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Around the League => Transaction Ideas and Rumors => Topic started by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 01:29:56 PM

Title: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 01:29:56 PM
I started a thread on this earlier.  Finding no takers, the Minnesota Timberwolves have chosen to waive Lou Amundson in order to make roster space for ex-Celtic Chris Johnson.  This choice to waive the white guy to make room for the black guy may or may not stop the occasional eruption of "The T-Wolves are white!" threads on this forum.  What it does do is make available an energy big who can't hit a free throw but who is known for rebounding and defensive tenacity.

He's not an upgrade over Bass, but he could be a situational upgrade over Wilcox or Collins.  His ideal role is probably 4th or 5th big.  He performed decently for Indiana last season in the playoffs, but his offense went in the tank this season, moving him from a useful back-of-the-rotation guy to a liability.

Should the Celtics try to claim him off of waivers (which they can, since he is on a minimum contract), see if they can sign him to a ten-day contract after he passes through waivers, or wait and see if they can get someone better?  The main argument for trying to get him now is that you have more time to integrate him into the system than if you wait for a buyout guy, so it might more sense to get him now rather than a slightly more talented player who might not even be available in the future.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Lucky17 on February 08, 2013, 01:35:46 PM
It's too bad he's not 3 inches taller.

I'd still sign him to a 10-day contract, and take it from there. Good energy, mobility, and grit off the bench.

P.S. Because he's a minimum salary player, the Celtics could simply offer a 2nd rounder or cash to Minnesota, and not have to send a body back.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: AB_Celtic on February 08, 2013, 01:36:26 PM
I like Amundson. He always works very hard, and that's what we need on this team: a hardworking guy to keep motivating the guys who clearly weren't trying their hardest until Rondo and Sully went down.

My ideal bigs rotation would be:

KG/Bass/Wilcox/Amundson/Collins
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: CFAN38 on February 08, 2013, 01:40:32 PM
Seems like a good fit behind basd
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: esel1000 on February 08, 2013, 01:45:21 PM
I'd take him... cant be any worse than Collins
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Who on February 08, 2013, 01:51:23 PM
Amundson is not much of a defender. He works hard but he doesn't bring much to the table. Too limited. A very weak offensive player. Negative contributor on that end of the floor. Quality rebounder. Good energy guy.

I don't think Amundson would be able to beat out Bass or Wilcox for minutes but he is a good third string PF. He can give a team some solid minutes here and there.

I would be happy enough to sign Amundson. Useful third string caliber PF.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: lightspeed5 on February 08, 2013, 02:01:47 PM
Are you kidding? this guy is garbage. They cut him so they can sign chris johnson.  Think about that for a second, chris johnson, the guy who wasnt good enough to be our 15th man.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Who on February 08, 2013, 02:11:45 PM
Are you kidding? this guy is garbage. They cut him so they can sign chris johnson.  Think about that for a second, chris johnson, the guy who wasnt good enough to be our 15th man.

Amundson was always likely to struggle with Rick Adelman.

Wrong coach. Wrong situation. Amundson is an unskilled big. Adelman doesn't do well with those. He likes his big man to be able to pass the ball and make decisions on the ball. Even if you don't have shooting ability or scoring ability, if you can pass the ball and be relied on to make good decisions when passed the ball, Adelman will be happy to find a role for you. If you can't do that, you better be a dominant defender/rebounder otherwise you aren't getting off the bench.

It was the same with Thabeet in Houston. Now Thabeet moves and goes to Oklahoma where these tasks aren't required from their big men and suddenly Thabeet is a capable end of rotation player. Amundson is in the same boat. Amundson is an NBA player albeit a third stringer but an NBA caliber player. Adelman and Minnesota was just a bad place for him to be. 

I wouldn't write Amundson off because of how things went in Minnesota.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: CelticConcourse on February 08, 2013, 02:18:47 PM
I'd don't like his attitude
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 02:28:55 PM
P.S. Because he's a minimum salary player, the Celtics could simply offer a 2nd rounder or cash to Minnesota, and not have to send a body back.

He's been waived, so that is no longer an option.  He was waived because nobody wanted to cough up a heavily protected 2nd round pick.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 02:29:11 PM
I'd don't like his attitude

Please elaborate.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Lucky17 on February 08, 2013, 02:32:54 PM
P.S. Because he's a minimum salary player, the Celtics could simply offer a 2nd rounder or cash to Minnesota, and not have to send a body back.

He's been waived, so that is no longer an option.  He was waived because nobody wanted to cough up a heavily protected 2nd round pick.

Sorry, I thought Minnesota was planning to waive him. Water under the bridge now.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: pearljammer10 on February 08, 2013, 02:34:05 PM
Are you kidding? this guy is garbage. They cut him so they can sign chris johnson.  Think about that for a second, chris johnson, the guy who wasnt good enough to be our 15th man.

Agreed. Admundson is terrible. Has he even played a meaningful minute in the NBA ever?
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 02:35:54 PM
Are you kidding? this guy is garbage. They cut him so they can sign chris johnson.  Think about that for a second, chris johnson, the guy who wasnt good enough to be our 15th man.

Chris Johnson was a bit of a project.  It would have made long-term sense to keep CJ permanently back then, but the team wanted to clear roster spots for Troy Murphy, Sasha Pavlovic, and Carlos Arroyo.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: BudweiserCeltic on February 08, 2013, 02:38:07 PM
Are you kidding? this guy is garbage. They cut him so they can sign chris johnson.  Think about that for a second, chris johnson, the guy who wasnt good enough to be our 15th man.

