Re-sign Ike Diogu!

[PurpleHaze]

You could sort of say, Ike Diogu looks something like a poor mans (or homeless mans) Wes Unseld for all those NBA fans who remember the 6'7-6'8 Baltimore/Washington Bullets center who won both rookie of the year and most valuable player his first season in the association. Jerry Reynolds mentioned Ike might be a better 5 because of his wide body, mobility, and quickness over taller centers - than strictly a PF. He's right, plus the modern NBA plays so much small ball (at least in stretches) Ike looks like he could excel in such up-tempo match-ups. Again, not the be all end all Kings post presence, but looking solid enough. As a back-up center he has the tools to beat slower, taller guys making for possibly a valuable piece somewhere on a 12 man roster.

And seeing that Kings have ONLY 6-7 players on the roster who are signed for next season and MOST likely back - Diogu should be given some strong consideration as long as a possible new contract is reasonable. Yep, I'd vote for Ike!

 

[Big Cuz 15]

1-2 million per year so we can include him in any future deals and fill out the roster. if we go buckwild and give him a beno contract, i will ask for petrie to be fired.

 

[Merdiesel]

Resign Ike. Draft Blake. Sign Ramon. You've got a sold young talented team.

Sessions/Beno
Martin/McCants
Noc/Garcia/Greene
Thompson/Griffin
Hawes/Diogu

 

[=LarryLegend=]

Resign Ike. Draft Blake. Sign Ramon. You've got a sold young talented team.

Sessions/Beno
Martin/McCants
Noc/Garcia/Greene
Thompson/Griffin
Hawes/Diogu

if this is the case....pattie mills better be picked also.

 

[Gary]

you knew this thread was coming..

Diogu is a scrub, and signing him would set this team back for however long we signed him. There is a reason he gets no PT.

Say this ten times..

"I won't waste $$ on a player that had a few good games."

 

[Gary]

Resign Ike. Draft Blake. Sign Ramon. You've got a sold young talented team.

Sessions/Beno
Martin/McCants
Noc/Garcia/Greene
Thompson/Griffin
Hawes/Diogu

Ugh.. That team is the worst team in the NBA. Minus Sessions and Griffin. Do you think this team will be more than a 25 win team next year?

Don't waste money on McCants, and Diogu.. Let's bring in a leader to bring all our young guys together, and draft Rubio. And if that doesn;t work we might want to start trading pieces that don't fit i.e. Thompson, Hawes, Martin, Garcia, or Noc.

 

[Showtime]

you knew this thread was coming..

Diogu is a scrub, and signing him would set this team back for however long we signed him. There is a reason he gets no PT.

Say this ten times..

"I won't waste $$ on a player that had a few good games."

Why is he a scrub? You say there's a reason why he can't get off the bench. Well, I can't see the reasons why he didn't get solid minutes on this horrible team until very late in the year.

 

[rainmaker]

We can't give a guy a contract based on a few good games at the end of the year. Haven't we been down this road before? With all the salary cap space we have cleared, we need to bring in players which are either proven nba players, or guys with much more upside than Ike.

Could Ike contribute? Maybe. But he didn't get enough run to warrent a contract. When we traded for him I was excited about seeing what he could do. But stupid*** Natt didnt play the guy... AT ALL. So blame Natt for not giving a fare evaluation of Ike. But I wouldn't throw a contract at Ike, or Mccants for that matter.

 

[Showtime]

We can't give a guy a contract based on a few good games at the end of the year. Haven't we been down this road before? With all the salary cap space we have cleared, we need to bring in players which are either proven nba players, or guys with much more upside than Ike.

The problem with other contracts was the MLE deals and in Beno's case, the length of the deal. I don't think anybody, including yourself, would take issue with letting Diogu become a UFA and then offering him a short term, 2-2.5ish a year deal. Now, that probably won't be enough to keep him (unless he's told he will get solid minutes and play a bigger role instead of sitting on the bench), seeing as other teams might be interested, but it's worth a go.

And for the sake of discussion, who are the players you feel the Kings could/would realistically get that are more "proven" players with more upside (and that wouldn't cost the team an arm and a leg to get)?

If you are referring to Hedo, the Kings aren't going to sign Hedo and keep Noc. Noc has too big of a contract, and fills almost the exact same role (as does Garcia). I could see a sign-and-trade involing sending Noc to Orlando with some fillers, but there's no way they get Hedo on the open market.

Could Ike contribute? Maybe. But he didn't get enough run to warrent a contract. When we traded for him I was excited about seeing what he could do. But stupid*** Natt didnt play the guy... AT ALL. So blame Natt for not giving a fare evaluation of Ike. But I wouldn't throw a contract at Ike, or Mccants for that matter.

