Kosta Koufos is my #1 (realistic) option come July

[Atzar]

I like Koufos fine, but I don't see him as a difference maker, and I don't think he has much upside.  He can give you 10 pts and 8 or 9 rebounds if you play him starter minutes, and he can defend the center position OK.

So in my mind he's like Zeller.  Mediocre as a starting option, pretty good as a backup.  Perhaps less likely to get overwhelmed physically like Zeller just did against Mozgov, but Koufos isn't overwhelming by any means in terms of size or strength.

Wouldn't be a bad guy to add, but unless it's a follow-up to a move for a superior talent somewhere else, I'd rather the team go after a guy who maybe has some upside, even if it's a long shot e.g. Bismack Biyombo.

How has Biyombo progressed?  Serious question.  I know he's generally regarded as a defense/rebounding guy, and it sounds like he's pretty good in those areas, but I haven't seen him play myself.  I always kind of viewed him as a poor man's Ben Wallace.

[rondohondo]

I'd be excited if we land Koufos.

Faf is right about him not being a sexy name. But he has adequate offensive skills, legitimate size and a solid enough defense to be a competent starter. But what I'm really going to be excited about is how he will turn out to be. Tyler Zeller was about as close to being a nobody and he was able to turn it around within this system. Koufos could do the same (not that he's a nobody), and be a much more productive player.

I'm all for it. He could be a cheap pickup too.

if he is going to be a cheap option , why wouldn't he just go to a contender for the same money ?

[BleedGreen1989]

I'd be excited if we land Koufos.

Faf is right about him not being a sexy name. But he has adequate offensive skills, legitimate size and a solid enough defense to be a competent starter. But what I'm really going to be excited about is how he will turn out to be. Tyler Zeller was about as close to being a nobody and he was able to turn it around within this system. Koufos could do the same (not that he's a nobody), and be a much more productive player.

I'm all for it. He could be a cheap pickup too.

if he is going to be a cheap option , why wouldn't he just go to a contender for the same money ?

Yeah, I don't think he's really going to be cheap or a bargain.

He's young with low miles and a legit starting-caliber center I believe. Some team will pay him to be their starter and he's going to want to finally start full time.

[PhoSita]

I like Koufos fine, but I don't see him as a difference maker, and I don't think he has much upside.  He can give you 10 pts and 8 or 9 rebounds if you play him starter minutes, and he can defend the center position OK.

So in my mind he's like Zeller.  Mediocre as a starting option, pretty good as a backup.  Perhaps less likely to get overwhelmed physically like Zeller just did against Mozgov, but Koufos isn't overwhelming by any means in terms of size or strength.

Wouldn't be a bad guy to add, but unless it's a follow-up to a move for a superior talent somewhere else, I'd rather the team go after a guy who maybe has some upside, even if it's a long shot e.g. Bismack Biyombo.

How has Biyombo progressed?  Serious question.  I know he's generally regarded as a defense/rebounding guy, and it sounds like he's pretty good in those areas, but I haven't seen him play myself.  I always kind of viewed him as a poor man's Ben Wallace.

Honestly, I haven't really watched the Hornets.  But just looking his numbers, he got to the line a bit more and shot a bit better at the line, this year. 

Look, he'll never be a good offensive player.  But Ben Wallace was a terrible offensive player.  Bismack, from what I understand, is a terrific paint defender, and by the numbers he's a very good rebounder.

The question is whether or not he's too poor offensively to be worth playing more than 15 minutes a game.  I don't think we're gonna find out the answer while he's playing behind Al Jefferson in Charlotte.  I'd be willing to take a chance on him, provided he doesn't cost too much.

[Celtics4ever]

I think to take the next step forward we need to move from slow and plodding guys to athletes.   Thompson who is athletic killed us on the boards.   Basketball is an athletes game, it is ok to have some skilled guys who are slow but we should not base our team around them.

Koufos is a nice offensive player, but he is mediocre on D, does not block shots and isn't a dominant rebounder.   He is however, less of a tweener than some of our guys because he has legit size.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I'd be excited if we land Koufos.

Faf is right about him not being a sexy name. But he has adequate offensive skills, legitimate size and a solid enough defense to be a competent starter. But what I'm really going to be excited about is how he will turn out to be. Tyler Zeller was about as close to being a nobody and he was able to turn it around within this system. Koufos could do the same (not that he's a nobody), and be a much more productive player.

I'm all for it. He could be a cheap pickup too.

if he is going to be a cheap option , why wouldn't he just go to a contender for the same money ?

I meant cheap in the sense that we may not have to give him $8+ million per year, compare to other FA Centers that are available.

A solid raise in pay plus starter minutes/position could be very enticing.

[slamtheking]

the first word that comes to mind when I think Koufos is "meh".  very slow.  some ok skills but nothing that I'd get excited about.  decent backup center

[Lucky17]

Aside: Memphis played Gasol and Koufos at the same time during Game 3 vs. Portland. I was pretty surprised to see that. Not sure who was playing PF, or what the defensive assignments were.

[BleedGreen1989]

I don't think Koufos is nearly as "plodding" as lots are making him out to be. He moves well and played good under George Karl's uptempo system in Denver.

I know people want a sexier name, but that's why I put "realistic" in the title. I don't think the Kevin Love's and Jimmy Butler's of the world are coming here.

[CelticGuardian]

I think Tyson Chandler can be persuaded to come here.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I think Tyson Chandler can be persuaded to come here.

Will pass. Too old.

[Who]

How has Biyombo progressed?  Serious question.  I know he's generally regarded as a defense/rebounding guy, and it sounds like he's pretty good in those areas, but I haven't seen him play myself.  I always kind of viewed him as a poor man's Ben Wallace.

Up and down season. Started off so-so. Then Big Al got hurt and Biyombo really rose to the occasion and had a good spell as a starter. However, as the season went on Biyombo he wasn't able to sustain that good period of play and his performances fell off as the season continued. After the All-Star break, Biyombo was performing relative to a middle of the pack bench player.

Charlotte still cannot depend on him for anything more than 10-15mpg.

Big summer for Biyombo. Needs to start making some headway with his career.

[Who]

Aside: Memphis played Gasol and Koufos at the same time during Game 3 vs. Portland. I was pretty surprised to see that. Not sure who was playing PF, or what the defensive assignments were.

I saw them do that a few times during the regular season. I think it is because Memphis lacks physicality in their backup PFs (Jon Leuer) so they like to go with Koufos as backup PF when facing bigger PFs on opposing teams.

I presume against Portland it was because they wanted to machup against the Blazers size Aldridge / Meyer and Lopez / Kaman = effectively 4 centers in terms of physical size.

[Who]

I think Koufos is a very good bench player to barely adequate starter. He would be a minor upgrade on the Celtics current options but not an answer to anything long term.

[konkmv]

Sign him