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http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... ter-Hudson

Already looking at ways to improve the bench for next season? Hudson scored 26ppg this past season while playing in China.

Lester Hudson was the guy who recorded the only quadruple double in NCAA Division 1 history IIRC.

I can't think of a whole lot of journeymen players who didn't succeed in the NBA at first then moved to China and came back and actually played well.

I wonder if he improved on his 3-pt shooting while he was over there, cuz he used to be embarrassingly bad at 3s.

Honestly, if he gets signed, he's probably an end of bench guy in street clothes right next to Solomon Hill. I don't forsee a guy who didn't make it in the NBA the first time around trying again and doing a whole lot better than a spot minute playing role kinda guy.

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Watson hasn't impressed me on either side of the ball (JMO) so I think trying to find someone just as cheap but better is a good option. Not sure it's Hudson though.

Dont know much about this Lester Hudson. But I wish Indy would entertain the idea of someone like Nate Robinson. The dude scores and brings energy off the bench no matter what team he's on. He is also a good point guard and can run the offense. He has single handedly taken over games like last season game 1 bulls vs heat; and a couple in the bulls vs nets series. A guy like that off the bench can change a series. I remember Lebron had to guard him because he was causing so many problems in the Bulls vs Heat matchup.

If there's anything we need for our bench it's some vet leadership. Grabbing a guy from China who couldn't make it in the league isn't going to cut it. One of the things that has really killed us is the vet role players other teams have (i.e. basically all of Miami's bench). We need someone to throw out there to help set the tone, calm guys down, and make the right plays. For all the crap he gets, Derek Fisher is the prime example of this.

Bird just needs to sign one or two vet min guys (preferably with some hardware to show off) to keep the team focused. We had that before with Brian Shaw as an assistant coach and it really helped.

pacers33granger wrote:If there's anything we need for our bench it's some vet leadership. Grabbing a guy from China who couldn't make it in the league isn't going to cut it. One of the things that has really killed us is the vet role players other teams have (i.e. basically all of Miami's bench). We need someone to throw out there to help set the tone, calm guys down, and make the right plays. For all the crap he gets, Derek Fisher is the prime example of this.

Bird just needs to sign one or two vet min guys (preferably with some hardware to show off) to keep the team focused. We had that before with Brian Shaw as an assistant coach and it really helped.

Who's out there that fits the bill though? Ray Allen could retire and would never sign with us, Kenyon Martin (ehh), Richard Hamilton maybe, or maybe Metta World Peace?

Personally, I hope we retain Butler. His 3 point shooting has been huge for us this year.

Jake0890 wrote:

pacers33granger wrote:If there's anything we need for our bench it's some vet leadership. Grabbing a guy from China who couldn't make it in the league isn't going to cut it. One of the things that has really killed us is the vet role players other teams have (i.e. basically all of Miami's bench). We need someone to throw out there to help set the tone, calm guys down, and make the right plays. For all the crap he gets, Derek Fisher is the prime example of this.

Bird just needs to sign one or two vet min guys (preferably with some hardware to show off) to keep the team focused. We had that before with Brian Shaw as an assistant coach and it really helped.

Who's out there that fits the bill though? Ray Allen could retire and would never sign with us, Kenyon Martin (ehh), Richard Hamilton maybe, or maybe Metta World Peace?

Personally, I hope we retain Butler. His 3 point shooting has been huge for us this year.

Butler has been a nice bright spot for us, so I agree that we should keep him. Guys I'd look at would be:

Elton Brand
Nazr Mohammed
Shawn Marion
Francisco Garcia (if he opts out)
Mike Miller
Caron Butler
Emeka Okafor
Earl Watson (if he doesn't retire)
Richard Jefferson
Al Harrington

I doubt he'd come here due to not getting good minutes, but Chris Kaman would be interesting for us too.

None of those guys are perfect fits, but all have a ton of experience and would bring something we could use.

pacers33granger wrote:

Jake0890 wrote:

pacers33granger wrote:If there's anything we need for our bench it's some vet leadership. Grabbing a guy from China who couldn't make it in the league isn't going to cut it. One of the things that has really killed us is the vet role players other teams have (i.e. basically all of Miami's bench). We need someone to throw out there to help set the tone, calm guys down, and make the right plays. For all the crap he gets, Derek Fisher is the prime example of this.

Bird just needs to sign one or two vet min guys (preferably with some hardware to show off) to keep the team focused. We had that before with Brian Shaw as an assistant coach and it really helped.

Who's out there that fits the bill though? Ray Allen could retire and would never sign with us, Kenyon Martin (ehh), Richard Hamilton maybe, or maybe Metta World Peace?

Personally, I hope we retain Butler. His 3 point shooting has been huge for us this year.

Butler has been a nice bright spot for us, so I agree that we should keep him. Guys I'd look at would be:

Elton Brand
Nazr Mohammed
Shawn Marion
Francisco Garcia (if he opts out)
Mike Miller
Caron Butler
Emeka Okafor
Earl Watson (if he doesn't retire)
Richard Jefferson
Al Harrington

I doubt he'd come here due to not getting good minutes, but Chris Kaman would be interesting for us too.

None of those guys are perfect fits, but all have a ton of experience and would bring something we could use.

It'd be great to get guys like Marion and Okafor on min contract, but that'll never happen. They'll get well above a min contract this offseason in free agency. Even a lot of the min level guys aren't going to come here because they'd rather ring chase with OKC, LAC, or MIA. We're a small market with no money to offer outside of a veteran minimum contract because all of our money will be spent on retaining Lance, and maybe Evan Turner. I wouldn't expect a whole lot this offseason.

I think we'll end up heading into next season with a bench of CJ Watson - Rasual Butler - Chris Copeland - Luis Scola (or Solomon Hill if he's traded) - Ian Mahinmi. Basically the same as now except Cope getting more minutes.

I agree that we likely won't get any of them and mostly have the same bench, but OKC hasn't really gotten many of those types of guys and the Clippers aren't really a contender IMO and will have a lot of holes to fill on their bench this offseason (not to mention the whole Sterling thing).

I think a couple of those guys could take min level deals, most notably Brand, Nazr, Garcia, Watson, Jefferson (maybe), and Harrington.

With 26pppg in China League I think he should be a good coverup for the bench. We need people who come in cheaply and spend more on high profile players.

I see him as one of many we might look at if Lance gets too expensive.