<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Supersonic:</div><div class="quote_post">Talk of us signing Jones, and dishing AD to Houston.</div> Who could the Sonics fetch from Houston though? Would they need another small forward in Bostjan Nachbar? Or would they take another three-point shooter in Piatkowski? There is, however, one dealable commodity, and that is a $6.9 million trade exception. What would the Sonics use it for though?
The fact that we have already had 22 posts in a thread for a back up point that we may or may not get shows that our attention is now finding a replacement for Brent Barry. Considering how poorly we played went Bones was out I can see why we need to upgrade at the point guard position. But Damon Jones? Supposedly we have a point guard in the waiting in Luke Ridnour and my guess is that we don't want to bring in a point guard that will keep Ridnour on the bench for his entire contract. The way that I see it, Ridnour may never be ready to be a upper level point guard in this league and b/c of this we have to explore the option of bringing in a top flight lead guard. In an earlier post I suggested that we trade Allen/Radman/Daniels for Miller/Nene/White. I think that we would definitely get the better of the deal considering that all three of our players will be free agents following this season. Since that seems to be out of the question I think that we should turn our attention to getting the poor man's Brent Barry, Bob Sura. Sura can play the one and the two and he is big enough to guard the bigger two guards when he is paired w/ Flip. He is a smart player who wouldn't seem to cost that much. Plus he is much better than every other guard that I have heard us possibly getting this off season.
If Sura could stay healthy and doesn't let his late season surge go to his head in terms of talking market value, then he would be handy. I have always liked him as a player and he is similar to Bones in terms of versatility and basketball smarts, he's just never been able to stay out of street clothes.
Any better alternatives? It is slim picking at the FA point guard spot and we can't afford to overspend. How about trading for Frank Williams? I know that he is not talented enough to be a full time starter, but I think that he showed spurts last season that he understands the game well. I think that he'd do well in a back up roll and I think that he has a better future in this league than Ridnour. Alvin Williams of Toronto could also be a temporary solution at point guard. I know that he has been injured often but he is a veteran who is capable of averaging 12 and 6 a night. (More than we got from our starting point guards last season) Considering the fact that they signed Rafer Alston to a ridiculous amount of money, maybe he would be on the market.
Are we talking in the sense that if we don't get Jones, than what's available? We seem to be the favourites for Damon's signature, and I would be happy with that, as I like him as a player. He protects the ball, has shown he can control an offense and is a great shooter - really all the things we lost in Barry.
Personally I don't think that Jones is a player that we need and if we can get someone better via free agency or a trade I would be all for it.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Sonics just gave Jones a one year contract and swapped Daniels for a draft pick. It would make sense if the team is still in rebuilding mode, but it would also be another step towards conceding defeat this season.
Supersonic, have they said who we are rumored to be sending over for AD? And can you give ur own scouting report of Daniels cuz I have mixed feelings over having him as our starting PG...
He's a guy who had his best season of his career in Seattle. Led the league in assist/turnover ratio, was usually our first or second guy off the bench and will basically give you 25-30 minutes a night of solid, safe basketball and decent perimeter defense. Not going to go off for 30 points every second night or start knocking down shots for everywhere, but he'll drive and dish and is capable of knocking down the open shot if it presents himself. I am not sure that Damon Jones is an upgrade here.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Miami -- To understand how far guard Damon Jones has come, consider that he calls the International Basketball Association "the lowest of the leagues" in the country, and yet he was a bit player there in 1997. "I didn't even start in the IBA," Jones said Friday. "I came off the bench." The IBA isn't around anymore, but Jones is. The Heat signed Jones to a reported one-year contract for $2.5 million with a player option for a second year.</div> <font size="1">Full Story courtesy of Michael Cunningham and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.</font> Good fit for Damon. This doesn't surprise me too much, as I had heard from a couple of people that we were leaning towards sticking with Daniels, and would only sign Jones if we were looking to trade Flip.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Iron Shiek:</div><div class="quote_post">Are we looking to trade Flip?</div> Not sure, I've heard rumours on both sides of the coin. My guess is management won't be looking to deal him before the season starts - for one, he is a valuable component with Ray's contract status still up in the air, and Flip's own deal makes it almost impossible to strike a fair trade, unless we can get rid of James' contract for a center which would seem unlikely. As you say, he deserves his chance to start at the point as much as anyone.
