These are 2 guys I would like to see us go after. They're young, tall, and they have potential. They both came out of HS and were drafted in the 2nd round. They're free agents this offseason for Detroit and Washington. I would like to see us give part of our MLE and see if Detroit/Washington don't match. We'd probably have to overpay them but they have a lot of potential IMO and we might not be able to get a good PF in the draft.
Amir Johnson/Andre Blatche
- Thread starter BMiller52
- Start date
nbrans
All-Star
I agree -- especially on Amir Johnson. He's been tremendous in the few games when he's gotten playing time -- last year he lit it up in the last game of the season, and this year he had a game where he had 6 blocks, and then he finished up the season with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals against Boston.
A 19 year old 6'9" guy who can jump out of the gym and shoot the three -- plus he can play power forward. Detroit is trying to keep him a secret so they can lock him up, but the Kings should go after him.
A 19 year old 6'9" guy who can jump out of the gym and shoot the three -- plus he can play power forward. Detroit is trying to keep him a secret so they can lock him up, but the Kings should go after him.
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AriesMar27
Guest
Im down for blatche but he doesnt really fill a need... outside getting a player taller than 6'7 that is... maybe if we trade salmons, garcia or artest... but why would we need him?
Oh yeah I read on the Pistons board on RealGM that Amir has actually grown to 6'11''. They posted some parts of articles from Detroit newspapers that said it. I know a lot of people probably won't like this but I would say blow the whole MLE on him if we can sign Justin to a small contract. I mean chances are we might take a guy like Mike Conley with our pick. There aren't very many opportunities to get guys like Amir Johnson who are young and talented. If he had gone to college he'd be a lottery pick IMO. Also if we can get Terry Porter who is an assistant in Detroit...
But I think he can be similar to Rasheed Wallace as far as skills go, maybe better. If we get Terry Porter he would probably like a big man similar to Rasheed IMO.
But I think he can be similar to Rasheed Wallace as far as skills go, maybe better. If we get Terry Porter he would probably like a big man similar to Rasheed IMO.
nbrans
All-Star
It may not even be necessary to blow the whole MLE. Pistons are first going to have to focus on signing Billups, and if they do get him back they're going to be in luxury territory. They probably think they can lock Amir up on the cheap, but if you offer him $2 or $3 million a year, they're going to have to think long and hard about whether they're going to pay double that with the luxury tax for a guy who would be pretty far down on their depth chart.
ParniValjak
All-Star
I would love to get Amir Johnson. Not sold on Blatche a whole lot but I like Amir Johnson.
If we can land Amir Johnson and Darko Milicic out of this summer then I would be very happy.
If we can land Amir Johnson and Darko Milicic out of this summer then I would be very happy.
Yeah nice point man I didn't think about that. Chauncey should definitely be 1st priority for them and CWebb might be second. After that who knows if they feel like they can afford to pay 3 million or so to Amir+3 million of luxury tax. If we can lock up Justin and get AJ that would do a lot for our future IMO.
I like that idea BMiller...worse case scenario he becomes a decent back-up PF for us down the road. Good eye man.
Thanks man. Also a line up of Conley/Martin/someonenotnamedArtest(maybe Cisco?)/AJ/Miller for now seems decent to me, also seems like it has a decent future.
Arby's Roast Beef
Starter
I'm pretty sure, as nbrans said, that Detroit's intent is to lock up Johnson; I mean, as impartial observers we may take note of those intriguing box scores, but don't think that the Detroit coaching staff has also had their eye on that too. I definitely agree that Amir Johnson is one of the best-kept young talent secrets in the NBA, but I'm pretty sure that they're grooming him to be the heir apparent to someone like Sheed. I agree with you that he has that tantalizing combination of athleticism, shooting range, ability to get to the line, blocking/stealing ability, and rebounding ability, and all at such a young age, but if we were even to get him that would be a major coup. He has an excellent skill set which can make him a star player in the NBA in due time.
I like Blatche, but he's definitely more raw than Johnson, and he's proved that with some level of playing time (even as starter) in Washington. He showed some promise at SPL, but didn't stand out in the NBA (at least not yet). He's also a Sheed type player with ballhandling skills and shooting range and athleticism in a big body, but he's raw and doesn't know how to make use of his tools just yet. Purely potential, but if no one bites we could see what he can bring.
I like Blatche, but he's definitely more raw than Johnson, and he's proved that with some level of playing time (even as starter) in Washington. He showed some promise at SPL, but didn't stand out in the NBA (at least not yet). He's also a Sheed type player with ballhandling skills and shooting range and athleticism in a big body, but he's raw and doesn't know how to make use of his tools just yet. Purely potential, but if no one bites we could see what he can bring.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
I would absolutely love to get Blatche. Rarely do you see a guy that size handle the ball with such ease.
