New Thoughts on David West

[NyCeEvO]

So David West just opted out....and here me out before you just immediately scroll to the 'Quick Reply' and say 'No' lol.

Reports are saying that the Nets, Pacers, and Hornets are pursuing. West says "he wants to win and win big".

And I had this thought.

Couldn't we use West as leverage against Hump so that we don't get a delusional and overpay him? Also, if after going through tests and showing that he's ok, we could give him a 2-3 year contract with a team option for next year (essentially a year deal).

If he ends up getting re-injured, he becomes a nice expiring contract for a team at the trade deadline, but if he plays well, then he helps us make the playoffs next year like D-Will wants.

Now, after declining the option we tell West, "If you help D-Will recruit Howard, we'll resign you too". Of course this is assuming that he plays well next season and we didn't trade him at the deadline. In this way, we'd have West and D-Will enticing Howard to come play with us. D-Will, Howard, West, Morrow, Brooks, D.James...pretty good lineup right there.

Also, if West ends up sucking or getting re-injured, we could trade Lopez (as a building block) and West (as an expiring contract) for an even better wing to match NYK's Melo & Amare star lineup.

Genius, right? Don't flame me too much lol....

[SpeedyG]

Personally, I like West. My only concern is, would Brook be able to up his rebounding? Because West is not the rebounder that Hump is (or shotblocker either).

But offensively? Pick n pop with Deron/West, inside out game with Brook to West/Deron? Yeah, that's an offense you can build around and win in the playoffs.

Of course, the game of basketball is played on both ends so...

[Netaman]

as with any deal it depends on $.

Sucks that he's probably going to want length over cash now since his deal with NO was more then anyone will pay him per year coming off an ACL tear and he's specifically looking to win.

He would be good in the pick and pop with Deron, has proven himself in the playoffs, and would also be a good compliment to Dwight in future if that were to happen.

Just have no idea what to expect $-wise. 3 years 15 MM? Sure sign me up I just don't think there's any way he won't get that offer from a lot of other teams that are better then us (OKC should be all over that).

[NyCeEvO]

But what about the team option factor that I mentioned. That's a significant part of my theory. If we give him a front loaded one year deal with a team option for 1-2 more years. It covers us in multiple ways depending on the result of next year:

Result 1- West sucks/reinjured
In the case that West is just not really healthy enough to get back to his former level or he gets re-injured, we can trade him prior the trade deadline as an expiring contract for something. Or we could combine him and Lopez together for an elite wing at the dead line. Either way, we can use West to help us get something good in return.

Result 2- West plays well
West plays well. A combo of D-Will/West/Lopez should get us to the playoffs which would definitely make D-Will happy. In this case, the trade deadline has already passed but if we want to get Howard we would most likely have to decline the remaining years on West's contract but we would make the promise that we will re-sign him and he should really help D-Will recruit Dwight to us. In that way, both D-Will and West would try to get him to come up, West would be happy because he wants to win and win big, and we'd have a nice PF to compliment Dwight.

In the case, that Dwight doesn't come and yet D-Will still decides to sign an extension, we'd sign West to help keep the team playoff bound. Personally, I'd rather trade D-Will to go young if we end up stuck as a 7/8 seed so I don't really want this last part but it would be an option.

[xam2k7]

Some things to think about... West will be 31 when the season begins, not exactly building for the future material. Also its already been said about his knee but its even more amplified by the age factor that its much tougher for a guy in his 30s to recover from that type of injury.

On a positive note for West, he had a +20.4 efficiency rating higher than:
Boozer
Pierce
Gay
Scola
Bogut
Odom
Nene
Iguodala
Bynum
Ginobili
Granger
etc etc

So thats something to look at, hes a very solid player... Im against signing him unless for the right price, but it wouldnt be terrible

[Born_Ready]

Never been a David West fan. Something about him, Drew Gooden, and Carlos Boozer rubbed me the wrong way. Always got more hype than they truly deserve in my opinion.

