would you bring back house , pj brown and offer posey something better??

[guava_wrench]

Considering we would still be over the cap without Scal, he's not a bid deal at this point. He will not stop us from getting free agents.

Plus, Scal might be the best 13th man in the NBA!

[Chief]

Considering we would still be over the cap without Scal, he's not a bid deal at this point. He will not stop us from getting free agents.

Plus, Scal might be the best 13th man in the NBA!

No, I think Brian Cardinal has him beat. Everybody needs a "janitor" on their team.

[guava_wrench]

Considering we would still be over the cap without Scal, he's not a bid deal at this point. He will not stop us from getting free agents.

Plus, Scal might be the best 13th man in the NBA!

No, I think Brian Cardinal has him beat. Everybody needs a "janitor" on their team.

Cardinal wasn't actually the 13th man for Memphis at the end of the season. Kwame was. Cardinal got regular minutes at the end.

[Cman]

I earlier said House and Posey, and I think PJ will retire.  So here is the question:  which veteran FA centers are available this offseason who would sign for the minimum and who might be productive for the Cs, possibly even filling in a PJ Brown type role if necessary?

Possible ideas are below.  I have a partial list from ESPN, I took out the young guys who will probably command more money than we have to spend (like Kwame Brown and Diop), as well as guys that will likely retire (like Mutombo), and made no assumptions that players would opt out (like Jeff Foster or Chris Mihm):

(listed in no particular order)

Ratliff (is he finally over the injuries? is there anything left in the tank?)
Croshere (is he defensive-minded enough?)
Voskhul (don't know enough about him)
Doleac (don't know enough about him)
Skinner (always liked this guy -- seems like a hard worker)
Magloire (his game seems to have really taken a downturn in recent years)
Lorenzen Wright (ditto)
Kurt Thomas (like Skinner, KT has always seemed like a hard worker to me)

Of the list above, Croshere, Skinner and Thomas seem the most interesting.  Would any take the vet min to play for a contender?  Does anyone see either of these three, or other above, as fitting in with Boston?

[Redz]

I'd love Skinner out of that list.

[Who]

I earlier said House and Posey, and I think PJ will retire.  So here is the question:  which veteran FA centers are available this offseason who would sign for the minimum and who might be productive for the Cs, possibly even filling in a PJ Brown type role if necessary?

Possible ideas are below.  I have a partial list from ESPN, I took out the young guys who will probably command more money than we have to spend (like Kwame Brown and Diop), as well as guys that will likely retire (like Mutombo), and made no assumptions that players would opt out (like Jeff Foster or Chris Mihm):

(listed in no particular order)

Ratliff (is he finally over the injuries? is there anything left in the tank?)
Croshere (is he defensive-minded enough?)
Voskhul (don't know enough about him)
Doleac (don't know enough about him)
Skinner (always liked this guy -- seems like a hard worker)
Magloire (his game seems to have really taken a downturn in recent years)
Lorenzen Wright (ditto)
Kurt Thomas (like Skinner, KT has always seemed like a hard worker to me)

Of the list above, Croshere, Skinner and Thomas seem the most interesting.  Would any take the vet min to play for a contender?  Does anyone see either of these three, or other above, as fitting in with Boston?

There's not a lot of acceptable big men in this years free agent class.

I can't see Theo Ratliff leaving Detroit without money being the deciding factor. He has a home-like atmosphere there and the have a staff that takes great care of him physically (injury wise). Same situation with Mutombo.

Lo Wright is kaput. So is Magloire. I've never seen anything from Voshkul that would convince me he's worthy of minutes, of being a regular in an NBA rotation, so no, not him either. Croshere is too small for the role. He's a Scalabrine-like player so there's no need for him on this roster.

Skinner was a guy I wanted the team to sign last season. I'd be happy with him. Not exactly a home run but it'd do the trick well enough.

David Harrison is too large an injury risk otherwise I'd like him. Might be worth the risk still. Dywane Jones is alright. Melvin Ely is a player I like but you don't sign him to be your big defensive option off the bench. Randolph Morris is an interesting young player that I'd be happy with.

Francisco Elson would be at the top of my list. Athletic 7 footer who can knock down midrange jump shots. He isn't the defender or rebounder PJ is but he's definitely good enough in each regard to help the team and to offer more than most other guys available. Good shotblocker too.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Eduardo Najera sets hard picks, fights for loose balls, good on the offensive boards, runs the floor, plays within himself, and has to at least be considered by the opposing team's defense all the way out to the three point line (Career-high 36.1% 3PT percentage and 53 3s made in 07-08.) Nuggets have the NBA's third highest payroll already.

And yes he's undersized at the 4/5 but he's less undersized than either Powe or Davis.

http://www.youtube.com/v/EkkDLVJx1iw&hl=en

P.S. David Harrison is one of the league's worst characters, only you don't hear so much about him because he also plays like a stiff half the time.

[EJPLAYA]

Any chance we could lure Alonzo Mourning out of retirement for a good shot at a ring?!

