We are just missing 1

[Dexmor]

I said this before in a DJ should start topic so if Mods combine I understand.
We have the best role players. There perfect for a star to have. Mek with the D and the big man for open dunks. Diaw to do everything. Wallace as the garbadge man and Bell for D. Felton as a combo guard and DJ is a great pg.
Last night Felton played like that 1 star (which he should do every night, the potential is there if he could get his fg% up) and we had a guy who can create and score and go to in the 4th in a close game vs Nets and we won.
Thats what we need. That's all we need. Our role players are fit so perfect with LB and good D we might be the only team that could win with 1 star. We just need that one star.
Maybe if we start DJ with Felton Felton could be that guy for now until we get our perminate new goto guy.
Either way if it's threw a trade or the draft once we get that one guy who can carry a team and you can throw it to and get out of his way we will be in playoff contention. I really hope we can get him without giving up Crash, Diaw, DJ, Mek but I doubt it.
Either way we are just missing one. The 20 point a game guy. Really any of them would do with the role players here. Even if it's a guy who is usually a second guy like a RJ or Butler. It doesn't have to be a Mayo or Roy although it would be nice to have one of them.
I still think it's possible DJ could be that guy but we would have to keep Felton and get a stronger bench.

[coordinator0]

I think that 1 guy is a shooting guard. Bell would be great off the bench or as a defensive stopper. I really like what Diaw has brought to the team, and I am starting to love that trade now (although I still don't like Bell). Unfortunately, I don't think (but what do I know) that there are any great SG's on the block or FA's next season. The drat is our best bet to get a potential star SG, and I think possible candidates are Tyreke Evans, James Harden, and Demar DeRozan of Memphis, Arizona State, and USC respectively. I like Harden the best, he's able to create for his teammates as well and he is a great passer. Harden and D.J. would make a great backcourt, possibly one of the best if/when they develop.

[fatlever]

i am w/ coordinator. what this team is lacking is a true star sg, one who can defend, create, pass and make tough shots.

[Dexmor]

Yes absolutely the guy is a sg not only because in this era the wings rule but also it is our weakest position. The only problem is exactly what you said. There are none to have. Also how do we get him? That is why Crash has to be in trade talks because he has value. I really hope they keep Diaw.
If they do trade Crash that means that guy can be any other position but the pg.
I think Rip might be on the block although Im not sure. It would make sence being every Piston has to play out of position now although Rip doesn't create he needs to just be able to get open.
None of the sg's coming into the league this year will be that guy. It is possible if we do get a sf and he can hit the 3 we could play Gerald at the 2 maybe.
See the only problem is if we give up Wallace and lets say Felton to get that guy then we will be better but we might still need another guy.
What we really need to make sure we make the playoffs and even look at the second round would for us to get the first pick or for there to be a great draft and be like the Nuggs and draft a Melo or the Raps and get a Bosh or something or even get a RJ.

[fatlever]

the goal of our scouts now should be simply - find a player who can become a star sg, whether on the bench of another team or in the draft.

and i am using the term "star" loosely. we really just need an all-around sg. a player like roy would be fantastic, but we do just fine finding a player similar to stuckey or salmons. the trick is either drafting that player of plucking him off someone else's bench before he blows up.

the suns stole joe johnson from the celtics. the kings stole salmons for MLE. the raptors grabbed anthony parker from europe (although i'd want someone better). billups was traded several times before coming to detroit. then you have guys like ellis, ginobili, arenas, rudy fernandez, barbosa - all drafted later in the draft.

so, who are some young promising sgs that maybe could be had?

[Walt Cronkite]

I quickly looked over my list, I don't think there's anyone that another team would give up. I mean, I imagine you're talking about a guy like Daequan Cook, but we'd have to give up.. idk, Felton just for the ability to hope that he becomes the guy we're trading for. I'm going to do more looking and I'll be back, but I think we're targeting a more late rotation but not too young type of guy instead of a young promising sg.

There's always the Dleague though..

[spectre_]

i am w/ coordinator. what this team is lacking is a true star sg, one who can defend, create, pass and make tough shots.

We've always lacked that. When some of us targeted Richardson a couple of years back he wasn't the perfect SG like what you're looking for...but he was the closest available and he was obtainable without giving up any of the core.

