Kwame to Detroit

[trebone]

looks as though Kwame is headed to detroit, anyone else feel we still need a banger? IMO we do. He might not be anything special as a player but he is big and strong along with maxi sheed and mcd that will be an even tougher front court then last season. He is reported to be getting a 2 year deal worth apr 8mil. A bit high IMO, let me know any thoughts.

[OMPunk]

Eh, good for them. He's a capable defender and rebounder, however he's not too smart. Most of the fans on their board aren't even happy to have him as a back up. His basketball IQ is definitely lacking and he's almost Adonal Foyle like on offense. I'm good with going into the season with Gortat Battie and Foyle as our primary back up bigs.

[theTHIEF]

I would have loved to land him as a backup to Dwight, but $4m a year is too much for his services as a backup for our bankroll...hopefully he doesn't break out up there, the last thing we need Detroit to do is have breakout players, plus he's a darn good post defender...off season isnt over yet, something could break in the way of a big...if it doesnt, Battie is back and he's not really a softy, should help us quite a bit...

[OrlandoMagic]

Looks liks Detroit is trying to get bigger not better

[jamlando]

$4 mil is a little too high for a guy who's never amounted to anything. Theo Ratliff is a FA, I'm hoping Otis will try to go after him. I'd rather Theo than Foyle but I think Otis is letting Foyle sit to see if anyone else will bite on him.

[theTHIEF]

Theo and Lewis together at last....lol

[Devin 1L]

I like this signing for the Pistons.

It's funny, we talked so much about how we need another big man for when we play teams like Detroit who have loaded frontcourts, while ours is thin, yet it is the Piston who go and add another big man (Kwame) to their roster.

I would have liked to have him with the Magic for that price.

Here's what I wrote back in the Offseason ideas thread, before we had made any moves, specifically noting Kwame Brown:

Ok, so now that the draft has passed and we're nearing some action, I thought I'd throw out some of my thoughts and potential targets who I think have been overlooked.

So, while we can dream about Maggette or some other higher profiled free agent signing with us for the MLE, I think these are some realistic options, all of which are unrestricted.

* Kwame Brown - Ok, stop right there. *Click-whir*..."Bust!"

Relative to his draft position, he is what you would consider a bust, and you won't hear any argument from me otherwise. But, erase that from your mind for a minute, because it really has no bearing on us. We wouldn't be drafting him with a top pick, nor spending money on him like we might a recent #1 pick.

For as much flak as he catches for not living up to his potential (er, hype), he is not that bad of a player, and he could fill a roll for us.

He's unlikely to return with the Grizzlies, and could likely be had for a severely discounted rate from his previous salary of around $9 million/year. The market will likely determine Kwame's price, but I'm guessing it will be around $3 million/year.

If it is around that area, I'd love to have him at that price.

Forget the whole idea of Kwame and "potential", as after enough seasons in the league, I think we've got a pretty good idea of what kind of player he is and what kind of player he will be.

For us, he could be a solid backup big man. He would not be asked to be a scorer, nor to play starters minutes. He could provide post defense, a big body, and most importantly, rest. Rest for our superstar big man, that is. What would be asked of him would be minimal, and he could focus on what he does well in his limited minutes.

This is a team that could have used second round pick Joey Dorsey. Kwame could provide a similar role to what we would have looked for with someone like Dorsey. We're already a damn good offensive team, and have plenty of weapons on offense, but sorely lack another big man in the post. For the right price, Kwame Brown could fill that role.

If we end up playing the Pistons again, throwing Rasheed and Kwame at Dwight could really give him fits as they're both good man defenders and have the bodies to match up with him.

[huge4]

I hate this pickup for our biggest conference foe. He's just one more big, athletic body to platoon on Dwight. Detroit proved in the playoffs that you can neutralize him with wave after wave of decent big men, especially since we have no size at the 4 to help him out.

If Kwame had been picked 40th instead of 1st he would be in much higher demand right now, which is strange. I think his status as a #1 make people discredit his positives to the point that they underestimate how good a player he actually is. Not to get too crazy, he isn't a great player, but he is an athletic, mobile big man and that is a valuable commodity in this league.

[mhectorgato]

So do you think a move like this was done with the playoffs and Dwight in mind?

[theTHIEF]

So do you think a move like this was done with the playoffs and Dwight in mind?

maybe a little, but I honestly dont think that Detroit is that concerned with Dwight to be honest...maybe this deal was done with a possible future deal in mind? it's not like they were in dire need of another big when you sit down and look at their lineup and their post stats...If no deal is looming, it might just be the Boston Celtics style of stacking the roster, just adding tons of serviceable depth...

