We need a long lanky defensive CENTER!

Ive been preaching this a for a long time also. Im beyond fedup with the constant layup drills teams practice against the Kings. Two of my biggest pet peeves in all of basketball are giving away layups and allowing opposing teams to get offensive rebounds. It actually drives me crazy. I dont see the harm in acquiring a 6'10+ long athletic scrub. Alot like what dallas did when they acquired Desagana Diop from the cavs a few years back.To be a top team you must be able to protect the basket.
 
aaron gray anyone?

As much as I like his size, he is so slow, unathletic, eathbound, I'm not sure that his contribution to this team could be what we're talking about in this thread. He seems to be bad at staying in front of anyone, and his NBA shotblocking rate has been unexciting. His passing is just fine, and he has good shooting range, even if he doesn't use it very often. In that way, I see him as a lot more of a poor man's Miller than a poor man's Camby. Maybe that's something the FO would like, but it's not what we're talking about here, in my opinion.
 
Gray's a behemoth, at 7'2" 272. He was known as a spacecarver who can rebound and draw fouls/score with nice touch in college, and in the NBA, in his limited playing time with the Bulls, he's largely kept up the rebounding (in particular he's a very good offensive rebounder). He's not that athletic and is an absolute sloth speedwise, so that really affects his defense in an adverse way. But if history has any say in this, guys that tall who have shown even a modicum of talent (in Gray's case, rebounding and touch) tend to stay in the league for a while, and I think he'll get an invite and perhaps a small contract somewhere. Reminds me of one of our training camp fodder John Bryant in terms of game and physique, and I wouldn't really want another unathletic player, so pass.
 
Looking at the FA landscape now...

Undersized C? Stromile Swift is still out there as a free agent--he does have a reputation as a shotblocker, is still 29, and misses too many games and lacks the work ethic to really steal minutes from our bigs. I remember some of us wanted him back when he was relevant in Memphis as the athletic shotblocker--well we can now get at the min. Recent years have still shown him to be a serviceable player when given minutes, even if he's lost a step. He can still rebound and block shots as a PF off the bench, and he's more naturally talented than most bench players, even if he'll never reach his full potential. We still need that kind of player, and even if he's 6'9" we can still plug him as an undersized C. BTW, if we want a less baggage, better motor, younger route with this sort of player, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, although still a bit unproven, can do the same sort of work. Shavlik Randolph is also a choice here, but would be third in this set of players, because he's probably an equivalent of Jon Brockman.

Unproven athletic C? Saer Sene may be worth taking a flyer on, but the Knicks and Thunder, two non-contending teams, just dumped him, most likely because he's five years away from being two years away. He's tall and long, and has shown rebounding and pretty good shotblocking in the D-League--stuff we need, again. Better choice than Robert Swift IMO--just not sure about Swift's injuries. Johan Petro's development is rapidly slow, and he's more of a move your feet center than a shotblocker, but he's 22, 7 feet and still has the potential/playoff experience to bank on him as a 2nd string center.
 
Saer Sene, good call. He could be signed for the minimum also. lol honestly my only requirements for this type of specialist is tall/long/athletic. Total disregard for any kind of bball IQ.
 
So i immediately looked up some footage of Saer Sene and...holy crap! This guy perfectly fits the mold of a tall/long/athletic scrub. Hes still young and hasnt been playing ball for long so hes still teachable. He's 7 feet tall and has a 7'8 wingspan. From the footage I saw of him he didnt look bad at all. If i were a Kings scout id make someone in the FO take a look at him.
 
So i immediately looked up some footage of Saer Sene and...holy crap! This guy perfectly fits the mold of a tall/long/athletic scrub. Hes still young and hasnt been playing ball for long so hes still teachable. He's 7 feet tall and has a 7'8 wingspan. From the footage I saw of him he didnt look bad at all. If i were a Kings scout id make someone in the FO take a look at him.
I should say holy crap too! :D

I agree that this kid doesn't look bad at all basing on the youtube highlights I've seen. He is very agile, dives for the ball, and can block shots.

This guy looks even more promising and more ready to play in the NBA than Thabeet. Sign him up for 1 year!
 
I should say holy crap too! :D

I agree that this kid doesn't look bad at all basing on the youtube highlights I've seen. He is very agile, dives for the ball, and can block shots.

This guy looks even more promising and more ready to play in the NBA than Thabeet. Sign him up for 1 year!

What the hell, why not? Right now, a tall Donald Duck is starting to look good to me.:cool:
 
What the hell, why not? Right now, a tall Donald Duck is starting to look good to me.:cool:

I'm not sure of ALL the requirements of a long, lanky defensive center, but I'm pretty sure one of them is that he needs to wear pants.
 
I'm not sure of ALL the requirements of a long, lanky defensive center, but I'm pretty sure one of them is that he needs to wear pants.

Donald doesn't wear pants??? I'm now questioning my powers of observation...:eek:
 
Donald doesn't wear pants??? I'm now questioning my powers of observation...:eek:

donald-duck.jpg
 
^^^^^^^^^^^^ GREAT Simpson episode, one of the best for sure.


As far as a 'tall lanky defensive center' I agree that we need one, but I dont think we should go after one.

Any player of that build ( and can actually play basketball, and isnt in the league strictly because of his height ) we would have to overpay for, and at this point in the rebuild it really isnt worth it.

Dont get me wrong, I would go after Sene for a 1 yr min contract, but I dont want to see us sign ANYONE else this offseason for over a year .. its just not worth it for us.
 
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