I wouldn't go that far. He outplayed DeJuan Blair head to head. That said, a veteran PF for insurance would make sense. Would Ike or Skinner sign for the LLE?
Ike would be my choice as well (we like Ike). I think he could get the minimum from a lot of teams, and I don't think he would come here again, only for McMillan to give Outlaw all the backup minutes (which would make some sense, since he is a better player, even if he's not really what we need at that spot). Hmm. He averaged 9 and 5 in 14 minutes with Sacramento (23/10 per 36 minutes, 60% shooting, 24.9 PER). Even if it's just 10 games, he has produced pretty much everywhere (except Portland, where he never got a chance). Such a waste.
Brandon I know has said he likes Kurt Thomas. KT is in the final year of a contract that pays him 3.8M. Brandon's other boy, TO, is in the final year of his contract that pays him 3.5M. Although Travis has improved a lot working with Monty on his jumper, I'm disapointed he hasn't improved his rebounding, defense. With his Athleticism he should have a big advantage versus bigger, slower 4's. He is to big to guard 3's and just not quick enough . Also his BBIQ is and always has been questioned being that he has been in the league for 5 years now. He's not a vocal leader and never will be. I think Batum passed him mid-season as far as worth, importance to team. His Playoff performance pretty much staped his ticket out of PDX. I think TO has done a lot in bringing back the good reputation of players that have played in PDX and I think he should get a lot of credit for turning the franchise around I'd love to see a Thomas for Outlaw deal.
Why would we want Ike back? He's not exactly a "bruiser vet" type. He's an undersized scorer with relatively little experience. He couldn't beat Frye for PT and now we want him back as Frye's replacement? No thanks. I would take Brian Skinner back.
The lust for Ike is, to be frank, quite perplexing. He had multiple years in the NBA under multiple coaches and has shown the ability to have a couple of good games per year and a whole lot of nothing else. The worst we could get from Pendergraph/Cunningham is the same at a lower price - so why bother?
It's more like he produced very well whenever he got minutes (and wasn't injured). Look up his advanced stats.
I am sorry - but not getting minutes is an indication of his performance as well. If multiple coaches on multiple teams are only willing to use him in garbage time - that is some indication as well... Add the fact that his defensive rating is Zach Randolph like (or worse) - and quite frankly - I do not see the attraction. Having had the "pleasure" of watching him last year where he was not given the ball as the #1 option when he was on the floor showed me exactly why we do not need him. He is not effective if he is not the go-to guy on the floor. Just look at his PER in Portland where he was supposed to play a backup role - a PER of 11, TS% of .48 an ugly offensive rating and an ugly defensive rating. This guy is useless if he is supposed to be your banger backup PF - we do not need him in a Zach Randolph role...
I'm not saying he's this world-beater. He played a total of 73 minutes for Portland in 19 games (3.8 MPG). I'm not sure his lack of production can be attributed to not being the 1st option but rather that it's impossible to get comfortable playing 3 minutes in garbage time. I didn't watch his games in Sacramento... was he the 1st option when he was in there for them? I'm more than open to explore other options for this role.
I say we run Przybilla out there at backup PF a bit. I expect Oden to get most of the minutes at the 5 so we just go to a HUGE lineup at times.
