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I want to get Iguodala to the next level. I know he will never be a LeBron or Kobe but I'd be happy with a Kobe-Lite, and I think that if Thaddeus continues to improve, this team could be fine with these two leading the way, so long as they're surrounded by the right pieces.

That being said, I know that we need more scoring options in our starting lineup for Iguodala to ever take that next step into the premier scorer category. Having a frontcourt of Sam, who lacks the post game and Evans, who's not athletic or coordinated enough to pull one off, I do think we need a PF who can free up Iguodala from getting doubled, etc. That being said, who gets your vote?

Okafor - Gives us a low post threat giving us a proven scorer inside and someone to take pressure off our perimeter shooters. Combine Okafor with Thaddeus and you have two potential inside threats, freeing up Iguodala and Lou for the long range and mid-range shots. Okafor would also give us and inside-outside game - something neither Sam nor Evans provides.

Josh Smith - Gives us another penetrator who will demand attention from opposing defenses but iffy perimeter shooting means that zone D's can still cause issues for us. Obviously, gives us more of the "wow" factor than Emeke and blends better with our fast break, up-tempo offense.

Of the two, which one do you guys think would compliment Iguodala better? I'm still of the opinion that we need to do everything possible to get Okafor and STILL draft the most athletic PF via our pick this year, but what are your thoughts?



STChaser

I think Okafor would benefit tremendously from guarding PF's. I think he's really been hurt by playing out of position the last few years in Charlotte on the defensive end, and think playing PF next to Dalembert would do wonders next to him. I also think he would be a huge help to our transition game (blocked shots, rebounding, and Emeka's good finishing on the break). Thing with Emeka is, he won't try to do what he's not capable of, whereas I can't say the same for Smith. Emeka will give you defense (particularly at the PF), he will give you blocked shots, he will give you rebounding, and he will finish around the rim. but when those opportunities aren't there, he won't force bad shots. Josh Smith doesn't do that. Josh Smith shot nearly 40% of his attempts as jump shots, with an eFG% of 30.9% (!!!). Emeka actually has a significantly higher eFG% on jump shots (37%) because he's a little more selective.

I would actually have interest in both, but I'd probably lean slightly towards Emeka. He can give you 14-15 ppg, 11 rpg, 2 blocks per game, while playing in the confines of the offense. If he's healthy, I think he'd fit this team well. He'd be an upgrade over Reggie Evans in every facet of the game, which would do wonders for this team, IMO.

Okafor. He would take a lot of pressure off of Dalembert down low on defense. He would also give Iggy another big target to dish to when Iggy drives to the basket.

But the $64,000 question is: can we come up with a big enough financial package to get Okafor?

I don't see it. Can somebody outline a realistic scenario where we would sign him to an offer sheet and Charlotte does not match (or where we do not have to give away the farm in a S&T)?

Thanks.

Of the two, I'd prefer Okafor.

But I'd focus on a few other PFs before settling on him.

I think Okafor is the better choice just because of the defense he would bring, adding him would turn our team into a top 5 defensive.

We would be stiffling on defense once we gained some chemistry on defense, and Okafor could also spot mins for Dalembert at center.

Okafor would be a great finisher for Iguodala to dish to in the post, and another rebounder/shot blocker/slam dunker to help initiate the break.

My concern (in addition to $'s) is how well would Okafor and Sam play together. neither can handle the ball, nor do they have great post skills. My guess is that we would eventually move Sam for a more finess PF/C if we acquired Okafor.

Okafor. He'd probably match up better against the bigger PF's of the league, and he can spend some time at C.

Smith is good, but Young will probably do what Smith does when he plays PF.

Again - to anybody who understands what we have available in cap room this summer - what is the maximum that we could offer Okafor, and what are your realistic odds that the Bobcats won't match?

If we can only start at, say, $11 mil...and if the Bobcats can match and offer more years, I think the chances of Charlotte lettting him go are awfully slim - yes?

(And we can probably say the same about JSmith...right?)

bebopdeluxe wrote:But the $64,000 question is: can we come up with a big enough financial package to get Okafor?

