Top Free Agents Article by Ric Bucher

It's on ESPN, he's only doing agents 11-20 today and 1-10 tomorrow. Unfortunately, it's an insiders article, so I was hoping someone here had insider and could show us the article. It might give us some insight behind his twitters yesterday.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insi...espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=4293663

 

Insider only dude.

 

I know. That's why I was hoping someone here had insider. I remember one of the posters did.

 

The meat of the article breaks down each players game, what types of systems they fit in and what type of systems do not. Here are the names and "Best Fits":

11. Jason Kidd, PG, Mavericks (UFA)
Best fits: Mavericks, Lakers, Cavaliers, Rockets, Magic, Hawks, Celtics

12. Ron Artest, SF, Rockets (UFA)
Best fits: Lakers, Rockets, Celtics, Cavaliers

13. Mike Bibby, PG, Hawks (UFA)
Best fits: Hawks, Blazers, Rockets, Grizzlies, Wizards, Hornets

14. Shawn Marion, SF/PF, Raptors (UFA)
Best fits: Knicks, Hornets, Bulls, 76ers, Suns, Raptors

15. Paul Millsap, PF, Jazz (RFA)
Best fits: Jazz, Blazers, Suns, Celtics, Pistons, Nuggets

16. Drew Gooden, PF, Spurs (UFA)
Best fits: Spurs, Bulls, Heat, Blazers

17. Allen Iverson, PG/SG, Pistons (UFA)
Best fits: Magic, Warriors, Wizards, Celtics, Suns

18. David Lee, PF/C, Knicks (RFA)
Best fits: Suns, Blazers, Jazz, Rockets, Thunder, Warriors

19. Linas Kleiza, SF, Nuggets (RFA)
Best fits: Cavs, Lakers, Hornets, Spurs, Magic

20. Channing Frye, SF/PF, Blazers (RFA)
Best fits: Pistons, Heat, Magic

 

Nice! Channing at 20? Got a little chuckle out of me.

 

The write-up on Bibby describes exactly why he would be a horrible fit in Portland.

 

I think he's probably a little better than we saw last year, but it surprised me too.

 

I was watching one of the playoff games with Bibby, and on one defensive posession, he stood at the top of the key at the corner, and watched as the ball moved all around the perimeter, inside, outisde, and never moved his feet once. He just stood there and watched as a guy scored. Pathetic. Don't want him.

 

+1

I'd rather have Blake and his contract vs Bibby and the amount of money he'll want.

 

I think Bibby would only ask for around the MLE though.

 

Damn this forum and it's idiot love for Steve Blake. I don't care how much less Blake makes than other PG's in the league. Blake is one of the bottom 5 starting PG's int he entire league. There is a reason Lexus costs more than a Yugo, and it's because they are better. In most cases, you pay for what you get.

Should we not extend Brandon Roy or LaMarcus Aldridge because we already have a cheap player at those possitions?

 

The only problem with this analogy is, that at this point in his career, Mike Bibby is a Yugo too.

 

Why is David Lee so low?

He's one of the best free agents this summer.

 

No he's not. He's not my choice in the slightest, but he is still an upgrade over Blake

 

There are a lot of PG's I'd rather over Blake, but Bibby certainly isn't one of them.

 

Jason Kidd!!! Why would they not say he would be a good fit in Portland?

 

That surprised me. Even the writeup made it sound like Portland would be a decent fit (without saying their name).

 

Because apparently we're more focused in on Drew Gooden.

 

Maybe, maybe not. Bibby isn't really a good distributor. Other than a couple seasons very early in his career in Vancouver (like I said, very early), he's always been about a 5 - 6 APG kind of guy and more of a scorer than a distributor - sort of a poor man's Tony Parker. His defense isn't great either. His 2007-08 numbers are no better than Blakes 2008-09 production. However, he was on a losuy team in Sacramento and needed a change of scenery. He got that, be he was absolutely horrible in the play-off series against Boston. Rondo absolutely abused him - showing that Bibby has trouble with quicker PGs. He redeemed himself a little in 2008-09 as both his regular season and play-off numbers were much better. In particular, he shot the ball a lot better. I think part of that was adjusting to his new role/teammates in Atlanta, and part of it was he didn't have to go against Rajon Rondo in the play-offs this year.

So, if he is better than Blake, the difference is small - and he's not really good at the things we need in PG (the ability to play good perimeter defense and guard quick PGs).

BNM