So you want the Kings to get a backup center, OK who?

[cstorm]

I am afraid that Petrie will follow suit and sign some slug that locks us in to a long contract. Let's just get John Wall and Tony Woods next year and everything will be fine.

 

[fnordius]

Hey, I guess there's still Alade Aminu available. He might be worth taking a flyer on, even if he had to start off with a bit of DL.

It offers more hope than Voskuhl, anyway.

 

[bajaden]

Hey, I guess there's still Alade Aminu available. He might be worth taking a flyer on, even if he had to start off with a bit of DL.

It offers more hope than Voskuhl, anyway.

Aminu was on my short list of second round picks for bigs in the draft. Very athletic big man, but very raw. Another long term project but at least he's a physcial type player. I see him more as a PF than a center though.

 

[fnordius]

I see him more as a PF than a center though.

Then again, you could say the same about all of the backup centers we have now, and maybe even our starter.

Raw project, sure. But like you say, he's athletic. He likes rebounding and blocking, and isn't scared of contact. And he's 6'10". Kinda skinny, but that can change.

I'd take that over someone like Voskuhl any day, just because if you get Voskuhl, you have a crappy C for a year, and then you got nothin'. With Aminu, you get a crappy big for a year, then a less crappy one to look forward to next year.

But I guess with Aminu there's no pay-related handouts from the NBA like there is with veterans, which might be enough to kill the idea.

 

[ParniValjak]

The issue here is that who ever the back up C is, he would need to be someone who will play 20mpg and he would need to be good enough to take minutes away from May.

Let be honest here, you can sign Animu or Voskuhl but neither will take the minutes away from May, Hawes or Thompson and then you are back to the same problem we have now. That is not enough size in regular rotation which means May starts and Hawes comes off the bench so that at least we have some size coming off the bench.

Who ever this back up C is supposed to be, he needs to be good enough to give May a genuine run for his money when it comes to first big off the bench role. Getting someone who is going to ride the pine is not going to change anything. Thats why I think the back up C would need to come via trade as there is nothing out the in the FA land.

 

[bajaden]

Then again, you could say the same about all of the backup centers we have now, and maybe even our starter.

Raw project, sure. But like you say, he's athletic. He likes rebounding and blocking, and isn't scared of contact. And he's 6'10". Kinda skinny, but that can change.

I'd take that over someone like Voskuhl any day, just because if you get Voskuhl, you have a crappy C for a year, and then you got nothin'. With Aminu, you get a crappy big for a year, then a less crappy one to look forward to next year.

But I guess with Aminu there's no pay-related handouts from the NBA like there is with veterans, which might be enough to kill the idea.

Well your preaching to the choir with me. I'd love them to pick up Aminu. I'm always for taking a gamble on young talent, with emphasis on the talent. He may be skinny, but compared to Brandon Wright, he looks like Mr. Amercia...

 

[AriesMar27]

what about diop? the bobcats suck... maybe they would take thomas in exchange for diop or nazr. diop is young, plays defense, rebounds and wont steal minutes from thompson and hawes but would surpass may (or even thompson) as backup center....

 

[bajaden]

what about diop? the bobcats suck... maybe they would take thomas in exchange for diop or nazr. diop is young, plays defense, rebounds and wont steal minutes from thompson and hawes but would surpass may (or even thompson) as backup center....

While Diop would certainly take up space, he's not god's gift to the center positon. He also has four years left on his contract including this coming year. So trading KT for him would screw up anything we wanted to do in next offseasons freeagency. While he's not exactly old, he is around 28 years old. So I have mixed emotions about him. My preference would be a younger version with more upside, and cheaper. I wish I could suggest someone, but anyone I would want now would require a trade.

Now if you can figure out a way to trade Beno for Diop then I'm on board..