With this particular situation the Nets really do not have to pursue West or overpay for him at this point, do they? With Kris Humphries still around he will still come a lot cheaper than what David West price tag will be. Why not just give Hump the money he earned?

I just hope the team doesn't try to appease Deron and his want/need for a superstar (which David West is not) and put the team in a financial burden where they cannot make better moves long term. I understand it's not my money to waste, I just want smart business moves done to prolong my favorite NBA squadron and future possibilities regarding players.

I say no to West.

[Ronito]

I'm sure the Nets will use West against Hump and all that. But I rather have Hump back than an already 31-year old coming off knee injury.

[BOONE SQUAD]

Do not want David West...

[NyCeEvO]

Can someone at least address the points that I'm talking about...There's more to it than just West vs. Hump.

[SteveNets15]

I just don't see him signing a contract like that.He just opted out of 7.5 million so i'm pretty sure he's looking for something long term and guaranteed.He's 31 coming off knee surgery,this guy is looking to get as much money as he can.I'm sure some team will give it to him to.

[bobbyc]

David West is not going to want a team option, the only way he would take one is if the team overpaid him. There are only 3 players (Bynum, Odom, Haywood) who make over 7.5 mill a year and have team options on their contracts.

But, he does want to win so he might take a pay cut to play with the best pg in the nba who is about to sign an extension this year (And we ain't talking about CP3). And the Hornets could be the worst team in the league if CP leaves and he would want no part of that or even the risk of that.

I think he would take less money from us over the hornets cause he would get big time exposure (which he has never had) and also have a greater chance of winning in the future. Of all the teams that can sign him, we have to be his preferred destination.

West has to be one of the most consistent mid range jump shooting big men in the nba. Having that ability paired up with Dwill would be really nice to have. Him and last years Brook wouldn't get it done defensively, on the boards, or in transition though. Those are not good problems to have.

He would be the perfect fit with Dwight though. Oh boy! Its good to have multiple players around the same level in free agency to give the teams more leverage. But, it only takes 1 bad gm to overpay a player which will then affect other contracts in free agency, so it could backfire.

[cheolee]

West should be the Nets' #1 target this offseason. He may not be a sexy name but in NO, he lived off the pick & roll with Paul and that is why he would be perfect for Williams. He is also a decent rebounder and his toughness will do wonders next to Lopez. Him with Kirilenko will round out a very solid starting 5 in Lopez/West/Kirilenko/Morrow/Williams.
Imho that team can challenge for the 3-5 spot in the East.

[jeff1624]

West should be the Nets' #1 target this offseason. He may not be a sexy name but in NO, he lived off the pick & roll with Paul and that is why he would be perfect for Williams. He is also a decent rebounder and his toughness will do wonders next to Lopez. Him with Kirilenko will round out a very solid starting 5 in Lopez/West/Kirilenko/Morrow/Williams.
Imho that team can challenge for the 3-5 spot in the East.

They aren't worth throwing away our shot at signing/trading for Howard (even if it's a a longshot).

I'm afraid we'll be overpaying one of West or Humphries this offseason..

[JoseRizal]

West should be the Nets' #1 target this offseason. He may not be a sexy name but in NO, he lived off the pick & roll with Paul and that is why he would be perfect for Williams. He is also a decent rebounder and his toughness will do wonders next to Lopez. Him with Kirilenko will round out a very solid starting 5 in Lopez/West/Kirilenko/Morrow/Williams.
Imho that team can challenge for the 3-5 spot in the East.

They aren't worth throwing away our shot at signing/trading for Howard (even if it's a a longshot).

I'm afraid we'll be overpaying one of West or Humphries this offseason..

I really hope you're wrong...

[DarkXaero]

I'd rather overpay for West than Humphries. At least, with West, you know that you're going to have a reliable 2nd/3rd scoring option (assuming he recovers fine which i think he should). But more than either of them, I'd rather overpay for Nene.

