Nene or Chandler?

[kingofthejungle]

I have to be careful, considering the NBA lockout, but I have some reason to believe that the Kings will pursue Nene and/or Chandler when offers can be made. I wont write anything as to why I believe it, other than this info is from a reliable source and to say more could that person in trouble, which I refuse to do. One more tidbit I picked up: the Kings are very unlikely to pursue any restricted free agents this offeason. I am not generally privy to this kind of info, so it's hard to imagine that I'll post something like this in the future; that is, I'm not necessarily a Kings "insider," only a hardcore fan like many of you.

Anyway, I wont make any effort to defend the credibility of this post, so take it for what it's worth. With all that said, considering the makeup of this Kings team and their intent to "accelerate the growth process," which of these two players would you look to sign and why? Please describe exactly why you prefer one or the other. Also, which player would seem likeliest to lure to the Kings?

KOTJ

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I'd take Nene out the two but it's close and I'd be thrilled if they land either one.

 

[bajaden]

Tough choice. I like both players and either one would be a great addition to the team. As I've stated before, Chandler is my first choice, but I could easily live with Nene as well. I think Chandler is the better overall defender, and more of presence in the post. While not an elite shotblocker, he has the ability to alter a lot of shots by his presence. Nene on the other hand, has the ability to step out on the permiter and guard some of the quicker PF's in the league, and would give the Kings a more traditional Center/PF look. I also like Nene's passing ability, and that he and Cousins could be interchangable in the high and low post.

Both players are 28 years old, and both will turn 29 in the fall. Both players have a history of injuries, but both players have been relatively injury free for the last couple of years. So I could make a good case for either one, and it would be a win/win either way for the Kings. I'll stick with Chandler because of his edge defensively, but I won't cry if we aquire Nene.

 

[Return To Glory]

Tough choice. I like both players and either one would be a great addition to the team. As I've stated before, Chandler is my first choice, but I could easily live with Nene as well. I think Chandler is the better overall defender, and more of presence in the post. While not an elite shotblocker, he has the ability to alter a lot of shots by his presence. Nene on the other hand, has the ability to step out on the permiter and guard some of the quicker PF's in the league, and would give the Kings a more traditional Center/PF look. I also like Nene's passing ability, and that he and Cousins could be interchangable in the high and low post.

Both players are 28 years old, and both will turn 29 in the fall. Both players have a history of injuries, but both players have been relatively injury free for the last couple of years. So I could make a good case for either one, and it would be a win/win either way for the Kings. I'll stick with Chandler because of his edge defensively, but I won't cry if we aquire Nene.

I like both players. But I really like what Nene offers to this current team. I know Nene will not be shotblocking like Dalembert, but I feel like he can contribute in many other areas on defense. I'm sure he won't be a complete liability defensively. My only concern with players like him and Chandler is in the offhand (or very unfortunate) chance that they may be badly or chronically injured in the future (like during a playoff run). I hope that we are not bit with the injury bug like we were with C-Webb, especially if we're paying that player alot of money.

 

[Telemachus]

I would be happy with either player, but Chandler would be my first choice. The Kings have a lot of players who can score (and need the ball in their hands do so much of the time), but Chandler brings a strong defensive presence that the Kings desperately need. And he brings it to the precise area that they need it the most. And while Chandler doesn't look to score much he has very good hands and doesn't miss much around the basket. He has developed into a very smart player on offense, setting the right picks and knowing WHEN to go to the basket and WHEN not to.

I think everyone would agree that the Kings defense at the rim last season was not very good (putting it nicely). However, Cousins defense improved throughout the year and I don't see any reason why that wouldn't continue, and playing next to a player like Chandler could only help him a great deal. I also think that the Kings have helped to shore up another area that helped to create their poor interior defense. Most of last season, Evans was the only perimeter player that consistantly stopped or slowed down the other team's guards. Thorton came over that last part of the season and also did a good job of slowing down the opposition. Now they will have Tyreke, Thorton, and Salmons starting (most likely) who are all good at slowing down or stopping guards from getting into the lane.

I know there are some wondering why that would be important to interior defense, but a big part of good interior defense is allowing your defense to get set so they can work together as a team. Other teams got into the lane so quickly last season, our defense often didn't have time to set up (which leads to a lot of layups and dunks).

 

[KingsCitizen]

I'll take Nene over Chandler with a very slim margin and Chandler over Dalembert with hairline vote.

As long as we sign a young and agile big that we can pair with Cousins for a lot years I'll be happy.