Amir is cool but I would put money on Blatche becoming something great over Amir.
Amir is cool but I would put money on Blatche becoming something great over Amir.
SacTownKid
Hall of Famer
Has anybody got a chance to watch Amir in the D-league this year? He clearly has a great work ethic, because he goes all out no matter the situation. I am sure that contributed to his production in his end of the season minutes.
Amir has shown me more skills. In the few games he got playing time he produced... he even had a 6 block game. But I would be happy to get either. I think if given PT Amir can come in and produce right away, not as a star yet but IMO he has that kind of potential. I think we would need someone to help Blatche as far as skills go, maybe Vlade as a big man coach.
Yeah he worked really hard and improved a lot. But I don't see him getting much PT over Sheed, CWebb, DIce, and Maxiel. I also read on the Detroit RGM board that someone from the Pistons/connected with them said they were looking for a big man in this draft and not a PG. That tells me they might not want to spend the money+lux tax money on Amir and that they want to use all their money on Chauncey and maybe Webb.
ParniValjak
All-Star
Didn't Webber say that he wants to play in NY next year or am I off the ball
Anyway, Amir is sort of like a Gerald Wallace in terms of his situation. Wallace was an end of the bench type gut for us who hardly got playing time but when he did, he showed that he has the potential to be a VERY good player in this league.
Amir is in a similar situation. He is on a team that is stacked in the frontcourt and he is showing signs that suggest he has the potential to be a very good player in this league. He just needs a chance and I hope we go out and get him. He is that low risk, high return type player. He won't cost you much in terms of $$ but potentially he can turn into a star player.
Getting Amir and Darko and keeping Justin would be a step in the right direction IMHO.
That was speculation from a NY article. Webber said he's not sure if he'll retire or keep playing but if they do re-sign him he'll want the MLE. That's 5 million dollars. Chauncey's raise will be like 7 or 8 million more, he'll want the max or close to it IMO. They're at 58 million dollars right now. They have Orlando's first round pick so that's about 2 million more dollars. They have their own 1st which is like 1 mill. Luxury tax is like 66 million I think but if I'm wrong someone correct me. But Chauncey's raise will put them at or over the lux tax by a bit. If we offer him a 3 or 4 million dollar contract over 3 years I don't know if they'd match that. We better do it the 1st day FA starts though because their 1st priority will be locking Chauncey up. And they have a very realistic shot to win the East next year so I don't know if they can turn that down for a young guy.
If we could get Amir then we wouldn't need another big so bad and we could draft Conley. If we don't need another PG we can ship Bibby off maybe in a S&T for Darko because Orlando's gotta know they're not going anywhere with Jameer Nelson at PG. So if we can get Amir we can draft Conley and Bibby is expendable. Then we would just have to move a couple guys like Reef and find another SF.
As far as Amir's game from what I've seen he is a carbon copy of Rasheed Wallace's skill set, but with less attitude and better work ethic. Athletic, tall, can play in the post, can hit the 3, can block shots, can rebound, can handle the ball, etc. And he has supposedly grown to 6'11''. Get a big man coach like Vlade to teach him how to pass and you might have a superstar. He put up 20/10/3/2/2 in the DLeague which is basically superior to college ball IMO. Not saying he'll put that up in the NBA but he has the potential to do it.
In 3 or 4 years a Justin/Amir/Darko rotation would be SICK.
If we could get Amir then we wouldn't need another big so bad and we could draft Conley. If we don't need another PG we can ship Bibby off maybe in a S&T for Darko because Orlando's gotta know they're not going anywhere with Jameer Nelson at PG. So if we can get Amir we can draft Conley and Bibby is expendable. Then we would just have to move a couple guys like Reef and find another SF.
As far as Amir's game from what I've seen he is a carbon copy of Rasheed Wallace's skill set, but with less attitude and better work ethic. Athletic, tall, can play in the post, can hit the 3, can block shots, can rebound, can handle the ball, etc. And he has supposedly grown to 6'11''. Get a big man coach like Vlade to teach him how to pass and you might have a superstar. He put up 20/10/3/2/2 in the DLeague which is basically superior to college ball IMO. Not saying he'll put that up in the NBA but he has the potential to do it.
In 3 or 4 years a Justin/Amir/Darko rotation would be SICK.
ParniValjak
All-Star
The only thing that just has no chance of happening is getting Vlade as a big man coach. He won't leave him GM position at Real Madrid to be a big man coach of all things.
The idea of Vlade being a support coach of sorts is just a pipedream
The idea of Vlade being a support coach of sorts is just a pipedream
Vlade4GM
All-Star
The only thing that just has no chance of happening is getting Vlade as a big man coach. He won't leave him GM position at Real Madrid to be a big man coach of all things.
The idea of Vlade being a support coach of sorts is just a pipedream
Vlade is going to be a future NBA GM and he's going to be awesome!
