Smaller, Quicker Centers

[Kingster]

It's pretty obvious that the Kings aren't going to select Thabeet, or a guy like him. Reynolds has said numerous times that "the league" is going to quicker, smaller centers (and that's why he thinks JT can play center). It's interesting that he's coming to this perception after just trading Brad Miller (maybe that experience showed him something). I have a feeling that this smaller, quicker principle is going to feed into future draft selections or trades. What are your thoughts about this "smaller, quicker" team that the Kings want to assemble?

 

[theclash4u5]

So that's why we are out rebounding every game...

 

[DocHolliday]

Odom, Howard, Bynum, Yao,...

Yep..the league is sure getting SMALLER at the center position

 

[Bricklayer]

It's pretty obvious that the Kings aren't going to select Thabeet, or a guy like him. Reynolds has said numerous times that "the league" is going to quicker, smaller centers (and that's why he thinks JT can play center). It's interesting that he's coming to this perception after just trading Brad Miller (maybe that experience showed him something). I have a feeling that this smaller, quicker principle is going to feed into future draft selections or trades. What are your thoughts about this "smaller, quicker" team that the Kings want assemble?

1) Jerry Reynolds is an idiot who has never won anything in the NBA and never would. His constant yammering about smaller quicker centers is typical of his inanity. The starting centers for the 9 Western Conference playoff contenders: Andrew Bynum, Yao Ming, Greg Oden, Shaquille ONeal, Tyson Chandler, Erick Dampier, Nene, whoever they are calling a center this week in San Antonio, Mehmet Okur. Yeah, speedy little quick guys all.

2) What has always frightened me about Jerry's inane babblings (other than that it threatens to spread basketball ignorance among Kings fandom in general) is that he is, or was, kind of officially part of the front office, and it always frightens me that all of his normal stupidity -- centers should be quick, small ball is good, shotblocking is overrated etc. etc. might actually represnet the viewpoint fo the pwoers that be inside the front office.

 

[theclash4u5]

1) Jerry Reynolds is an idiot who has never won anything in the NBA and never would. His constant yammering about smaller quicker centers is typical of his inanity. The starting centers for the 9 Western Conference playoff contenders: Andrew Bynum, Yao Ming, Greg Oden, Shaquille ONeal, Tyson Chandler, Erick Dampier, Nene, whoever they are calling a center this week in San Antonio, Mehmet Okur. Yeah, speedy little quick guys all.

2) What has always frightened me about Jerry's inane babblings (other than that it threatens to spread basketball ignorance among Kings fandom in general) is that he is, or was, kind of officially part of the front office, and it always frightens me that all of his normal stupidity -- centers should be quick, small ball is good, shotblocking is overrated etc. etc. might actually represnet the viewpoint fo the pwoers that be inside the front office.

+1

I think Jerry quietly whispers in Petrie's ear to ignore drafting centers who are big/physical and instead draft undersized/"quick" ones who are good at shooting from the outside....

 

[Kingster]

1) Jerry Reynolds is an idiot who has never won anything in the NBA and never would. His constant yammering about smaller quicker centers is typical of his inanity. The starting centers for the 9 Western Conference playoff contenders: Andrew Bynum, Yao Ming, Greg Oden, Shaquille ONeal, Tyson Chandler, Erick Dampier, Nene, whoever they are calling a center this week in San Antonio, Mehmet Okur. Yeah, speedy little quick guys all.

2) What has always frightened me about Jerry's inane babblings (other than that it threatens to spread basketball ignorance among Kings fandom in general) is that he is, or was, kind of officially part of the front office, and it always frightens me that all of his normal stupidity -- centers should be quick, small ball is good, shotblocking is overrated etc. etc. might actually represnet the viewpoint fo the pwoers that be inside the front office.

All that being said, he is the Director of Player Personnel, right? He's Petrie's right-hand man. So, unless he is totally spinning blarney repeatedly, he would seem to believe this, right? So don't you think that this should be taken seriously? Don't you think Thabeet is off the table? And don't you think that it's more likely they put more weight on quickness (Teague) than other factors when they evaluate talent?

