Delonte West, anyone?
- Thread starter NoBonus
- Start date
I thought I'd revisit the West issue. If you were able to erase his off court problems, would you want him on your team? Personally I'm more concerned with his being stopped, and having enough guns with him to start a small war than I'am about what ever the hell happened between he and LeBron's mom.
So the first question, all other things aside, is he what were looking for? He is a combo guard. A slightly undersized one, but none the less he can play both positions. He's a pretty good shooter. He's had some up and down years, but overall, he needs to be guarded. Unguarded, he's pretty deadly. He's particularly deadly at the end of games as an outlet spot up shooter. Something the Kings didn't have last year.. So he would certainly help in that dept.
First and formost, he's one of the better defenders at the pt and shooting guard positions. He's even had fairly good success guarding the likes of Kobe and Wade, despite his lack of size at the SG position. So he would certainly help our defense. So the burning question is, does all his off court activities negate what he could bring to the team. I don't have that answer. No crystal ball or the ability to do a Vulcan mind search. The Kings have brought in questionable players before and its turned out OK. Mad Max, Jimmy Jackson, Bonzi Wells etc. I believe it was Jackson that was hitting on Jason Kidd's wife or girlfriend, or was it the other way around. The point is, no one even cares now. So its mostly the gun deal kind of thing that concerns me. Maybe he's learned his lesson. Maybe not! Maybe with so many young players on the team he's the wrong kind of veteran to bring in. Or, maybe he's learned from his mistakes and he's the just the right guy to bring in.
There's no doubt that he's talented, and almost exactly the kind of player were looking for. I'll leave it up to higher powers to decide whether he's worth it or not.
So the first question, all other things aside, is he what were looking for? He is a combo guard. A slightly undersized one, but none the less he can play both positions. He's a pretty good shooter. He's had some up and down years, but overall, he needs to be guarded. Unguarded, he's pretty deadly. He's particularly deadly at the end of games as an outlet spot up shooter. Something the Kings didn't have last year.. So he would certainly help in that dept.
First and formost, he's one of the better defenders at the pt and shooting guard positions. He's even had fairly good success guarding the likes of Kobe and Wade, despite his lack of size at the SG position. So he would certainly help our defense. So the burning question is, does all his off court activities negate what he could bring to the team. I don't have that answer. No crystal ball or the ability to do a Vulcan mind search. The Kings have brought in questionable players before and its turned out OK. Mad Max, Jimmy Jackson, Bonzi Wells etc. I believe it was Jackson that was hitting on Jason Kidd's wife or girlfriend, or was it the other way around. The point is, no one even cares now. So its mostly the gun deal kind of thing that concerns me. Maybe he's learned his lesson. Maybe not! Maybe with so many young players on the team he's the wrong kind of veteran to bring in. Or, maybe he's learned from his mistakes and he's the just the right guy to bring in.
There's no doubt that he's talented, and almost exactly the kind of player were looking for. I'll leave it up to higher powers to decide whether he's worth it or not.
I wouldn't touch him, specifically because of the guns. That's a really troubling issue, if you ask me. I'm not anti-gun or anything, but the guy supposedly had a mobile armory on his bike, and has been battling depression since before the 2008 season. So you have a depressed, possibly medicated, multi-millionaire riding a trike with three loaded weapons, one of them a shotgun in a guitar case (what is this, Desperado?), another a .357 strapped to his leg, through one of the most dangerous areas in Maryland. I'm not calling him a bad guy because of it, but he clearly has some issues with poor judgment.
I don't think anyone can really argue against this point... but the Kings have been a great place for players to clean up their image in the past... Webber and Artest immediately jump to mind... though neither of those guys drove trikes with a guitar case full of guns... also, shouldn't it have been a Thompson in a violin case? C'mon!
If you could get him on a non-guaranteed deal... I would, if I were the GM, consider it, not do it, per se, but consider it.
If you could get him on a non-guaranteed deal... I would, if I were the GM, consider it, not do it, per se, but consider it.
After considering it, I'd decide against it. He's not a make or break player for us, we'll be fine without him, and the possibility that he gets pulled over on the 5 with a MAC 10 and with Prozac in his bloodstream just completely turns me off of him.
Plus, he did LeBron's mom.
I know Webber had his assault charge and a marijuana charge, but those pale in comparison to carrying loaded weapons illegally, not just on a criminal level, but on a common sense level. Plus, he was acquitted for the assault charge. Not that they weren't serious enough to scratch your head and wonder about his character, but you're talking about a potential star player, one of the most talented big men to blow through the NBA in quite some time. Worth the risk. Not a backup combo guard who isn't going to substantially make your team better.
For Artest, there was nothing criminal, except for the Brawl. He was just a nut. But again, a fundamental piece to a team that actually makes you better once you have him in the lineup. Possibly worth the risk, though there's no sure consensus there.
In West's case, there's no reason we'd have to tie ourselves to him for any considerable length of time. And if he were to do something stupid and get cut, we might even be able to void his contract (I'm pretty sure that if the Wizards can talk about voiding Arenas' contract, we can actually void a player's contract for doing something like what West did). Even if we couldn't void it, we're not talking about a huge contract. So maybe the risk isn't all that great. But with a young roster and only a second-year head coach, where the balance of personalities is very delicate and there's no real alpha in the locker room, the impact of a cancerous player could be drastic. Not calling West cancerous, necessarily, but you run a risk there.
Plus, he did LeBron's mom.
I know Webber had his assault charge and a marijuana charge, but those pale in comparison to carrying loaded weapons illegally, not just on a criminal level, but on a common sense level. Plus, he was acquitted for the assault charge. Not that they weren't serious enough to scratch your head and wonder about his character, but you're talking about a potential star player, one of the most talented big men to blow through the NBA in quite some time. Worth the risk. Not a backup combo guard who isn't going to substantially make your team better.
For Artest, there was nothing criminal, except for the Brawl. He was just a nut. But again, a fundamental piece to a team that actually makes you better once you have him in the lineup. Possibly worth the risk, though there's no sure consensus there.
In West's case, there's no reason we'd have to tie ourselves to him for any considerable length of time. And if he were to do something stupid and get cut, we might even be able to void his contract (I'm pretty sure that if the Wizards can talk about voiding Arenas' contract, we can actually void a player's contract for doing something like what West did). Even if we couldn't void it, we're not talking about a huge contract. So maybe the risk isn't all that great. But with a young roster and only a second-year head coach, where the balance of personalities is very delicate and there's no real alpha in the locker room, the impact of a cancerous player could be drastic. Not calling West cancerous, necessarily, but you run a risk there.
That's what I am saying... I would look into it... maybe work him out or something to see where he is at in his head and get a preview of what he might be like in the locker room... of course, it is also possible there are things people in the league know about Delonte that would already speak to this, hence, why he has not gotten signed anywhere.