RealGM

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008 ... id=3459658



These guys must be going after a free agency vet. That's all I could think of.

Shinn to all the new season ticketholders - "I know we need bench help, but I want $$$$$$$ !!" This is absolutely sickening.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!

Not sure if this is to snag someone with the pick or package it with:

any of the 3 second round picks to move up in the 1st round

or

the #13 pick to move up in the draft (#5 ???)

Man, Pritchard is just a whole different animal come draft time. Portland is going to be unstoppable in a few years, I'm so scared.

HORNETSFAN wrote:Shinn to all the new season ticketholders - "I know we need bench help, but I want $$$$$$$ !!" This is absolutely sickening.

lol who are they going to get at 27 who is going to come in and provide bench help? They are better off letting those bench scrubs go and sign a FA and make a deal for a player who can come in NOW and contribute. The right move was made.

At least you're not Phoenix...

gold_leader64 wrote:lol who are they going to get at 27 who is going to come in and provide bench help? They are better off letting those bench scrubs go and sign a FA and make a deal for a player who can come in NOW and contribute. The right move was made.

By they I'm guessing you mean the Hornets. The Blazers will, no doubt, package this pick with one or more picks and bodies from their stable of young talent and make some splashy trade.

But the fact that Shinn actually may have made the right move for the Hornets is just one more indication that something is seriously wrong with the NBA. That a first round draft pick could actually be a liability to the improvement of a team has to give pause to any fan. The draft once was, and is still being sold as the primary life-blood of a franchise. How ridiculous is that a team could be better off selling its draft picks? And let's call it what it is: this is no trade; it's a SALE! A trade of a commodity for cash is a SALE!

Only a minority of draft picks in any single year will even be in the NBA in 3-4 years. Yet all this hoopla over the draft is a desperate attempt to sell it as an event as important and legitimate as the NFL draft. Can anybody imagine an NFL team SELLING its first round draft pick?

This makes no sense to me. The Hornets could possibly get someone like Mario Chalmers or Chris Douglas-Roberts or Courtney Lee or Bill Walker with the #27 pick. Any of those guys could have stepped right in and helped the team as a rotation guy next season.

I saw (on DFX site) that the Hornets allegedly promised to take Chalmers at #27. He's moved up the board in a lot of the mock drafts, but even if he was off the board at #27, there should be other guys there who could make the team and give the Hornets some depth.

How is trading the pick for $$$ help?

Are the Hornets into the luxury tax? If they are, maybe then didn't want to pay the tax on a player who wouldn't help them next season. Just a thought...

If this is a move to keep from entering the luxury tax territory, I can see the trade. However, the Hornets need some bench help. I wonder do they have the money to sign a couple of key free agents to the squad.

Wow! This is probably the most people that have been in here this month. The Hornets need to continue developing Hilton and Julian. Not another young player. They need some veteran bench help. Bower has been building this team nicely so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing. They've been building this team through lottery draft picks and now it's time to build through free agency. They aren't finished. The offseason is just beginning for these guys. I'm pretty sure they have their sights on someone(s). Calm down and stop trying to be GM's.

The point is being missed. The Hornets are already a really young team. An extremely young team when you consider that their veterans are free agents. New Orleans doesn't need another young player with a slight chance of making it. With their window being open right now, they are targeting veteran help to fill those roster spots so that they can make a run at the WC. A young player, who probably won't hit, who would have a guaranteed contract, is probably the last thing that the Hornets need right now, even if it leaves Hornets fans with a boring draft day. Cash to sign a proven veteran contributor is much more valuable at this point. The Hornets weren't abused, lured by a mere $3M. That only sounds like a lot to us, and they probably didn't get that much. They are simply playing their situation, as they should.

gold_leader64 wrote:

HORNETSFAN wrote:Shinn to all the new season ticketholders - "I know we need bench help, but I want $$$$$$$ !!" This is absolutely sickening.

lol who are they going to get at 27 who is going to come in and provide bench help? They are better off letting those bench scrubs go and sign a FA and make a deal for a player who can come in NOW and contribute. The right move was made.

So you think any of these guys could help our bench?

2007 - Arron Afflalo
2006 - Sergio Rodriguez
2005 - Linas Kleiza
2004 - Sasha Vujacic
2003 - Kendrick Perkins
2002 - Chris Jefferies
2001 - Jamaal Tinsley

Those are the last 7 years of players picked at #27. Selling the pick does nothing for us in free agency. We still will only have the MLE to play with. We are not close to the luxury tax. It makes no basketball sense.

That was stupid, the best part of this draft is how deep it is between 25-40...

There were a lot of guys with high upside that will probably still be available at the pick, and a lot of guys that can contribute now.

We need more high level talent IMO, Bill Walker, or even a euro to stash over seas, stupid move IMO, we could have gotten a contributor on the wing, or a boom or bust guy that we can keep for later.

sasaint wrote:

gold_leader64 wrote:lol who are they going to get at 27 who is going to come in and provide bench help? They are better off letting those bench scrubs go and sign a FA and make a deal for a player who can come in NOW and contribute. The right move was made.

By they I'm guessing you mean the Hornets. The Blazers will, no doubt, package this pick with one or more picks and bodies from their stable of young talent and make some splashy trade.