 

[AriesMar27]

While Diop would certainly take up space, he's not god's gift to the center positon. He also has four years left on his contract including this coming year. So trading KT for him would screw up anything we wanted to do in next offseasons freeagency. While he's not exactly old, he is around 28 years old. So I have mixed emotions about him. My preference would be a younger version with more upside, and cheaper. I wish I could suggest someone, but anyone I would want now would require a trade.

Now if you can figure out a way to trade Beno for Diop then I'm on board..

maybe if felton gets injured we could somehow trade beno for diop. if we could trade nocioni for diop that would be cool. but how many cheap 7ft centers are there in the nba? kwame brown?

this is where having beno, nocioni and garcia hurts... our only movable player is thomas. no one is going to want beno, or nocioni because of their contracts. garcia is hurt... unless we are going to trade martin but then i would hope that we could get a better player than a back up center...

though i just dont know who we will be trying to sign next offseason, regardless of how much cash we will have that summer... nazr mohammed would be a nice but we would have the same problem... no one will want our garbage, even if its for their garbage...

 

[bajaden]

maybe if felton gets injured we could somehow trade beno for diop. if we could trade nocioni for diop that would be cool. but how many cheap 7ft centers are there in the nba? kwame brown?

this is where having beno, nocioni and garcia hurts... our only movable player is thomas. no one is going to want beno, or nocioni because of their contracts. garcia is hurt... unless we are going to trade martin but then i would hope that we could get a better player than a back up center...

though i just dont know who we will be trying to sign next offseason, regardless of how much cash we will have that summer... nazr mohammed would be a nice but we would have the same problem... no one will want our garbage, even if its for their garbage...

There are a lot of free agents next offseason. I know everyone talks about LeBron and Wade etc, but when you drop down to the next tier, there's a lot of talent available. I know its popular to say that no good player would want to come here, but I disagree. If your a big city guy, maybe you'd be reluctant, but San Francisco is just up the road. But there are a lot of players like Corlis that were born and raised in small towns, and a town like sacramento appeals to them. And, regardless of what we may think about the Maloof's and the FO, the Kings have a good reputation around the league for treating their players well.

That leaves us with, who wants to play on a loser. First off, if a player looks at a team and only sees a loser, then I'm not sure I want him on my team anyway. I want someone that looks at a team and thinks he can make the difference. Call me idealistic, but that was always my mentality when I played. However, that aside, I think its important for the current team to make significant progress this year. If the Kings, at years end, look like a team on the rise, then I don't think they'll have any problems luring freeagents.

As far as trades go. I don't agree that Nocioni falls into the garbage catagory. There are teams around the league that would love to have him on their roster. The question is, do they have anyone we want. The point is, he's a moveable piece with a reasonable contract. Garcia is probably overpaid by league standards, but at least he fills a role on the team and is productive. So I might have a small problem with his salary, but not with his being on the team. Beno is another story altogether. I'm not a big fan, but, at least for the moment were stuck with him. But as Barnam, of Barnam and Bailey said, there's a sucker born every minute. My hope is that he can play well enough to attract a buyer.

How about we package Beno and Nocioni together and trade them to Utah for Boozer. Probably wouldn't work, because Utah is looking for salary relief. But they might go for Beno and KT and case of Corona..Probably not.....

 

[King Baller]

Beno could produce better on a more talented team. Beno can bring the ball up and pass it to a go to guy as well as anyone. Actually Beno has some pretty crafty passes and a nice little jump shot. His spin move in the paint is very solid. Yes he under performed per his contract last year but a team that needs a PG could do a lot worse.

Every year one of the teams with playoff potential loses a player and has to shop for a replacement for all or part of the season. PG is one of the hardest positions to fill. So Beno has value in the right situation.

Noc is worth his contract. I like Noc on the Kings since I like guys that bring the lunch pail and go to work. Noc is not afraid to mix it up and that is exactly what this young Kings team needs to see.

So Beno and KT for a good young big makes sense if the other team needs a PG.

