Well, only one of the two just basically missed an entire season due to injury. A "little less injured"? Come on now. Hibbert has missed 3 games over the last 3 seasons, and only missed games in his rookie year because he was on the bench.
Because no team has a steady stream of the "handful of top rookies." If you always had top rookies on hand, then yes, Batum would be worthless once his rookie contract ended because you have a constant stream of equivalent talent. But that's like saying "If we take for granted that I'm getting a steady stream of winning lottery tickets, why would I ever pay more than $1 for any investment?" You're assuming the automatic acquisition of things that aren't automatically acquired at all. Batum isn't replaceable because, while there are a reasonable number of players at least as good as he is in the league, most teams don't have one on a rookie contract at each position and can't expect to. No team drafts well enough to build entirely of cheap, rookie-wage players, so teams have to dip into the free agent pool for market price players to fill some holes. You can argue that Batum isn't the best use of those free agent market dollars, which is fine and a defensible view, but I can't see that "Batum is replaceable because he's not better than the top five, give or take, from any given draft class and rookies are much cheaper" is a good reason to not re-sign him.
per 36 from their last full season (Lopez 2010-11) Hibbert 15.5ppg/10.6rpg/2apg/2.5bpg Lopez 20.8ppg/6.1rpg/1.6apg/1.5bpg Lopez has played more minutes per game, but then again, he broke down last year and basically missed the entire season. Did New Jersey overplay him his first three years? A major injury for a big man is a big concern, IMO.
I can appreciate that. I'm trying on "Lils" for Lillard to see if it sticks. DLill is just too obvious.
Broken bone in his right foot. Second time it's happened to him. I'm guessing your question was rhetorical, though. http://www.nj.com/nets/index.ssf/2012/04/brook_lopez_said_the_injury_th.html
per 36 is a slippery slope my friend... you have to be on the floor to produce numbers in the first place, they have very different skill sets, but it is easy to see which player was more valuable\ now going forward....who knows, but dont be shocked if brook continues to put up 20 PERs
What about a ménage with Orlando and Brooklyn if Hibbert doesn't work out? Would they prefer some of our assets rather than Lopez?
Playing time is indeed necessary for value, but we're trying to project what the players will do going forward, since the Blazers would be buying their futures, not their pasts. From what I could tell, Hibbert didn't play less than Lopez because he was clearly more deficient in ability (last year, at least), but because Indiana had a deep team and tried to use that depth to their advantage by rotating players a fair amount.
Hibbert leaning toward Portland after max offer Free agent center Roy Hibbert is now leaning toward wanting to play with the Portland Trail Blazers next season, a day after the restricted free agent got a verbal commitment from the Blazers that they would tender a four-year, $58 million offer sheet to him, the maximum he can receive under terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, league sources confirmed Sunday. Hibbert, acquired from Portland on Draft day in 2008, had long expressed his desire to remain in Indiana, with the team that traded for him and helped him develop into an All-Star center. But the 25-year-old was apparently blown away by the presentation made Saturday in Washington, D.C., by the Blazers’ contingent, which included Portland’s new general manager, Neil Olshey. The Pacers would still be able to match any offer for Hibbbert when the July moratorium expires, but teams generally work out deals for players who express a specific desire to be elsewhere once they become free agents. The Pacers are still likely to match the offer, because Hibbert has become one of the league’s top centers and his skills as a passing big man are a rare commodity in the NBA these days. But a source indicated Sunday that the organization would have to take a look at the offer before making a definitive commitment. The team’s owner, Herb Simon, has OK’d a decision to go either way depending on what the team’s new basketball operations group, led by team president Donnie Walsh and general manager Kevin Pritchard, ultimately recommend. http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2012/...ard-portland-after-max-offer/?ls=iref:nbahpt2
On another note, has anyone thought about what you'd send away in a S&T for Hibbert? If KP says "we'll match unless you pony up (X)", what would you give up? Obviously any of the Smith/Babbitt/Thomas group, but would you give up Wes? Leonard? EWill? We can't give future firsts. We keep talking S&T for Batum to get back assets, but what about Hibbert?