But the fact that Shinn actually may have made the right move for the Hornets is just one more indication that something is seriously wrong with the NBA. That a first round draft pick could actually be a liability to the improvement of a team has to give pause to any fan. The draft once was, and is still being sold as the primary life-blood of a franchise. How ridiculous is that a team could be better off selling its draft picks? And let's call it what it is: this is no trade; it's a SALE! A trade of a commodity for cash is a SALE!

Only a minority of draft picks in any single year will even be in the NBA in 3-4 years. Yet all this hoopla over the draft is a desperate attempt to sell it as an event as important and legitimate as the NFL draft. Can anybody imagine an NFL team SELLING its first round draft pick?

Carlos Boozer - 34th
Mehmet Okur - 28th
Paul Millsap - 47th
Kyle Korver - 51st
CJ Miles - 34th

27-or-later picks have worked out pretty well for my franchise...

To the earlier guys wondering about the cap hit - the 3 million doesn't get you 3 mil worth of cap space - but you do get out of the salary slot and you do get the spending money.

But long term you can't do that sort of thing and not have it bite you. Just ask Suns fans how much they like having a shallow bench and no young guys from years of Sarver selling picks.

The Hornets don't seem to be interested in trying to develop more young talent. They still have Armstrong and Wright. Over the years they've been building this team through the draft. They're now going the free agent route. Listen to this guys take on the supposedly deal. Nothing has been approved as of yet and even IF it is, we may not hear about it until draft night.

http://www.wwltv.com/video/news-index.html?nvid=257700


http://blog.nola.com/hornetsbeat/2008/0 ... to_ha.html

Free agent period hasn't even started so let's wait and see what happens.

HORNETSFAN wrote:

gold_leader64 wrote:

HORNETSFAN wrote:Shinn to all the new season ticketholders - "I know we need bench help, but I want $$$$$$$ !!" This is absolutely sickening.

lol who are they going to get at 27 who is going to come in and provide bench help? They are better off letting those bench scrubs go and sign a FA and make a deal for a player who can come in NOW and contribute. The right move was made.

So you think any of these guys could help our bench?

2007 - Arron Afflalo
2006 - Sergio Rodriguez
2005 - Linas Kleiza
2004 - Sasha Vujacic
2003 - Kendrick Perkins
2002 - Chris Jefferies
2001 - Jamaal Tinsley

Those are the last 7 years of players picked at #27. Selling the pick does nothing for us in free agency. We still will only have the MLE to play with. We are not close to the luxury tax. It makes no basketball sense.

And how long did it take some of those guys to develop into a solid contributer? I'm not saying there isn't anybody who could possibly end up a decent player, but there isn't anybody who can come in this upcoming season and address the deficiencies on this team. A FA or deal can do that.

And let's not forget the financial situation. Chris Paul hasn't gotten paid yet. Peja has a max deal and is unmovable. Once Paul's big extension happens, this team will be paying a LOT of money for a very shallow team. They can't afford to hope that a project might develop in time to be a player who can contribute. Look at Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons. Have they developed? Simmons wasn't that great, and was traded. Armstrong always looks horrible. Can this team afford another Armstrong?

I posted in a previous topic that the hornets should look for a veteran who can address their bench frontline. They need a player who can be effective on both ends of the court, because Ely and Armstrong got destroyed by the Spurs, and the hornets have no low post scoring threat.

They paid Peja to come here, they paid Mo-Pete to come here, and they are going to pay Paul to stay here. It's going to get tougher and tougher to get a bench who can play, and right now they would be better off with some cash then take a chance on another project who won't matter in a few years.

I don't think it's a big deal to do this one year with a late pick, but if they start doing year after year (a la Suns) then it's time to ask questions.

gold_leader64 wrote:And how long did it take some of those guys to develop into a solid contributer? I'm not saying there isn't anybody who could possibly end up a decent player, but there isn't anybody who can come in this upcoming season and address the deficiencies on this team. A FA or deal can do that.

And let's not forget the financial situation. Chris Paul hasn't gotten paid yet. Peja has a max deal and is unmovable. Once Paul's big extension happens, this team will be paying a LOT of money for a very shallow team. They can't afford to hope that a project might develop in time to be a player who can contribute. Look at Hilton Armstrong and Cedric Simmons. Have they developed? Simmons wasn't that great, and was traded. Armstrong always looks horrible. Can this team afford another Armstrong?

I posted in a previous topic that the hornets should look for a veteran who can address their bench frontline. They need a player who can be effective on both ends of the court, because Ely and Armstrong got destroyed by the Spurs, and the hornets have no low post scoring threat.

They paid Peja to come here, they paid Mo-Pete to come here, and they are going to pay Paul to stay here. It's going to get tougher and tougher to get a bench who can play, and right now they would be better off with some cash then take a chance on another project who won't matter in a few years.

How does the cash create more space for a FA? It does not, we still only have the MLE. We still have a roster spot to fill. If it were with #27, it would be for $980,000 per year. If it is for a league minimum veteran, it will be for about $900,000 - $1,100,000. No savings there and what do you get from a league minimum veteran? Maybe a drug problem like Birdman? This is a terrible FA year, so who is out there to help this team that can be had wiht the MLE? Even if there is someone, how does not drafting a player change that? Do we expect the 12-15 player on our roster to play considerable minutes? What team plays all 12 players routinely? The 13-15 spots are inactive. Why would a NBDL or developing rookie not be a reasonable expectation for one of those spots?