Summer 2012 Free Agents Thread - Part III

[GhostsOfGil]

Linked from Prada, nice perspective on Almond.
http://www.slcdunk.com/2012/9/5/3292786 ... the-morris

Good read closg.. After reading the BF piece about the "Wizards Mount Rushmore of Sadness", all I can say is;

Must be nice to have Morris Freaking Almond be your franchises biggest disappointment.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

That guy went to the Bill Simmons School of Editing. That's a loooooooooooong article.

He said more about Mo Almond than I did.

I think the Wizards should have just brought back both Almond and James Singleton. They should have signed Omer Asik and Ersan Ilyasova instead of making the deal for Okafor and Ariza.

I believe Almond would have eventually hit shots and proven to be a good player for them. I wouldn't be surprised if he finally makes an NBA roster at the age of 28-29. I think Mo was wise to get a contract to play for Red Star. Better to make money and play than to play the waiting game.

[montestewart]

Fish's usefulness on the basketball court ceased sometime in the mid 00s.

Sad but true.

Still wouldn't mind seeing you in some front office role.

[rockymac52]

WojYahooNBA
"Free agent center Earl Barron has agreed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the Washington Wizards, league sources told Y! Sports."

Uhhh, didn't see that one coming. My guess is he doesn't make the team. I don't see the point in having him on our roster, other than injury insurance. And I'd rather just keep that 15th spot open, and in the event that we get bit by the injury bug down low, then at that point we can sign Barron or another scrub big man to fill in.

[closg00]

WojYahooNBA
"Free agent center Earl Barron has agreed to a non-guaranteed training camp deal with the Washington Wizards, league sources told Y! Sports."

Uhhh, didn't see that one coming. My guess is he doesn't make the team. I don't see the point in having him on our roster, other than injury insurance. And I'd rather just keep that 15th spot open, and in the event that we get bit by the injury bug down low, then at that point we can sign Barron or another scrub big man to fill in.

Barron could be roster-filler, if a practice body was needed for the same purpose, why-not bring back Hamady N Diaye?

[Nivek]

As bad as Barron is, N'Diaye is worse.

[rockymac52]

I highly doubt we expect him to actually make the team. If he does, I'll be upset. Complete waste of a roster spot in that case.

Honestly, I'd rather have Yi.

[MJG]

Barron 's just a training camp invite, nothing worth getting bothered over.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Other training camp signings: Josh Childress went to the Nets. He's better than Ariza or Webster, IMO, even if he is not a shooter.

Damion James was a guy I liked a whole lot coming out of Texas. If he has recovered from his injury and produces similarly to his best at NJ, he will make the Hawks and he'll find his way on the court, too. He's a talented player who on paper IMO has the offense and rebounding the Wizards could use at SF.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

A guy who hasn't been signed yet but should be is Josh Akognon. He's better than AJ Price. FWIW I think Shelvin Mack is better than Price, too.

I feel a little salty about the FA signings. I'm okay with Martell Webster, but I think a guy like James has a lot more upside.

[payitforward]

A guy who hasn't been signed yet but should be is Josh Akognon. He's better than AJ Price. FWIW I think Shelvin Mack is better than Price, too.

I feel a little salty about the FA signings. I'm okay with Martell Webster, but I think a guy like James has a lot more upside.

Agreed -- I would have signed Damion James in a minute.

[jivelikenice]

CCJ, I liked Childress as well but I don't mind Webster as an alternative considering his superior shooting. As far as Shelvin is considered, we're on opposite ends of the spectrum. He's terrible and shouldn't be on the roster IMO. I'm holding out hope that the Rockets cut Livingston and we claim him off waivers.

[payitforward]

CCJ, I liked Childress as well but I don't mind Webster as an alternative considering his superior shooting. As far as Shelvin is considered, we're on opposite ends of the spectrum. He's terrible and shouldn't be on the roster IMO. I'm holding out hope that the Rockets cut Livingston and we claim him off waivers.

Shelvin Mack wasn't terrible last year -- which is not to say he was very good either. But, like Singleton, he gets another year. Last year it was tough being a rookie w/o a Summer working w/ the team and w/o training camp. He was as good as A.J. Price, maybe better. Still... I'm with you that I'd rather have Livingston.

But I take Childress over Webster in a NY minute. I don't believe in abstractions like "shooting" as in "we need to add shooting." You don't add the abstraction, you add the whole player. And you get all the things he does, good and bad.

Overall, Josh Childress is a much better NBA player than Martell Webster, and if you have him you are that much better a team than if you have Webster.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

For whatever reasons, Childress evokes strong emotions. A lot of people want to bury his game. At the same time a lot of people like Jordan Crawford's scoring ability.

I think Childress had his best season about a year or so before or around the same time Ariza had his best season. I know for a fact Josh Childress has a significantly higher WS/48 than Ariza and Webster. Childress played two seasons at Phoenix behind Grant Hill (Steve Nash's close friend) and Jared Dudley, as well as Hakim Warrick; all incumbent swing men when Childress was acquired.

Childress possesses an absolutely insanely good ORtg of 119. He once led the entire NBA in TS. He can be an elite rebounder at SG and is a good rebounder for a SF. Very early in his career, Childress had the highest finishing percentage in the league--dude can dunk with the best of them. I remember him hitting big shots at Stanford.

WoW calls Josh Childress "The Steal of Free Agency."

[fugop]

You have to evaluate a player as an individual, not an abstraction -- I agree. Childress is probably a better player than Webster in some sense.

But when looking at a team, the "abstract" skills of each of the individuals needs to be evaluated for fit. And Childress doesn't fit. You can't field a lineup of five guys who can't shoot. It's never worked before, and it's not hard to understand its difficulties. We already have a bottom three shooting team in the league. Adding another guy who can't hit a jumpshot is a waste.