Trevor Booker starting permanently could fix this team

[Dark Faze]

Positives:

- More court spacing for Wall
- Better rebounding
- Sharper execution for the starting unit. Nene is a guy who likes to pass and create for others, and Gortat can be much the same way, and we know Wall is that guy too. Too many guys trying to command an offense results in wasted time and overpassing.
- Nenes full skillset can be best used on the bench. Going against lesser talent he'll be more effective. He loves to hold the ball at the high post with the offense running through him to create opportunities for others. It should increase the effectiveness of our guys who can't create on their own.
- Nene can survive a season like this. Less minutes. Banging against lesser talent. He should be much healthier.

When you bring Book off the bench you're basically wasting him. He's a guy who thrives in the chaos of a well functioning offense. When he comes off the bench he's just another guy out there.

I really hope Witt does the right thing. What do you guys think? I really think this change could result in us locking up the third seed with a respectable record (not just .500, but a decent amount over that).

[Dat2U]

No no no. He's a 20 minute backup who can't stay healthy, is a terrible P&R defender and contrary to what you say, doesn't space the floor any better than Nene.

Just because he looks good against certain matchups doesn't mean he's capable as a full time starter. Line him up against some of the bigger PFs in the league and were suddenly at a distinct disadvantage.

[Dark Faze]

Nonsense, of course he spaces the floor better--he's a smaller body that isn't constantly standing around the high post trying trying to make plays. Spacing the floor isn't just about hitting jumpshots.

As for his health, I can't argue his injury history, you just have to hope he's gotten past it.

When I say starter I mean in the starting lineup--I never said anything about minute allocation.

The stats say Book is good. 112 ORTG 103 DRTG--this matches the eye test, TRB of 17--matches the eyetest when he gets decent minutes.

[willbcocks]

Maynor is an even smaller body, and not only does he not try to make plays in the high post, he doesn't try to make them anywhere. Why not put him as PF to imrpove the spacing?

[Dat2U]

Nonsense, of course he spaces the floor better--he's a smaller body that isn't constantly standing around the high post trying trying to make plays. Spacing the floor isn't just about hitting jumpshots.

As for his health, I can't argue his injury history, you just have to hope he's gotten past it.

When I say starter I mean in the starting lineup--I never said anything about minute allocation.

The stats say Book is good. 112 ORTG 103 DRTG--this matches the eye test, TRB of 17--matches the eyetest when he gets decent minutes.

He can stand on the perimeter all he wants, no one is concerned about Booker in the high post. To space the floor, it requires the defense to at least respect your ability to hurt you from out there.

And being a starter isn't just about the minutes allocation. It's about actually going against starters as opposed to weaker backups off the bench. Booker doesn't match up well with a lot of starting PFs in the league.

[Rafael122]

Nonsense, of course he spaces the floor better--he's a smaller body that isn't constantly standing around the high post trying trying to make plays. Spacing the floor isn't just about hitting jumpshots.

As for his health, I can't argue his injury history, you just have to hope he's gotten past it.

When I say starter I mean in the starting lineup--I never said anything about minute allocation.

The stats say Book is good. 112 ORTG 103 DRTG--this matches the eye test, TRB of 17--matches the eyetest when he gets decent minutes.

He's not a starter, but he can def play 15-20 minutes off the bench. If he keeps it up, and he stays healthy, he's definitely someone I would bring back next season.

[Hypnotizer]

Find 10 differences:

[sashae]

[barelyawake]

A smart GM would keep pumping up Booker's trade value, package him with Porter (and filler), and get us a real star big. I like Booker, but we don't have the defensive center to cover for his defensive liability (against good teams). He is much like AJ was. Nifty hook shot. Nice leadership/toughness during dips. But, he will get burned repeatedly in the playoffs. And he's not as smart as AJ.

[payitforward]

No no no. He's a 20 minute backup who can't stay healthy, is a terrible P&R defender and contrary to what you say, doesn't space the floor any better than Nene.

Just because he looks good against certain matchups doesn't mean he's capable as a full time starter. Line him up against some of the bigger PFs in the league and were suddenly at a distinct disadvantage.

Sorry, Dat, but on this subject you are wrong.

Booker is the top rebounder per minute on our team -- by a fair amount! And especially offensive rebounds.

He also has the 2d best Ortg and the 3d best Drtg on the team. He has the highest FG% on the team (and the 3d highest eFG%).

As to "can't stay healthy" -- how is that relevant? Obviously you don't start him when he's injured!

Booker is not a great player; I'm not suggesting we can stand pat at the 4 because we have Trevor Booker! But, right now, he's the best 4 on the team by far. And he is playing a lot better than Nene, that is certain!

[Dat2U]

A smart GM would keep pumping up Booker's trade value, package him with Porter (and filler), and get us a real star big. I like Booker, but we don't have the defensive center to cover for his defensive liability (against good teams). He is much like AJ was. Nifty hook shot. Nice leadership/toughness during dips. But, he will get burned repeatedly in the playoffs. And he's not as smart as AJ.

Good point about Booker becoming a semi useful trade chip. Too bad selling high isn't one of Ernie's strengths.

[payitforward]

A smart GM would keep pumping up Booker's trade value, package him with Porter (and filler), and get us a real star big. I like Booker, but we don't have the defensive center to cover for his defensive liability (against good teams). He is much like AJ was. Nifty hook shot. Nice leadership/toughness during dips. But, he will get burned repeatedly in the playoffs. And he's not as smart as AJ.

LOL!!

I mean... I just wrote a post praising Booker, but that'd have to be some "filler" to get a "real star big" for him and an untested rookie! Whom do you have in mind?

