Monster trade coming

[Captain_Caveman]

Lakers can offer Gasol and Bynum for Howard and either Arenas or Turkoglu.

That's doable if he is just gonna bolt to Jersey next year. It's also far less risky for Howard to not get the 5th year guaranteed than it is for Paul, given that he is an elite big man without the injury issues Paul has.

[humblebum]

I am with Sully, Bynum's contract situation (the fact that he's not signed long-term) would seem to be a nonstarter for Orlando. They're going to trade for a Center who they have to pay big dollars for in order to still suck and then risk losing him or having to pay him near max a year after acquiring him? That makes no sense. And neither does acquiring and paying Gasol when there are other teams out there who could offer expirings and young talent/picks. If Howard is dealt it's not going to be to the Lakers. In fact I think that the Clippers would be the major player for Howard if he's going to be traded. Starting with an S&T Jordan, Kaman and the Minnesota pick...

[Marvel]

Chandler's asking price is retardedly (Please Use More Appropriate Word). No way in hell, i'd throw that money at him.

[BfB]

I have watched Monta's whole career closely, and can't stand him. He is like Toine's (Please Use More Appropriate Word) mini-me.

An inefficient, undersized ball-stopper who avoids contact at all costs and who doesn't play defense. Terribly low BBIQ and situational awareness. He's a 1-on-1 player with a great first step and mid-range game, but that doesn't really have a value other than as a 6th man or a 5th best starter like Terry was last year.

If you play 48mpg and dominate the ball on a bad team, you will put up some stats, but I know for a fact that the Ws know they need to get rid of this guy to make real progress. Very telling that the rumors he is tied to right now are to Orlando for JRich/Bass, and to Utah for Millsap.

I like Curry a lot. Monta is holding him back, and that is why you see his name being attached to much more important players.

A bit unfair to call him inefficient and someone who avoids all costs when he was 5th at his position in getting to the FT line, 1st in efficiency at the basket, and ranks tied for 9th with Kobe for overall shooting efficiency at his position. He's above average efficiency with the 2nd most demanding usage rate and MPG of any player at his position. He's asked to do too much on a team with constant fluctuation in personnel and very little consistent offensive support.

He's improved his passing every year he's been in the league and he has been asked to be Kobe Bryant for that team since the first day he began starting. Shot selection has never been a hallmark of that Warriors team - Nellie-ball encouraged "every shot is a good shot" mentality. I find it hard to put blanket criticism on someone for playing the role he's been given - I've seen him win quite a few games with 4th quarter heroics too.

Monta has his issues to be sure, he use to be a scrappy pest defensively but it was bred out of him in GSW's fun-n-gun offense IMO. His mercurial personality and diminutive size hurts his market, but I believe a new system and new role within that system can further improve his efficiency. He's never played with a quality front court, nor has he had a consistent wing-mate to play with - Curry being in and out of the lineup constantly last year.

Overall, this criticism sounds a bit too much like emotionally motivated bias than a true balanced assessment of his game - there is indisputably some quality elements there. Its always been primarily fears involving communication and clear understanding of his motivations that have made him a ? within and without the organization.

The incident with his leg injury is the only off-court issue he's ever had & that was a motorcycle accident I believe - bad judgment, but hardly high level stuff considering other "off court" issues we've seen.

I think he's underrated frankly, because he's quite and not highly marketable. People don't "like" him because he's got zero personality and doesn't chase endorsements or attention. He's a simple kid from Mississippi....that's my 2 cents....

[pac213up]

Looks like Golden State is out.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... iors-curry

[Celtic Esquire]

Looks like Golden State is out.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=A ... iors-curry

Didn't Ainge tell Rondo that he was "our guy?"

I don't believe a word coming out of anyone's mouth.

[leper-con]

What is fascinating about this trade talk is that most rumours are coming from sources not named ESPN. They are followers on this. Usually Chad Ford is well connected to Danny and has information but none has been coming. It has all been from CBS or Yahoo or rondo to rondo.

[Captain_Caveman]

A bit unfair to call him inefficient and someone who avoids all costs when he was 5th at his position in getting to the FT line, 1st in efficiency at the basket, and ranks tied for 9th with Kobe for overall shooting efficiency at his position. He's above average efficiency with the 2nd most demanding usage rate and MPG of any player at his position. He's asked to do too much on a team with constant fluctuation in personnel and very little consistent offensive support.

