Posey to NO for 4yrs/25m

[erudite23]

So the Hornets just signed Posey for 4 years at the full MLE. What is everyone's thought on this deal.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3492206

Good or bad fit?

Good or bad contract?

Good or bad long term implications?

Can he play SG...as Peja will certainly not slide up to the 2, or will he be the 1st guy off the bench like with the Celtics?

Get your $.02 in.

[Farsider322]

I am not very happy to see that. I wish he would have just stayed with Boston.
We don't need anyone helping other teams in the west. It may hurt them down the road with salary cap issues.

[hoops4life]

That could be bad for the West.

[d-will8]

Well, he'll be 35 at the end of the deal, so they might not be too happy with how much money they're paying him the last year or two. However, Posey is a great, great role player. It's no coincidence that he's been on two of the last three championship teams. He'll really help them with his defensive toughness, his hustle and his versatility. He'll also give CP3 another three-point threat to work with. Finally, bench play won't be as much of a problem for them now. Great move for the Hornets, at least in the short term.

[BiggMann]

Hornets could be good! Posey adds depth, and move MoPete to the bench

[JDubJazz]

The Hornets are roughly in the same cap shape as the Jazz, with CP3, Chandler, Peja and West, so this could well push them into making some drastic moves to avoid the luxury tax in the future.

[schneiderjazz]

Ouch. Didn't see this one coming.
Great signing by the Hornets. They're not the deepest team, but their starting 5 will be crazy good.

[Fido]

That 4 year deal could be a worry down the road--kind of like Harpring's is for us this year and next but Posey does good things for a team right now.

[edfmx86]

It still wont stop Deron from putting a hole in Cp3.

[Racer X]

From a Jazz standpoint I dont mind this move. Posey was HUGE for Boston last year with his 3 pt shot and superb D on Kobe, but he defends the 2 positions on the Jazz that are not big offensive threats. They gave him a big (puts them in bad cap situation like the Jazz) and long (he's an older player and his production will decrease) contract.

[JohnHollinger]

I think NO over-payed for him, but I guess they are trying to put something together for an immediate run at a 'chip.

As a Jazz fan I dont like it because it makes NO Deeper and a better defensive team. Now Posey gets to nail us from 3 point land when we play em

[JStockLivesOn]

Great signing by New Orleans. He'll be overpaid compared to his play the last year, possibly two, of the contract, but it's worth it for what he'll bring on the front-end.

I'm shocked that he signed with them, I must say, but it's a coup for the Hornets. And Posey is worth every cent he's getting, compared to the preposterously generous contract given to Morris Peterson.

[carrottop12]

Well, call me cynical but I wouldn't be surprised to see Posey start to take a bit of a dip in production.

Last year he was playing for a motivated team and he was playing on a one year contract worth very little money. He knows this was the last contract he was going to sign so he needed to do the best he could to earn some big money before he retires.

I think most people would be surprised to see his numbers are a paltry 7/4.5/1.5 last season, and even those are hard to judge considering he was playing next to three superstars who got him a lot of open three point shots.

He's a solid addition, but he's not as valuable as Peja, and I am a bit confused at where he is going to fit into their system. I believe they already have Peja, Mo Pete, Bonzi Wells, and Julian Wright who play very similar positions with similar skill sets.

[erudite23]

Well, I must say that this is eerily reminiscent of what happened last year with MoPete. Everyone on the board wanted him, thought he would be the ideal fit for us, wanted us to throw the full MLE at him etc etc....and 6 months later everyone is saying "Well, everyone ELSE wanted him, but I never....".

I think Posey was tremendous for Boston last year, and I think he can still be that key piece in the right situation, but I'm not convinced NO is the right situation for him to shine, and he could just as easily be another dead weight contract in a league stocked full of them.

I like Posey, and I like his game, but lets get real here: this is the same guy that was let go for with pleasure by the Heat last year, and on the open market could do no better than a 1 year veteran minimum type deal. This has "OVERPAID" written in large bold letters all over it. The ONLY way they get their money out of it is if he fits what they need like a glove. Much like he did in Boston. If they get anything less, they are going to regret this when its all said and done.

[JStockLivesOn]

Well, if Posey proves to be a disaster this year, feel free to quote me. I think this will be a great signing for New Orleans, at least for this season. Mo Pete... not so much.

[erudite23]

Well, if Posey proves to be a disaster this year, feel free to quote me. I think this will be a great signing for New Orleans, at least for this season. Mo Pete... not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that it will hurt their team this season...at least not necessarily. But the ONLY way Posey is worth a contract like that is if he is on a team that basically asks him to hit the open 3, play some solid D and be a steady vet off the bench. Any more than that and you're going to be found wanting. That's all that Boston asked him to do, and he was good for a small handful of key plays in the championship run. They didn't ask him to do too much. I don't think the same thing will happen in NO, but he will help the team. However, in two years, they will be looking around desperately for someone to take him off their hands.

Hollinger puts it into good perspective. Take read:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/s ... ets-080716

[JStockLivesOn]

THAT you're probably right about. Odds are pretty decent that he'll be expiring contract fodder his last year or two.

[Ern III]

I've espoused similar views to the erudite one in comments on other forums.

I was ecstatic that the Jazz wouldn't commit to Mo Pete as much as New Orleans wanted to, and if I were a Boston fan, as disappointed as I'd be to lose him for next season's title defense, I wouldn't regret my team not shelling out such a lengthy and hefty wad to keep Posey.

I don't believe New Orleans got markedly better with this acquisition. Their only significant improvement in terms of challenging for the '08-09 title was going to come from an uptick in production from Julian Wright (whom can't expect his minutes to greatly increase now), a third big guy (whomever that might be), and better playmaking at PG behind CP3. As helpful as he may be defensively, offensively, Posey is basically a duplicate of Mo Pete and a less accurate Peja Stojakovic. Don't tell me New Orleans were just a few loose balls and taken charges away from winning the league last season, which is all Posey can give the team that they already didn't possess. 6.25mil per annum is more than a tangible amount for a few intangibles.

I agree with Hollinger - the only thing the Hornets acquired was age and expense at the wings in only a couple of seasons. Deal with that, CP3.

[JStockLivesOn]

Posey's intangibles are a marked upgrade over Peterson, in my opinion, but concern over where he fits into the Hornets' 2/3 rotation is valid.

It will certainly be interesting. Having considered the matter, I'm in firm agreement that this contract will look bad 3 years from now, but I think they'll be ecstatic with what he brings to the table this year, and probably next year.

If I'm wrong about that, I'll happily admit it, because I HOPE I'm wrong. I certainly don't want any of the teams in the West to improve.