Rebuttal on drafting a wing.

by MatthewH on Feb 9, 2012 2:14 PM CST

Do we need a wing? Absolutely. But I'd much rather draft a big man.

The first question is, will there be a good big man available when we draft? I think it is extremely likely. Keep in mind, last year two of the top five draft picks were spent on European big men, and most people (including me) haven't even looked at Europe yet. I don't want another 19 year old rookie unless it's a phenom type like Irving or He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. And that's a major part of the equation. If we want to maximize the Irving Window, to steal a term from somewhere else, now is the time to get older rookies and younger vets who can play together.

That leads into the second question- we clearly need both a big man and a wing.

Luckily, we need have both quite a bit of money and a good draft pick. Are we better off spending a draft pick on a wing and getting a big man in free agency, or a big man in the draft and a wing in free agency?

Part of that can be seen in our roster. At guard, we have Irving, Sessions, Parker, Boobie, and Gee. The dropoff from Irving-Parker to Sessions-Gee is almost nonexistent, and we still have Boobie. On the other hand, after Varejao, Jamison, and Tigger, we have...Erden? Samuels? Hollins? Harangody? The dropoff in big men is huge, and for guards it's a lot lower.

That gets me to the second point. Would you rather get a Wilson Chandler or Aaron Affalo type in free agency, or a Glen Davis type? Only two power forwards in the top 40 free agents last year changed teams, and they were Glen Davis and David West. For Centers, there were three- Tyson Chandler, Samuel Dalembert, and Kwame Brown. Pretty slim pickings in free agency. Seven shooting guards in the top 40 changed teams. Competition is much higher for good big men in free agency.

So, do we actually need three good big men? Heck yes. Most big men go 36 minutes in the playoffs or less. This means your third big man can get almost as much time as the first two. Sometimes it seems like the big man off the bench is actually more important, as he can support his teammates on both offense and defense.

In short, we need both, but a big guy will be easier to get in the draft and be better for us, both in the short and in the long run.

This is a Fan-Created Comment on FearTheSword.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff at FearTheSword

Tweet Comment 20 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Obviously I disagree 100%

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 9, 2012 5:29 PM CST reply actions

My Moves:

(1) 2 trades Jamison to a team(dont care just get a first round pick) and Sessions to Lakers for Andrew Goudelock and pick. Andrew Goudelock is rookie on Lakers that i really think could be great and hopefully Lakers havent seen it yet(6’3 SG out of College of Charleston 2nd round pick)

(2) Go after Lopez in FA, we can get him if we really want to. Young and did just go through pretty big injury but i would risk it.

(3) Draft at the top BPA and the bottom 2 either move up to middle of round just get a Center is upside.

Next year team

Guards- Irving, Gibson, Goudelock, Draft pick
Irving 40+ mins, i think Goudelock has the potential to be a starting SG even if he doesn’t good backup with the draft pick starting and Gibson and Goudelock can play some PG.
SF-Gee and Casspi
love Gee think will be starter in future and not going to give up on Casspi but not looking great
Bigs- Anderson, Lopez, TT, Samuels, Draft pick
(Anderson/TT/Samuels all can play both PF&C) Have Lopez start at C and Anderson start at PF. Then TT or Samuals can come in for either move the other around. With draft pick developing on bench.

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 9, 2012 5:37 PM CST reply actions

I believe that he making 3mil ish this year then is RFA unless they extend which I heard they will not do

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 10, 2012 8:39 AM CST via iPhone app reply actions

Do you realize that about 98% of RFA’s end up staying for about 5 years with the team they’ve been with?

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 10, 2012 8:53 AM CST up reply actions

So you realize 2% don’t then and clearly I don’t! I don’t know the differences between all that. I’m just figuring they will make a huge push for Howard.

Plz explain the difference between unrestricted and restricted.

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 10, 2012 9:02 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

Restricted means that the original team can match any other offer and then that player has to stay. Unrestricted means the player can go wherever he pleases.

FearTheSword, SBNation's Cleveland Cavaliers blog

by Conrad Kaczmarek on Feb 10, 2012 9:05 AM CST up reply actions

Thank you. With Jamison off the books for the Nets to not match. If they get Howard I can’t imagine the Nets would want him back at all.

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 10, 2012 9:13 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

Sorry * with Jamison off the books we could offer him enough money that the Nets wouldn’t match *

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 10, 2012 9:30 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

A player can get out of restricted free agency by passing on any and all long-term offers from any team that summer. Instead, he can sign a one year low ball qualifying offer from the team he’s with and play the year out like that and then head to unrestricted free agency. Nobody has done it other than David Lee because it is crazy to pass on a huge RFA contract to risk it by playing on a one year. He mainly did it because the Knicks didn’t want to pay him to save for Melo/Amar’e.

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 10, 2012 9:50 AM CST up reply actions

So why couldn’t we get Lopez if we offered him a long term deal?

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 10, 2012 11:07 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

When you’re an RFA, the team has a week to match any offers. If they didn’t match it we could get him, but the team always matches. They’ll either match any offers Lopez gets this summer or trade him for Howard. They’re simply not going to let him walk.

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 10, 2012 11:13 AM CST up reply actions

I’m goin by if nobody trades for Howard because I can’t say for sure they will. If we make an offer and Howard is still deciding you think they will match it and take themselves out for Howard or let him go in hopes for Howard. Of course this doesn’t matter if they trade him, which they should, but you never know.

"Hardwork beats talent when talent fails to work hard" -Norm Nixon
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius

by ChewyFL on Feb 10, 2012 11:26 AM CST via iPhone app up reply actions

David Lee is the only recent notable name who didn’t sign as an RFA, then played it out under a one year tender and left (and he did it in a sign and trade).

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 10, 2012 8:55 AM CST up reply actions

a guy like oj mayo would be really difficult for memphis to retain if he got offered a 4 year, 32 million dollar deal i think, and im pretty sure if i was the cavs i would make that offer

by davidzavac on Feb 10, 2012 9:44 AM CST up reply actions

Is there a legitimate chance of getting Dwight Howard? Because if there is, we trade Sessions and Jamison for picks and bang, we have a great team just like that.

"When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." -Paul Brown

by macdowellm03 on Feb 10, 2012 4:46 PM CST reply actions

No, not even close.

With or Without the H

by johnf34 on Feb 10, 2012 6:27 PM CST up reply actions

Is this a joke?

by Buckeye Brad on Feb 11, 2012 11:38 AM CST up reply actions

No. I didn’t think there was any chance in hell, but someone was talking about it earlier and I wanted to get an answer from somebody who knew more about this than I did, and John is a reliable resource.

"When you win, say nothing. When you lose, say less." -Paul Brown

by macdowellm03 on Feb 11, 2012 11:29 PM CST up reply actions