski-fueled obsession. Then again, in theory he sounds like a poor man's Nene, so maybe Kiki would be interested too... Still, I'd rather have a player who USED to be good than a player who was SUPPOSED to be good 2 years ago. I know he's not putting up big numbers, but he's also an old vet playing for the freakin' OKC Douchebags. He looked good for the Cavs last season, and I think he'd be a nice option on those nights when we seem to be a quality big short.
Yes. I honestly do think that. The only consistent thing about Yi so far has been his inconsistency. It would be nice to have a quality backup we could trust.
I say take Joe Smith. Many more options with him and he's cheaper. He can be combined with Swift as basically $11mm in expiring. A potential playoff team, like Portland, could want a veteran big man like Smith. I think the luster has worn off Wilcox. The man has played for about 4 or 5 different coaches and he is what he is.
if we get wilcox we are making the playoffs. dude can be a beast in the paint. they have him playing out of position as a center though in okc. him, lopez, boone on the boards would be great. plus dude is tough as WWII marines.
He will not play for us so there really is no sense in taking him. He'll be like Swift last year. Yi and Anderson are getting those minutes until one gets hurt. Najera can't even break the rotation and he's been here since October. Only reason to take a player back is if they fill a need or they have potential trade value to bring in more resources. I see Joe Smith as valuable to a playoff team just like Kurt Thomas was last year.
That's why I am not greedy. I think DeVon Hardin, even though he is a young big man, could become valuable and the Nets dont have to sign him right now. He could go to Europe or the D-league. They can wait til next year to bring him in at the rookie minimum for second rounders, about $442,000. And since the Nets dont have a second rounder in 2009, its not like he will add to the roster.
I wouldn't mind taking Krstic back. Honestly, I would like to see more offense off the bench from our bigs outside of the occasional 3 by Anderson.
