Thoughts on going after JR Smith this summer? The guy is nuts, but he's unconscious when it comes to scoring off the bench. He can shoot, he can slash... He would be the perfect bench scorer for this team. I wonder how much he'll get.
I'd love a Smith-level player, but how the hell do we acquire him without (a) trading a starter or (b) selling our soul to Satan?
He's a UFA this summer, just like Redick and Mayo. Of course, if he wins 6th man, he'll be quite expensive I would guess.
There are certain personalities who once they play in the spot light of NY or LA do not want to move to a smaller market. He seems to be one of those IMO. We would have to over pay for him.
For a bench player, that's fine. The guy is unstoppable when he's on. We need that. He's one of those guys that you fear because they could go off for 30+ points on any given night. We're not talking about a starter, we're talkin bench.
He might be a good fit if we had different personnel, but I think we're better off doing a 3 man rotation with Lillard/Matthews/Maynor. Blazers need to focus on getting a center who can play defense.
How much do you think he's going to get? I'm just thinking this team needs another offensive threat. If Batum is going to be a distributor, that's fine with me, but we need another scorer. Lillard, Aldridge, and...... who? Matthews? He's pretty streaky as well. I just think it would be nice to have a scorer on the bench who could explode for 30 and put pressure on the other team while the starters rest. Someone that can create their own shot. That's Smith.
I want a center. I don't know if we can get one, but that's what I want. Our interior defense is ridiculously bad. I don't know whether to laugh or cry sometimes when teams repeatedly get wide open at the basket.
What center? Can you come up with an available center that would be better than what Hickson is giving us?
There really aren't any free agent centers this summer. It would have to come through trades, and I'm not sure any are going to be available. http://www.hoopsworld.com/2013-nba-free-agents/ There are a bunch of power forwards, and a bunch of shooting guards. Those are the two positions that will have options available.