 

[SacTownKid]

Straight up I'd take either, and if all things were equal you probably go after Chandler first. But as I was debating in the other thread, things are not equal. There are two different realms of possibility here and when taking those into account I think the choice on who to go after is easy, Nene.

 

[rainmaker]

I would take Chandler for a few reasons.

He's better at scoring in the flow of the offense, without requiring plays run for him. He doesn't eat up shots, but moves beautifuly off the ball, as well as rolling to the basket on a pick & roll.

Nene is a better offensvie player, without a doubt. If we didn't have Cousins, I'd most likely take Nene. But while he's more talented, he eats up shots. By no means is he a chucker, far from it. But he has a back to the basket game, which is not complimented by the ability to pass out of doubles and create for others. He would eat up shots which aren't there the way this team is constructed.

Again, eventhough I think Nene is more talented offensively, he wouldn't play off our key guys like Chandler would. Chandler is very good at the pick & roll, which could be very good with Jimmer and his shooting, as well as ability to throw the lob, and I think Reke will greatly improve his pick & roll play. He has the tools. As Jimmer and Reke learn the pick & roll at the NBA level(better phrase is how to execute it) Chandler will be a good partner. Bettet than Nene. Much better. He'd also play off Cousins, and would be the recipient of a lot of passes of doubles Cousins draws. He'd be great cutting from off the ball as Cousins posts on the block.

Chandler is a better weakside and help defender. He can erase mistakes. Nene is a very good man to man defender, and can guard 4's well, but he doesn't erase mistakes, or intimidate at the rim to the extent Chandler does. As the Kings mature, and get better defensively, they'll learn how to send players towards a guy like Chandler or Daly, which makes them most effective on defense. We don't have the ability to so that yet, and guys just attack us from all angles. Good defensive teams direct players into the middle, or where the help is, and where they are met by a shotblocker at the end. So down the road, as our team gets better defensively, I think they'd be able to utilize a guy like Chandler, and get a larger impact on that end, then with a Nene.

Chandler is also a better rebounder. He and Cousins could be the top rebounding duo in the league. They could have that kind of potential.

All that being said, I still like Nene a lot, and would not complain at all if we signed him.

 

[sc3252]

I'll take Nene over Chandler with a very slim margin and Chandler over Dalembert with hairline vote.

As long as we sign a young and agile big that we can pair with Cousins for a lot years I'll be happy.

Personally if Chandler has good hands I would easily take him over Dalembert. The only thing I would really wonder is if Chandler does a good job stepping out to guard PF's while Cousins is out there(from what I read Nene would do fine).

 

[SacTownKid]

I would take Chandler for a few reasons.

He's better at scoring in the flow of the offense, without requiring plays run for him. He doesn't eat up shots, but moves beautifuly off the ball, as well as rolling to the basket on a pick & roll.

Nene is a better offensvie player, without a doubt. If we didn't have Cousins, I'd most likely take Nene. But while he's more talented, he eats up shots. By no means is he a chucker, far from it. But he has a back to the basket game, which is not complimented by the ability to pass out of doubles and create for others. He would eat up shots which aren't there the way this team is constructed.

Again, eventhough I think Nene is more talented offensively, he wouldn't play off our key guys like Chandler would. Chandler is very good at the pick & roll, which could be very good with Jimmer and his shooting, as well as ability to throw the lob, and I think Reke will greatly improve his pick & roll play. He has the tools. As Jimmer and Reke learn the pick & roll at the NBA level(better phrase is how to execute it) Chandler will be a good partner. Bettet than Nene. Much better. He'd also play off Cousins, and would be the recipient of a lot of passes of doubles Cousins draws. He'd be great cutting from off the ball as Cousins posts on the block.

Chandler is a better weakside and help defender. He can erase mistakes. Nene is a very good man to man defender, and can guard 4's well, but he doesn't erase mistakes, or intimidate at the rim to the extent Chandler does. As the Kings mature, and get better defensively, they'll learn how to send players towards a guy like Chandler or Daly, which makes them most effective on defense. We don't have the ability to so that yet, and guys just attack us from all angles. Good defensive teams direct players into the middle, or where the help is, and where they are met by a shotblocker at the end. So down the road, as our team gets better defensively, I think they'd be able to utilize a guy like Chandler, and get a larger impact on that end, then with a Nene.

Chandler is also a better rebounder. He and Cousins could be the top rebounding duo in the league. They could have that kind of potential.

All that being said, I still like Nene a lot, and would not complain at all if we signed him.

As I stated in the other thread, not true. He averaged under 9 shots a game last season and it right around there every year.

 

[rainmaker]

As I stated in the other thread, not true. He averaged under 9 shots a game last season and it right around there every year.