The problem seems to be more with Natt than Ike, and Natt won't be here next season so we don't have to worry about that.

 

[dj3ptspecialist44]

Ugh.. That team is the worst team in the NBA. Minus Sessions and Griffin. Do you think this team will be more than a 25 win team next year?

Don't waste money on McCants, and Diogu.. Let's bring in a leader to bring all our young guys together, and draft Rubio. And if that doesn;t work we might want to start trading pieces that don't fit i.e. Thompson, Hawes, Martin, Garcia, or Noc.

Yes they are better than a 25 win team and calling next season before it even begins is a little premature. Did anybody think the Heat would be anything more than a 25 win team this year? Nope but surprise they're in the playoffs. They have D Wade obviously but precluding the season before it even starts is premature. Also we have a great young core and if you look at what Portland is doing that could easily be us with teams like the spurs, mavericks and suns on the down fall if we play to our potential under a real coach we could easily be the 8th or 7th spot, much like Chicago is with their young core.

 

[nbrans]

I wasn't able to watch the last few gaems of the season, but Diogu has always produced whenever he's gotten minutes. He's bigger than his height because of his long arms, and he's definitely skilled.

But he really is like Lawrence Funderburke -- he'll give you some solid minutes with a scoring punch, but he's difficult to fit into consistent role because you're going to be hurt because he's undersized and is limited defensively.

I really don't see the harm in bringing him back for $2-3 million a year in a Funderburke style role as the 4th big off the bench and taking the spot as the 3rd big when there are injuries. He has his place.

 

[TTown Kings]

Don't waste money on McCants, and Diogu.. Let's bring in a leader to bring all our young guys together, and draft Rubio. And if that doesn;t work we might want to start trading pieces that don't fit i.e. Thompson, Hawes, Martin, Garcia, or Noc.

Some of you guys need to realize that we have to have 13 players next year. We can't just hoard all of our money till 2010 and have 9 players on our roster next season. Some money will need to be spent on FAs this offseason.

 

[Bricklayer]

Some of you guys need to realize that we have to have 13 players next year. We can't just hoard all of our money till 2010 and have 9 players on our roster next season. Some money will need to be spent on FAs this offseason.

Not at $3 mil a year. You can, and normally should, fill out that end of the bench with 2nd rounders, vet mins and whatnot if you are goign to keep salaries under control. If you are paying a guy $3mil, you better be 100% sure he is a rotation guy.

All of this comes at the same time people claimi to be concerend about nabbing a major free agent wiht our capspace -- well, you blow your capspace nickle and diming yoursle at $3 per you never sign that major free agent.

 

[Gary]

Yes they are better than a 25 win team and calling next season before it even begins is a little premature. Did anybody think the Heat would be anything more than a 25 win team this year? Nope but surprise they're in the playoffs. They have D Wade obviously but precluding the season before it even starts is premature. Also we have a great young core and if you look at what Portland is doing that could easily be us with teams like the spurs, mavericks and suns on the down fall if we play to our potential under a real coach we could easily be the 8th or 7th spot, much like Chicago is with their young core.

We don't have Wade, or Rose.. We have a bunch of guys that don't play well together. Bringing in Sessions, and bringing back Diogu, and McCants will not and I repeat NOT turn this team around. We need to bring in someone that will fill the leadership role after a year or two with the team... Someone who can show the others how to play with the rest of the team. Bringing Webber in to coach some of our players is a move in the right direction.

 

[HighTopKicks]

Not at $3 mil a year. You can, and normally should, fill out that end of the bench with 2nd rounders, vet mins and whatnot if you are goign to keep salaries under control. If you are paying a guy $3mil, you better be 100% sure he is a rotation guy.

All of this comes at the same time people claimi to be concerend about nabbing a major free agent wiht our capspace -- well, you blow your capspace nickle and diming yoursle at $3 per you never sign that major free agent.

A good 09 FA is a pipe dream. By all accounts, we've at best $7M in cap space and 2 roster spots to fill after the draft. Even if one is a Vet Min, what's left is MLE money. 2010 Cap space looks to be around $14M if we don't enter into any contracts over 1 yr next summer. But, most of that comes from K9's expiring, which might be better used at the 2009 trade deadline. So it's an either or situation. It's trade K9 at the deadline and have little or no money for 2010 free agency OR hang onto K9 for the entire season, have little to trade at the deadline, and end up with $14M to compete with all the other teams in the 2010 FA market.

The question comes down to "Would Ike be the 4th big or the 3rd big?", and that will be determined May 19th. As the 4th big he's worth the Vet min or around $2M for a 1 yr deal. As the 3rd big he's worth the QO.