[King P]

I don't see how a Brook and West tandem would make for a good offense. Brook needs the ball in the low block to be successful. Between him, Deron, and the shooters we have(not to mention Brooks who we have brought in to score), where will West get his touches? The Hornets never had a low post scorer like Brook, so they consistently went to the two man game with CP3 and West. If we did that, then it would limit opportunities for Brook, limiting his one true major asset which is his scoring.

Not to mention the loss of all the putbacks and second chance points that Humphries created by crashing the boards. Humphries was perfect because he really didn't need touches to score. Neither West or Brook are players who will get these second chance points that Humphries created.

Hump is a much better fit for this team

[SpeedyG]

I don't see how a Brook and West tandem would make for a good offense. Brook needs the ball in the low block to be successful. Between him, Deron, and the shooters we have(not to mention Brooks who we have brought in to score), where will West get his touches? The Hornets never had a low post scorer like Brook, so they consistently went to the two man game with CP3 and West. If we did that, then it would limit opportunities for Brook, limiting his one true major asset which is his scoring.

Not to mention the loss of all the putbacks and second chance points that Humphries created by crashing the boards. Humphries was perfect because he really didn't need touches to score. Neither West or Brook are players who will get these second chance points that Humphries created.

Hump is a much better fit for this team

While Hump adds that dimension, when 4th quarter rolls around and the defense tightens up, it's good to have a guy who can score in the post (Brook), high post (West), and a guy who can score anywhere and get people the ball (Deron).

If we are getting West, the ideal situation is to also get a discount on Hump as his backup. Hump really would be the ideal backup PF. Now if Hump had West's jumper? He'd be perfect alongside Brook.

[NyCeEvO]

First of all, I don't see why West would not take a team option. He tore his ACL in a contract year and therefore has lost a lot of leverage for demanding a long term contract. Nets brass has already said that they want to frontload contracts so that they will be able to make more key signings later.

We should not be eating into much more cap space unless it's on a one year contract in order to have space for a maximum contract in 2012.

Give West $12 mil for the first season. While it is a lot, it would probably blow way any other first year offer and while he may want long term security, he'd already make a lot of money in the first year and if he plays well this year, he'll get a more lucrative long term contract from a team.

For example, no one is going to sign him to a 4yr/$40-50 mil contract right now because of his injury.
He might get 3yr/30mil but not more than that. But if he proves to people that he can play next season and we give him $12-13mil, he'll be making more than he's ever made in a season by a wide margin and by proving that he's healthy teams would be more willing to pay him more money in 2012.

It makes a lot of sense for him to get paid very well for one more season rather than accept a contract that was given to him with the mindset that he is fragile.

Also, we need to stop overrating Hump here. He averaged 10/10. He can't shoot, has no post up moves, and I personally feel that if it wasn't for mono and calcium deposit in his arm, he'd averaged at least 2 more rpg. We should not be paying a guy who will most likely average 10/8 when Lopez is healthy as if he's one of the top PFs in the game. On a good team, he's a backup PF and we should not be paying him like a starter just because he played that role for us on a bad Nets team.

Stop using Homer-vision and look at all his deficiencies. Hump abilities do not warrant a huge contract at all but Avery and his 'expert' analysis feels like he is a key cog to a championship.

[orecchio14]

I think it comes down to this:

Hump at 26 coming off his best year has proved to be an elite rebounder and a tremendous help defender and also has shown a great willingness to improve and work in the off-seaason. No reason to think he cannot improve his jumper this off-season.

West at 31 will never be a good defender or rebounder, period. He also is coming off ACL surgery and will more than likely be payed in the 9mil per year range.
Also, I think in a way he duplicates Brooks skill set as a finesse big whose bread and butter is a midrange j.

If choosing between these two, I'll take my chances with Hump. What he lacks offensively can be made up in other spots. He just brings too many intangibles to the table.

[deviljets7]

With 19 million in cap space, does it have to be an either/or situation, especially if West was willing to sign a 1 year deal? It's not like we're exactly loaded up front.