By: Greg Payne
Back on July 7, I wrote how we still need another big man who actually prefers to play in the paint.
If you think about it, of the three big men we currently have (Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace), two of them prefer hoisting jump shots, as opposed to dropping jump hooks. There's nothing wrong with it, because they've obviously made careers out of it. But even if we re-sign Glen Davis, he's still another forward who prefers the perimeter (he's mentioned extending his range to three-point nation).
What we still need, on top of a backup point guard, is a power forward who doesn't need to average 10 and 10, but rather someone who will bang inside, collect offensive and defensive rebounds, and, every once in a while, score a few points. The free agent market is pretty thin at that spot, but Leon Powe is still floating around (even if he won't be able to play until after the All-Star break).
Maybe this is the perfect way to have Leon return to town. If we head into the season without a forward of his tendencies, maybe management will realize we need someone of his caliber, and halfway through the year he'll be under contract with us again. But if not, we still need someone to at least try and fill that role.
Stay Tuned.
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6 comments:
In general, you are correct. But both Garnett and Sheed also score a decent amount in the paint. Not Shaq like, but they do score in the paint. The question is how good a player can you expect to get at this point? Davis plays some in the paint. A sign and trade may net us someone. Robert Swift as a fall back. But we won in 08 without any back to the basket paintster.
Oh yeah, when Sheed and Garnett play in the paint they're practically unstoppable, which is why it's so confusing that we don't see them down there more often. I'm more concerned with rebounds than I am points. If Sheed's bombing away from 25+ feet out, who's underneath securing any offensive rebounds and if Sheed is pulled out on the defensive end, it's the same scenario.
And you're right about obtaining a useful player...Not too much is available right now and I'm still not sold on Swift, personally.
Powe would fill that role when he returns to health, but full health is not likely until the 2010-11 season. Finding a reliable veteran for this role won't be easy at the money level available, but a player may emerge during training camp or the season and Ainge will keep watch.
If they retain Big Baby, I think he offers much more paint talent for rebounds and scoring than you credit. He has worked and improved to complement that with an outside game.
But reading about the journey that Robert Swift's NBA career has taken, his young age, physical development and returning health, I think there is a good chance we could get a surprisingly positive contribution from him as a payoff for giving him a chance. Give him some work with Clifford Ray, mentoring of bigs like Perk and KG and the attention the other bigs will have from opposing defenses, and the ingredients seem to be there for catching him at the right time to get that needed role contribution that would allow Doc to better manage the other bigs' minutes.
Yeah whoever ends up filling the role doesn't need to be a superstar by any means. If Swift ends up being the guy and can provide some nice spot minutes, it could definitely be a win-win. We fill a need position-wise and he begins to get his career on the right track.
If that doesn't work out for whatever reason, maybe we just try and tell Rasheed to get in the paint more. He's arguably at his best when he's backing down shorter opponents and then turning for a short fade away, sort of like KG does once in a while.
Let us not forget that Garnett & Perkins are coming in from injuries.. Are they 110% healthy? So as an insurance, I guess we have to get someone for INSIDE PRESENCE to help Wallace.. I would presume him to a 7-footer who can bang around, block shots, get rebounds & scoring a few points as his secondary role.. Which come to mind Robert Swift.. Yes I agree that he should be taken in instead of POwe because he's short.. If there's still a vacancy, getting Powe is not a bad idea either..
I've thrown Rasho Nesterovic's name around for such a role...I'm not sure what his price tag would be, but for a backup center he'd most likely pass the test. He's perfectly capable of grabbing some boards, blocking a shot or two and putting it in the hoop every once in a while.
We probably can't afford him though without further luxury tax problems. But I guess we can't rule out anything yet.
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