In the neverending search for that magical mystical missing piece, two players who I continue to wish we could somehow get:
1) Donyell Marshall -- we've talked about him before. Tweener 4/3 with the mobility to guard the perimeter, and the strength to guard the post. Good stuff: 3pt range, post game, blocks shots, hits the boards hard. Started and gave the Raptors 16 and 10 last year. Bad stuff: a little soft perhaps, gotta be some reason he keeps getting moved and is on the trading block again, not a passer, shooting and shotblocking have been off this year.
Numbers this year (note the productivity per minute): 23.3min 10.1pts 6.4rebs 1.0ast (last year 39.1min 16.2pts 10.7rebs 1.4ast)
Arguments for: might fix our rebounding woes. Make us very versatile up front + give us an answer for the Scott Padgett's of the world. Shotblocking has been down this year, but is normally a good shotblocker for a SF + would be the best on the team besides Tag. Could help shut down the middle.
Questions: he's been on the block all year, we've shown no interest that I know of. Salary is about like Payton's so same question of what to give up. If Rick just won't play him, maybe Tag is worth it after all (+ others). Donyell can shoot, would have Rick's confidence, but we'd be undersized. Better than Darius and more versatile, but still one of those things where if he arrived, Darius to deep bench (unless included in the trade). Good, but not great, offensive player. So where do shots come from? Might actually be good enough to steal minutes from Webb/Peja sometimes, so maybe that's the answer. Also what is Toronto looking for in return?
2) Dan Gadzuric -- the guy we really kind of needed to get this summer was Stromile Swift, but just wasn't realistic. But big energy athlete, rebounder, shotblocker up front. So as my replacement Stromile, I offer up Gadzruric. Per minute rebounding and shotblocking numbers are outstanding (and he's a starter, so its not against scrubs). On the other hand can't seem to earn enough confidence from Adelman disciple Terry Porter to even play half the game. And of course lacks the skills we love in our big men (has decent touch on his shot actually).
Numbers this year (note the productivity per minute): 21.6min 6.6pts 7.8rebs 0.5ast 1.4blk
Arguments for: very athletic center, boards and blocks, so strong right where we are weak. One of the top per minute rebounders in the league this year. Excellent offensive rebounder, which we totally lack. Of course flip side is that's he's a good, but not great, defensive rebounder who sometimes takes himself out of position trying to block shots, so might not be as useful helping us shut down the defensive glass as some.
Questions: Bucks are a classic ripe for the picking trade partner -- struggling and desperate. But Gadzuric is their starter this year, limited minutes or not, and he's young and cheap. Also their leading rebounder. Yet they won't give him major minutes. How sold are they on him? Also has a teeny tiny contract (Mo Evans sized minimum). Ironically that makes it hard for us to offer enough value to get him back. Picks maybe? Also if he can't win more than 22 min of confidence from our former assistant coach on a bad team who needs him, could he actually get major PT from Rick to help us? Or is he one of those kinds of players (hustle, defense, not a high bball IQ) who Rick can't seem to "see" + would end up getting not much more run than Tag?
1) Donyell Marshall -- we've talked about him before. Tweener 4/3 with the mobility to guard the perimeter, and the strength to guard the post. Good stuff: 3pt range, post game, blocks shots, hits the boards hard. Started and gave the Raptors 16 and 10 last year. Bad stuff: a little soft perhaps, gotta be some reason he keeps getting moved and is on the trading block again, not a passer, shooting and shotblocking have been off this year.
Numbers this year (note the productivity per minute): 23.3min 10.1pts 6.4rebs 1.0ast (last year 39.1min 16.2pts 10.7rebs 1.4ast)
Arguments for: might fix our rebounding woes. Make us very versatile up front + give us an answer for the Scott Padgett's of the world. Shotblocking has been down this year, but is normally a good shotblocker for a SF + would be the best on the team besides Tag. Could help shut down the middle.
Questions: he's been on the block all year, we've shown no interest that I know of. Salary is about like Payton's so same question of what to give up. If Rick just won't play him, maybe Tag is worth it after all (+ others). Donyell can shoot, would have Rick's confidence, but we'd be undersized. Better than Darius and more versatile, but still one of those things where if he arrived, Darius to deep bench (unless included in the trade). Good, but not great, offensive player. So where do shots come from? Might actually be good enough to steal minutes from Webb/Peja sometimes, so maybe that's the answer. Also what is Toronto looking for in return?
2) Dan Gadzuric -- the guy we really kind of needed to get this summer was Stromile Swift, but just wasn't realistic. But big energy athlete, rebounder, shotblocker up front. So as my replacement Stromile, I offer up Gadzruric. Per minute rebounding and shotblocking numbers are outstanding (and he's a starter, so its not against scrubs). On the other hand can't seem to earn enough confidence from Adelman disciple Terry Porter to even play half the game. And of course lacks the skills we love in our big men (has decent touch on his shot actually).
Numbers this year (note the productivity per minute): 21.6min 6.6pts 7.8rebs 0.5ast 1.4blk
Arguments for: very athletic center, boards and blocks, so strong right where we are weak. One of the top per minute rebounders in the league this year. Excellent offensive rebounder, which we totally lack. Of course flip side is that's he's a good, but not great, defensive rebounder who sometimes takes himself out of position trying to block shots, so might not be as useful helping us shut down the defensive glass as some.
Questions: Bucks are a classic ripe for the picking trade partner -- struggling and desperate. But Gadzuric is their starter this year, limited minutes or not, and he's young and cheap. Also their leading rebounder. Yet they won't give him major minutes. How sold are they on him? Also has a teeny tiny contract (Mo Evans sized minimum). Ironically that makes it hard for us to offer enough value to get him back. Picks maybe? Also if he can't win more than 22 min of confidence from our former assistant coach on a bad team who needs him, could he actually get major PT from Rick to help us? Or is he one of those kinds of players (hustle, defense, not a high bball IQ) who Rick can't seem to "see" + would end up getting not much more run than Tag?
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