Heres why. There is no big available with the Houston pick or the 2nd rounder that can come in an immediately contribute the stats that Ike can. And, any FA or trade is going to cost us more than the QO. So, as the 3rd big the QO, isn't overpaying, and it's only for one year, and he's another asset come the trade deadline. Plus, if he can contribute like he did in the few games he played, the QO isn't overpaying. In fact, we'd probably have the go much higher to retain him afterwards.

But why the QO you ask. Because if he is our best option after the draft you don't want to risk a bidding war. Where you end up paying more for a longer period of time. And, it puts the pressure back on him. If he does shop around to long we might withdraw the offer and he could end up like Bonzi. We wouldn't want his cap hold tying up other deals. Really, is overpaying 3% of our total team salary, that much of a gamble for one year.

 

[SacTownKid]

Not at $3 mil a year. You can, and normally should, fill out that end of the bench with 2nd rounders, vet mins and whatnot if you are goign to keep salaries under control. If you are paying a guy $3mil, you better be 100% sure he is a rotation guy.

All of this comes at the same time people claimi to be concerend about nabbing a major free agent wiht our capspace -- well, you blow your capspace nickle and diming yoursle at $3 per you never sign that major free agent.

It's hard to get one anyway when there are none to get and I think that reality will set in rather fast. There is talk of the Kings targeting Hedo, and I get that, cool, right on, whatever, but it's not like we'd be missing out on that piece to get you over the hump. The better investment might be to sign Ike to a realistic deal (I doubt any team is going to other this guy their MLE, no Beno sized contract!), or maybe even pick up his qualifying offer. Regardless, something that keeps him here might be the smartest thing to do just to see if he is the real deal. We'll probably still suck but if he can turn into a legit stat producer at worst he'd be solid trade filler. If we are going to get a "big name" it can only come from one of two places at this point, via the draft or via trade.

 

[HighTopKicks]

We don't have Wade, or Rose.. We have a bunch of guys that don't play well together. Bringing in Sessions, and bringing back Diogu, and McCants will not and I repeat NOT turn this team around. We need to bring in someone that will fill the leadership role after a year or two with the team... Someone who can show the others how to play with the rest of the team. Bringing Webber in to coach some of our players is a move in the right direction.

And how do we get Sessions? We have less than MLE money even if we don't bring back Diogu. And, the Bucks don't want anyone of our guys in exchange for Sessions. They'd like to keep him, but resigning him is going to put them over the salary cap.

The idea is great, but impractical.

 

[SacTownKid]

I wasn't able to watch the last few gaems of the season, but Diogu has always produced whenever he's gotten minutes. He's bigger than his height because of his long arms, and he's definitely skilled.

But he really is like Lawrence Funderburke -- he'll give you some solid minutes with a scoring punch, but he's difficult to fit into consistent role because you're going to be hurt because he's undersized and is limited defensively.

I really don't see the harm in bringing him back for $2-3 million a year in a Funderburke style role as the 4th big off the bench and taking the spot as the 3rd big when there are injuries. He has his place.

He sure as hell didn't look like no Funderburke! I don't know how complete a player he is, but he can shoot pretty dog gone well for a big, he has some pretty good moves in the post, and he has a scorers mentality. Is that what we necessarily need? No, but I'll take the production and the value that comes along with it.

 

[kennadog]

Really, is overpaying 3% of our total team salary, that much of a gamble for one year.

How many players do one year deals? I'm just curious. Another team might not outbid us for one year, but they might offer a deal with multiple years that guarantees more total money.

 

[Gary]

And how do we get Sessions? We have less than MLE money even if we don't bring back Diogu. And, the Bucks don't want anyone of our guys in exchange for Sessions. They'd like to keep him, but resigning him is going to put them over the salary cap.

The idea is great, but impractical.

I never said we would.. I was saying bringing hin in (someone elses post) would not do any good for this team.

 

[One and Done]

IMO, he's a better version of Shelden Williams. But then again, there's not much need in this league for 6'8" centers.

I've always felt that he was deserving of more minutes, but after his first season, knew he wouldn't be starter material. Worth the absolute minimum for one season IMO if we do sign him...can we do better though? Who else is available?

 

[dj3ptspecialist44]

Personally I think there is just some negative fans who don't see the bigger picture of the future of this team. I myself am excited about the prospects of a top draft pick hopefully griffin or rubio and the players we currently have. The team underperformed in my opinion this year and lost a lot of close games, but was also on the end of some bad blow outs. Some of that is coaching the other part of it is desire. I refuse to label this team as a throw away losing team. Our record isn't indicative of the talent we possess with proper coaching and new blood this team can be good next year and fight for a playoff spot. And I never said we had Wade or Rose my point was no one expected those teams to bounce back so quick and they did and we will be in the same position next year. If K-mart stays healthy to begin the season we will be fine. I think some people forget we started this season off actually pretty good until injuries happened.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

IMO, he's a better version of Shelden Williams. But then again, there's not much need in this league for 6'8" centers.

