Hey everyone! Let's talk about Kirk Hinrich!

[fishercob]

Press conference starting momentarily here: http://www.nba.com/wizards/multimedia/p ... 00726.html

[fishercob]

LOL, Ernie called him "Kurt" about 15 seconds in.

[fishercob]

Ernie mentions that "Kurt" was drafted one pick before Milwaukee's pick when he was drafted and that the Bucks would have taken him if he'd slipped. Say he can play with Wall or Gil, and that he has also defended the 3-spot successfully in stretches.

To be honest, I really have no idea what we're getting in this guy. His numbers indicate someone who is declining offensively, but he brings a solemn toughness that we've been sorely lacking. He's going to have plenty of opportunities to help, since he'll nearly always have an uber-talented backcourt mate by his side and will spend a decent amount of time matched up against backups.

[nate33]

It seems to me that his production dropped once he was moved to SG. Kirby is a PG. I don't think he'll play that well alongside Wall. He should be good alongside either Arenas or Young though.

[fishercob]

It seems to me that his production dropped once he was moved to SG. Kirby is a PG. I don't think he'll play that well alongside Wall. He should be good alongside either Arenas or Young though.

Speaking of Young, Ernie mentioned the term "three guard rotation" at least once, maybe twice. I continue to sense that they're not planning big minutes for Young, at least at the 2. Maybe he'll have the opportunity to earn minutes at SF though. He certainly brings an element there that we don't have.

[Dat2U]

It seems to me that his production dropped once he was moved to SG. Kirby is a PG. I don't think he'll play that well alongside Wall. He should be good alongside either Arenas or Young though.

I remember reading the breakdown on his numbers at bulletsforever (I think) and it showed that he was best at spotting up & shooting. When asked to make decisions with the ball he really struggled, especially at the P&R. Just seems like his PG skills has really declined, as evidenced by the inability or unwillingness to attack the basket as he did when he first came into the league. I suspect he'll do best playing off the ball next to either Wall or Gil.

I still don't really see a need for a $17 million dollar mentor / spot up shooter but oh well. He should have plenty of open looks for us so he's got a chance to put up some good numbers if he can knock them down consistently.

[fishercob]

Dat, I'm not wild about those salary numbers in absolute terms myself. I think you have to look at the opportunity cost though -- specifically, what if anything did we/are we miss out on by having Kirk's deal on the books? Tough call.

I hope he plays his ass off out of the gate, but that it's clear he's nothing more than a luxury because Gil and Wall are playing extremely well too. Perhaps we could get an expiring and some kind of small asset for him from a team who needs his type of player, has injury, etc.

[Ruzious]

His job is as much helping with the development of the young players as it is to produce on the court. And if you looked at Rose at the beginning of the season vs Rose at the end of the season, I think you saw a much improved player, so he's already got a track record. And since the Wiz future pretty much depends on Wall becoming a great player, I'm sure the Wiz are happy to have Hinrich. But even if you don't give a damn about that, if you hate the trade that means that effectively you don't care to have Seraphin on the team.

[Donkey McDonkerton]

Just needed to fill our token quota...YAY!

[Kanyewest]

Press conference starting momentarily here: http://www.nba.com/wizards/multimedia/p ... 00726.html

The Wizards need a better camera.

[dobrojim]

in a perverse kinda way, it's almost as if the pressure of
his trade falls more on Seraphin than on KH. Seraphin
is the guy we really wanted paid the price for. Despite
all the talk and platitudes, the success/failure of this
trade will probably come down more on what happens
with KS than on KR. That's assuming Wall and Gil stay
reasonably healthy.

Wonder how N1 is feeling after hearing EG talk about
a 3 guard rotation and his name not being mentioned.
I assume that was a deliberate move by EG.

[dlts20]

Lets face it though, it basically will be a 3 guard rotation no matter how much they like NY. If Gil plays 36-38mpg & Wall plays 34-36mpg, then that only leaves 22-26mpg for the 3rd guard. You probably will give that to Kirk and I think they want to maybe use Nick as the backup SF to Thorton. Give Al 30 & NY 18. Let Yi be the backup for Dray & McGee in a 3 man rotation unless you think Booker is ready.

[Ruzious]

Lets face it though, it basically will be a 3 guard rotation no matter how much they like NY. If Gil plays 36-38mpg & Wall plays 34-36mpg, then that only leaves 22-26mpg for the 3rd guard. You probably will give that to Kirk and I think they want to maybe use Nick as the backup SF to Thorton. Give Al 30 & NY 18. Let Yi be the backup for Dray & McGee in a 3 man rotation unless you think Booker is ready.

Yeah, if Kent and Nick both play well, I think Flip will make sure everyone gets PT - even if that means using Nick at the 3 - or going with a "3 guard offense". (I like how they call it a 3 guard offense - and not a 3 guard defense, but I digress.) If we had a couple of monster rebounders, a 3 guard offense might work well, but McGee, Blatche, and Yi don't exactly fit that bill - maybe Seraphin?

[Cliff Levingston]

His job is as much helping with the development of the young players as it is to produce on the court. And if you looked at Rose at the beginning of the season vs Rose at the end of the season, I think you saw a much improved player, so he's already got a track record. And since the Wiz future pretty much depends on Wall becoming a great player, I'm sure the Wiz are happy to have Hinrich. But even if you don't give a damn about that, if you hate the trade that means that effectively you don't care to have Seraphin on the team.

Rose's development had little to do with Hinrich. Rose was fighting an ankle injury early in the season that took about a month to fully heal. Then, after a game against the Lakers, Kobe took Rose aside and told him that he needs to assert himself more offensively because he was the only one on our team who could. Hinrich though, unlike Gordon, didn't dominate the ball as much as Gordon did the year prior, so that helps a little bit. It's hard to say Hinrich helped Rose defensively as well since Rose was pretty bad defensively last year.

