Took the thread from LG, but I think it is a very valid question. Half a season into the NBA are you glad we let Turiaf walk and signed Powell, or no? I like Powell a lot. He has a nose for the ball, plays decent D, and has a nice stroke. I think once he gets more PT we'll see him be a little more productive.
Oh, and I read on LG that Phil had a radio interview today where he stated he was growing very attached to Powell.
Well the contract situation makes Powell as the obvious choice, but IMO his play is superior too. Ronny was energy, a better version of Mark Madsen if you will. Powell can straight up play. He is young in his career and you can see the tools are there for him to become a very serviceable player. My first impressions was he would be similar to Ronny but he really isnt. Ronny's biggest contribution was being a great cheerleader and not letting the team slip in intensity. I think the Lakers have that this year even though he is gone. Ronny's stats werent anything to brag about, just his intensity. He was horrible at rebounding for a person his size and fouled a lot when he went for the block since he was so animated. Powell on the other hand really seems better on the court in all aspects. He seems, for the most part, to make the right decisions on the court. The most obvious difference between the two is their jump shot....Powell has one, Ronny doesnt. When you just look at Powell he doesnt look like a guy he would shoot it from outside. While obviously there are other players I would rather have shooting the 15-17ft jumper he is pretty damn good at it. Powell>Ronny With the Lakers salary situation at the time Powell>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ronny
I don't know, I like Powell and think he has the potential to become a Chris Wilcox type player. He's a better rebounder and I think has a better post offense. I think Turiaf is the better shotblocker and defender and, IMO, he has the better jump shot. I really think Powell could have established himself as a NBA player on the Warriors if anyone but Nelson were the coach. If he develops the way I think he can, I'd take Powell but at this point I think Turiaf is more valuable.
Unless Ronny has SIGNIFICANTLY improved his J this year its not really close imo. I watched every game of Ronny's NBA career until this year and Ive already seem much more out of Powell when it comes don to hitting open J's.
What I remember about Ronny's J was you could always dictate how his shooting night would be on his first jumper. If he clanked it, he'd be off. I also remember he was only good from like the elbows of the court. Powell can hit from pretty much any where from what I've seen.
DaRizzle made the most valid point, Powell's contract makes the case for him. I do miss Turiaf, but he wasn't going to ever justify the money he's making in Golden State sticking with our squad and playing behind Drew, Gasol, & Odom. Turiaf is the better shotblocker, dunker in traffic, and passer, but I'd give Powell the edge on shooting & rebounding. One are Powell needs to develop is passing out of double teams.
Easy one for me too, before I even knew Powell would be productive for us I wanted Ronny out of here at that price.
I've been saying all along that Powell is an upgrade over Turiaf. I want him to see more minutes, I don't know why Phil has been using Mihm so much. Put in Josh!!! The only part of the game where Turiaf exceeds Powell is blocking shots, and maybe finishing in the paint with a dunk or something. Beyond that, Powell is a MUCH better rebounder (Turiaf was pretty bad), his jumper is much more consistent, and defensively, he doesn’t foul every single minute. I also love the fact that when the rebound is coming, Powell actually boxes out and secures himself for the board, instead of being caught on the opposite side of the basket, just landing after attempting to block a shot. Not taking anything away from Ronny though, he’s one of my favorite Lakers and I was sad to see him go. Powell will never be the energy guy Ronny was, but at ¼ of the price, the choice was obvious. Powell’s a better player, his talents fit more for this team and economically, there is no question who is the bargain price.
It's an easy choice based on the price tag. There's no way in hell Ronny was worth the kind of money he wanted, at least not here.
Agree with you guys that Ronny wasn't worth it for you're team but you're TRIPPIN' if you think hes actually a better player than Turiaf. It's possible if Powell has improved a lot since his days in GS but I don't get the impression that he's much better at all. He probably looks good considering hes a 13th man on your squad, plus hes playing next to Kobe, Pau, Odom, etc. which means more open looks. BTW to the person who said Powell was younger and had more potential, he's actually 12 days older than Turiaf- they're both 26. Head to head I'd give Ronny the edge in post defense, shot blocking, finishing in the paint, athleticism, energy, passing (an area where Ronny is underrated), cheerleading, toughness. Powell is a better mid-range shooter and fouls less. Rebounding is pretty much a wash, would have said Powell was better here before but Ronny has been better since around the new year. You Lakers fans need to keep in mind that Ronny has improved in GS though. His jumpshot has been going down consistently now since early January, hes rebounding better, and his on-ball post defense has been fantastic. Many GS fans will tell you his post defense is significantly better than Biedrins' and Nellie has even had him playing at the end of games because he's turned into a lock-down type defender in the post. Somehow the GS coaching staff has gotten him to stay down more on pump fakes (though he still goes after a ton of shots on help defense)- hes managed to stay conservative and stay out of foul trouble while starting with Beans out. Hes even one of the captains of the team for us. In short, I love him in GS even with the price tag. He has his short comings but you have to love the intensity coupled with the combination of strength and leaping ability. Now hes starting to get a little more savvy on defense as well. I wouldn't be heart broken if we traded him but hes been exactly what GS has needed off the bench for the last 10+ years.
