I hear a lot of people say lets get Chris Paul because NO is cash straped, but what if we went after their backup point guard D. Collison? This guy has talent, will immediately improve our second unit while he gets another year under his belt. We could take Posey off their hands who for Joels contract and save the owner some money. I know it isn't a major move, but this guy did a hell of a job in Chris Pauls spot while he was injured. What would it take to get him? Rudy, and Joel for Posey and Collison.
I'd love to see Collison in a Blazer uniform, but as cash-strapped as NO is, they really don't have any outrageous contracts hanging over their heads other than Paul and Okafor. Peja will opt to keep his player option, but that is $15 million that the Hornets can better use at the trade deadline. Getting Joel's contract means nothing to the Hornets. Posey is on a somewhat bad deal, though. I wonder if Bayless/Miller could net Collison and Posey? Then sign Blake or Felton as the back-up PG?
I think Peaceman meant Darren Collison, backup PG for the Hornets; and not Nick Collison, Backup PF/C for the Thunder. And I'd play either Collison over Jeff Pendergraph any day of the week,
Thank you! Yes, I am yalking about yhe backup point guard on the Hornets who has potential. He kept the hornets in the running when Chris Paul went down last year. He is a energy guy that is lightning quick and a good defensive player for his size. I wonder what it would take to get him.
How would he look next to Roy? When Collison was averaging 20/10 during the months Paul was down he had the ball in his hands a lot, like Roy & Paul. Playing with Roy, Collison will be playing off the ball a lot and wont be getting nearly as many looks. With Roy/McMillan, his role will likely be to walk the ball up, defend, and sit in the corner and wait for the ball.
Collison would be great for defense and penetration. The question is, can he increase his three ball a bit? .400 won't cut it NEXT TO BRANDON ROY. Sorry, hehe the uh...caps lock got stuck. I honestly don't understand why there aren't more PG's in college who refine the NBA 3. On the other hand Collison probably wasn't shooting the three ball much in NO. Full disclosure: I missed the second half of the season due to family issues. I loved Collison at UCLA though.
You bring up a good point here. A fair amount of my annoyance with Roy-ball is McMillan's offenses are nothing short of maddening.
Hopefully it would be to feed the post if Oden can fully return. The offensive end could be worked out, like it eventually found with Miller. The defensive upgrade would be ENORMOUS. I think he's an elite defender. Not only extremely quick able to apply pressure, but a very heady player in rotations. He'd make an immediate big impact. That proposed deal of Pryzbilla/Rudy for Collison/Posey would be awesome in my opinion, and maybe realistic. Would make a great summer in my opinion.
Here's some new info from ESPN: Rival executives will continue to try to convince the Hornets to make Chris Paul available in trades, pointing to the fact that Williams can simply slide the promising Darren Collison and his modest $1.4 million salary into that spot. When those teams get shot down, look for the Hornets -- based on the hints we've received from more than one exec -- to make Collison available as long as the interested party is willing to take back the cap-clogging contract of Emeka Okafor, James Posey or Peja Stojakovic with Paul's backup. I would be happy to give Pryzbilla and Bayless for Collison and Posey. It would save them one year off Posey's contract. It would be tougher to take Okafor off their hands; that would require throwing Miller or Camby in there too, not sure if we want to shake thing up that much right now but Okafor is still a young productive player, I think they would want our draft pick on that also.
Okafor's contract is bigger, but Okafor is a relatively valuable player. I'd much rather deal for Collison/Okafor than Collison/Posey. I'd certainly include Miller or Camby. I like Miller a lot, but it'll be a waste of either Miller or Collison to bring them off the bench. I'd prefer to keep Camby over Miller, because big man depth is such a precious thing...but in the eventuality that both Oden and Camby stay relatively healthy, Oden, Aldridge, Okafor and Camby is just too many players...someone's going to be unhappy. Ultimately, though, it would make the team younger and better to bring in Collison and Okafor (though it would definitely inflate the payroll). A long term three-guard rotation of Roy/Collison/Bayless and a long-term big man rotation of Oden/Aldridge/Okafor, with Batum (and maybe Webster) at small forward.
I agree Minstrel. Even though Okafor is probably overpaid and his presence could complicate things in the short run I think he'd be pretty useful come playoff time when you need a lot of bigs to combat the likes of LA et al. Having him would also blunt some of the sting if Oden doesn't pan out. I have no idea what New Orleans would want back in the trade but I'd make anybody aside from Batum, Roy, Aldridge or Oden available (maybe Camby too?) to get Collison and Okafor -- if it were Collison and Posey then the offers would be a helluva lot less).
I would love getting Collison from NO. Getting Okafor would be a bonus if we could match up salaries that would entice them enough to do it.