[huge4]

So do you think a move like this was done with the playoffs and Dwight in mind?

I don't think Kwame will just help Detroit when they play Orlando, he is also a maintenance plan for their aging front line.

However, I do think if you're an eastern conference team looking to get to the finals anytime in the next three years you have to consider how you're going to deal with Dwight and Orlando (along with Boston, Detroit and Cleveland). To Detroit, we're still in thier rearview mirror but we're gaining. And with youth on our side, they know they need to do something if they want to stay ahead of us.

[glennathan]

So do you think a move like this was done with the playoffs and Dwight in mind?

I don't think Kwame will just help Detroit when they play Orlando, he is also a maintenance plan for their aging front line.

However, I do think if you're an eastern conference team looking to get to the finals anytime in the next three years you have to consider how you're going to deal with Dwight and Orlando (along with Boston, Detroit and Cleveland). To Detroit, we're still in thier rearview mirror but we're gaining. And with youth on our side, they know they need to do something if they want to stay ahead of us.

+1 from me. I agree with everything you have stated here. But I would almost start taking boston out and tell people to watch out for Miami. Not only did they draft Beasley which helps them out they also have a fully Healthy D-Wade and a healthy Marion which is going to be a dangerous tandem.

[trebone]

So do you think a move like this was done with the playoffs and Dwight in mind?

yea dont you, dumars knows his team is not any better than ours, but with howard neutralized we cant beat them in a 7 game series

[magicfanatic23]

They get rid of a top 2 pick bust a few years ago in Darko and then go sign a #1 overall pick bust in Kwame. Very nice Dumars.

[KingRobb02]

THis just closed the gap between us and the Pistons a bit. Didn't Flip just get fired for not making room for Maxiell and Johnson, and now they sign this trash?

[Bensational]

I like this signing for the Pistons.

It's funny, we talked so much about how we need another big man for when we play teams like Detroit who have loaded frontcourts, while ours is thin, yet it is the Piston who go and add another big man (Kwame) to their roster.

I would have liked to have him with the Magic for that price.

Here's what I wrote back in the Offseason ideas thread, before we had made any moves, specifically noting Kwame Brown:

Kwame would've been a nice big body, and regardless of what people say about him not carrying the "potential" tag anymore, you know what you're getting from him (solid D, big body) and you know he has the physical tangibles to give you more. so i think you could excused for adding him and still hoping that he puts it all together. the secret would be to not rely on it.

now that he's gone i think we need to get proactive and chase down one of these young 2nd rounders like Dorsey or Hendrix, and even DJ White.

at least we've still got Gortat. fingers crossed we get a Gortat break out season this season.

[Devin 1L]

I like this signing for the Pistons.

It's funny, we talked so much about how we need another big man for when we play teams like Detroit who have loaded frontcourts, while ours is thin, yet it is the Piston who go and add another big man (Kwame) to their roster.

I would have liked to have him with the Magic for that price.

Here's what I wrote back in the Offseason ideas thread, before we had made any moves, specifically noting Kwame Brown:

Kwame would've been a nice big body, and regardless of what people say about him not carrying the "potential" tag anymore, you know what you're getting from him (solid D, big body) and you know he has the physical tangibles to give you more. so i think you could excused for adding him and still hoping that he puts it all together. the secret would be to not rely on it.

now that he's gone i think we need to get proactive and chase down one of these young 2nd rounders like Dorsey or Hendrix, and even DJ White.

at least we've still got Gortat. fingers crossed we get a Gortat break out season this season.

I do really like Hendrix.

I have no idea really, but Golden State may be willing to trade him. They drafted him before the landed Ronny Turiaf and they've inked Biedrins to a guarantee, so that might have changed the plans some for them.

Also, aside from the roster itself, the Warriors, who have not traditionally been big spenders, are now up near the luxury tax. There is a chance that might factor in as well. Perhaps this is where the trade exception could play a role for us.

Like I said though, I really don't know. I don't know how high they are on him, I don't know if he was drafted with the mind-set that they could lose Biedrins, or that they might not be able to get another big, and I don't know how concerned they are about their salary numbers.

However, I do like Hendrix, and if those things were/are legitimate concerns of theirs, then there could be potential. I certainly wouldn't mind taking him on as a reserve.