Chad Ford predicting David Lee to the Jazz.

[Jazzfan12]

In a sign-and-trade with the Knicks for Boozer.


http://twitter.com/chadfordinsider/status/17368995540


Can't teach white? I think David Lee would be a smarter move than Boozer. Less injury risk plus a pick-and-roll player who's never had a near adequate point guard plus is learning how to shoot threes (Which will draw the Lakers' bigs out of the paint) plus is an excellent passer. One of the worst defenders in the league but

[stevebozell]

I like parts of Lees game, but he plays as little or even less defense than Boozer does, and doesnt have any back to the basket game at all.

[HolyToledo]

Im ok with it bc Lee is a better alround player than Boozer as well as much more durable. He can play center leaving Memo off the bench. Not the shot blocking center I would want as he is really a PF but can play center more effectively than Boozer.

Im a little concerned how "white" the team would be after drafting Hayward and then this proposed deal. Neither is a good defender per say but Lee will defend better than Boozer.

I would a sign and trade for someone like Kaman or Biedrens who also happen to be white. LOL

[stevebozell]

Neither is a good defender per say but Lee will defend better than Boozer.

Actually he is worse than Boozer, by quite alot.

[HammerDunk]

Lee is NOT a better basketball player than Boozer. This would be a downgrade, but depending on the salary range, it may be OK. If we can get him for 3-4 mil cheaper than Boozer, it will be a good deal.

[jazzfan1971]

Two years ago the defense was about even. But, last year Boozer was an average defender where Lee was still a poor defender.

Of course Lee 'might' be better at defense if he was playing the 4. But, he might be worse too.

[stevebozell]

Lee is NOT a better basketball player than Boozer. This would be a downgrade, but depending on the salary range, it may be OK. If we can get him for 3-4 mil cheaper than Boozer, it will be a good deal.

+1

I also like parts of Lees game, especially in this type of system (though his numbers I think have been inflated in D'Antoni's system). So for the right price, I would be cool with it.

[HolyToledo]

I consider Boozer the worst defense player in the league. I am prejudice against him in that regard because he never helps on defense. one on one Boozer and Lee maybe comparable defensively but in regards to help defense I consider Boozer the worst in the league. Boozer is so bad he makes Memo look decent defensively!

[carrottop12]

I would be interested to see what Lee can do next to a player like Deron Williams. I'd also like to see if his defense changes when he's playing with a coach that believes in playing defense.

I'd do a sign in trade in order to avoid losing Boozer for nothing, but I wouldn't want to give him more tahn 10-12 million a year at most. He and Millsap would be fun to watch in the paint together though.

[dr0welf]

I'm not a fan of Lee so I say HELL NO. But that's my preference and not based off more then opinion.

[carrottop12]

Lee's defensive rating is worse, but the difference between his Defensive rating and his offensive rating was actually larger than Boozer's last year. They are nearly identical rebounders as far as percentage goes, though Boozer is a better traditional rebounder i.e. Boxing out, getting position.

[StocktonShorts]

We're so close to the whitewash I can almost taste it.

[hoops4life]

I doubt this happens. I hate to bash the white guys but this is just furthering the stereotype of the Jazz and white guys. I don't get it. Fans in Utah love the Jazz & their players, no matter the color of their skin. The fans want hard working players more than anything.

Depending on the pay, I think I could buy it... doesn't mean that I will like it.

To those saying that D'Antoni's system inflates Lee's numbers, I would say the same system deflates his defense ability too. D'Antoni has never been big on D or put any stress on playing it whatsoever. I would imagine/hope that he would play better D in a system different system and with a coach that cares about D.

[Awoooga]

As a knicks fan I am not sure how I feel about the trade. Now, I am not the biggest David Lee fan but I am not big fan of Boozer either. I am particularly concerned about Boozer's injury history.

Here's the deal with David Lee. Lee gets a really bad rap on realgm. I won't speculate as to why but many posters look past his numbers and see him as a hustle player who puts up empty stats. That might have been true of the 06-07 David Lee but it is not true about the current version.

Lee is a tremendously versatile PF. He handles the ball extremely well and is an excellent passing big man. He was handling the ball up top at the end of last year and did a great job getting the offense moving. Lee also is great at scoring within the flow of the game. He does not always need to dominate the action and is a great from a ball movement prospective.

To clear something up, the best thing about Lee is not his rebounding, it is his work ethic. Lee came into the league as an undersized hustle player. He would score on put backs and fast breaks. Now Lee has an very good jumper out to 18 feet and can take players off the dribble going left or right. Oh, and by the way, he can rebound and he is durable.

His flaw is defense but I think alot of that was magnified due to him playing out of position without any help in NY. Would I trade Boozer for Lee? If we could get Lebron than yes, otherwise I would not not. Lee's skill set is very good for our system and if we could get a legit center to play next to him, he would really thrive. Boozer is a good player but I do not trust him to stay healthy over a 4-5 year contract.

In sum, if a Lee for Boozer deal would go down, I think you guys should feel pretty fortunate because you are getting one hell of a player. Don't be fooled by stereotypes and hate on realgm, Lee is the real deal.

[carrottop12]

Lee is probably the most ideal switch off for the Jazz if we lose Boozer imo. Obviously we aren't in the running for Bosh or Amare, and with Boozer likely to leave I think the Jazz would be extremely fortunate to grab Lee. He has his flaws, but he's a very legit big man who would better the Jazz over the life of his contract.

[CAE15]

Lee is stretching his game to the 3 point range. Taking 500 per day. Also I agree that maybe with a coach like sloan he could be motivated enough to learn how to play defense well. Not to mention he's younger then boozer. Hell we could also probably play him at the 3 at times. Im for David Lee in Utah, we had interest in him last year so who knows, maybe this has some legs to actually happen.

[Fido]

I can't get to twitter from work so maybe the link has more detail in it but....

It doesn't make sense to me to sign and trade Boozer for Lee where New York is also doing a sign and trade. Why wouldn't each team just outright sign the player? I don't buy the argument that each would be looking to add the extra year and extra money to get these guys.

[LjJazzman]

I can't get to twitter from work so maybe the link has more detail in it but....

It doesn't make sense to me to sign and trade Boozer for Lee where New York is also doing a sign and trade. Why wouldn't each team just outright sign the player? I don't buy the argument that each would be looking to add the extra year and extra money to get these guys.

Chad doesnt say sign and trade, the original poster said that....

I agree with you, each team would just sign them.

[jazzfan1971]

NY would do it if they like Boozer more than Lee and think Boozer could help them pull in another big free agent more than Lee.

Utah would do it to salvage teh whole situation.

Boozer and Lee would do it to get mroe money/years.

Seems to have some pluses to all sides to me.

[Matt007b]

I like it more than the beasley idea.

I would still try to resign boozer or structure the contract to take the pain away this year for going over the cap. BUT if all fails, Lee's numbers are much like boozers and he would be much cheaper.