I had a thought today that the big guys who are worth going after are either not available or too expensive. That means that if we want a big guy we'll have to pay out the nose, probably for the tenure of Pierce/Garnett contracts. There are two guys who have contracts that exceed their current skill but are still very productive players. So here is my question:
Gasol or Stoudemire?
Now I know all of you super clever celticsbloggers are licking you're chops to post a "NEITHER" in this thread. Don't. It's not like either is likely and this is mostly a thread about the differences between the two and what each would add to our team.
Obviously a package of Green/Bass/Lee would have to be moved in either deal so make that assumption when posting comments.
My personal preference is Gasol. I think he loves playing in the post and has a more polished defensive game. Stoudemire is mostly just a muscle guy and his defensive is laughable.
I also think that Gasol's contract is only 2 years which means it expires with Pierce's. Stoudemire's is 3 years and would expire with KG.
There is, however, a compelling reason to pursue Stoudemire instead of Gasol. Stoudemire was on the trading block this summer
wearing a "free" sign around his neck. It might be possible to take on Stoudemire's contract (and insane injury risk) and get Brewer and Shumpert in return for a package of Green/Bass/Lee. They upgrade big time in Green, get a defensive minded guard in Lee and move Stoudemire for Bass. We maintain depth while upgrading our worst position. We also get a guy who can play big minutes while KG is sitting, not necessarily anchoring the defense, but floating the team offensively.
So again I ask all of you posters who are considering just posting a big NOPE to refrain from that and instead consider the options. If you had to choose one to deal for, who do you think gives us a better shot at #18?