Mike Lee's List of Free Agents
Better Late than Never, Mike Lee swoops in with his list of perspective bigs. They are: Fabricio Oberto, Rasho Nesterovic, Channing Frye, Sean Marks, Jamaal Magloire, Chris Wilcox and Brian Skinner. I wonder if his sources are Bullets Forever, lol, because his second tier is Adonal Foyle, Pops Mensa-Bonsu or D-League standout Courtney Sims. Free agents from summer league rosters, including their own, are not out of the equation. So, there is an opportunity, albeit slight, for Gonzaga forward Josh Heytvelt.
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Sean Marks
actually has some value in spots. he does not try to do anything he is not capable of, and has some passing skills. i’d put him ahead of collins, magloire, foyle, wilcox and yes even pops.
plus he’s a dead ringer for a friend of mine, which would be kind of fun.
"a crab dribble is when you travel" - caron butler
by little stevie colter on Jul 8, 2009 4:38 PM EDT reply actions
Agreed
If we’re looking for a Songaila replacement, Marks actually has done two things significantly better than Darius – rebound and block shots. For his career, Marks is at 7.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per 36 minutes (compare this to 6.7 and 0.4 for Songaila). He can’t score, but I don’t think that’s what we are really looking for from this role anyways. He might really be the best veterans minimum option.
Marks is another twig
He can’t hold his ground in the Post. Offensively, he may be better than Collins, Magloire, Foyle and perhaps even Pops – but Defensively he’s nowhere near Foyle or even Brian Skinner (who, while undersized, still has the bulk to bang around inside)…
And………………What do the Wizards need in a back up big man?
Size. Defense. Rebounding.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
That's a bit better, but not all that much better
I agree that Marks for $1.3 million is preferable to Songaila for $4.5 million, but it’s still not getting an ace rebounder or defender.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Of more interest to me:
The fact that we scooped the Spurs lead advance scout director Mike Wells for an assistant coach position.
Steal from the best…
quote
Oberto was recently waived by the Pistons after being traded from San Antonio and Milwaukee. He’s currently in Argentina, but the Wizards have a connection with Oberto with new Wizards assistant coach Mike Wells working with him in San Antonio the past four seasons.
i wouldn't mind oberto with the wizards
but since he is getting old i perfer the wiz aquire someone better than him before signing him
Oberto DID look noticeably older for SAS last year....
But so did some of their other veteran players (Finley, Bowen…)…
If Oberto can deliver in a few 5-10 mnute spurts plus teach some positioning skills to our young PFs he might be value added.
However, I think the top prioriy is still for a bigger body.
Skinner
He’s always been a class act off the court and a hard worker on it. I wouldn’t be mad if that’s who the Wizards settled for… Wilcox would just frustrated everyone with his inconsistency
twitter.com/rashad20
Heytvelt
would be the cheapest option of all those players – 1 Year contract for $457,588
The fact that the Wizards passed on players like Rasheed Wallace and Antonio McDyess shows that they didn’t want to spend MLE money on anyone…
The fact that they’re still looking at Rasho Nesterovic, Channing Frye suggests that they may be willing to spend LLE money….
But if they really want to go cheap – Heytvelt is the cheapest.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Wilcox
He doesn’t seem like a great fit, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up being the guy. Never underestimate the business appeal of having a draw for Terps fans to come to the Phone Booth.
As much as I absolutely hate him
why has no one mentioned Varejao? i would think he has the skill set we need
Part of that
is the fact that they keep going deep into the Playoffs…. AND they have a marketing gem in LeBron – that’s gotta bring them in some dough. (Just imagine, if you were a Regional Sports Network trying to negotiate the rights to Cavalier’s games – They have to be paying more than CSN is paying for Wizard’s games)
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
And Don't Forget
Danny Ferry has to keep proving to LeBron over and over again that if he stays Cleveland will continue to surround him with the talent necessary to bring home a title.
Also, if LeBron doesn’t stay, then this is Ferry’s best chance to go “all in” and try to win it all now before he leaves.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
I think he might be worth that
But I can’t imagine anyone was actually offering that right now. Not sure why Cleveland was bidding against themselves.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
How I Rank the Options
- Rasho Nesterovic
- Fabricio Oberto
- Josh Heytvelt
- Everyone else
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
I agree
except I’d insert Andonal Foyle after Oberto and before Heytvelt (6’11" 260)…
Don’t get me wrong; I like Heytvelt. But Foyle is bigger (bulkier), stronger and a better defender. Plus he’s a veteran; not prone to mistakes.
Foyle brings absolutely NOTHING offensively – but he’s big (6’10", 270 pounds), is an excellent post defender, and a pretty good rebounder… Plus he’s a class guy, stand up citizen, and good locker room presence. Sounds like the perfect, CHEAP 8-10 minute back-up Center for the Wizards to me. Especially if you want someone for the Vet minimum for only one year.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
follow on
Rasho may garner a look from Orlando – and I doubt he will sign for the Vet minimum (probably for the LLE, or a portion of someone’s MLE)
Oberto would go back to San Antonio in a heartbeat – given the opportunity – and they may just resign him.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Defense is So Hard to Evaluate
Because there aren’t any good stats for it; it has to be rated at least somewhat subjectively. Since I haven’t watched Foyle play, I can’t really say how good his defense is. But if you have and you are right about his defense, then he will be exactly what we need. We don’t need a scorer, just someone that can keep us in the game defensively when Haywood goes to the bench.
