Brand plans to play last 5 or 6 games of the season

Mozy-76er Fan · Post #1 » by **Mozy-76er Fan** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:04 pm

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3311152

freshie2 · Post #2 » by **freshie2** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 10:48 pm

Although his injury timeline is about right, I'm not sure why he'd come back at this point?? Maybe he will not opt out and is a long term Clipper, but there are too many bad things that can happen in these last few games.

noone · Post #3 » by **noone** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 11:04 pm

Maybe he wants to opt out and at the same time show teams that he can still play at the same level as he did pre-injury. It's a risk, but may be worth taking if he's going to opt out.

Post #4 » by **The Guilty Party** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:46 am

I think Brand is going to opt-out and his reason for coming back is to show teams that he's back. Even if he just opts-out and re-signs with the Clippers, his agent will have more ammo during negotiations if other teams are interested.

sixers_610 · Post #5 » by **sixers_610** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:12 am

he clearly wants to audition for us

Post #6 » by **The Guilty Party** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:44 am

Clearly!

I seem to recall that the first shootaround that he participated in with the Clippers also happened to be when we played the Clippers in LA. Coincidence??? I think not.

sixers_610 · Post #7 » by **sixers_610** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:46 am

The Guilty Party wrote:Clearly!

I seem to recall that the first shootaround that he participated in with the Clippers also happened to be when we played the Clippers in LA. Coincidence??? I think not.

Sip it... it's cool.. it's

noone · Post #8 » by **noone** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:50 am

Brand has always been my first option this offseason. He's the chance I'd be willing to take and imo would put this team over the top. He's already great defensively, so we wouldn't lose a step there, and he gives us that post presence/mid-range shooting big this team needs. And imo that makes Sammy very expendable and we could fill the gaps trading him. And I'm sure there are plenty of teams that would overpay for him.

bebopdeluxe · Post #9 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:22 am

Why would we trade Sammy?

Post #10 » by **tk76** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:24 am

I hope he bounces back well from his injury. He could be our Sheed- pushing us to the next level. Now that we have shown ourselves to be a winner, we have speeded up the timetable on our rebuild, and are ready to add a slightly older star for next year.

In the East no reason we couldn't hope to make a serious run as soon as next year if we add a player like Brand- who is only 2 years older than Sam.

5yrs/80M like Howard got averages 16M but only starts at 13M next years. That is basically our cap space + Green's salary.

noone · Post #11 » by **noone** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:02 am

bebopdeluxe wrote:Why would we trade Sammy?

Because Brand gives us everything Sammy does and then some. Sammy is a good shot blocker and rebounder, but so is Brand. For that reason, I think his money could better be used elsewhere to fill another need.

bebopdeluxe · Post #12 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:10 am

noone:

We would still need a center...and as hard as it is to believe, I think that Sammy is actually earning his money right now. The ability for Sammy to play guys like Duncan and Garnett one-on-one for stretches of the game (which was a HUGE factor in beating the Spurs and Celtics) doesn't grow on trees.

Why couldn't Sammy be the 5 and Brand be the 4?

I mean, if Sammy can be on the floor with Evans, he can certainly be on the floor with Brand - yes?

Post #13 » by **tk76** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:24 am

Sam will have less opportunities to make silly mistakes if he plays next to a great PF. He won't be asked to do nearly as much offensively, and will come free for even more opp dunks and put backs if our PF demands a double team.

Sam will still make his occasional boneheaded mistake, but his net positive empact would only be better next to Brand.

psykosacul · Post #14 » by **psykosacul** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 4:32 am

noone wrote:Brand has always been my first option this offseason. He's the chance I'd be willing to take and imo would put this team over the top. He's already great defensively, so we wouldn't lose a step there, and he gives us that post presence/mid-range shooting big this team needs. And imo that makes Sammy very expendable and we could fill the gaps trading him. And I'm sure there are plenty of teams that would overpay for him.

i agree with everything about brand and what he would do for us. he kind of completes us (besides our lack of outside shooting) however, i think having sam next to him would actually help him. as a bull he had a great career, but he certainly stepped it up when playing next to kaman. i think having a 7 footer next to him who runs, blocks shots and rebounds allows him to expend more energy on offense.

im not a huge fan of sam, but he has cut down on mistakes enough that if we added a legit 4 like brand, id have to go with the theory that sam is a good peice for this team

noone · Post #15 » by **noone** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:13 am

The question isn't Sammy being a good fit next to Brand because I definitely think he would be. I just feel that it would make him expendable because a lot of what he provides us, we wouldn't lose in a trade with Brand on board, so I'd rather his 10+ million in salary be put to use elsewhere to fill other needs.

