<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CHARLOTTE ? Charlotte Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff didn?t go to sleep Wednesday night worrying about whether he will get Connecticut?s Emeka Okafor or Atlanta prep star Dwight Howard with the second pick of tonight?s NBA Draft. It?s a given he will get one, and he is happy with that. ?I?ll be worrying about getting a point guard,? Bickerstaff said.</div> I really thought Charlotte would be the team that traded down to Denver to get Jameer Nelson. The fact that they let Orlando outmaneuver them there was a disappointment. Orlando gave Denver a future first-rounder. Charlotte has plenty of those that they acquired in various trades, ie taking White from Phoenix and trading Pavlovic to Cleveland. I would have loved to see two of the best college players, Okafor and Nelson, in Charlotte. That would make the Bobcats really fun to watch. Anyway, Charlotte is still without a point guard. True, they chose Bremer in the expansion draft but he is not under contract as he is an unrestricted free agent now. I also do not think Bremer would make a great starting point guard. So who do you think the Bobcats should pursue in free agency?
I think they should go after Derek Fisher, he provides veteran leadership, but he can still run with the best of them, and is a pretty good open court passer. He also can score if needed, just ask the Spurs....
Hmm, I could see the Bobcats maybe pursuing Fisher. However, I think Fisher is most likely to sign with a contender. I think the Bobcats should pursue Jamal Crawford. By Chicago getting Ben Gordon in the draft, I don't see how Crawford will fit in. Crawford is a restricted free agent, and if the Bobcats offer him $5.5 million then I don't see why Chicago would bother to match. Crawford scored 50 points in a game last season so he deserves some recognition from the Bobcats. From the list of free agent point guards, I think Crawford is the only realistic legitimate starting point guard the Bobcats could get. As for their back up point guard, I think they should try and get Rafer Alston from Miami. But, I don't know. Alston seems to have finally settled with a team in the Heat, so he is most likely to re-sign with Miami. And maybe Miami knows this after passing on Jameer Nelson in the draft? However, Crawford and Alston would be a great combo at point guard. Carlos Arroyo could also gain interest from the Bobcats but he's a restricted free agent and I'm sure Utah would match any offer for him. So I see Jamal Crawford as being the only realistic starting point guard the Bobcats could get.
I agree with you that the Bobcats should persue Jamaal Crawford, as you said they have Gordon and they also drafted a good solid backup PG in Chris Duhon. Jamaal would be a good fit here IMO. Arroyo's offer would be matched IMO. Fisher has stated he wants to go to a contender.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Streetball2k3:</div><div class="quote_post">I agree with you that the Bobcats should persue Jamaal Crawford, as you said they have Gordon and they also drafted a good solid backup PG in Chris Duhon. Jamaal would be a good fit here IMO. Arroyo's offer would be matched IMO. Fisher has stated he wants to go to a contender.</div> Jamal Crawford is a 2guard, he's not a pointguard. I don't know why everyone keeps thinking he is a 1, he's not, he's a scorer. I doubt the 'Cats can get much for a point, but its possible for you to get Troy Hudson, who wouldn't be bad for them.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Jamal Crawford is a 2guard, he's not a pointguard. I don't know why everyone keeps thinking he is a 1, he's not, he's a scorer. I doubt the 'Cats can get much for a point, but its possible for you to get Troy Hudson, who wouldn't be bad for them.</div> Come on, man. Get real. There are not many pure point guards in the NBA anymore. And if you look at the list of free agents, players who could fit the description of being a pure point guard would not be of value to the Bobcats as being their starting point. Crawford can play the point. He's not an excellent passer but he's not bad either. He averaged just over 5 assists last season playing next to Hinrich. Sure, he has a scorer's mentality, but if you look at the projected Bobcats' current lineup... C Drobnjak PF Okafor SF Kapono SG Wallace PG ???? They need a scorer, badly. Crawford would fit in well. He is capable of scoring 19 ppg to 20 ppg. The Bobcats need that. I nearly forgot about Hudson. If the Bobcats can get both Crawford and Hudson, they would be set for the season at point guard. Another problem with their lineup... I don't