The thing is that Diogu is remarkably long. One reason he's a better version of Shelden (despite being small) is that he's got 5 more inches of standing reach. That's significant. Looking at no-shoes measurements, Diogu is 6'6.5" and has a 9'1" standing reach. Shelden is 6'7.5" and has an 8'8" standing reach. For comparison, Shaq is 7'1" and has a 9'5" standing reach (tied for the highest in the Draftexpress database for players selected in the top 15).

Diogu's got freaky-long arms, and he's got a wide enough body to hold his own down low. With the same standing reach as Bosh and one inch less than Hawes, he doesn't exactly play like a 6'8" center.

 

[Smills91]

The thing is that Diogu is remarkably long. One reason he's a better version of Shelden (despite being small) is that he's got 5 more inches of standing reach. That's significant. Looking at no-shoes measurements, Diogu is 6'6.5" and has a 9'1" standing reach. Shelden is 6'7.5" and has an 8'8" standing reach. For comparison, Shaq is 7'1" and has a 9'5" standing reach (tied for the highest in the Draftexpress database for players selected in the top 15).

Diogu's got freaky-long arms, and he's got a wide enough body to hold his own down low. With the same standing reach as Bosh and one inch less than Hawes, he doesn't exactly play like a 6'8" center.

Excellent post, couple that with athleticism and strength and there's no reason he couldn't be a phenomenal 3rd big man in a good-great team role.

 

[Smills91]

A good 09 FA is a pipe dream. By all accounts, we've at best $7M in cap space and 2 roster spots to fill after the draft. Even if one is a Vet Min, what's left is MLE money. 2010 Cap space looks to be around $14M if we don't enter into any contracts over 1 yr next summer. But, most of that comes from K9's expiring, which might be better used at the 2009 trade deadline. So it's an either or situation. It's trade K9 at the deadline and have little or no money for 2010 free agency OR hang onto K9 for the entire season, have little to trade at the deadline, and end up with $14M to compete with all the other teams in the 2010 FA market.

The question comes down to "Would Ike be the 4th big or the 3rd big?", and that will be determined May 19th. As the 4th big he's worth the Vet min or around $2M for a 1 yr deal. As the 3rd big he's worth the QO.

Heres why. There is no big available with the Houston pick or the 2nd rounder that can come in an immediately contribute the stats that Ike can. And, any FA or trade is going to cost us more than the QO. So, as the 3rd big the QO, isn't overpaying, and it's only for one year, and he's another asset come the trade deadline. Plus, if he can contribute like he did in the few games he played, the QO isn't overpaying. In fact, we'd probably have the go much higher to retain him afterwards.

But why the QO you ask. Because if he is our best option after the draft you don't want to risk a bidding war. Where you end up paying more for a longer period of time. And, it puts the pressure back on him. If he does shop around to long we might withdraw the offer and he could end up like Bonzi. We wouldn't want his cap hold tying up other deals. Really, is overpaying 3% of our total team salary, that much of a gamble for one year.

Excuse me? A 5 year deal with max escalation of 25% each year would net a free agent on a 5 year 56 million dollar deal, roughly an average of 11 million/year. That's MORE than enough to net a quality free agent. The problem is, finding a free agent that's worth spending THAT much on.

Year 1: ~7.5 million
Year 2: ~9 million
Year 3: ~11 million
Year 4: ~13.5 million
Year 5: ~16 million

 

[HighTopKicks]

Excuse me? A 5 year deal with max escalation of 25% each year would net a free agent on a 5 year 56 million dollar deal, roughly an average of 11 million/year. That's MORE than enough to net a quality free agent. The problem is, finding a free agent that's worth spending THAT much on.

Year 1: ~7.5 million
Year 2: ~9 million
Year 3: ~11 million
Year 4: ~13.5 million
Year 5: ~16 million

So, you want to commit all of our cap space to 1 player next yr. Why not wait until K9's contract expires in 2010 when our cap space will be $14M and go after someone really good. The 09 FA market was only really viable if we had moved K9 along with Miller but we didn't. Now, it's save the cap space until the trade deadline and combine it with K9's expiring to trade for a quality player. Or, save the cap space and wait until K9's contract expires in 2010, and combine the space for a 2010 FA.

 

[KF8]

I could see Griffin do what Ike Diogu did his last 2 games. If we drafted Griffin we definitely shouldn't sign Diogu. Even without Griffin I don't know if we should sign him. We have to look at the big picture.. the future and also we havn't seen enough of Diogu to make the accurate assessment of him. I'm not very confident in Petrie signing guys though. I have a bad feeling he will once again overpay for someone just like every other season. I hope i'm wrong.