 

[vikinginferno]

Ugh, this is horrible. I love powerful centers and I can only wish the Kings would get one.

 

[kpm308]

Jerry is the epitome of a "company man". If the GM was to decide that he wanted to run a team of 5 point guards, Jerry would be on the next broadcast spelling out all the positives that a team like that would bring. He's the commentator on the games because he is willing to sell whatever team is wearing the uniforms. The whole "shotblocking is overrated" statements were made when there wasn't anyone on the Kings who could block a shot. Since Spencer has been playing and blocking a few, he's kind of dropped that from his rhetoric.

I think he is in a position to know how the front office feels about certain types of players, but I don't think he's making any of the actual decisions, and I am skeptical about how much of what he says on the broadcasts is what he truly believes as opposed to what he thinks is the best way to spin the current team to the fans. I think the Jerry that is seen on the Kings games is more of a character where he portrays himself as the humble country hick because that is going to be the most likable by the fans. He's been around the game for a very long time and I would suspect, as evidenced by his relatively high ranking position in the organization, that he has a lot more of a basketball mind than he lets on.

As far as his comments on the small quick center thing, I wouldn't read too much into it. Petrie has for the most part brought in players with traditional size for their positions. I actually think part of the salmons for Nocioni deal had more to do with size than anything, as Petrie has seemed to be after a full sized SF since he looked to move Artest, first he was after Klieza, then pulled the trigger on Donte, and now getting Nocioni. It seems to me like Petrie wasn't happy with two swingmen on the wing and wanted to bring in guys who could play more like forwards. The Webber/Vlade team had average to above average size at every position, and for the most part that extended to the backups as well. As far as drafting, I can't think of any undersized guys that he's taken with his firsts that were undersized. Douby was small for a SG but he was drafted as a point. The biggest problem with Petrie is that his style of skilled, passing/shooting guys just don't seem to play as big as they actually are. He tends to go for the more skilled guys over the physical banger types.

I think a guy like Thabeet will have to show a little more to convince Petrie than someone like Monroe would, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that if he was the BPA that Petrie would pass on him just because of his style. Also, if we did draft Thabeet, I would bet my house that next year Jerry would explain during the games that shotblocking is one of the most important parts of basketball.

 

[Bricklayer]

All that being said, he is the Director of Player Personnel, right? He's Petrie's right-hand man. So, unless he is totally spinning blarney repeatedly, he would seem to believe this, right? So don't you think that this should be taken seriously? Don't you think Thabeet is off the table? And don't you think that it's more likely they put more weight on quickness (Teague) than other factors when they evaluate talent?

hence my paragraph #2.

I have little doubt that would be true if Jerry was running things. And I fear it may be true if Jerry is an accurate mouthpiece for the front office. But I don't know for sure that he is, it might be just his own blatherings, and Geoff might be brighter than your average hick from French Lick.

 

[Bricklayer]

Jerry is the epitome of a "company man". If the GM was to decide that he wanted to run a team of 5 point guards, Jerry would be on the next broadcast spelling out all the positives that a team like that would bring. He's the commentator on the games because he is willing to sell whatever team is wearing the uniforms. The whole "shotblocking is overrated" statements were made when there wasn't anyone on the Kings who could block a shot. Since Spencer has been playing and blocking a few, he's kind of dropped that from his rhetoric.

I think he is in a position to know how the front office feels about certain types of players, but I don't think he's making any of the actual decisions, and I am skeptical about how much of what he says on the broadcasts is what he truly believes as opposed to what he thinks is the best way to spin the current team to the fans. I think the Jerry that is seen on the Kings games is more of a character where he portrays himself as the humble country hick because that is going to be the most likable by the fans. He's been around the game for a very long time and I would suspect, as evidenced by his relatively high ranking position in the organization, that he has a lot more of a basketball mind than he lets on.