I already like Williams coming off the bench to man the point, but I'm not comfortable with Carney or Green coming in at the sg/sf positions on a championship team. That's where I see a potential Sam trade helping. He could net us that maggette/stackhouse type player (not an all-star, but a solid player nonetheless) to bring off the bench as well as a decent-solid big man.

Our big man situation would also be fine with Brand and the big from the Sammy trade starting and Smith/Evans off the bench. And who knows, Smith may even be able to start in a couple years. His game would be perfect next to Brand as he's a 7 footer who can already spread the floor, block shots at a decent rate, and imo will turn into a decent rebounder.

I could be wrong, but there's nothing that says you need two very good big men (being paid 25+ million) to win a championship. What's more important imo is having that one very good big man with solid depth all around.

All this is probably a moot point though because we likely don't have the money/assets to acquire Brand.

bebopdeluxe · Post #16 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:19 pm

Where do you get that Brand is a 7-footer?

According to NBA.com, he is 6-8...the reason why he is successful in the low block is his combination of long arms and big butt - which allows him to play bigger than a 6-8 guy like, say, Reggie Evans. However, he is not a 7-footer, and I don't think that he brings the shotblocking and intimidation factor that Sammy brings.

I think that they wold be great together, however...if we could just come up with the $$$...

wow444 · Post #17 » by **wow444** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 12:50 pm

bebopdeluxe wrote:Where do you get that Brand is a 7-footer?

According to NBA.com, he is 6-8...the reason why he is successful in the low block is his combination of long arms and big butt - which allows him to play bigger than a 6-8 guy like, say, Reggie Evans. However, he is not a 7-footer, and I don't think that he brings the shotblocking and intimidation factor that Sammy brings.

I think that they wold be great together, however...if we could just come up with the $$$...

He didn't. He was referring to Jason Smith as the 7-footer.

bebopdeluxe · Post #18 » by **bebopdeluxe** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:23 pm

Sorry...my bad.

Unfortunately, the fact that Smith is the exact opposite of Brand - a 7-footer with short arms and a scrawny white-boy butt (I'm not a racist...just having a little fun here!) - makes me a little leery of projecting him as our primary weakside defender and shotblocker.

noone · Post #19 » by **noone** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:54 pm

bebopdeluxe wrote:Sorry...my bad.

Unfortunately, the fact that Smith is the exact opposite of Brand - a 7-footer with short arms and a scrawny white-boy butt (I'm not a racist...just having a little fun here!) - makes me a little leery of projecting him as our primary weakside defender and shotblocker.

Brand is our primary weakside defender/shotblocker and our primary rebounder. A developed Smith would just be a good compliment to him.

STChaser · Post #20 » by **STChaser** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:17 pm

And how well will Brand run the floor coming off this injury? And how old is Brand? These are all things to consider. I was high on Josh Smith (still am a little). But Smith's defense leaves a lot to be considered when he's pitted against true PF's. I like Okafor and would probably prefer him over both Brand and Smith. But he has health issues as well that have to be considered. That being said, this is where I think our PF of the future lies;

I trust DiLeo enough to think that he can net us a very good PF with our draft pick. If in fact it was DiLeo who was selecting our picks, and I have read repeatedly now that is was DiLeo and not Billy King, then there is zero reason to doubt that he will come through for us once again.

Lou Williams, Sam Dalembert, Thaddeus Young, Andre Iguodala, Rodney Carney, Willie Green, Kyle Korver. Before you scoff at any of these guys, consider what pick we took them with and what level they're playing at now. Donte Green, Anthony Randolph, (if we opt for a 5 and move Sam to PF, there is JaVale McGee), Marreese Speights, etc. Point is, I trust DiLeo on this matter to get us the best PF available. There is no rush. Our team is young and have made major strides this season. We can afford one or two more years to groom Thaddeus, Lou, Carney, Smith, and our next PF.

STChaser