like the idea of Drobnjak, White, or any big man the Bobcats currently have starting alongside Okafor. Drobnjak can shoot, but he isn't a good rebounder or defender. They need to sign another big man in free agency who could help Okafor. Stromile Swift is a player the Bobcats should pursue. Swift needs a change of scenery. He could really play up to his potential with the Bobcats instead of being on a deep team like Memphis. Swift is athletic and a pretty good shot blocker. Okafor Swift Kapono Wallace Crawford Not bad for an expansion team's first year lineup, eh? I can see them winning maybe 30 games in their first season with that lineup. Over 30 might be kinda stretching it... They would have many young stars to develop for the future. This could work out nicely for the Bobcats.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Jamal Crawford is a 2guard, he's not a pointguard. I don't know why everyone keeps thinking he is a 1, he's not, he's a scorer. I doubt the 'Cats can get much for a point, but its possible for you to get Troy Hudson, who wouldn't be bad for them.</div> Come on, man. Get real. There are not many pure point guards in the NBA anymore. And if you look at the list of free agents, players who could fit the description of being a pure point guard would not be of value to the Bobcats as being their starting point. Crawford can play the point. He's not an excellent passer but he's not bad either. He averaged just over 5 assists last season playing next to Hinrich. Sure, he has a scorer's mentality, but if you look at the projected Bobcats' current lineup... C Drobnjak PF Okafor SF Kapono SG Wallace PG ???? They need a scorer, badly. Crawford would fit in well. He is capable of scoring 19 ppg to 20 ppg. The Bobcats need that. I nearly forgot about Hudson. If the Bobcats can get both Crawford and Hudson, they would be set for the season at point guard. Another problem with their lineup... I don't like the idea of Drobnjak, White, or any big man the Bobcats currently have starting alongside Okafor. Drobnjak can shoot, but he isn't a good rebounder or defender. They need to sign another big man in free agency who could help Okafor. Stromile Swift is a player the Bobcats should pursue. Swift needs a change of scenery. He could really play up to his potential with the Bobcats instead of being on a deep team like Memphis. Swift is athletic and a pretty good shot blocker. Okafor Swift Kapono Wallace Crawford Not bad for an expansion team's first year lineup, eh? I can see them winning maybe 30 games in their first season with that lineup. Over 30 might be kinda stretching it... They would have many young stars to develop for the future. This could work out nicely for the Bobcats. Hmm... Just found this on the Bobcats' official web site on NBA.com. This was an interview with Bickerstaff after the draft. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">What are you going to do about the team's point guard situation? We?re going to have to go back and look at the free agent market for a point guard. There are some young point guards out there looking for playing time and we will just have to wait and see how things play out.</div> Young point guards looking for playing time? I really hope this does not mean they are going to sign someone inexperienced to be their starting point, like a 12th man on some team's roster. How do they expect to win that way? I understand that they want a young team so they can build for the future. I would go that direction too if I were building a franchise. But I hope they realize they need quality over just "young players looking for playing time." I guess you could say Quality over Quantity, because they got enough young players in the expansion draft and they will get more with the upcoming nba drafts in the future. They should look to the free agent market for someone who can really help them. I'm sure they know this. I'll be really disappointed if not.
I personally wouldnt mind seeing Rafer Alston here, he's a free agent and he hasnt hit his prime yet and he has a pass first mentality. Bickerstaff is my favorite GM with him practically anything is possible. If we can't get our hands on Rafer then I say we go for one of the Bulls point gaurds either Kirk, Gordon, Pargo or Duhon. I think we gotta possibility of getting Duhon with out sacrificing a lot we could trade a player like JR Bremer for him or a draft pick. Duhon should have been a first rounder. Bulls are loaded with point gaurds, they wouldnt mind giving up either Pargo or Duhon. Pargo tied MJ's record with 7 treys in a game that's a Bulls Franchise record, he was probably the best pick up of last season.