ParniValjak
All-Star
GM? No doubt!
A Coach?! I doubt it very much. Not because he couldn't do it, quite the contrary. I think he would make a great coach but its just not a Vlade thing to do
I think he would make a great GM in the NBA. Maybe not straight away but I can definetly see him doing it down the track and I hope he is the one that replaces Petrie when he decides to retire.
I would sooner part with Chris Webber, Rasheed Wallace, Dale Davis Nazr Mohammed and Antonio McDyess than Amir Johnson.
Amir and Chieck Samb are the future of our team. Dumars will keep them at all reasonable costs.
Joe's priorities this summer are Billups #1, Amir Johnson #2. He's made that very clear. Amir has ingratiated himself to this organization in ways that Darko never did. He's going to be in our rotation next year providing we re-sign him.
If someone wants to spend the entire MLE on him, we probably can't match that. But anything less and he's staying here.
As much as I'd love Webber staying in Detroit, I'd rather have Amir if it becomes an either/or scenario.
Amir and Chieck Samb are the future of our team. Dumars will keep them at all reasonable costs.
Joe's priorities this summer are Billups #1, Amir Johnson #2. He's made that very clear. Amir has ingratiated himself to this organization in ways that Darko never did. He's going to be in our rotation next year providing we re-sign him.
If someone wants to spend the entire MLE on him, we probably can't match that. But anything less and he's staying here.
As much as I'd love Webber staying in Detroit, I'd rather have Amir if it becomes an either/or scenario.
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Vlade4GM
All-Star
Dude, I'm totally with you on this. This kid looks like the hidden gem we'd need. Do it Petrie!!
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lololololol 
Ok, I'll admit that Amir Johnson has proven a lot more already. Samb is mostly a down-the-road type of player that is more likely to jump to the NBA in 2008.
Samb, (the guy we got from LA for Mo Evans last year) has blown up in Europe over the past year. We didn't think much of him at the time he was drafted, but he's really made a name for himsef.
ESPN today lists him as one of the 10 best NBA prospects in Europe.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draf...ory?columnist=ford_chad&page=All-World-Next10
from what I've seen from Samb recently, I can definitely envision him as our starting center in 2-3 years alongside Amir Johnson.
Samb, (the guy we got from LA for Mo Evans last year) has blown up in Europe over the past year. We didn't think much of him at the time he was drafted, but he's really made a name for himsef.
ESPN today lists him as one of the 10 best NBA prospects in Europe.
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draf...ory?columnist=ford_chad&page=All-World-Next10
from what I've seen from Samb recently, I can definitely envision him as our starting center in 2-3 years alongside Amir Johnson.
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Vlade4GM
All-Star
30 lbs? That's huge for him, I remember when he was drafted by the lakers. I was like who the hell is that big twig. What was he like 7-1 200? Gotta give it up to Dumars, most guys like Samb never put on the weight they need. Not saying he'll become anything, 22 is a little old for how raw he is.
Which is why Mr Petrie should spend the whole MLE on him... this kid is a star in the making IMO. Don't you agree with me that he would help the Kings a lot?
And if Detroit matches we better go get Blatche QUICK.
Vlade4GM
All-Star
nbrans
All-Star
The MLE on a guy who has played 11 games is pretty scary. I still don't think it's going to take that. Detroit wasn't willing to go far into luxury tax land for Ben Wallace, I don't think they're going to go in for Billups and Amir Johnson. Dumars might want to, but I don't know about their ownership.
I think the backup plan if the Kings don't get Amir Johnson is to go after Jason Maxiell. I know, I know, another 6'7" power forward, but this guy plays way bigger, can block shots, and is still getting better.
I agree Amir is a stud in the making. He has skills for a big man that you just can't teach. His shootign touch is amazing.
Though BTW, Amir is still only 6'9," contrary to reports. After seeing him our last few games (where he averaged 13, 9, 4 blocks and 2 steals), Amir is definitely no taller than 6'9."
Though BTW, Amir is still only 6'9," contrary to reports. After seeing him our last few games (where he averaged 13, 9, 4 blocks and 2 steals), Amir is definitely no taller than 6'9."
1. Dumars says he he will not be outspent for Chauncey Billups. He never said that about Ben Wallace last year. He let Ben go so he could hold on to Chauncey. Don't confuse the two situations; Chauncey is more valued here than Ben was.
Amir will get re-signed. Dumars hasn't spent the last 2 years developing this kid just to let him go over a little money (notice I said a little, not a LOT). If someone wants to spend $50 million on him, so be it. But barring anything crazy, we're keeping him.
2. Maxiell will likely be available for trade, since we're bringing some other young bigs in. I'd like to see Maxiell used as a SF, ala Corliss. He certainly has the ability.