I know nothing of next year's draft, but those type of combo/SG guys always pop up in the mid to late lottery. Stuckey...I wanted him badly that year, and I was advocating trading back to get him. Nick Young...I know Slam was extremely high on this kid.

If that's LB's target for next year (and you have to assume it will be as it stands now) I have a lot of faith he'll find what we've been looking for.

[Dexmor]

We can keep Wallace and just plan for a sg if Mek can keep up the scoring and DJ becomes a 17-19 point a game scorer we all assume he will be then all we need is a stuckey or Salmons and hell if we get a JJ we would be a top 5-6 team in the East.
Now back to your question some hidden gems



Gerald Green- I think we should go after him first. This kid has potential. Low risk super high reward. Is exactly what we need and with the right coach he can put it all together and be an allstar.

J.R. Smith-Not really hidden and I don't think he is tradable for that cheap but can do more then what he is doing imo. Will break out into a 20 a game guy and can be had for the 13 a game guy that he is now. He might even be able to be had for Bell and something else.

Ramon Sessions-Again small for a 2 (I know he plays pg) but he could be had for Felton maybe. The Bucks need an upgrade at pg and don't seem to be giving him the nod. At the 2 starting could be a 20 point a game guy.

Louis Williams-Again very small but can be a 20 point a game scorer.

Rashard McCants- it would be really cool if he was and we somehow kept Felton and kept May as a 12th man. Either way I think he would be an upgrade over Bell and has alot of potential in the scoring department. He is averaging only 20 minutes. I wonder if we have anything to give for him besides Wallace of course.

[fatlever]

i give bernie some credit because he tried to take some chances to land a young sg that had "potential"

he tried rush, bogans, slay etc... of course he never found what he was looking for, but he was looking.

jerryd bayless, courtney lee, cdr, nick young, morris almond, marco belinelli, javaris crittenton, dequan cook, aaron afflalo, randy foye, rodney carney, quincy douby, martell webster, rashad mccants, antoine wright, gerald green, francisco garcia, cj miles.

chances are... most of those guys are pretty much what we think they are, some decent, some scrubs, some in-between. but i'd bet that at least 2 of them will eventually put it together and become something special. now you have to identify those 2 and get one of them w/out giving up a core piece of the team (dj, wallace, diaw, okafor).

or keep looking to the draft.

we dont have the pieces to go after an establised sg wihout giving up a core player.

[Walt Cronkite]

Yea, I agree with Spetre that the most likely way to attain a sg is to draft one in the upcoming draft.

Anyway, here is my list of guys:

Sefolosha
Kinsey
Antoine Wright
Morrow
Belinelli
Cook
Stevenson
Brewer

Some of those guys are more attainable than others, especially Brewer... I think he could only come to us in a 3 way where the Jazz trade Boozer, move AK to the 4 and want Gerald but think that Brewer replicates his skills too much. Then we'd need another wing though!!

Stevenson has been struggling and doesn't create or pass really, but would be a younger Raja Bell. He doesn't have a bad contract, so I don't see any reason the Wiz don't hold on to him.

I don't think we have the pieces to get Sefo... and the rest of the list is, well... I mean who excites you?

[coordinator0]

Stuckey would be a perfect fit on this team. I am lucky enough to watch nearly all his games (that's right, I live in MI) and he has the ability to be a STAR at the 2 OR 1. IMO if there is a guy like that we need to go after him, and from what I've read DeRozan isn't at all an adequate ball-handler. Perhaps we could lure away Sessions from MIL if we offer him a huge deal?

[coordinator0]

Yea, I agree with Spetre that the most likely way to attain a sg is to draft one in the upcoming draft.

Anyway, here is my list of guys:

Sefolosha
Kinsey
Antoine Wright
Morrow
Belinelli
Cook
Stevenson
Brewer

Some of those guys are more attainable than others, especially Brewer... I think he could only come to us in a 3 way where the Jazz trade Boozer, move AK to the 4 and want Gerald but think that Brewer replicates his skills too much. Then we'd need another wing though!!

Stevenson has been struggling and doesn't create or pass really, but would be a younger Raja Bell. He doesn't have a bad contract, so I don't see any reason the Wiz don't hold on to him.

I don't think we have the pieces to get Sefo... and the rest of the list is, well... I mean who excites you?

