Gortat to BOS rumor: Can MIN squeeze in?

[Figjamjr]

[and even tho Shved is having a "pretty good" rookie year, he's not really a rookie. He's been in the EuroLeague for 5 years before coming here. He is still young and will prob get better but does anyone actually see him as a All-Star elite player?

Good point! Better trade Ricky while we're at it since he wasn't really a rookie because he played 7 years in EuroLeague!

Not my point at all there. What I meant was that unlike a lot of Rookies that came into the NBA this year and past years, where they went to college 1 or 2 years then jumped to the NBA, Shved has had the equivilent of 5 college seasons, or more if you think the Euroleague > college.

Therefore imo you can't grade him on the same scale as college rookies. Plus he played in the Olympics, how many college players did? So I think you have to look at the fact that he's had more experience playing pro ball than the other rookies and rate him accordingly. In other words, his game should be father ahead than the other rookies, all things being equal.

[Figjamjr]

Afflalo and Matthews aren't all-star level players either. I'll just keep Shved.

No that's true, they are not All-Stars, but they are a lot closer than Shved currently is.

Will Shved end up being better than Afflalo or Matthews? Maybe. Maybe not. Why gamble though? We have already seen both Afflalo and Matthews produce and play well in the playoffs. There's no guarantee that Shved will. In fact we have seen him struggle against players who play physical playoff type of defense against him. So why not try to get a more proven player?

I think too often teams/GM's get so caught up in "Potential", they miss out on better players because they "hope" they'll be the next LeBron given enough time. Of course better is a loose term, I meant to say in the realm of SG, ie scoring and defense.

[Klomp]

I think too often teams/GM's get so caught up in "Potential", they miss out on better players because they "hope" they'll be the next LeBron given enough time.

This needs to go in the Gasol thread!

[[RCG]]

Shved is 23, Lilliard is 22. They won't be in their prime for a couple more seasons. They both can grow and a jump is a jump regardless. I suspect that the Euroleague might be tougher but that Shved hasn't seen the athletes that some major college teams have, especially not like the NBA on a consistent basis.

[Guy986]

I think he'll fall into the 10 to 12 million area, Portland would have to be crazy to offer him the Max, and I don't think Pek would leave here for a couple million more a season. He likes it here, has friends locally, and isn't particularly materialistic, especially compared to the average NBA player. I think he'd much rather play with our current roster, and coach, versus Portland.

Do people really still believe this? I thought only New Yorkers were this naive.

Jeremy Lin gave up Linsanity and the New York spot light for a couple millions. I dont remember a non-franchise type young player electing to forgo more money to stay with a team.

Sometimes its about pride and ego more than anything. If Portland is willing to give Pek 12 million and the Wolves can only go up to 10. What does that say about the Timberwolves faith in Pek? Certainly not as strong as Portland's.

[shrink]

While I think it's harder for foreign players to uproot their lives than Americans, I tend to agree with Guy on this one. Players want to get as much money as they can on their first big free agent contract, and every extra million dollars to them is still a million dollars.

That doesn't mean we need to overpay, and I was surprised POR was willing to do that with Batum, who clearly didn't want to stay in Portland. However, I don't think we can expect that Pek would stay here for a big discount either.

[shrink]

Gentry said that Beasley was "more than likely" to be removed from the starting lineup following another stinker on Thursday, and when asked if it would happen for Saturday's game, Gentry said, "could possibly be." Beasley has been terrible for the Suns this season, averaging 11.3 points and 3.9 rebounds on 37.4 percent shooting. P.J. Tucker was a candidate to take Beasley's starting spot, but he's now dealing with a sprained MCL. Gentry and the Suns staff had a closed-door meeting following the loss, a strong indication of where things stand in Phoenix right now.

According to beat writer Paul Coro, the Suns could make a change at the starting center position.
Coro is clearly speculating here, so owners shouldn't go into full-fledged freakout mode, but Gortat's play has noticeably declined since the start of the season. After a three-point, six rebound effort (1-of-8) on Thursday, Gortat could be looking at a reduced role. Jermaine O'Neal is taking some "crunch-time minutes" away from Gortat, and we're watching this situation very closely. For the season, Gortat is averaging 11.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.1 blocks on 52.2 percent shooting. The points, rebounds and field goal percentage are all down from last season.

Derrick Williams and Gortat may be getting closer.