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I've noticed, that it's hard to find someone who doesn't need the ball, but can rebound, make plays, run the floor, alter shots, oh and is 7 feet tall!

You can think of a bunch of players, that fit some of these categories. Closest one's:

Camby and Bynum...that's it. Some younger players might make it there eventually, but for now, those two are it.

You can name Yao, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, but they are focal points on offense. Bynum and Camby are examples of the player we need next to Al.

Both are very long players, but not too bulky. Both run the floor very well for 7 footers. Both are very athletic. Both know how to block shots and rebound the ball well.

This draft has many Center prospects, and the FA class has few options for a Center of this variety. I think it is vital we draft a Center in this draft. I know if we get #1-3 we can't take a Center, but we should trade this pick to somehow end up with a building block.

DeAndre Jordan, is the kind of Athletic 7 footer you look for. I've seen him play and to be honest, not too impressed. This is a gamble, he is very athletic and a perfect fit, but his basketball skills and IQ aren't that impressive. We'd need Theo to stick around and coach the kid.

Brook Lopez, not athletic, not very good at running the floor. I wouldn't want him on this team.

Roy Hibbert, could play right away, but again too slow, and not athletic enough. Like a Dalembert but less athletic.

Hasheem Thabeet, very close to what we want. Someone who doesn't need the ball, but is very long and not too big. Although, he is still a little slow on the court, although he is still a phenominal shot blocker. I could live with this pick.

Andrew Ogilvy - No way, for all the reasons.

Serge Ibaka - No way is close or ready yet, but has all the things you look for. Length, size, speed, athleticism. Just no skill yet. From the Congo and not devolped yet. Like a Sene prospect.

DeVon Hardin - Late first rounder. Like this kid as a developing prospect. He is athletic and fast enough to fit the criteria. He just needs time and to pick him up in the late 20's is fine by me.

If JaVale McGee from Nevada comes out. I'd be excited as well. Another prospect, but definately worth it. Great Athleticism for a 7 footer, with range on his jumpshot, but still his greatest asset could be his shot altering presence.

I'd love Hardin or Thabeet...in the 2nd round.

For the first pick I don't want any of them.

Thabeet, Hardin, and ibaka would be nice picks if we could somehow land a pick between 10-20. If we end up with Beasley or Rose with our 1st pick, maybe we could trade Smith or Green to get another pick. I know Ill get blasted for saying lets trade Smith. I like Rhino alot, I just don't think he fits what this team is looking for at all. His game is too redundant with Al's, only he's even worse at defense.

When this team finally gets a center(or Theo stays healthy), do you think Craig will be content getting 20 minutes per game backing up Al?

Theo!!
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.
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Ten years younger.

Make Fatoine pla the 5. he has the needed gurth!!!

next year's potential free agent center options:

Theo Ratliff - good defender, below average rebounder, probably wants to play for a contender

Jamal Magloire - solid rebounder and post defender, poor conditioning. No offense. But he'd probably start for the Wolves.

Scott Pollard - probably no better than Mad Dog

DeSagana Diop - I wish... perfect fit in every way including age.

Primoz Brezec - very poor defender. Has some offensive skills that are currently in hiding.

Patrick O'Bryant - he's worth a look for a small salary as his frame fits the bill w/ his height, girth, and super long arms.

Aaron Williams - veteran player and pretty strong, but we might as well just play Chris Richard

Kwame Brown - the enigma. IMO he's going to rather consistently give you solid post defense and rebounding, but his offense and free throws are in need of major improvement.

*Diop, Diop, Diop*

I used to be a fan of Magliore but he has been on a serious decline so I would stay away from him. I think our standards should be higher than "he could start over Richard".

I wonder what our odds are of landing Diop. We would have to overpay but, if he is the perfect fit, then it might be worth it. I think paying Diop $8-9 m would be a better investment than paying Smith and Gomes $4-4.5 m each.

8-9 mil is a **** load of cash, I was thinking more like 4 or 5 tops

^ I agree. We need to fill in the starting slots before we sign players that will come off the bench.

Paying Diop 8-9 million would just be ridiculous.