As to a smart GM pumping up his value -- can you tell me where to find that kind of pump? All the team FOs look at all the players all the time.

Finally, your comparison for Booker is Antawn Jamison? Really?

[Ruzious]

Booker's a solid backup - when healthy - no better, no worse.

Yes, he's a good rebounder, but the team does significantly worse - both offensively and defensively (especially defensively) - when he's on the floor. The team does significantly better - both offensively and defensively - when Nene is on the floor.

[Dat2U]

No no no. He's a 20 minute backup who can't stay healthy, is a terrible P&R defender and contrary to what you say, doesn't space the floor any better than Nene.

Just because he looks good against certain matchups doesn't mean he's capable as a full time starter. Line him up against some of the bigger PFs in the league and were suddenly at a distinct disadvantage.

Sorry, Dat, but on this subject you are wrong.

Booker is the top rebounder per minute on our team -- by a fair amount! And especially offensive rebounds.

He also has the 2d best Ortg and the 3d best Drtg on the team. He has the highest FG% on the team (and the 3d highest eFG%).

As to "can't stay healthy" -- how is that relevant? Obviously you don't start him when he's injured!

Booker is not a great player; I'm not suggesting we can stand pat at the 4 because we have Trevor Booker! But, right now, he's the best 4 on the team by far. And he is playing a lot better than Nene, that is certain!

Just because a guy performs well in a specific role doesn't mean that he's capable of handling more. Booker is a solid backup, when healthy. But there are specific issues that stats won't necessarily show and those have been discussed ad nauseam.

Another way to look at it is consistency. There's no consistency with Booker's performances. From night to night the variance in his performance is often based on the particular matchup. Booker does well against shorter PFs, against bigger PFs he can disappear for long stretches.

And being someone that "can't stay healthy" is very relevant. Look at Nene. You have to be careful with how you use him because he's fragile and has a lot of wear & tear. Same with Booker, maybe not the wear & tear but it's only a matter of time before he gets banged up again... especially playing him more minutes against starters were he'll take more of a physical pounding. If a guy has shown an inability to handle a larger role most of his career, why suddenly ask him to do things that might be beyond his scope? Because we don't have any better options that we like? That's a mistake, Booker is a solid backup who can start against certain matchups but asking him to do more would likely backfire.

[barelyawake]

A smart GM would keep pumping up Booker's trade value, package him with Porter (and filler), and get us a real star big. I like Booker, but we don't have the defensive center to cover for his defensive liability (against good teams). He is much like AJ was. Nifty hook shot. Nice leadership/toughness during dips. But, he will get burned repeatedly in the playoffs. And he's not as smart as AJ.

Good point about Booker becoming a semi useful trade chip. Too bad selling high isn't one of Ernie's strengths.

And that's my biggest worry for the future. I have this feeling that instead of building up trade values and cashing in, we will cling on to what we have and overrate our future. Doc's tirade. Same thing I've been screaming all summer.

PIF obviously has turned to numbers because they don't scream at him (and/or ignore him) unlike everyone else in his life...

[Rafael122]

A smart GM would keep pumping up Booker's trade value, package him with Porter (and filler), and get us a real star big. I like Booker, but we don't have the defensive center to cover for his defensive liability (against good teams). He is much like AJ was. Nifty hook shot. Nice leadership/toughness during dips. But, he will get burned repeatedly in the playoffs. And he's not as smart as AJ.

Good point about Booker becoming a semi useful trade chip. Too bad selling high isn't one of Ernie's strengths.

And that's my biggest worry for the future. I have this feeling that instead of building up trade values and cashing in, we will cling on to what we have and overrate our future. Doc's tirade. Same thing I've been screaming all summer.

PIF obviously has turned to numbers because they don't scream at him (and/or ignore him) unlike everyone else in his life...

Ernie did fleece the Lakers in the Kwame-Caron trade, and that whole Hinrich swinging it into Seraphin trade was solid too. It can happen...

[barelyawake]

Yeah Raf, but those are small trades. And I would suggest the move with Kwame should have been to recognize much earlier that he was a bust and trade him for a franchise player. The kind of trades we need are risky. The risk is blowing up what we have for something better down the road. Or risking getting nothing by planning to have cap to get a Durant. I just don't see this management doing the risky.

[JWizmentality]

Hell no!! Good backup and good rebounder but don't make him out into something he's not. He does well when the matchup is in his favor like a poor rebounding Nets team but gets completely undressed with a solid front court. I cringe remembering how Drummond and Monroe shat on him all game.

[Dat2U]

Good point about Booker becoming a semi useful trade chip. Too bad selling high isn't one of Ernie's strengths.

And that's my biggest worry for the future. I have this feeling that instead of building up trade values and cashing in, we will cling on to what we have and overrate our future. Doc's tirade. Same thing I've been screaming all summer.

PIF obviously has turned to numbers because they don't scream at him (and/or ignore him) unlike everyone else in his life...

Ernie did fleece the Lakers in the Kwame-Caron trade, and that whole Hinrich swinging it into Seraphin trade was solid too. It can happen...

Did you the Kwame/Caron trade was back in 2005?

How long does a guy get to live off the rep of one deal?

Those Hinrich swaps meant absolutely nothing long term to us. I was a big to-do about nothing and said as much at that time... it was poorly executed BYOD deal and a poor allocation resources.

So much for Hinrich mentoring Wall.

So much for getting some long term pieces for development (see Seraphin and see JCraw who got flipped for an unhealed torn ACL and Jason Collins' opened closet).

[Ruzious]

The good point that Dark Faze sort of alluded to is that putting Nene on the second unit would improve the second unit immensely. They'd have someone they can run the offense through as well as defend well.