KB

 

[AriesMar27]

There are a lot of free agents next offseason. I know everyone talks about LeBron and Wade etc, but when you drop down to the next tier, there's a lot of talent available. I know its popular to say that no good player would want to come here, but I disagree. If your a big city guy, maybe you'd be reluctant, but San Francisco is just up the road. But there are a lot of players like Corlis that were born and raised in small towns, and a town like sacramento appeals to them. And, regardless of what we may think about the Maloof's and the FO, the Kings have a good reputation around the league for treating their players well.

That leaves us with, who wants to play on a loser. First off, if a player looks at a team and only sees a loser, then I'm not sure I want him on my team anyway. I want someone that looks at a team and thinks he can make the difference. Call me idealistic, but that was always my mentality when I played. However, that aside, I think its important for the current team to make significant progress this year. If the Kings, at years end, look like a team on the rise, then I don't think they'll have any problems luring freeagents.

As far as trades go. I don't agree that Nocioni falls into the garbage catagory. There are teams around the league that would love to have him on their roster. The question is, do they have anyone we want. The point is, he's a moveable piece with a reasonable contract. Garcia is probably overpaid by league standards, but at least he fills a role on the team and is productive. So I might have a small problem with his salary, but not with his being on the team. Beno is another story altogether. I'm not a big fan, but, at least for the moment were stuck with him. But as Barnam, of Barnam and Bailey said, there's a sucker born every minute. My hope is that he can play well enough to attract a buyer.

How about we package Beno and Nocioni together and trade them to Utah for Boozer. Probably wouldn't work, because Utah is looking for salary relief. But they might go for Beno and KT and case of Corona..Probably not.....

i agree, nocioni isnt garbage but he might as well be considering what we're looking for. no one here wants to trade for a player that would interfere with our future capspace. but no team wants to give up a serviceable big man with a short contract for nocioni and his long term deal. same goes for beno... both would be good players on a contender, same could be said for garcia. oddly enough for example all three players would be ideal for the lakers, you could swap the three of them for farmar, walton and sasha and would make the lakers a better team in a heartbeat. they are far from bad players, just not good trade bait for what we are looking for... because of their gaudy contracts... if they all had 2 year deals we would have no problem moving any of them but they all have at least 4 years left...

if we could somehow get a third team involved maybe we can trade nocioni for diop. maybe miami would take on a player like beno or nocioni... they'll only have 5 players under contract next season, not including any draft picks... the really dont have a pg... but after the whole marcus banks situation i doubt that they would risk being stuck with beno. nocioni maybe but beno, hell no... they would then send someone like haslem or richardson to the bobcats and we would get diop... the heat will have stupid capspace this offseason.

 

[bajaden]

i agree, nocioni isnt garbage but he might as well be considering what we're looking for. no one here wants to trade for a player that would interfere with our future capspace. but no team wants to give up a serviceable big man with a short contract for nocioni and his long term deal. same goes for beno... both would be good players on a contender, same could be said for garcia. oddly enough for example all three players would be ideal for the lakers, you could swap the three of them for farmar, walton and sasha and would make the lakers a better team in a heartbeat. they are far from bad players, just not good trade bait for what we are looking for... because of their gaudy contracts... if they all had 2 year deals we would have no problem moving any of them but they all have at least 4 years left...

if we could somehow get a third team involved maybe we can trade nocioni for diop. maybe miami would take on a player like beno or nocioni... they'll only have 5 players under contract next season, not including any draft picks... the really dont have a pg... but after the whole marcus banks situation i doubt that they would risk being stuck with beno. nocioni maybe but beno, hell no... they would then send someone like haslem or richardson to the bobcats and we would get diop... the heat will have stupid capspace this offseason.

Actually they only have three players on guaranteed contracts. Joel Anthony and Wade have player options. I doubt Anthony will exercise his and gamble on freeagency in a market loaded with more sellers than buyers. They do need a point guard though. They have Chalmers who played pretty well last year, but, god, I hate to say it, Beno would probably be, at least in the short term, a step up.