He's improved his passing every year he's been in the league and he has been asked to be Kobe Bryant for that team since the first day he began starting. Shot selection has never been a hallmark of that Warriors team - Nellie-ball encouraged "every shot is a good shot" mentality. I find it hard to put blanket criticism on someone for playing the role he's been given - I've seen him win quite a few games with 4th quarter heroics too.

Monta has his issues to be sure, he use to be a scrappy pest defensively but it was bred out of him in GSW's fun-n-gun offense IMO. His mercurial personality and diminutive size hurts his market, but I believe a new system and new role within that system can further improve his efficiency. He's never played with a quality front court, nor has he had a consistent wing-mate to play with - Curry being in and out of the lineup constantly last year.

Overall, this criticism sounds a bit too much like emotionally motivated bias than a true balanced assessment of his game - there is indisputably some quality elements there. Its always been primarily fears involving communication and clear understanding of his motivations that have made him a ? within and without the organization.

The incident with his leg injury is the only off-court issue he's ever had & that was a motorcycle accident I believe - bad judgment, but hardly high level stuff considering other "off court" issues we've seen.

I think he's underrated frankly, because he's quite and not highly marketable. People don't "like" him because he's got zero personality and doesn't chase endorsements or attention. He's a simple kid from Mississippi....that's my 2 cents....

I hear you, brother... but the irony is that you could make almost that exact same post to defend Antoine in 2003 or whatever. Pretty sure I did myself, actually. "Emotionally motivated bias" of his critics that said he just didn't play the game the right way, a bevy of stats that showed how productive he was -- especially for his position, excuses about how many roles he filled on a mostly talentless team that had some gimmick coaches, not a guy who got in trouble off the floor, all the arena guys love him, shows up every night, how he actually helped Pierce be a better player via taking some of the attention off of him, but just not a poster child for NBA marketing, etc...

But the bottom line is that, however visceral their reaction to him was, his critics were right. Metastats are helpful, but they aren't real math. Sample size is too small, with too many unaccounted for variables. They can easily obscure what anyone can see with their own eyes. In hindsight, anyone can see that Antoine was a gunner who was out only for himself. He might win you one game out of 4, but the rest of the time, he was at best net neutral, and more often, a net negative. Perhaps mostly importantly, his ball-dominant style and good-but-not-great talent greatly impeded the development of younger players and overall team play, while putting a ceiling on how good they could ever be. He was never anything more than a 6th man on a real team.

Monta has led the league in FG attempts two years in a row. I don't care who is injured or how many minutes he plays, his talent level does not warrant that. Half his assists are the "I just got cut off with 5 seconds left in the clock, you take it" variety rather than within the flow of the game. For every act of crunch time heroism, there are five where he just sh-ts the bed and makes bad decisions. Their record reflects this.

Not a smart player, not a tough player, and undersized for his position. When the game tightens up in the last two minutes, his value drops by half IMO. From watching that team closely, the best that they look is when Curry is running the show, and they start moving it around and getting everyone involved. You can see where they can build upon that, and you can see in their body language who they like playing with and who they don't.

We didn't lose much without Antoine, and it cleared the way for us to develop prospects that we cashed in for a title team. Doesn't happen if he stays, and it won't happen to them if Monta does.

And they know this. Or Jerry West does, at least.

[BfB]

I'll reserve judgment on the Ellis-is-Antoine debate until I see him in a new situation. I've watched him quite a bit too and I usually don't have a huge affinity for chuckers. There's something about his game that doesn't allow me to lump him into that category.

This isn't casual observation - i've probably watched 90% of his NBA games in addition to studying his game breakdown statistically. I don't like everything about his game, but I don't see Antoine Walker either. GSW is a team near and dear to my heart - i think if they hated his game that much they wouldn't have hesitated to void his contract, nor would they play him 40 mpg either. There's ways to control a player's performance on the court - the team has clearly supported Monta's usage rate through strategy, at least to some extent.

We'll see - he falls into the Zach Randolph/Al Jefferson category to me - you "cannot win" with these guys at all.....until you do because they slot their talents into an actual quality environment for the first time in their lives.

Antoine even proved he could do that in both Dallas and in MIA before his career bought the farm.

[Captain_Caveman]

OP deserves a bump for this in light of Broussard reporting that we offered Rondo for Curry back in December.

[Marley2Hendrix]

OP deserves a bump for this in light of Broussard reporting that we offered Rondo for Curry back in December.

Yep, Kudos sir.