Devilzsidewalk wrote:8-9 mil is a **** load of cash, I was thinking more like 4 or 5 tops

Yeah, it is but I think Dallas matches at 4-5. I'd be ecstatic if we could get him for less than 6 m. We are not really in a power position for FAs so we are gonna have to overpay to get him, unfortunately. I guess the question is whether he is worth that kind of investment. I think he might be. Diop at $8 m = more victories than Jaric at $7 m or Gomes at $5 m.

Dr.Krapinsky wrote:Paying Diop 8-9 million would just be ridiculous.

Is it really that much more ridiculous than paying Dalembert $10 m?

Diop:
3 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 18 mpg

Dalembert:
11.5 ppg, 10 rpg, 2.5 bpg, 33 mpg

Magliore would be a good option in 2003-04, but he is tanking quickly for someone who is only 29.

You know, he'd be good salary filler in a deal right now. NJN would pay us to haul him away, and we would find out real quickly if he has any chance of recovering a pretty idecent game from 3 years back.

it is. for one, Dalembert's contract is bad, billy knight bad. Hence why the Sixers have always been bad. For two, Dalembert was paid that much b/c the thought was he had offensive potential.
Kaman and Chandler are better prognoticators of what a C should be liek for $10 M.

Is Diop that much better than Nazr Mohammed? ($6 mil) If we wanted an overpaid center in the Diop mold we could have had him for Jaric anytime over the past year and a half.

Dr.Krapinsky wrote:Is Diop that much better than Nazr Mohammed? ($6 mil) If we wanted an overpaid center in the Diop mold we could have had him for Jaric anytime over the past year and a half.

Diop is 2 inches taller, 30 pounds heavier and (most importantly) 5 years younger.

I agree 100% that Dalembert is overpaid. I also agree that this would be overpaying Diop. I'm just saying that he is a great fit for this team and paying him that much would be a decent investment (in terms of future wins).

Unfortunately because of the market that we are in, the Wolves are going to have to overpay to get guys to play for us.

I think the problem with getting a center with no offense and superior scrapping skills is that it doesn't help the flow of the offense.

Al is a post player. A damn good one. The majority of plays should run through him. That said, I'm not sure a player with no offense is what the Wolves need at the center postion.

The reason why I say this is a player with little offense will not force an opposing center to stay away from Al in the post. The opposing center could always provide help defense from the weakside limiting Al's effectiveness.

Shouldn't the Wolves be looking for a 5 that can spread the floor a little bit? One Al can pass off to if he is being doubled in the post for the 15 ft jumper? One that can set up the offense in the high post?

I think a player like Ilgauskas would be a better fit. Boards at a good rate and spreads the floor a little bit. Brad Miller perhaps? If you can throw some youth and defensive help into their games I think that would be the perfect center for us.

Right now the player closest to that assessment is Hibbert. Maybe Koufos down the road. I would be totally happy with a first round choice of Hibbert and a 2nd round choice of Pekovic (tough guy).

funkatron101 wrote:Unfortunately because of the market that we are in, the Wolves are going to have to overpay to get guys to play for us.

Well if you want to look at it that way. I just don't think we should sign any FA's until we think we're going to field a playoff team. For the long term we're better off just building through the draft, acquiring assets, and letting our pups develop.

Two approaches:

1. Overpay and sign Diop. Maybe with him and drafting Rose we're a 32 win team next year in the West. Good for the eleventh pick in '09. Here's the catch- the Clippers get that pick because it's only top ten protected. This option is actually moot, because signing Diop at that figure would put us over the lux, somehtign Taylor will not do to field a losing team.

2. Let somebody else over pay Diop. Even with Rose/Beasley we're still one of the five worst teams. Good for a top five pick in '09. At that point we can keep our pick and then sign a FA center who will help us be a playoff team with a lineup of Rose or Beasley, Jefferson, Foye, Brewer, and our top 10 '09 pick plus any free agents we want to sign in the off season. We should have enough cap room by then.

According to Hoopshype, we'll be approximately at 55 million dollars next year, and the salary cap will be set at approximately 58 million dollars(based on past increases in the cap). I think these figures are wrong, because they do not take into account Howard, and Hudson's buyout. Do the buyouts basically mean that their contracts only count towards the cap this year? Also, is Sebastian Telfair a restricted or unrestricted free agent?