Are you blind? Did you just choose to highlight that sentence, and ignore the following three? Eating up shots does not equate to a high shot volume. It means you're taking shots which aren't available, or shouldn't be, given how this team is contructed.

 

[SacTownKid]

Are you blind? Did you just choose to highlight that sentence, and ignore the following three? Eating up shots does not equate to a high shot volume. It means you're taking shots which aren't available, or shouldn't be, given how this team is contructed.

That certainly has been used as a VOLUME comparison whenever I have heard it in that context since at the end of the day it all relates to available shots. However, you can be a high volume shot taker and not be considered a "chucker". Finding 9 shots for a starter is not a hard thing to do. Go look at that other thread where I posted about relative comparisons from teams of years past as well as last year, and they show that finding 9 shots for a full time starting front court player can simply be achieved by transferring the shot attempts from other non used or non Kings players like the ones Thompson, Dalembert, and Landry took last year and giving and redistributing them.

Since it comes down to players like Thompson and Daly possibly not being here to take their respective shots, it's a simple matter of taking those newly available shots and distributing them amongst that new rotation. If Nene, or any other big name FA big is acquired, I think it's safe to assume that the new rotation becomes FA big, Cousins, and Hickson getting pretty much all the minutes in the front court. It shouldn't be a major issue if the right system is put in place and lesser players who took more shots than they should have last year are put in a role more fitting of their skill and talent level. There really is no excuse for a role player like Nene; who routinely averages around 60% shooting; to concede his standard shot attempts to any player that isn't the focal point of your team ( Evans and Cousins in this case).

And, if you're arguing about Nene taking shots that aren't available like you suggest, well, in my eyes you have even less of a leg to stand on. Nene plays within the offense more than just about any other big you can find and certainly no less than either Jason Thompson or Dalembert did last year. Now if Westphal trots out his little league rotation where, "Yay! Everybody gets to play!" then there are going to be even more problems than when he did it last year. This potential team looks to be building towards a very solid 8 or 8 1/2 man rotation where it's very obvious that the bulk of the talent is carried within the top 8 players: Evans, Fredette, Thornton, Salmons, Garcia, Nene, Hickson, and Cousins. The minutes and shots in this case should be distributed as such.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Dalembert.

 

[bajaden]

Dalembert.

Brevity is the soul of wit!

 

[LPKingsFan]

Personally if Chandler has good hands I would easily take him over Dalembert. The only thing I would really wonder is if Chandler does a good job stepping out to guard PF's while Cousins is out there(from what I read Nene would do fine).

He hasn't had to do it much recently, but in his first few years in the league Chandler played PF next to Eddy Curry. He must have been OK at guarding PFs, because surely Curry wasn't doing it!

 

[bajaden]

He hasn't had to do it much recently, but in his first few years in the league Chandler played PF next to Eddy Curry. He must have been OK at guarding PFs, because surely Curry wasn't doing it!

I would say that Chandler is better at guarding PF's than Dalembert is. Both guys have a plus/minus next to their name. So pick your poison. By the way, Chandler has very good hands. He'll catch just about anything thrown his way. Chandler isn't known for his passing, but on the other hand, the way he's been utilized doesn't lend itself to putting him in a position to pass the ball.

 

[SacTownKid]

I would say that Chandler is better at guarding PF's than Dalembert is. Both guys have a plus/minus next to their name. So pick your poison. By the way, Chandler has very good hands. He'll catch just about anything thrown his way. Chandler isn't known for his passing, but on the other hand, the way he's been utilized doesn't lend itself to putting him in a position to pass the ball.

That's the big difference here. One of the main reasons I wouldn't mind seeing the Kings look at one of the other FA's is because Dalemberts hands cost this team points every game.

 

[rainmaker]

So here's more evidence suggesting Chandler will defintely be open to other options. I think he could be had for the right price, and our chances might be a little higher than some may think. We shall see.

Jeff Caplan: Via @Henry Abbott: Tyson Chandler on pre-lockout meetings w #Mavs: "We were so far apart, we might as well not have even met." Twitter

 

[SacTownKid]

That scares me a little bit. If Petrie goes out and throws a max level contract at Chandler....well, it's a mistake. Wonder what the numbers were between the Mavs and Chandler.

 

[Bricklayer]

That scares me a little bit. If Petrie goes out and throws a max level contract at Chandler....well, it's a mistake. Wonder what the numbers were between the Mavs and Chandler.

There is a cost effective solution to that problem who played on the team last year.

 

[bajaden]

There is a cost effective solution to that problem who played on the team last year.

Well at least we hope so!