I'd still like to find a way to pry Robin Lopez away from the Sun's. Another thought I had was concerning Przybilla. He has an early termination option for next year. I've heard nothing from Portland about an extension. They just signed Roy and now Aldridge to extensions. Could be their waiting to see just how durable Oden is before commiting or not commiting to Przybilla. To be honest, I'm not sure he's eligible for an extension. I'm sure the Capt or Fnordius will enlighten me, but either way, he may be someone we could get with the right offer.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

I'd still like to find a way to pry Robin Lopez away from the Sun's. Another thought I had was concerning Przybilla. He has an early termination option for next year. I've heard nothing from Portland about an extension. They just signed Roy and now Aldridge to extensions. Could be their waiting to see just how durable Oden is before commiting or not commiting to Przybilla. To be honest, I'm not sure he's eligible for an extension. I'm sure the Capt or Fnordius will enlighten me, but either way, he may be someone we could get with the right offer.

Certainly a contract cannot be extended with an ETO still in effect, because if a contract is terminated with an ETO, it is not eligible for subsequent extension at that point (unlike a player option, which can be). And I don't think that Przybilla can decline the ETO early, so I believe he can't possibly be extended until next summer, and then only if he declines the ETO (to "opt-in" to the final year). Although in a relatviely down market potentially flooded with a big class of free agents, I imagine Przybilla will not turn down $7M+ for '10-'11. So I don't see him as a free agent next offseason.

That said, at this point I can't see the Blazers being particularly interested in committing long-term money to a defensive big man. On top of Roy's big extension, Aldridge got his, and Oden's going to get his unless things go horribly wrong with his knees. You gotta figure that's about $45M or more between those three guys for '11-'12, Webster makes it $50M+ and they've got 9 more slots to fill. With PF and C presumably filled with all-star caliber guys, I don't know how much they're going to want to spend on their #3 (at best) big man.

 

[Bricklayer]

Certainly a contract cannot be extended with an ETO still in effect, because if a contract is terminated with an ETO, it is not eligible for subsequent extension at that point (unlike a player option, which can be). And I don't think that Przybilla can decline the ETO early, so I believe he can't possibly be extended until next summer, and then only if he declines the ETO (to "opt-in" to the final year). Although in a relatviely down market potentially flooded with a big class of free agents, I imagine Przybilla will not turn down $7M+ for '10-'11. So I don't see him as a free agent next offseason.

That said, at this point I can't see the Blazers being particularly interested in committing long-term money to a defensive big man. On top of Roy's big extension, Aldridge got his, and Oden's going to get his unless things go horribly wrong with his knees. You gotta figure that's about $45M or more between those three guys for '11-'12, Webster makes it $50M+ and they've got 9 more slots to fill. With PF and C presumably filled with all-star caliber guys, I don't know how much they're going to want to spend on their #3 (at best) big man.

They like Pryz though, and with good reason. Think Webster might be the more likely victim. Or Outlaw. Or... Or...well, let's put it this way, they've got 4 SFs. Don't think they are happy with the Miller experiment either, and they were tryign to add ANOTHER big this offseason, first wiht Millsap, and then with Lee. In any case, owned by one of the wrold's richest, sitting around and waiting for them to spew out talented players because they decide they can't afford them could be a long wait.

 

[Capt. Factorial]

They like Pryz though, and with good reason. Think Webster might be the more likely victim. Or Outlaw. Or... Or...well, let's put it this way, they've got 4 SFs. Don't think they are happy with the Miller experiment either, and they were tryign to add ANOTHER big this offseason, first wiht Millsap, and then with Lee. In any case, owned by one of the wrold's richest, sitting around and waiting for them to spew out talented players because they decide they can't afford them could be a long wait.