[Cman]

I earlier said House and Posey, and I think PJ will retire.  So here is the question:  which veteran FA centers are available this offseason who would sign for the minimum and who might be productive for the Cs, possibly even filling in a PJ Brown type role if necessary?

Possible ideas are below.  I have a partial list from ESPN, I took out the young guys who will probably command more money than we have to spend (like Kwame Brown and Diop), as well as guys that will likely retire (like Mutombo), and made no assumptions that players would opt out (like Jeff Foster or Chris Mihm):

(listed in no particular order)

Ratliff (is he finally over the injuries? is there anything left in the tank?)
Croshere (is he defensive-minded enough?)
Voskhul (don't know enough about him)
Doleac (don't know enough about him)
Skinner (always liked this guy -- seems like a hard worker)
Magloire (his game seems to have really taken a downturn in recent years)
Lorenzen Wright (ditto)
Kurt Thomas (like Skinner, KT has always seemed like a hard worker to me)

Of the list above, Croshere, Skinner and Thomas seem the most interesting.  Would any take the vet min to play for a contender?  Does anyone see either of these three, or other above, as fitting in with Boston?

There's not a lot of acceptable big men in this years free agent class.

I can't see Theo Ratliff leaving Detroit without money being the deciding factor. He has a home-like atmosphere there and the have a staff that takes great care of him physically (injury wise). Same situation with Mutombo.

Lo Wright is kaput. So is Magloire. I've never seen anything from Voshkul that would convince me he's worthy of minutes, of being a regular in an NBA rotation, so no, not him either. Croshere is too small for the role. He's a Scalabrine-like player so there's no need for him on this roster.

Skinner was a guy I wanted the team to sign last season. I'd be happy with him. Not exactly a home run but it'd do the trick well enough.

David Harrison is too large an injury risk otherwise I'd like him. Might be worth the risk still. Dywane Jones is alright. Melvin Ely is a player I like but you don't sign him to be your big defensive option off the bench. Randolph Morris is an interesting young player that I'd be happy with.

Francisco Elson would be at the top of my list. Athletic 7 footer who can knock down midrange jump shots. He isn't the defender or rebounder PJ is but he's definitely good enough in each regard to help the team and to offer more than most other guys available. Good shotblocker too.

Jones and Morris are restricted, which might take them out of play, but both are good suggestions.  I like the suggestion of Elson, and I am in agreement with you about Croshere (a slightly taller Scalabrine).

I like Najera as well, but I think he comes into play only if the Cs can't retain James Posey.

[WEnotME5]

id resign posey def.
pj brown is qoenq to retire

i dunt think we have enough money but hey why not qet gilbert instead of house its far fetched but we can hes a free qgent i think everybodys for getting about that

but either way if not id liek to keep house

get rid of pollard,TA,and maybe sam i am and if you can please get rid of scal lOl

[Who]

Any chance we could lure Alonzo Mourning out of retirement for a good shot at a ring?!

Zo has said a couple of times now that's going to try and play another year. I'd add him to the list of guys unlikely to leave their present teams but he's well worth a phone call from Danny. Easily the best big man on the market this year.

[RebusRankin]

Elson or Skinner would be the two I'd like to see in Celtics colours. Well one or the other.

[Who]

I don't like Najera. I don't like Najera for Boston and I don't like him in general. He's a frightfully overrated player at this stage of his career and he's also looking for 4-5mil per annum. Let's leave him well alone.

David Harrison isn't an angel but he's fine. He might run into some very mild trouble off the court but he's fine in the locker room. When he's in practices or on the court he plays hard on both ends. Very competitve. Likes to muscle people in the paint. If he ever learned to control himself on the basketball court he'd be a starter in this league because he has the skills, just not the mentality. Veteran laden team like the C's are with good leadership from the top players, minimum contract with a small role in the team, good place to take a risk on him developing. Injury concerns are what would keep me away from him, that and I think Elson is better.

[The Walker Wiggle]

Am I the only one who dislikes Mourning? He mailed it in on Nets franchise that stuck with him through tough times, also refused to play for Toronto.

Our 13th man once summed it up nicely. "Man, he didn't play like that when he played for us," Scalabrine said on the Nets' way to going down 3-0 in the first-round to the Miami Heat.

Mourning is anyway no Fred Hoiberg.

"I made intelligent business decisions that benefited Alonzo Mourning,"

[Last Train]

We were talking contracts here, not playing skill or personality.

Then you wouldn't have said "Scal is just brutal". You would have said Scal's contract is brutal. Quite honestly, an big man with that skill set at 3 mil per is also not that big of a deal. With the way he was playing for NJ, it was not an unreasonable amount. Due to the fact we don't use him it is a lot of money, but not "brutal" by any stretch. Mark Blount's contract was brutal...                     

My mistake for not being more clear then. His contract was being discussed, so that is what I was referring to.


BTW, I'd have a hard time pulling for Najera. I'd rather keep Scal. To me, Najera is really annoying. That would be nearly as hard as having ZaZa in green.