Agreed. Admundson is terrible. Has he even played a meaningful minute in the NBA ever?

I thought he was a decent contributor to that Phoenix Suns playoff team of a few years ago that got to the Conference Finals.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Tr1boy on February 08, 2013, 02:38:51 PM
he is not going to fix anything. But if he does well, i wouldn't be surprised.

He was a fan favorite when he was with phx a few years ago.

If he came on board vs other guys on the team, he is taller than Bass, plus tougher inside , he has more energy than Wilcox and anyone is better than Collins.

The energy and willing to bang inside with adequate rebounding/block shot results are the keys here. Imo its a free pickup , better than giving up a 2nd for mozgov
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 02:39:42 PM
P.S. Because he's a minimum salary player, the Celtics could simply offer a 2nd rounder or cash to Minnesota, and not have to send a body back.

He's been waived, so that is no longer an option.  He was waived because nobody wanted to cough up a heavily protected 2nd round pick.

Sorry, I thought Minnesota was planning to waive him. Water under the bridge now.

Since he is a minimum salary guy who was waived, the Celtics can try to claim him off of waivers without having to give up a draft pick. 
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Lucky17 on February 08, 2013, 02:45:07 PM
P.S. Because he's a minimum salary player, the Celtics could simply offer a 2nd rounder or cash to Minnesota, and not have to send a body back.

He's been waived, so that is no longer an option.  He was waived because nobody wanted to cough up a heavily protected 2nd round pick.

Sorry, I thought Minnesota was planning to waive him. Water under the bridge now.

Since he is a minimum salary guy who was waived, the Celtics can try to claim him off of waivers without having to give up a draft pick.

True, assuming none of the 15 teams with higher waiver priority submit a bid. Dealing directly with Minnesota before they waived Amundson would have kept him off the open market.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: drax on February 08, 2013, 02:59:49 PM
Are you kidding? this guy is garbage. They cut him so they can sign chris johnson.  Think about that for a second, chris johnson, the guy who wasnt good enough to be our 15th man.

Agreed. Admundson is terrible. Has he even played a meaningful minute in the NBA ever?

Remember another white big man last season, he didn't play a single minute in the NBA and at the end of the season he was a player for 10+ minutes off the bench. Stiemsma did get more minutes then our talented power forward rookie last year, JJJ is now a d-leauge player, Stiemsma did get a two year deal. Effort combined with KG always works. What's the worst that can happen a lost roster spot?
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Celtics4ever on February 08, 2013, 03:20:24 PM
He is a tweener though and at some point real size matters.   Isn't he another 6'8" PF?   Those guys sometimes struggle guarding bigs down low.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 08, 2013, 04:04:31 PM
He is a tweener though and at some point real size matters.   Isn't he another 6'8" PF?   Those guys sometimes struggle guarding bigs down low.

It's all relative.  He may struggle in certain spots, but despite that could still be an upgrade over Chris Wilcox in the same spot. 

Ask these questions.  How much does Amundson improve the team? (I think we can all agree that he is better than leaving a roster spot empty.)  If the Celtics wait to fill an empty roster spot, what is the probability that they will have a better option in the future?  What is the probability that they will be stuck with worse options?
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Lucky17 on February 12, 2013, 06:36:20 PM
Update (of sorts): Amundson has passed through waivers, and has a couple of teams looking into signing him.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/226083/Lakers-Knicks-76ers-Interested-In-Amundson

Celtics are not mentioned.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: dunisho on February 12, 2013, 06:57:27 PM
Najera!!!! :)
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Celtics4ever on February 12, 2013, 07:09:37 PM
6'7" often do not protect the rim well.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: kozlodoev on February 12, 2013, 07:14:27 PM
Louis Amundson is pretty much Leon Powe. I find it funny that while people call him garbage, they would still harp for the return of Powe long after he was physically unable to perform in the NBA.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: kozlodoev on February 12, 2013, 07:49:35 PM
6'7" often do not protect the rim well.
Maybe. But he's 6'9, and is a reasonable shot blocker, given his size.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: ssspence on February 12, 2013, 08:45:47 PM
Louis Amundson is pretty much Leon Powe. I find it funny that while people call him garbage, they would still harp for the return of Powe long after he was physically unable to perform in the NBA.

Other than position, what do the two players have in common? One was a post player, the others a weak side energy guy. 
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: CelticConcourse on February 12, 2013, 09:51:24 PM
No, thank you.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: kozlodoev on February 12, 2013, 11:04:03 PM
Louis Amundson is pretty much Leon Powe. I find it funny that while people call him garbage, they would still harp for the return of Powe long after he was physically unable to perform in the NBA.

Other than position, what do the two players have in common? One was a post player, the others a weak side energy guy.
Other than an inch of height, what do they have that's different? Both are scrappers without any particular standout skills -- they'll get some rebounds and some easy buckets, and won't stop anyone one-on-one in the post.

Also, didn't realize Amundson was a "post player". Because Leon Powe certainly isn't.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: LooseCannon on February 13, 2013, 01:06:14 AM
Other than an inch of height, what do they have that's different?

Powe was a better offensive player.  Amundson is a significantly better defender, including putting up better shot-blocking stats than anyone currently on the Celtics.
Title: Re: Sign Lou Amundson?
Post by: Mazingerz on February 13, 2013, 01:31:10 AM
Saw him play. He has a fairly high motor.

One thing i noticed this year tho is that we have no white player (Darko was it but he left). Maybe that's whats jinxing us.