I agree they like Przybilla, but Webster is actually under contract through '11-12 (with '12-'13 unguaranteed) so he's not the victim unless they give him away. Outlaw or another SF is likely to leave town eventually.

I never can quite guess what's going on there - with the glut of SFs they still almost added Hedo this summer. But giving Przybilla an extension (and therefore starting at $7M+ and moving up) doesn't seem logical right now, especially when the contract would start in his age 32 season. Joel getting older, salary cap edging downwards...maybe the rules don't apply to Paul Allen, but if I were in charge my logical priorities would not include committing more big future money to Przybilla. I'd probably try to keep him, but I'd want to take in the landscape of contracts handed out in the '11-'12 offseason first. No reason to commit to overpaying now.

 

[rainmaker]

Looks like Spencer is our backup center for now, so do we start asking who should be our starting center? I for one, HATE the idea of Sean freaking May as our starting center on opening night.

 

['89 Kings Fan]

Obviously we are on a quest to go through every mediocre big-man in the league.

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2009/01/word-of-day-voskuhl.html

Voskuhl (voss-cull) noun. When a big man's combined fouls and turnovers exceed his combined points and rebounds over the course of a game.

This means of course we are going to sign him to a guaranteed deal. My solution would be Nick Collison. The Thunder now have Kristic, BJ Mullens and Etan Thomas so they might be willing to part with him.

 

[bajaden]

Obviously we are on a quest to go through every mediocre big-man in the league.

http://basketbawful.blogspot.com/2009/01/word-of-day-voskuhl.html



This means of course we are going to sign him to a guaranteed deal. My solution would be Nick Collison. The Thunder now have Kristic, BJ Mullens and Etan Thomas so they might be willing to part with him.

Collison is a PF and not a center. I mean he'd be better than nothing, but he's not a legitimate big in my mind. The Grizzleys may be our best bet for a big. Right now they have Gasol, Thabeet, Steven Hunter, and Haddadi on their roster. Hunter is an expiring, but he's coming off knee injurys. Gasol and Thabeet are probably untouchable, so that leaves Hamed Haddadi, whose been discussed before.

Aside from that, I looked around the league and all I could come up with was a few possiblities.

Jared Jeffries: is 6'11" and 240..
Darko Milicic: Never reached his potential, but he's still young. 7'1", 245.
Samuel Dalembert: I'm sure everyone knows him. 6'11", 250.
Jason Smith: Coming off knee surgery, but athletic. 7'0", 220.
Amir Johnson: Young at 22 years of age. 6'11", 210.
Alexis Ajinca: Another young player. Athletic and raw. 7'1", 220.
Hamed Haddadi: Big dude, that I know little about. 7'2", 255.

Other than Dalembert, these are guys that are either young, or have underaccheived, or both. My personal preference would be Milicic. I've never liked him and he's done nothing so far to blow my socks off. But he is a decent shotblocker and still young. He might be one of those guys thats ready to blossom..

 

[TheFifthMookie]

I agree they like Przybilla,

But giving Przybilla an extension (and therefore starting at $7M+ and moving up) doesn't seem logical right now, especially when the contract would start in his age 32 season. Joel getting older, salary cap edging downwards....

Just thought this would be a good time to mention I wear a Joel Przybilla jersey to the 1 or 2 portland games I get to go to a year. yay!

 

[KingsCitizen]

What happened to Chris Mihm? Or Robert Swift?
At least both are legit 7-feet and pretty young and should also be cheap.
We just need another tall guy in the paint.

 

[bajaden]

What happened to Chris Mihm? Or Robert Swift?
At least both are legit 7-feet and pretty young and should also be cheap.
We just need another tall guy in the paint.

I'd be willing to take a gamble on Swift. He's been a semibust so far, but he's young. He's also coming off of Knee surgery..

 

[AleksandarN]

Why not trade KT for Darko if the New York is game that would solve our back up center needs with out over commiting on salary because both are expiring contracts. It will also give us a full season to see if Darko fits in our system.