Cook, and maybe Bellinelli. We'd have to trade Ammo or Carroll though, I don't think LB ants 3 spot-up shooters on the team that don't bring much else. Maybe Bellinelli is better at the other things that i am aware of?

I didn't want to triple post, so I'll add on to this one. The only two FA's next year that really jump out are Ramon Sessions and Ben Gordon, who are a RFA and UFA respectively. I'd be extremely happy if Sessions came here, but i like Ben Gordon a lot too. Thoughts?

Here's a link to 2009 and 2010 free agents:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=FreeAgents-09-10

[Walt Cronkite]

If we didn't keep Felton I think Gordon would be a solid option if we could acquire him for a reasonable deal (doubtful).

Belinelli has more dimension to his game than just spot up shooting.

[99problems]

I haven't seen much of Bellinelli but he's supposed to be a complete liability on defense and I don't think the Bobcats could afford that if they are trying to bring in a "star" piece to make this team a true contender.

I agree that this team is a superstar scoring guard away from being legit though. These players are obviously hard to come by, and the Bobcats can't really afford to swing and miss by paying someone like McCants good money and him not being a take over the game type of player. That's what is basically comes down, having someone you can rely on to score late in the 4th quarter.

Monta Ellis, Kevin Martin would be two I would add to the list.

More likely, it's going to take CHA 2 or 3 more years to draft well and have enough expendable, good pieces that the Bobcats can trade for the star they are missing. A Brandon Roy, a Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay. It's possible that they could find that player in the draft, but I don't see it for this coming year.

[spectre_]

If we didn't keep Felton I think Gordon would be a solid option if we could acquire him for a reasonable deal (doubtful).

Belinelli has more dimension to his game than just spot up shooting.

Yah...Gordon is a 10 per contract just waiting to happen. I like him too as a very dynamic scorer, but his negatives are his handles (which in turn puts his height into play as he's not very good as a PG) and defense. I still think that if POR could pair him with Roy they'd be even sicker with possibilities than they are now.

A lot of those guys that Fats mentioned probably won't ever pan out and unless we can get them at a deal (like Ammo for Wright as an example) I wouldn't bend over backwards trying to get them. Lots of players show flashes...look no further than our starting PG...but never seem to get that consistency.

Unless something just falls in our lap I'd just as soon run with what we have, wait on the draft and try to win with team offense. It's not like these guys have that down pat anyway, and we'll be even stronger when we find that player to complete us.

I wouldn't mind some shuffling with the bench tho. Our depth, esp. for the last couple of games...has been pretty bad.

[Rich4114]

Joe Johnson is an UFA in 2010???

Going back to the opening post, we don't just need a 20ppg scorer. We had two of those already. We need someone who can take over at the end of the game. Felton seems to be willing to do it, but his inconsistency hurts. Plus he needs to be a much more accurate shooter before he could be that guy. It'd be nice if he put it together and turned into that, then we'd be in good shape. But I think we're going to have to draft someone like that or get one in FA in 2009 or 2010.

[Dexmor]

I am surprised at 2 things, 1 you guys didn't say anything about my list. All those players I listed have alot of potential. Somebody I didn't name and you guys did was Cook. That is good one to although I believe my guys are more on the can't miss opp.
I think there is something to a McCants deal because maybe we could do a Wallace for Miller and MCcants deal. We could have Mek, Diaw, Miller, Mccants and Felton

Or if want a Center so bad maybe we trade Wallace for that stud 2 guard and just go with Ryan and Lex at center and Mek and Diaw at the forward spots and then our weak spot is C like so many other teams but we have size and hustle.
There is no way we get Kevin Martin and I wouldn't want Ben. He is just to small. I know he played with Mek but I think we should hold out for something better.

[Takuya Kimura]

Marquis Daniels anyone?
Expires in 10.
7m contract.

Excellent D thus far and not bad on offense.

[Dexmor]

No what about Larry Hughes. He is getting 26 minutes a game and is unhappy in Chicago. When he was on the Wizards with Gil as his pg he got 22 a game. Imagine what he can do with Diaw and DJ as his pg's being the goto guy? He also would be a LB player because of his defense.

[99problems]

Larry Hughes is making 12 mil a year and is not the offensive player the Bobcats need. He's a jump shooter now, and an average one at that. He has good size and can dribble, but doesn't attack the basket enough anymore.

Basically, you can't compete in the NBA with Larry Hughes as your go to guy.