I don't see it. Can somebody outline a realistic scenario where we would sign him to an offer sheet and Charlotte does not match (or where we do not have to give away the farm in a S&T)?

Thanks.

I would be surprised if Okafor & Josh Smith didn't stay with their current teams.

I'd much rather have Elton Brand than both of these guys but I would choose Okafor over Smith. Josh Smith is not a PF people...I'm willing to bet Marvin Williams is more of a PF than Smith.

bebopdeluxe wrote:Again - to anybody who understands what we have available in cap room this summer - what is the maximum that we could offer Okafor, and what are your realistic odds that the Bobcats won't match?

If we can only start at, say, $11 mil...and if the Bobcats can match and offer more years, I think the chances of Charlotte lettting him go are awfully slim - yes?

(And we can probably say the same about JSmith...right?)

The only way we could get him would probably be in a S&T where we send cap space, picks, and a young player or for him. I'm not sure that he's worth that much though.

dbodner wrote:I think Okafor would benefit tremendously from guarding PF's. I think he's really been hurt by playing out of position the last few years in Charlotte on the defensive end, and think playing PF next to Dalembert would do wonders next to him.

It's funny that you have that opinion because is you go read the Bobcats board, the majority of their fans think exactly the opposite. They feel he's way more effective on both ends of the court when playing C, not PF. They don't think he has the quickness to defend most of the PF's in the league.

Now of course that's just their opinion, but I tend to trust the fans who watch all their games more. Granted we have seen completely different opinions on this board regarding our players so I guess it may not mean much.

In all the time I have been watching Okafor I kinda agree with the Bobcat fans though. I would prefer a PF who can play more than 2 ft away from the basket. From what I have seen, Okafor has been abused when he's matchup up defensively against someone who can pull him away from the basket. This also holds true for Sam so I just don't know how that pairng would work together for 32+ MPG considering all the quick PF's that are in the league these days. Offensively he's very limited (no jump shot or really and true post moves) so again, he's really limited on that side of the court.

Edit:

Here's a link to one particular thread on their board re: Okafor. I didn't the thoughts on him very encouraging. It seemed clear from this that most don't think he can play PF full time.

http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic. ... sc&start=0

bebopdeluxe wrote:Again - to anybody who understands what we have available in cap room this summer - what is the maximum that we could offer Okafor, and what are your realistic odds that the Bobcats won't match?

If we can only start at, say, $11 mil...and if the Bobcats can match and offer more years, I think the chances of Charlotte lettting him go are awfully slim - yes?

(And we can probably say the same about JSmith...right?)

Assuming we can offer 10.5M next year...

The league allows 12.5% raises per year, sso that means: 5yrs/67M.

The Bobcats would match.

How about we TRADE Iguodala in a package to get a legit PF? Boozer and West are ideal to play next to Sammy...

SendEm wrote:How about we TRADE Iguodala in a package to get a legit PF? Boozer and West are ideal to play next to Sammy...

I love the idea of that, but why would the Jazz or Hornets do that? Boozer and West are bigger needs for those teams than getting someone like Iguodala is.

It's true that Okafor is a bit of a tweener defensively between PF and C. Legit 7 footers can shoot over him and quicker PF's can get a few layups on him from the triple threat position. The only reason that this matters is because Okafor doesn't have the offensive game to out muscle those quicker PF's and he doesn't have the finesse to get around the bigger C's consistently. He's like a Michael Cage that's benefiting from playing in an era with less talented big men.

Give me Biedrins or give me Brand. Otherwise I'd shoot for the lower tier/cost guys like Tyrus Thomas.

The Sixer Fixer wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



I love the idea of that, but why would the Jazz or Hornets do that? Boozer and West are bigger needs for those teams than getting someone like Iguodala is.

They wouldn't do it. I just made the post to prove how much more valuable talented big men are than talented perimeter players. I can't think of a really good big man that a team would trade straight up for Iggy. Chris Kaman?

Definitely Okafor but I dont think we will be able to get him