Rip?

[MN Die Hard]

I'll start by saying I'm not necessarily in favor of trading for Rip Hamilton. It goes against much of what we're building: he's already 31 and he has a long, expensive contract. But, an argument could be made.

If Detroit signs Ben Gordon and wants to dump Rip, we could send expirings (plus something?) to LAC, Kaman to Detroit, Rip to MN.

Age and contract are negatives. But...

-He's got playoff and championship experience; would be a good mentor to the Pups
-On the court he provides size on the perimeter, scoring, defense
-He doesnt rely primarily on his athletic ability (e.g. Vince, Iverson) so his game might not decline as much as he ages (current contract would run until he's like 35-36....he could still be effective)
-Would we get something better with our cap space next year?
-Can we build a contender entirely from youth, or do we need a vet or two who have actually won something to show the Pups how to do it? I think you need both.

He is under contract for the next four years, so it's not like a one-year rental or anything.

I'm generally not in favor of bringing in older expensive players at this point, and not necessarily in favor of Rip either....just wondering if anyone else thinks it would be a good idea long term.

[jpatrick]

Zero interest in Rip. At best he might make us good enough to win 35 games next season which only gets us a worse pick (or no pick). By the time we are really ready to compete, Rip will be well past his prime and won't be worth his current contract. On top of that, I think he'd be pretty pissed about being traded here.

I even have some reservations about trading for Kevin Martin (I don't think Sac trades him but for arguments sake) because he's already 26 and makes a good chunk of money. If theoretically we traded Flynn, Pekovic and expirings for him we'd actually be trading three assets: Flynn, Pek and our 2010 cap space. Is he worth the potential FA we could land in 2010 on top of Flynn and Pek? I'd say yes but I'd have to think about it.

[Devilzsidewalk]

he's the ultimate professional and would give us legitimacy, but it screws up our plan

[Foye]

I love Rip but he's not a good fit here.

[tvwolves7]

I like that he brings leadership and knowledge of how to win, but I think the negatives ie large contract and age are too big a reason for us to consider trading for him.

If we bring in a FA, we will need to make trades or cuts to do so, I hope we bring in a vet that is like a Kevin Ollie or Greg Buckner. Good attitude, wants to teach the younger players, and has been around winning teams (Kevin Ollie), and does not care if he plays 0-30 minutes depending on rotation, injury and such.

No one comes to mind, but older players that have openly stated they want to coach after they retire are ideal. I know Madsen has stated he wants to coach but I do not see him being anything other then a motivator, our cheerleader on the bench.

[prefuse73]

since when is 26 old (speaking of kevin martin). he is locked up through his prime years on a reasonable contract given his production. I would love to make a play for him.

Rip. I don't like on this team. He does go against what we are doing.

[Foye]

I think many here don't like Martin because his D is so mediocre

[GopherIt!]

R.I.P.