http://celtics.bostonherald.com/celtics/vi...articleid=39989 GP has told his agent that he will not play for the Boston Celtics. He either will quit or wants to be traded to the Clippers, Rockets or Timberwolves. What's your take. I think the backcourt is already full, he isn't the player he was two years ago, so I don't see where he fits. At 6"4, it would be intriging to see him and Hassell "D-ing" people up, but I don't think it'll ever happen. What are the die hard T'wolves fans thoughts??
It would be nice to have Gary Payton in case Troy Hudson or Sam Cassell got injured. But the Wolves would have to give up a lot for a backup backup pointguard, regardless of the fact that hes a HoFer.
I'm not a die-hard Wolves fan but I love GP so I'll respond. It was clear that GP was pissed after this trade because he didn't show up for his physical. That screwed the Lakers because they draft pick that came as a part of the traded was then voided. I dont see GP fitting in with the Wolves. Hudson is a solid back-up, who is like BJax, really would start on most teams. Spree and Wally are both swingmen, so the sg spot is full. Then there's Hassell, and that leaves little room for GP, and his minute-requiring ego. I feel bad for the guy, but GP is done as a premier pg in this league, and possible as a starter.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Tahsmith:</div><div class="quote_post">just put him on the IR and give themgary trent and kirk penny or maybe rickert</div>
i would love to see the tandom of gary and payton agin going to work. if theis happens i can see the wally trade going through whisch would free space at sf. but the only problem i see is what would the wolves do with troy. They should have let him go to free agency so we ( atl) could have signed him. those meanies. ps i've always wanted to see what payton and kg would be like anyway.
We do not need payton and I do not want him. True he is a guy who is a future hall of famer, but his glory days are over. He would not be able to start in our lineup and his negative attitude would way down the teams positives like it did to the lakers when he announced stuff like "I more series to a title and Im gone" and "If Phil stays Im gone" he ios really not that good any more. He could probably average double digit points, but not by much in a team ffense with taletned players around them. He wayed down the sonics when he was there his last few years and would do the same to us. Cassel is way better option at this point.
i would actually like to see payton here... he and cassell are friends, and they've proven they can play together in minny, albeit it was a short-term thing. but his defense isn't as poor as people make it out to be. yea, he got burned by parker, but cassell gets burned worse on defense, and so does wally. he isnt a prime time defender no more, but he still brings a ton of D to the table. and the offense the wolves run would suit payton well. and the help on pick-and-roll defense that payton would get in minny would be much better than the help he got in LA (which is why people think he is such a poor defender now). edit: <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">and they've proven they can play together in minny</div> i meant in milwaukee
Yeah Sammy & GP worked out for a half a season with the Bucks. And they are pretty good friends, but this situation in Minny would totally be different. I Mil-town they both got to start no egos got bruised, they were basically looked at as co-leaders for 2nd half of the 2002-2003 season. fast foward to 2004-05, I doubt that GP would ever except a role as the 3rd point guard even in a championship situation. He was in a championship situation last year, and never excepted the fact that he would not be on the floor in the 4th quarter, most night because Fisher fit in with the Lakers better. So now he is surpose to take a role of being an insurance point guard, playing little to know minutes at all, I dont think so. That sounds like a potenial for alot of chemistry disruption with GP complaining about minutes and his role with the team. I am pretty sure that GP made that statement at least thinking that he would be a backup, meaning that Hudson would either have to be dealt in when he is allowed to under the collective bargining agreement or he would have to fall back into a roll of a 3rd point guard, which makes no sense either way because obviously by giving Hudson a 5 year deal, the wolves have decided to make Hudson their point guard of the future, so you would like him to have a legit role on a team thats going deep in the playoffs, so he gain the exprience for when his time comes for him to regain his roll as the teams main point guard. So there really isnt any room for GP in Minny. This would have been good news about a week ago, because then the wolves wouldnt have been in position where they would have had to give an injury prone Hudson a 5 year deal. And Payton would have probably been a better backup for Cassell then Hudson, because GP in most situations is a good on-ball defender and he would somewhat be able to make up for the fact Sammy isnt. And it would have been good to have GP's playmaking skills in there with the 2nd unit.
make hassell come off the bench... i kno how crucial he is to the team, but i bet its easier to make hassell come off the bench than it is making spree do so. true, we'll be missing a big part on defense, but with the age of the players at positions at the 2 and the 3, he can still log a good amount of minutes. he can come in first for spree at the 3, then when spree returns to replace payton or cassell, hassell can slide over to the 3, and when GP or Sam return, they can replace each other, and hassell would still be in the game. I dont think its fair to judge payton based on his 1 year in LA, there was an accumulation of things that happened there to make him react the way he did... if u can sit him down and explain his role, and then sit down hassell and explain to him his role, then get both of them to agree to it, then i definitely think it would work.
No team should even listen to his garbage. Yes, it's disappointing about how he got traded so suddenly without knowing of any knowledge about a trade, but c'mon...players get traded all the time, it's a business. Maybe he should talk to the players that find new addresses each and every season and ask them how they feel. And with his only season as a Laker, everybody witnessed how old and miserable he looked on the court, and with the serious guard depth already in the Western Conference, he'd be nothing better than a guy coming off the bench.
i'd be pissed too if i were him... he talked to LAL management, and they told him he'd be the starter, and would get a coach that would run an offense that suited him, and told them they wanted him there... then after he picks up his option, they ship him out
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting jiggax23:</div><div class="quote_post">i'd be pissed too if i were him... he talked to LAL management, and they told him he'd be the starter, and would get a coach that would run an offense that suited him, and told them they wanted him there... then after he picks up his option, they ship him out</div> When payton picked up his option he was not helping anyone, but himself. He new he would not get a good deal any where after the season he had and the lack of points he was able to score for the team. He picked up his option souly to raise his own marketing stocks. He was thinking about gary payton not the lakers. He went to the lakers for one reason win a ittle now it is obvious they wont do that this year so why would he pickup his option to stay with the team for one year. He wanted to benefiet himself by proving he still had game in a offense that ran through him not shaq, nor fisher, nor Phil Jackson's triangle in general. He was not ever intrested in the team and to think he was is just to look at this with blind intentions.
