Bobcats working to sign Juwan Howard

[BigSlam]

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_n ... rking.html

Thoughts?

[nugentrk]

I just post this, let me go delete my link

[fatlever]

what is the point? another mediocre big past his prime, lucky to give us 10 good minutes a night.

[W_HAMILTON]

As I said in the blog, if he knows how to block out, and will block out, he could be useful. He might not provide much else, but we just need someone that knows how (and is willing) to block out. The only guy on our team that consistently blocks out is Okafor, and that's kinda useless since he's our best rebounder. Other guys should be blocking out for him, but they don't; they are too busy fighting him for rebounds. We have some guys that can grab rebounds, but we are still a poor rebounding team because almost none of them block out.

[Walt Cronkite]

This could be not so bad, then again, it might be bad.

[BigSlam]

what is the point? another mediocre big past his prime, lucky to give us 10 good minutes a night.

Although it wasn't always noticeable on the scoreboard, Derek Anderson seemed to have a very positive impact on the roster. Maybe Howard would play a good mentoring role?

I wouldn't jump over the moon if we signed him, but so long it was for next to no dollars, I don't think I'd mind too much.

Heck, while we are at it lets lure C.Webb out of the studio and suit him up too!!

[BigSlam]

The only guy on our team that consistently blocks out is Okafor, and that's kinda useless since he's our best rebounder.

Ryan Hollins actually tries to, it's just that he's only successful doing it about 75% of the time!!

At least the effort is there with him though (small victories?)!!

[BigSlam]

This could be not so bad, then again, it might be bad.

You're a wise, wise man Walt

[ohara]

I would have been very happy with this rumor - 12 years ago. At this point in his life, I just dont see him contributing any more to us than we already get with May.

[Felton for Pres]

I'm kinda surprised he's sign here. Isn't he in the "contender only" mode at this stage?

[BigSlam]

So long as we don't "Othella Harrington" him, I really don't care either way. We should pay him little enough that we can afford to cut him at anytime if need be.

[chrbal]

Will he be a "derek anderson" or a "othella harrington"? Thats really kind of what it all boils down to.

He wasn't all that bad not to long ago, way back in the olden times of 06/07, but this isn't a move thats going to help this team drastically. Hopefully hes got something left and can help the young guys along.

Just tell me hes not getting a 2 year contract with a 3rd year team option when no one wanted him ( Thats what Othella Harrington got for those that didn't know). Thats all I ask.

[SteveMorrison15]

I suggested DA because he brings the knowledge of the game. DA and Juwan would help tell people where to stand in a Larry Brown type Defense.

This move will never make us crap ourselves, but it will give our team guidance out there.

Who else are we going to look up to? DO IT

[chrbal]

no i get that. This is how i rank the "cheap vets"
Derek Anderson- means Suprisingly helpful
Othella Harrington- means mostly pointless.
Jeff McInnis- means horrible trainwreck, get away fast.

I say offer PJ Brown the midlevel excemption for a year and see what happens.

[e4Nf6]

I imagine this is why we were keeping the roster spot open, Howard wanted to see if he could sign with a "contender" and when that didn't happen he went with us. (Isn't it nice to be wanted!)

As long as we don't give him too much money this is a nice move. Rebounding has been killing us all season and he can help with that. Chris Bosh, Rashard Lewis, etc. are going to basically have an open 15 footer every time he guards them, so we still have that problem, but one thing at a time. He can hit the little 12 foot jumper a la Joe Smith or PJ Brown so he isn't completely useless on offense, but not great either. Maybe between he and cookie (and Jinx developing) we can be OK at the 4, or at least stop hemorrhaging rebounds.

PJ Brown is incidentally, my all-time favorite basketball player. I think I would move back to Charlotte just to see him play.

[hotrod]

He's a pros pro. The guy is widely known as a hard worker and will contribute in a lot of ways that won't always show in the box score. I like the move. It's not sexy, but I'll take it for now.

[Bassman]

If this happens, it is more evidence of the limited world the Bob's inhabit. Our team is of little interest to any decent player, so we cannot attract free agents. Our players are too average to attract the right trade, so we cannot make one to get a significant PF. If we couldn't lean on the connections from our front office (MJ with the Wizards, Higgins with the Warriors) I don't suppose we'd get anything done.

If Howard comes, I don't think it impacts the team in a significant way. He might be worth an extra 5 wins versus our current roster, but that's not enough to compete for a playoff spot. How much can the guy still have in the tank?

I liken the (potential) signing to the Hornets days when they went and got Robert Parish. I was excited to have "THE CHIEF" in the house, and he'd have a decent game or 2. But watching him lumber up and down the court was almost painful. He played as hard as he could and with pride (something I suspect Howard would also do) but I can also see Juwan struggling to hang with today's big, athletic 4's, looking a bit like McMay after Weight Watchers.

[dmutombo321]

When I saw this on the observer, my first question was...... To what end?

Even in a best case scenario, the 2-4 wins he might help add would be insufficient to propel us to the post season - only sufficient to take away a few lottery balls that could mean the difference between blake griffin and hasheem thabeet.

Howard's a smart veteran and a classy guy. But he's the type of player that a 2-3rd round playoff team signs for depth to get them over the hump. Will the tutelage he provides to players like Ajinca and Hollins be more valuable to their developement than the actual floor time, in-game experience they would have otherwise been been getting had Howard not been taking their minutes?

[e4Nf6]

Could we please not talk about lottery balls until we are well and truly eliminated from the playoffs...

It's a double-edged sword with any move the cat's make. The moves that make us worse are bad because we lose, and the moves that make us better are bad because we lose lottery balls.

[BigSlam]

More on this:

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_n ... -be-s.html

Just got back from Bobcats' morning shootaround. General manager Rod Higgins says he anticipates Juwan Howard signing in time to participate in practice Friday in Charlotte