As far as his comments on the small quick center thing, I wouldn't read too much into it. Petrie has for the most part brought in players with traditional size for their positions. I actually think part of the salmons for Nocioni deal had more to do with size than anything, as Petrie has seemed to be after a full sized SF since he looked to move Artest, first he was after Klieza, then pulled the trigger on Donte, and now getting Nocioni. It seems to me like Petrie wasn't happy with two swingmen on the wing and wanted to bring in guys who could play more like forwards. The Webber/Vlade team had average to above average size at every position, and for the most part that extended to the backups as well. As far as drafting, I can't think of any undersized guys that he's taken with his firsts that were undersized. Douby was small for a SG but he was drafted as a point. The biggest problem with Petrie is that his style of skilled, passing/shooting guys just don't seem to play as big as they actually are. He tends to go for the more skilled guys over the physical banger types.

I think a guy like Thabeet will have to show a little more to convince Petrie than someone like Monroe would, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that if he was the BPA that Petrie would pass on him just because of his style. Also, if we did draft Thabeet, I would bet my house that next year Jerry would explain during the games that shotblocking is one of the most important parts of basketball.

And here you go being all positve and rational about things.

All I have to say is a I hope you are right.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Kind of wish that we got Patrick O'Bryant instead of Willie Solomon in that deal, because of this reason. Solomon is extremely average and full of flaws, but O'Bryant actually is tall (7'0"), has potential and has shown two-way and inside-outside scoring abilities. We did need a point guard, but...it's hard to pass up height which we are sorely in need of, and the point guard we got wasn't that good. Assuming Gooden stays injured and Booth stays washed up, we're left playing 6'9" lean guy Cedric Simmons as our backup center now.

 

[beb0p]

It's pretty obvious that the Kings aren't going to select Thabeet, or a guy like him. Reynolds has said numerous times that "the league" is going to quicker, smaller centers (and that's why he thinks JT can play center).

I don't know how much power Reynolds have inside the FO, but I can guarantee that Petire does *not* run the team by just listening to Reynolds. The hierarchy is: Reynolds does what Petrie said, not the other way around. Reynold's opionion, is just that, his opinion. And from my recollection, he never said he prefers the small quick center over the big powerful beast. I think his point is that the small quick center can cause matchup problems, and he's right.

And I know there are novice King fans who have only started following the team since 2000s and who thinks Petrie only like soft shooting big men. That is simply ignorant. Petrie loves big guys who hustle and bang. He even signed Frank Brickowski! What more evidence does one need? I didn't think Petrie would draft Thabeet for the simple reason that the no-drama Petrie wouldn't want to add a third young big when there is only room for two. But make no mistake, Thabeet IS the type of big man that Petrie craves. And if the big man keeps on improving I can definitely see Petrie falls in love. In many ways, Thabeet may be the type of center that Petrie has been searching for since his Portland days.

 

[Bricklayer]

But make no mistake, Thabeet IS the type of big man that Petrie craves.

There is absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever. Really, none. The only unskilled defensive/rebounding bigs Geoff has ever acquired in his long tenure, and really going back all the way through his Portland days to boot, have been throwaways, roster fillers, last minute moves on borderline scrub players that just technically filled out a roster role and never last long as Kings before they are exiled. Scot Pollard is picked up off a waiver wire midseason and accidentally works out. He's not pursued. Greg Ostertag is picked up as a bencher at the end of his career, and gone in a year. Michael Stewart a local boy scrub nobody wanted who unexpectedly takes on a real role, again for one season. Keon Clark picked up off the scrap heap for one year as a backup. He scooped up Justin Williams from summer league one year because we had gotten so pathetic hey why not. Then waived him not once, but twice. Back inthe day he once spent a second round pick on 6'6" Michael "Animal" Smith.