 

[Bricklayer]

Why not trade KT for Darko if the New York is game that would solve our back up center needs with out over commiting on salary because both are expiring contracts. It will also give us a full season to see if Darko fits in our system.

I have no idea why NY would do that though. Even though I am not at all sure D'Antoni will play him, think they got Darko specifically to address their own lack of size up front.

 

[Kingster]

Certainly a contract cannot be extended with an ETO still in effect, because if a contract is terminated with an ETO, it is not eligible for subsequent extension at that point (unlike a player option, which can be). And I don't think that Przybilla can decline the ETO early, so I believe he can't possibly be extended until next summer, and then only if he declines the ETO (to "opt-in" to the final year). Although in a relatviely down market potentially flooded with a big class of free agents, I imagine Przybilla will not turn down $7M+ for '10-'11. So I don't see him as a free agent next offseason.

That said, at this point I can't see the Blazers being particularly interested in committing long-term money to a defensive big man. On top of Roy's big extension, Aldridge got his, and Oden's going to get his unless things go horribly wrong with his knees. You gotta figure that's about $45M or more between those three guys for '11-'12, Webster makes it $50M+ and they've got 9 more slots to fill. With PF and C presumably filled with all-star caliber guys, I don't know how much they're going to want to spend on their #3 (at best) big man.

The Oden saga is very interesting to me. If the guy has a tremendous year and stays healthy until he signs his new contract, they will have to pay him a very large amount. That could be very bad for Portland down the line because his long term health is anything but secure.

 

[bajaden]

I have no idea why NY would do that though. Even though I am not at all sure D'Antoni will play him, think they got Darko specifically to address their own lack of size up front.

Well I would love to have Darko instead of Thomas, but I agree, why would the Knicks do that? They're both expiring contracts and to make matters worse, Thomas makes around a million more than Darko. I don't know if Darko is in their long range plans or not. It probably depends on how he plays this season. We would have to sweeten the pot in some way in order to make the deal. A future first down the road or, take back some of their other baggage they want to unload, which would probably require moving more than just Thomas. Not likely..

 

[OptimusRhyme]

we should go after Andray Blatche. I think hes gonna be a stud. yesterday he dropped something like 20 pts 8 rebs 2 blks 0 t/os against Dallas and the wiz won the game.
The wiz are trying to contend right now and they have haywood,Oberto,P.Davis.Javale Mcgee & Blatche all as big guys.
Im thinking its pretty reasonble to think we could nab Blatche from them.

 

[Arkitect]

What happened to Chris Mihm? Or Robert Swift?
At least both are legit 7-feet and pretty young and should also be cheap.
We just need another tall guy in the paint.

Mihm was one of my thoughts at the beginning of the summer, but he is getting up there in age and basically hasn't played in two years. That is a long time to be out of the league coming off an injury. Was a decent shot blocker and servicable player. Who knows what shape he is in now. Might sign him and he might play 20 games due to injury.

 

[hrdboild]

we should go after Andray Blatche. I think hes gonna be a stud. yesterday he dropped something like 20 pts 8 rebs 2 blks 0 t/os against Dallas and the wiz won the game.
The wiz are trying to contend right now and they have haywood,Oberto,P.Davis.Javale Mcgee & Blatche all as big guys.
Im thinking its pretty reasonble to think we could nab Blatche from them.

I doubt it. They're trying to contend so they need all the talent they've got. Plus they've already invested three years waiting for Blatche to reach his potential. They're not going to quit on him now when he might finally be coming around.

 

[bajaden]

I doubt it. They're trying to contend so they need all the talent they've got. Plus they've already invested three years waiting for Blatche to reach his potential. They're not going to quit on him now when he might finally be coming around.

I agree. Blatche played fairly well toward the end of last season. To give up on him now would be stupid.