Team's next challenge: Find point guards <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Even though they have around $12.5 million to spend on free agents, they won't be free spenders just to fill the position. That likely knocks out the high-profile points available such as Chicago's Jamal Crawford, Minnesota's Troy Hudson or Derek Fisher of the Los Angeles Lakers. There are old guys available, some with recognizable names such as Avery Johnson, Mark Jackson, Kenny Anderson, Travis Best and Charlie Ward. But if we've learned anything from the Bobcats other moves, the point guard of the near future may be a player like San Antonio's Jason Hart, Milwaukee's Damon Jones or Keyon Dooling of the Los Angeles Clippers. They could have had Dooling in the expansion draft, but instead took the salary of Predrag Drobnjak off the Clippers' hands to move up to No. 2 in the draft to get Okafor. Now, Bickerstaff said the team will likely wait and watch as the early moves of the market unfold. "There are some young point guards out there looking for playing time, and we will just have to wait and see how things play out," he said. "(We may spend) not significant money, but I think money commensurate with the kind of talent we can find out there. I think there are some young point guards out there that have played, and they need an opportunity to play." That goes along with Bickerstaff's philosophy of targeting the young, cheap, long and hungry.</div> ...Do any of you guys think this is smart--not to pursue "high profile" free agents? Really, how do they expect to win any games? Much less put any points on the board? How can they depend on inexperienced players to carry the team through the season? Who can they go to when the game is on the line? It makes no sense at all to me. They'll be lucky to win 20 games. They need to sign young players who are proven. Not inexperienced bench warmers. Well, it's better than nothing. From those three players, they should sign Damon Jones. He filled in nicely for T.J. in Milwaukee. They made the playoffs. As for their back up, I'd go after Hart. Hart played well for San Antonio when he did play. He's also a pretty good defender which is the type of players the Bobcats want. They still need to sign another big man to play next to Okafor... White Okafor Kapono Wallace Jones I don't see how they are any better than the Nuggets or Cavaliers from the '03 season.
What about William "Smush" Parker? He has a low profile and has some rep from being a playground legend and he played a season in the NBA the 2002-2003 season on the struggling cavaliers. His stats were : 6.2ppg 1.8rpg 2.5apg 83%FT 40%FG 32%3FG 16.8mpg. He looks like a good player to me, infact he would be my first priority this kid didnt get much time in his first season in the NBA but I think he is one of those under the radar players like DerMarr Johnson and Theron Smith. Smush Parker profile
He seems like a good player, Has he ever controlled a offense, has he over played with a bunch of guys who dont know what they are doing. That is what I am worried about, a point guard is a player who runs the team, I was wondering can he do that?
Crawford takes an absurd # of shots, if you look at his stats he shot like 35% while being among the league leaders in shots attempted. That would be a disaster for this team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Originally posted by Online He seems like a good player, Has he ever controlled a offense, has he over played with a bunch of guys who dont know what they are doing. That is what I am worried about, a point guard is a player who runs the team, I was wondering can he do that? </div> Bro, he played the season of his NBA career with Ricky Davis ruling Cleveland along with only Z, and Booz no real stars were on that team and they were the worst team. I think he can make things happen he would be a good guy to take for the bobcats, low salary good production. Also Jannero Pargo would be great he has shown what he can do, anyone who ties anyone of MJ's record's deserves respect. He hit 7 treys in a game VS Milwaukee the only other player to play for the bulls thats done that is MJ. And he was an absolute star in last years summer league.
Bro, Smush Parker? He's got a bad attitude, for one thing, and I don't think it's a coincidence that his teams at both Fordham and in Cleveland were disasters the year he played for them.
Pargo played well on a team where he could take shots whenever he wanted, IMO on the Bobcats our main focus's are giving the ball to Okafor, Wallace, and Kapono for 3's and jumpers. Pargo won't be a main focus so I think Pargo will NOT thrive here in charlotte, IMO he should just sign to a team where he will be a main shooter. Smush Parker has a terrible attitude and reputation. Don't sign him, please.
Just about the gaurd position we have a star in the making, Bernard Robinson he was our 2nd round pick this year and he, in his college days troubled Devin Harris unbelievably this guy was proably the sleeper this year. I think we should bring in a gaurd that would mentor Robinson.
Then we should sign Rod Strickland if you want a mentor and veteran on our team, he played well last year for the Raptors setting up some sick Vince dunks, I loved watching him find open players I couldn't even see. Robinson did trouble Harris, and as you said, I am excited to say I think he was our big sleeper.
