Listen accutely, gentlemen. Trade Rashard Lewis and Flip Murray for #2 and Bobby Simmons/Eddie House Draft #2: Dwight Howard #12: Pavel Podkolzine/Rafael Araujo #36: Herve Lamizana #42: Jaber Rouzbahani Line-Up <u>PG</u> Luke Ridnour/Antonio Daniels <u>SG</u> Ray Allen/Bobby Simmons <u>SF</u> Vladimir Radmanovich/Ansu Sesay/Herve Lamizana <u>PF</u> Dwight Howard/Nick Collison <u>C</u> Vitaly Potapenko/Pavel Podkolzine/(Jaber Rouzbahani) Conclusion Possibly the best defensive, or at best all-round, frontcourt in the history of team sports, if "upside" is fulfilled. Sure, there isn't too much toughness in the backcourt, but once you get pass them, you're getting knocked flat. Lamizana particularly has tremendous potential on defense, only needing a swift kick in the ass, both which Nate can help with. JJ and CB can drink Starbucks on the sideline for all I care. We change the philosophy of the franchise in one off-season... WHO'S COMING WITH ME? <font size="1">(130 words)</font>
guh since when is potapenko good at defense? He may be better than Booth and James but that really says nothing. He's undersized for his position and doesnt make up for it with speed, athleticism, or "smarts" either. For this to be the best plan ever he needs off the team :[
The Clipps wouldn't take that deal IMO. Sterling is already tight enough about signing players to their true market value, let alone acquire a player that is overpaid (Lewis).
lol Sterling, yea he probably wouldn't do it because of the money lol. You know what though I actually liked Bobby Simmons a lot this season, and Matt Barnes too, it could've been only me but those guys played well. Also Simmons is an FA so we have to re-sign him first.
In the history of team sports? Nah. Not even close. With virtually no veterans, this team has the potential to fall flat on its face. Remember what happened to the Sonics this year without Barry? Try that for a whole season, with Barry not even on the sidelines cheering everybody on. Rashard and Flip is way too much to give up for a high school kid.
Calm down Sonic fans. Dwight Howard is not in our immediate future. If we are going to go after a power forward best believe he would have put up all star numbers in the league not high school. Can't imagine Collison pick being justified by picking a high schooler the following year.
I still think if we're going to target the Clippers, it has to be Brand. The key is getting Sterling to take on Rashard - if Elton isn't getting it done results-wise for the money he's on, I'm not confident that Sterling would be prepared to take on Lewis, particularly with Maggette already suited to the 3. However, Lewis and Flip for unknown talent is still a pretty fair deal from the Clips' point of view, although they'd have to pay Flip after next season too. In terms of Dwight Howard, I'd kill to have this fella. Not only does he have a great head on his shoulders, he is enormously talented. I think one scout said he'd be a future HOFer already. I know the dangers of pinning hopes on HS kids, and I know we have Collison, but I'd do a lot to get this kid. The Collison pick is justified by being the best man available at our pick in 2003, that doesn't mean you pass up another guy just cos he plays the same position. In fact I could see those two playing in the same frontcourt in some situations.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Casual:</div><div class="quote_post">In the history of team sports? Nah. Not even close. With virtually no veterans, this team has the potential to fall flat on its face. Remember what happened to the Sonics this year without Barry? Try that for a whole season, with Barry not even on the sidelines cheering everybody on. Rashard and Flip is way too much to give up for a high school kid.</div> I was somewhat overexaggerating with the 'team sports' call. OK, a lot. But it's still relevant. How many veterans did we have doing a job in the frontcourt last year? No one. Evans, Booth, James, Potapenko give us next to nothing. Why not load up with some prospects at those spots? Sure, they'll have games where they don't contribute, but they could certainly have some monster games also. Nick Collison will be head-and-shoulders above the rest of our frontcourt next year, I absolutely guarantee you. Evans, Booth, James et al will continue not to get the job done, and take us nowhere. I'd rather have the best case scenario of a championship (in the long-term), with maybe some short-term pain rather than going with a bunch of guys simply because they've seen more than two years in the league.
Evans is not a veteran...last year was his sophmore season. It was also only Jerome's fourth season, which is probably like a second with his mentality. Young players who pan out fully like your plan calls for them to after a few seasons of mediocrity aren't that common. You can't really expect an entire team to just become good after a while with no peers to learn from. Also, I see no reason why Ray Allen would stay in Seattle for the rebuilding process, unless he's greedy enough to stay for the money..
I like the first two draft picks, but instead of spending the two second rounders on projects too, why not package them, maybe with a player and try and get a veteran in the front court. Look on the free agent market too, see what sort of cheap big guys are on the market - coupling them with Jack Sikma would no doubt help out a lot. It's really just a question of how long you want to take for success. My personal opinion is landing someone like Dwight Howard is going to get you further in the long run, but at the expense of some short term pain.
Hmmm... the packaging of two 2nd rounders + a player, is quite a good idea. A lot of the better teams like to accumulate 2nd rounders as there is no guarantee of salary. Maybe we can get some quality out of that package.