If that is exactly the style of big man that Petrie prefers and in 20 years the best he's ever done is a single season of Keon Clark picked up on the cheap one year late in free agency to be a backup, then he's far more incompetent than anybody has yet accused him of being. But its not. Never has been. If Geoff can get some defense or rebounding out of a skilled big man, he'll take it. But when he's evaluating players there has been, and I do mean always has been, one side of the ball he has looked at first. Even most of our defensive players have all had offensive skillsets to first draw attention to them. Its a lot like trying to argue that Nellie really favors big centers because he once traded for Ralph Sampson and Shawn Bradley.

 

[HighFlyingMonkey]

There is absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever. Really, none. The only unskilled defensive/rebounding bigs Geoff has ever acquired in his long tenure, and really going back all the way through his Portland days to boot, have been throwaways, roster fillers, last minute moves on borderline scrub players that just technically filled out a roster role and never last long as Kings before they are exiled. Scot Pollard is picked up off a waiver wire midseason and accidentally works out. He's not pursued. Greg Ostertag is picked up as a bencher at the end of his career, and gone in a year. Michael Stewart a local boy scrub nobody wanted who unexpectedly takes on a real role, again for one season. Keon Clark picked up off the scrap heap for one year as a backup. He scooped up Justin Williams from summer league one year because we had gotten so pathetic hey why not. Then waived him not once, but twice. Back inthe day he once spent a second round pick on 6'6" Michael "Animal" Smith.

If that is exactly the style of big man that Petrie prefers and in 20 years the best he's ever done is a single season of Keon Clark picked up on the cheap one year late in free agency to be a backup, then he's far more incompetent than anybody has yet accused him of being. But its not. Never has been. If Geoff can get some defense or rebounding out of a skilled big man, he'll take it. But when he's evaluating players there has been, and I do mean always has been, one side of the ball he has looked at first. Even most of our defensive players have all had offensive skillsets to first draw attention to them. Its a lot like trying to argue that Nellie really favors big centers because he once traded for Ralph Sampson and Shawn Bradley.

If it's any encouragement, I remember in the 2006 draft, the Kings were really interested in Saer Sene. Not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I do remember seeing him here in Sacramento for a private workout at SAR's basketball camp.

 

[Kings Faithful]

And I know there are novice King fans who have only started following the team since 2000s and who thinks Petrie only like soft shooting big men. That is simply ignorant. Petrie loves big guys who hustle and bang. .

Hey now...I was only 9 when the team started getting good, and at that time i didn't even know other teams existed outside the Bulls...Michael Jordan was my hero. My point being just because some of us didn't start following the Kings til the 2000's it doesn't make us novice fans...cause I'm as hard core a fan as anyone out their...maby even VF...

 

[VF21]

Novice fan doesn't have a negative meaning. He was referring to newer fans, but not as any kind of insult.

We were ALL novice Kings fans at some point.

 

[NME]

The only unskilled defensive/rebounding bigs Geoff has ever acquired in his long tenure, and really going back all the way through his Portland days to boot, have been throwaways, roster fillers, last minute moves on borderline scrub players that just technically filled out a roster role and never last long as Kings before they are exiled.

Hey, once upon a time he did pull a cap-circumventing maneuver to get Chris Dudley.

 

[bajaden]

I would agree with Bricky in the sense that Petrie is not opposed taking a big man with defensive skills, but he better have offensive skills to go along. There's no doubt that he always leans toward players that are skilled on the offensive side of things. And, there's no doubt that you must put the basketball in the basket if your going to win games. You just have to do it more than the other team.

On the Reynolds issue, and having sat and had a couple of cervesa's with him at the sports bar and grill one night, I can attest that he's completely different off camera and off the record. He knows basketball. I also think that he knows he has a good gig, and doesn't want to make big changes in his life at this point. So, whatever the company line is, is what your going to hear on the air. He's no different than Grant. He's being paid to do a job.

 

[beb0p]

There is absolutely no evidence of that whatsoever. Really, none. The only unskilled defensive/rebounding bigs Geoff has ever acquired in his long tenure, and really going back all the way through his Portland days to boot, have been throwaways, roster fillers, last minute moves on borderline scrub players that just technically filled out a roster role and never last long as Kings before they are exiled.