Hinrich's value is not in his numbers, but his team-first willingness to sacrifice his game for the better of the team. He never made a peep when the Bulls brought in Rose at his position nor when he was benched for the better of the team two seasons ago. He plays his heart out defensively and takes good care of the ball when he has it in his hands. He's the consummate teammate and will do whatever the team needs him to do to the best of his abilities.

He's a decent but very streaky shooter. He'll have entire games where he can't find the rim, and others where he can't miss it. He's better at shooting off a step or off the dribble than just spotting up. He absolutely cannot break guys down off the dribble other than a crossover he uses to create a little space for his jumper. He's not aggressive at all in attacking and cannot finish at the rim to save his life. If he's running a pick and roll or looking to make a play, he'll pound the ball for way too long leading to a bad bail-out shot sometimes.

[Ruzious]

Again, I think it's the professionalism that Hinrich brings that the Wiz are looking for in Ken - moreso than any particular skill.

[Kanyewest]

His job is as much helping with the development of the young players as it is to produce on the court. And if you looked at Rose at the beginning of the season vs Rose at the end of the season, I think you saw a much improved player, so he's already got a track record. And since the Wiz future pretty much depends on Wall becoming a great player, I'm sure the Wiz are happy to have Hinrich. But even if you don't give a damn about that, if you hate the trade that means that effectively you don't care to have Seraphin on the team.

Kirk Hinrich on "mentoring" former No. 1 pick Derrick Rose in CHI: "I got too much credit for that. He's gooood."

[Ruzious]

His job is as much helping with the development of the young players as it is to produce on the court. And if you looked at Rose at the beginning of the season vs Rose at the end of the season, I think you saw a much improved player, so he's already got a track record. And since the Wiz future pretty much depends on Wall becoming a great player, I'm sure the Wiz are happy to have Hinrich. But even if you don't give a damn about that, if you hate the trade that means that effectively you don't care to have Seraphin on the team.

Kirk Hinrich on "mentoring" former No. 1 pick Derrick Rose in CHI: "I got too much credit for that. He's gooood."

Exactly the kind of response I'd want and expect from a pro like Karl.

[DCZards]

Hinrich's value is not in his numbers, but his team-first willingness to sacrifice his game for the better of the team. He never made a peep when the Bulls brought in Rose at his position nor when he was benched for the better of the team two seasons ago. He plays his heart out defensively and takes good care of the ball when he has it in his hands. He's the consummate teammate and will do whatever the team needs him to do to the best of his abilities.

I don't know what, if any, role Kirk had with mentoring Rose, but it's his toughness, defense and team-first approach that I like. And, it's my guess, it's also what EG, Flip and the Zards like about him as well. Playing good D and taking care of the ball is exactly what is needed to complement a backcourt that features GA and Wall.

I wonder if Kirk will ask the Zards to take down the poster of him being "posterized" by Gil with that playoff game winner in 2005? I have the poster on my basement wall. Kinda ironic looking at it now that Hinrich is going to be in a Zard uni.

[Kanyewest]

Rose's development had little to do with Hinrich. Rose was fighting an ankle injury early in the season that took about a month to fully heal. Then, after a game against the Lakers, Kobe took Rose aside and told him that he needs to assert himself more offensively because he was the only one on our team who could. Hinrich though, unlike Gordon, didn't dominate the ball as much as Gordon did the year prior, so that helps a little bit. It's hard to say Hinrich helped Rose defensively as well since Rose was pretty bad defensively last year.

Hinrich's value is not in his numbers, but his team-first willingness to sacrifice his game for the better of the team. He never made a peep when the Bulls brought in Rose at his position nor when he was benched for the better of the team two seasons ago. He plays his heart out defensively and takes good care of the ball when he has it in his hands. He's the consummate teammate and will do whatever the team needs him to do to the best of his abilities.

He's a decent but very streaky shooter. He'll have entire games where he can't find the rim, and others where he can't miss it. He's better at shooting off a step or off the dribble than just spotting up. He absolutely cannot break guys down off the dribble other than a crossover he uses to create a little space for his jumper. He's not aggressive at all in attacking and cannot finish at the rim to save his life. If he's running a pick and roll or looking to make a play, he'll pound the ball for way too long leading to a bad bail-out shot sometimes.

I think Rose was a bad defender simply because he was a rookie and wasn't used to exerting that much energy on both ends of the court. A general trend that I've noticed is that 19 year old rookies get better as they age. Guess what? John Wall, barring injury, is going to get better year after year. Perhaps Hinrich can lead by example, although I wonder if Rose would've picked up tricks of the trade from Lindsey Hunter.

I like the fact that Hinrich is a really good perimeter defender who is capable of knocking down an open jumper (although not significantly enough IMO). But he has limitations. He's not a dynamic point guard. I don't think he shoots the ball enough a la Mike Miller and passes up good looks for worse looks for his teammates. He's not going to get great penetration at the basket to create open looks/rebounding lanes, finish at the basket, or draw fouls on a consistent basis. He can't create his own shot. Basically he's an above average jump shooter.

Hinrich is a very good role player for a championship caliber team because of his defense, and ability to knock down open shots. Basically he sounds like Antawn Jamison, for a championship caliber team he should come off the bench, only he is willing to accept his role especially behind guys like Wall and Arenas. That being said, for Hinrich to work here means that guys like Arenas, Wall, and Blache will have to carry a majority of the offensive load.

[Rafael122]

Ernie basically said he's had a hard on for this guy since he was taken a pick ahead of the Bucks that one year.

Kirk Hinrich is a tough gritty veteran, he's super smart and will play his guts out. Plus we needed to meet our token white guy quota since Fab Oberto left.