Once a year talk - Diop or Dampier?

[Darren]

I'd pick up Diop. He seems more hungry for bigger role. He's already better shot blocking presence. Diop's rebound and scoring improved in Rick's system while Damp does not. Though Damp is still better rebounder at this point, I would probably choose Diop as starter. Of course, there's should be some consistency from him.

I think we should get a big man coach like Hakeem. He's worked with African centers every offseason. Gana seems to benefit from him a lot. That makes me wonder if Popeye's the wrong guy to take the job. But time will tell.

[JES12]

Tue Jul 04, 2006 <------------That's the date this screen shows I joined real gm.
6<----------------------------------That's the "at least" number I have seen this thread appear.
3<----------------------------------That's the average per year
0<----------------------------------That's the amount of times everyone agreed
0<----------------------------------That's the amount of times it made a difference
>10---------------------------------The amount of people that say it doesn't matter because one or the other is going to get in foul trouble whether they start or not


That said, I think Damp should start because to see if he has his offensive game on, and if he doen't we can bring in the better defender.

[dirkforpres]

I agree with JES12... I get sick of this thread popping up all the time. With that being said, I think Dampier should start because he seemed to really play well with JKidd and Diop shouldnt just be handed the starting job because he signed with us again.

[SaintofKillers]

Both have their own strengths and weaknesses so it's really hard to compare.

Dampier is infinitely superior in a number of areas - low post defense, establishing position which he then uses to grab (or set up others for) rebounds or create a driving lane for penetration, setting screens. He's a bit old and less agile than Diop.

Diop is more of a guy you put up against unorthodox line-ups. He could cover smaller guards on switches because of his length and is a pretty good shotblocker. But other than that, he sucks. He's too soft and weak to body up downlow and has extremely poor rebounding mechanics.

[italy_23]

doesnt matter. damp and diop should share the minutes equally, doesnt matter who starts.

[JapanAir21]

Diopier.

Give me my two centers.

[jlp0807]

Not exactly sure which numbers SaintofKillers is looking at. You mention low post defense being a reason to start Damp over Diop? Please! Diop shutting down Duncan over two years ago was the reason we made it to the finals. Diop is a much better defender, though tends to get into foul trouble.

Damp may be a little better offensively, but a guy making huge $$ averaging 5 pts and 7 rebs is not fine by me. We should try to ship him out (possibly with Stack) to get a young, athletic backup C and backup PG.

It doesn't matter which one starts. We better start worrying about our PG situation after Kidd. JET is okay at PG, but with Carlisles motion offense, you need someone that can really distribute the ball.

Can we cut Barea already or what.

[HMFFL]

Doesn't really matter to me who starts because both will see around the same amount of minutes throughout the game. Also depends on who our opponent is and what the matchup will be at the 5.

[SaintofKillers]

Not exactly sure which numbers SaintofKillers is looking at.

There's no stats for low post defense; you watch the games.

I've never seen a guy so big (Diop) get backed down so easily. Even Dirk puts up a much better resistance at the post.

Diop shutting down Duncan over two years ago was the reason we made it to the finals. Diop is a much better defender, though tends to get into foul trouble.

You're defining Diop's defensive tenacity based on a small sample size. Yes, he did "shut down" Duncan in game 7 but that's mostly because he was fresh (inserted in the last few minutes of the 4th bridging OT) and Duncan wasn't.

You mention low post defense being a reason to start Damp over Diop?

I also mentioned his ability to establish position and set jarring screens.

Damp may be a little better offensively, but a guy making huge $$ averaging 5 pts and 7 rebs is not fine by me.

Damp got that money ($7.5-m starting salary) because he was coming off a 12/12 season.

Diop is being paid $6-m for 2 points and 5 rebounds.

[Darren]

Last year, Diop's problem was mostly about positioning and boxing out. As he's trying to get a blocked shots, he got to the wrong position to grab the board. Well, It's pretty much like Dalembert's early early. Eventually, he became a top few center.

While Diop return to the franchise, he's got the same (or even better) rebound rate and keep up the shot blocking productivity. And he subtly added some offense to his arsenal. Basketball knowledge and experience will help. Regardless, he'd become the most important center on the team in a year or two.

I've no idea it is the possible time to get him the starting job. But I'm confident his efforts would get him the role some days.

[JES12]

Regardless, he'd become the most important center on the team in a year or two.

Captain obvious, is that you?

Dampier will NOT get paid 13 mil on his last year, meaning in "a year or two" Diop may be our ONLY center.