Anyone think that the L.A. Clippers would have traded the #7 pick and a future 1st Rounder for Seattle's pick at #4 (as rumored on draft day) and selected UCLA's Kevin Love if the Clippers knew Brand could not be trusted?
Baron Davis, Cuttino Mobley, Al Thornton, Kevin Love and Chris Kaman would be better than what they have right now, with Josh Powell and Tim Thomas fighting to start at PF at the moment.
There aren't many options to fill the PF position, unless the Clippers trade for Zach Randolph or if they can sign Emeka Okafur or Josh Smith. Obviously, signing Josh Smith would be the best case scenario for the Clippers, as he is young, athletic and talented and he would look great finishing BDiddy's alley-oop passes. Building around a core of BDiddy, EGordon, Thornton, J.Smith and Kaman would provide a young (except Baron), exciting nucleus moving forward and might help take the sting away from Brand's back stabbing.
Otherwise, Henry Abbott has a list of free agents left on the market and the pickings are slim.
Matt Barnes is on the list. I cannot believe what Barnes must go through every year. For a team that likes to run, he is a perfect complimentary piece off the bench. He is the ideal back-up combo forward for the Warriors, Suns, Knicks, Sixers, etc. He makes open shots, defends, runs the floor and does the little things. It is unbelievable to me that he has to earn a roster spot every single season.
Maybe the Clippers sign him as their starting power forward...or, he would fit with the Cavaliers, as a player who does not need plays run for him and can space the floor and allow King James to do his thing.
Also on the list is Maurice Evans, another player I really like. Evans is the type of player the Suns need off their bench: tough, good defender, gets to the rim and makes open threes. He fits the Suns style of play much better than a player like Alando Tucker. He would be a nice pick-up for the Spurs if they cannot get James Posey. Quinton Ross would be another Spurs-type player as an heir apparent to Bruce Bowen.
Wednesday, July 09, 2008
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4 comments:
You'd make a good GM. Guys like Barnes and Mo Evans don't put up big numbers or get on ESPN, but year after year, they get major minutes on winning teams.
Barnes was horrible last year for the Warriors. He had some off-the-court family issues that probably contributed, but he honestly could not shoot, especially in key situations, and his high risk passes seemed to be off the mark more often than not.
Barnes is definitely a hard-nosed player, but if he is any deeper than 6th or 7th in a rotation he is innefective because he needs to get into the flow of the game to be effective.
With thee Warriors last season, they relied on him to spell Stephen Jackson and Al Harrington. He was not scoring, so Jackson ended up playing heavy, heavy minutes and wore down by the end of the season which was the real reason the Warriors could not put together a run and make the playoffs at the end of the year.
Barnes is a great competitor but I simply don't think he has the skill set to be a consistent NBA player. He had one big year in the Warriors playoff run, but his jump shot got worse and I think he's really a liability sometimes.
I think Barnes is like a handful of energy guys in the NBA (e.g. Turiaf, Millsap, Darrell Armstrong a few years ago). He was at his best as a sixth/seventh man when the Warriors still had J-Rich. Players like Barnes and the others I mentioned are perfect fits for good teams, when they aren't asked to do too much. Give them ~20-25 min per game off the bench, and they will provide change of pace & energy. Another perfect example is James Posey.
Asking these guys to be starters or 3rd/4th options is a bit of a stretch, though. What happens far too often is average to poor teams overspend on these types of players and think they can fill a bigger role than they are probably capable of.
For this reason, our perception of the Matt Barnes' of the league can change drastically from year to year. If his team is making noise in the playoffs (see 07), we see how valuable he can be and sing his praises. If his team misses the playoffs, he is just another NBA bench player (see 08). If Barnes hit the free agent market last summer, chances are his stock would have been much higher. Sure, he had a down year this year, but he's not a markedly different player than he was last year.
The common NBA fan had an entirely different perspective of James Posey last season than he/she did this season. Shoot, Posey didn't get many bites last offseason and the Celtics were able to nab him for a reasonable price. This offseason, there has been quite a bit of noise surrounding his unrestricted free agency.
Actually, Posey's plight baffles me. I've always thought that guy was a player. I remember when he was first in the league. he was playing at sacramento and sacramento blew them out - i think he may have been with denver. i don't even remember. anyway, peja had 39 points. the kings get the ball back ith about 20 seconds left and peja looks like he is going to run out the clock. all of a sudden, with like 6 seconds left, he attacks the basket to the delight of the crowd. posey clothes lined him and gets ejected. everyone thought he was a thug. i thought it was a great play to show some heart at the end of the game that you're not going to get shown up. i've liked him ever since. i can't believe teams won't give him the full mid-level for four years, but pietrus got the full middle level. posey is an outstanding defender and he knocks down open threes. what more do you want from your 4th/5th/6th man in today's nba?
as for barnes, he's a 7th man who is best suited as an undersized 4-man for a fast breaking team. however, i can't believe he has to earn his contract every year while teams throw money at less competent players. kenny thomas is still making 10 million a year, or whatever, from the sacramento kings. incidentally, i wrote on this blog that that was a terrible trade and i would rather have matt barnes than any of the three players the kings got in return for webber. i would still rather have barnes than thomas...
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