"It's OK for the Bullets to trade baskets, as long as they can score on their end." -- Words of wisdom from Phil Chenier
Defense
That’s what Adonal Foyle brings – Defense and rebounding. Like I said, he’s practically non-existant on the Offensive end… so stats like PER and any kind of Shooting percentages will be pretty bad. He rebounds pretty well, especially on the Defensive end. He’s not especially athletic any more, so he relies on positioning and an antiquated technique called “boxing out”…. At 270 pounds, he can’t be pushed around, even by the bigger guys. He still has enough quickness to stay with the big centers, but he has a problem staying smaller guys with quickness or a penchant to roam outside the paint (JaVale McGee would give him fits…. and he doesn’t do well against outside shooting Centers like Okur or Brad Miller)
He would be good as a backup, or even playing against Shaq, Ilgauskas, Howard, Perkins, etc… in an emergency, injury or foul trouble situation.
Not many teams can afford to get ZERO production Offensively from the Center position – the Wizards are one…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
does he have anything left in the tank?
He played a total of 62 minutes last year, and will be 35 in March. I know he was third on the depth chart behind Howard/Gortat and was moved to Memphis, but I do wonder if he can make it through an 82 game season, even in a limited role.
That's pretty much how it looks to me here in Warsaw too...
and rook I don’t have a problem with Foyle either…. but I would wait until we see how Heytfelt does in Summer League (especially paired with JVM) before putting Foyle above Josh,
Fair enough
Since Foyle is a known commodity – and Heytvelt may show something good in SL…
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Summer
I would think Heytvelt would need to show a LOT to even have a chance. Defense was never really seen as his forte in college, was it? I doubt Flip/Ernie want to invest a few minutes a game on another big man who looks lost on that end of the floor.
Not known as a good post defender
He can block some shots, and he’s a very good defensive rebounder…. But he got pushed around a bit in College…
He’s got the size – and he’s reportedly a tough kid – so maybe he can buckle down and show something defensively in Summer League.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
You can find it
Here:
http://www.nba.com/summerleague2009/schedule/index.html
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Wizard's Summer League Schedule...
Day Date LV Time Local Time Teams Tuesday July 14, 2009 3:30 PM 12:30 PM Local Wizards vs. Cavaliers Wednesday July 15, 2009 7:30 PM 4:30 PM Local Nuggets vs. Wizards Friday July 17, 2009 5:00 PM 2:00 PM Local Timberwolves vs. Wizards Saturday July 18, 2009 5:30 PM 2:30 PM Local Clippers vs. Wizards Sunday July 19, 2009 1:00 PM 10:00 AM Local Wizards vs. Knicks
All games are available on NBA.COM
From the link above:
Watch your favorite NBA Summer League teams, players & matchups LIVE or ON DEMAND from your computer.
Here’s your chance to catch EVERY GAME of Summer League action from Las Vegas July 10-19.
NBA SUMMER LEAGUE BROADBAND available for $14.99
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
And BF will be there in person for the first four games
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Ernie Grunfeld's son Dan is playing for the Knicks Summer League team
by morethesamewiz on Jul 9, 2009 1:33 PM EDT up reply actions
Hmm,
Leaving then so I can go back to work. Too bad.
Who’s coming, users? I know formula0 is, anyone else?
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I'll be there for the last three games
Look for the guy in the “I Dunked On Lebron…But Nike Stole the Tape” t-shirt
by morethesamewiz on Jul 9, 2009 10:47 PM EDT up reply actions
Drop me an e-mail
Hopefully we can put a face to a (user)name.
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
I'd rather have Aminu than Heytvelt
You know you'll get devoured by Cheaney, Wallace, and Juwan Howard.
Aminu
Looks like another of Ernie’s favorite kind of players…. Tall (6’10"), Long (7’3" wingspan), Skinny (230 pounds), athletic (runs like a deer, jumps out of the gym), with huge “potential”
He’s also got a questionable Basketball IQ, has no fundamentals, lacks strength, loses focus, and makes bad decisions with the ball. He wasn’t even a starter on the Georgia Tech team his Senior year.
Besides, I’d rather take a chance on a kid that made a mistake, and paid for it…. and now seems to be on the way to re-building his once promising career.
Here’s a couple of interesting articles about his career, his mistakes and his injuries:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D974U40G1&show_article=1
Read the last paragraph of this article by Jake – and that may alleviate any concerns you may have about Heytvelt’s off-court issues.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
Having said all that
I’d still rather have Nesterovic , or even Adonal Foyle – rather than any undrafted Rookie.
Bullets Forever - where "Dagger ! " happens......
clevelands looking to add frye
the cavs with there never ending money supply, could be going after frye
http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1246955513164200.xml&coll=2
Pops
I would like to put in a vote for Pops Mensa-Bonsu. The young man is a rebounding ma-chine. I have no idea what kind of defender he is, and I do know he is a streaky scorer, to put it mildly………But POPS! What a great guy he was at GM. It sure wouldn’t hurt to ad another grown man who isn’t a project to the locker room.. Pops, baby! And I wouldn’t cry if we signed Leon Powe.
I knew Manute Bol, and you sir are no Manute Bol!
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