So our #8 pick Brian Grant was just a filler? And Chris Dudley? A player with more career rebounds than points and more blocks than assists?

Let's do this logically; ever stop to think that maybe most "unskilled defensive/rebounding bigs" in the NBA are indeed bench players and career journey men who would never lasted with the same team no matter how much the GM put an emphasis on defensive bigs? Did any of these unskilled defensive big men that Petrie let go ever stuck long-term with another team?

Using your logic Danny Ainge must love soft big men too because he also let Scott Pollard go.

The fact is, if Petrie really did just want to "fill out a roster", there are smarter ways to go about it. You could say Jamaal Sampson was a filler, but Mikki Moore, Ostertag, Pollard, Keon Clark and others before them were definitely *not* filler. You can ignore the fact, but this is the GM who drafted the physical but unskilled (and unknown at that time) Brian Grant before the jump-shooting (and more heralded) Carlos Rogers. Petrie could have signed Malik Allen or Jake Voskuhl but he chose Mikki Moore. Why? Because Mikki has bad hands or is it because Moore is the best hustling big man out in FA?

This fallacy that Petrie doesn't like traditional big men has gone on long enough. It's pure nonsense. At first I thought it was just bandished in jest, to poke fun at the soft bigs we have. But to actually believe that a basketball expert doesn't like to have a defensive presence in the paint, or prefers scoring over defense at a defensive position, is the height of ignorance and perhaps arrogance that a fan would know more than a two-time Executive of the Year. I'm not saying Petrie is flawless, but I am saying some common sense is needed.

 

[beb0p]

I would agree with Bricky in the sense that Petrie is not opposed taking a big man with defensive skills, but he better have offensive skills to go along.

Brian Grant? Michael Smith? Scott Pollard? Chris Dudley? Frank Brickowski? Ostertag?

The list goes on...

 

[beb0p]

Hey now...I was only 9 when the team started getting good, and at that time i didn't even know other teams existed outside the Bulls...Michael Jordan was my hero. My point being just because some of us didn't start following the Kings til the 2000's it doesn't make us novice fans...cause I'm as hard core a fan as anyone out their...maby even VF...

Like VF said, I didn't mean it as an insult. If it's taken that way, I apologize.

I'm just noticing that some fans (not you) seem to based their perception of Petrie based soley on that he did the last few years.

Similar to many fans who thought Rick Adelman doesn't like to preach defesne. That is, until he went to Houston.

All I'm saying is: don't assume Petrie knows less than we do.

 

[Warhawk]

Similar to many fans who thought Rick Adelman doesn't like to preach defesne. That is, until he went to Houston.

All I'm saying is: don't assume Petrie knows less than we do.

Or you mean like the early 2000's when the Kings were a good defensive team, too?

 

[Bricklayer]

Brian Grant? Michael Smith? Scott Pollard? Chris Dudley? Frank Brickowski? Ostertag?

The list goes on...

Brian Grant was a good looking offensive player and an all around starter in his youth. That pick wasn't about getting a defensive big, and he was actually a crappy rebounder for us.

Michael Smtih -- 2nd round throwaway pick.
Scot Pollard -- midseason waiver wire pickup
And what is this Brickowski stuff? So far as I know, Frank never played for either Portland or Sacramento, and even if he had, he was far from a traditional big. He was tough, but he was basically an offensive player, not a rebounder or shotblocker (in his best season it was 16.9pts 6.9rebs 0.4blks).

I will have to give you Dudley back in his Portland days -- had forgotten that was even still Geoff, and indeed, it may not have entirely been. That was in his final desperate year in Portland, by which time he was already in the process of being forced out by weasels whispering in Paul Allen's ear.

Bottomline, in two decades of being a GM -- 20 years -- Geoff Petrie has NEVER committed a major asset to getting a defense first big onto one of his teams. Never. Not a single major trade asset. No big $$ FAs. Not a single first round pick. Every move of significance has been made to get skill guys. The defensive bigs that he has occasionally messed with have all been fill ins. Not cornerstones, but patches.

Your stance that he actually PREFERS such bigs is just completely unsupported by his history. A guy who prefers something will come up with them. In that same time period, Pat Riley, who absolutely loves big dominant bigs has coached and GMd Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Alonzo Mourning, PJ Brown, yes our Brian Grant if you want to include him, Shaquille O'Neal, Udonis Haslem, and now Jermaine O'Neal. He also wins titles BTw, but that's an argument for another thread.

 

[Kingster]

hence my paragraph #2.

I have little doubt that would be true if Jerry was running things. And I fear it may be true if Jerry is an accurate mouthpiece for the front office. But I don't know for sure that he is, it might be just his own blatherings, and Geoff might be brighter than your average hick from French Lick.

Of course Reynolds reflects Petrie. Do you really think he would be voicing his opinion on this matter if it differed from Petrie? Not a chance.

 

[Kingster]

Jerry is the epitome of a "company man". If the GM was to decide that he wanted to run a team of 5 point guards, Jerry would be on the next broadcast spelling out all the positives that a team like that would bring. He's the commentator on the games because he is willing to sell whatever team is wearing the uniforms. The whole "shotblocking is overrated" statements were made when there wasn't anyone on the Kings who could block a shot. Since Spencer has been playing and blocking a few, he's kind of dropped that from his rhetoric.

I think he is in a position to know how the front office feels about certain types of players, but I don't think he's making any of the actual decisions, and I am skeptical about how much of what he says on the broadcasts is what he truly believes as opposed to what he thinks is the best way to spin the current team to the fans. I think the Jerry that is seen on the Kings games is more of a character where he portrays himself as the humble country hick because that is going to be the most likable by the fans. He's been around the game for a very long time and I would suspect, as evidenced by his relatively high ranking position in the organization, that he has a lot more of a basketball mind than he lets on.

As far as his comments on the small quick center thing, I wouldn't read too much into it. Petrie has for the most part brought in players with traditional size for their positions. I actually think part of the salmons for Nocioni deal had more to do with size than anything, as Petrie has seemed to be after a full sized SF since he looked to move Artest, first he was after Klieza, then pulled the trigger on Donte, and now getting Nocioni. It seems to me like Petrie wasn't happy with two swingmen on the wing and wanted to bring in guys who could play more like forwards. The Webber/Vlade team had average to above average size at every position, and for the most part that extended to the backups as well. As far as drafting, I can't think of any undersized guys that he's taken with his firsts that were undersized. Douby was small for a SG but he was drafted as a point. The biggest problem with Petrie is that his style of skilled, passing/shooting guys just don't seem to play as big as they actually are. He tends to go for the more skilled guys over the physical banger types.

I think a guy like Thabeet will have to show a little more to convince Petrie than someone like Monroe would, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that if he was the BPA that Petrie would pass on him just because of his style. Also, if we did draft Thabeet, I would bet my house that next year Jerry would explain during the games that shotblocking is one of the most important parts of basketball.

Your conclusions don't follow from your premises. If Reynolds is a "company man" then his opinion on this matter would reflects the company, right? His opinion would be a reflection of Petrie's opinion on smaller, quicker centers, right? Which means that we should take Reynold's opinion on this matter seriously, rather than minimize it. And as far as pr is concerned, Reynolds was voicing this when they were playing Miller most of the minutes at center. Miller isn't quick, so that's not exactly pr for the Kings. And Hawes, who is now the center, may be quicker than Miller, but he's not in the upper eschelon of quickness for centers in this league. So it can't just be pr. If it's pr, he should be talking about skills (Hawes), not quickness. If it's pr, then he's trying to sell something he doesn't have.

 

[beb0p]

Brian Grant was a good looking offensive player and an all around starter in his youth. That pick wasn't about getting a defensive big, and he was actually a crappy rebounder for us.

Your stance that he actually PREFERS such bigs is just completely unsupported by his history. A guy who prefers something will come up with them. In that same time period, Pat Riley, who absolutely loves big dominant bigs has coached and GMd Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, Alonzo Mourning, PJ Brown, yes our Brian Grant if you want to include him, Shaquille O'Neal, Udonis Haslem, and now Jermaine O'Neal. He also wins titles BTw, but that's an argument for another thread.

Petrie replaced Wyman Tisdale with a guy boasting 1/2 the offensive skill and twice the toughness. That's why Brian Grant is mentioned as a counter to your argument. I don't know how many Kings games you watched back then, but at no point in Grant's career was he a "good looking offensive player." Maybe a career 10.5 ppg is good looking to you, but generally it's not considered such.

And your last paragragh completely lost me. You don't think Petrie would jump at the chance to have Ewing, Shaq, Mourning, and Oakley on the team? Just because he never had a great center doesn't mean he hates them you know.

Imagine someone sees that your wife is blonde and concluded that you don't like brunettes. One can only play with the cards one's dealt, right? Can you recall one time Petrie could have gotten a dominant defensive big man and turned it down?

I didn't say Petrie "prefers" unskilled big men. I said he likes them. I'm sure his actual preference are bigs who can *both* score and defend.

Btw, Petrie signed Frank Brickowski during our 94-95 season. Yes, he was tough. Too bad he was injured and never played a single game during that season.

 

[kingsnation]

Ostertag?

Oh dear... the thought that Petrie actually signed this guy and might not draft Thabeet...

I don't even want to imagine..

 

[kennadog]

I do think everybody is over-analyzing Jerry Reynolds. I just think that his public persona is to aoid saying too many negative things and generally just trying to find positive things to say about the team we have on the floor. I don't take those comments as his personal philosophy about basketball and what a great team would look like out there.

I just think Jerry's going to try and find the most positive comments (spin) he can make. I also think he sometimes he's just talking without giving every comment deep consideration before it comes out.

 

[kpm308]

Your conclusions don't follow from your premises. If Reynolds is a "company man" then his opinion on this matter would reflects the company, right? His opinion would be a reflection of Petrie's opinion on smaller, quicker centers, right? Which means that we should take Reynold's opinion on this matter seriously, rather than minimize it. And as far as pr is concerned, Reynolds was voicing this when they were playing Miller most of the minutes at center. Miller isn't quick, so that's not exactly pr for the Kings. And Hawes, who is now the center, may be quicker than Miller, but he's not in the upper eschelon of quickness for centers in this league. So it can't just be pr. If it's pr, he should be talking about skills (Hawes), not quickness. If it's pr, then he's trying to sell something he doesn't have.

I was talking more abut Jerry using the smaller, quicker center point in regards to Jason, where he has argued that Jason should be playing minutes at the C position where he can use his quickness to his advantage against slower centers. More specifically, when I've heard him bring this point up, it has been comparing Jason being able to either slide down to the 3 or up to the 5, and then making the quickness argument. I would say that this indeed does reflect the views of the organization as since Natt has taken over Jason has spent a lot of time at the 5, and very few if any minutes at the 3.

It seems to me like the organization is looking to use Jason more as a center than they have earlier in the year, where he was thought of more as a 3/4 than a 4/5. Jerry has been around and knows how everyone feels, so its his job to get on the broadcast and tell the fans how much they need a guy like Jason who can be a smaller, quicker center, because that's what the league is going to. Its just a sales job.

As far as saying those types of things while we have/had Miller and Hawes, he spends just as much time talking about how much of an advantage it is to have a 7 footer who can space the floor and who can pass, because that is what those guys do well.

It would turn fans off of the team we actually have now if he was to sit down for the next broadcast and start spouting off about how you can only win games with a 7'3" defensive presence, even if that is the way the organization feels, because there are a lot of variables to consider that have to go our way to even have a chance at a guy like that.