Big Al's Paint: The Al Jefferson Thread

[lmcguir5]

Hibbert is definitely better than Jefferson imo.

Yeah for sure. You could make the case Hibbert is the best center in the EC, and probably top 3 in the NBA

[Elden Payton]

Hibbert is definitely better than Jefferson imo.

Yeah for sure. You could make the case Hibbert is the best center in the EC, and probably top 3 in the NBA

At this point Hibbert is arguably the best C in the league.

The guy won't get the team success vote, he'll get the player success vote as the Pacers would not be near the team they are without him.

(inb4 Paul George)

[JDR720]

Al's offense is better than Hibbert's but Hibbert is better at everything else, but i'm surprised Hibbert doesn't shoot better (47% shooting) which is surprising considering he is huge

[lmcguir5]

Of these three Centers who would you pick for your team if you were a GM:

Roy Hibbert
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis

Keep in mind contract lengths, future cost, future improvement/regression

[Elden Payton]

Davis is a PF.

I'd take Hibbert over Dwight at this point considering contracts and personalities.

There is a vast difference between the Hibbert max and the Dwight max.

I'd probably take Davis over anyone not named Lebron presently.

[lmcguir5]

Davis is a PF.

I'd take Hibbert over Dwight at this point considering contracts and personalities.

There is a vast difference between the Hibbert max and the Dwight max.

I'd probably take Davis over anyone not named Lebron presently.

Well I consider Davis to be a fit for the Center, but fair enough. I suppose the money will stratify the Hibbert-Dwight conversation a little more than I previously thought, but even if Dwight made Hibbert money I would still take Hibbert. Attitude is much better for him than Dwight.

[JDR720]

of those 3 i would take Davis, he is better offensively than both of them and if/when he puts on some weight he'll be just as good on defense as those two are.....he is already a really good defender

[HornetJail]

Of these three Centers who would you pick for your team if you were a GM:

Roy Hibbert
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis

Keep in mind contract lengths, future cost, future improvement/regression

Andre Drummond

[Elden Payton]

Of these three Centers who would you pick for your team if you were a GM:

Roy Hibbert
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis

Keep in mind contract lengths, future cost, future improvement/regression

Andre Drummond

Drummond is the best C prospect in the league but he can't hold a candle to Davis imo.

Davis is going to be a great imo, if he can avoid too many injuries that is.

[HornetJail]

Of these three Centers who would you pick for your team if you were a GM:

Roy Hibbert
Dwight Howard
Anthony Davis

Keep in mind contract lengths, future cost, future improvement/regression

Andre Drummond

Drummond is the best C prospect in the league but he can't hold a candle to Davis imo.

Davis is going to be a great imo, if he can avoid too many injuries that is.

I don't disagree that Davis is going to be great if he's healthy, but that's the biggest problem.

On the flip side, Drummond is still so "raw" yet he is STILL averaging 13/13 with more than 1.5blk and 1.5spg and shooting 62% from the field. Wait till he figures out his free throws, gains some post moves, etc. The dude averages those numbers on pure strength, athleticism, and natural ability. I like Drummond more than Davis.

[Elden Payton]

I think it's his frame as much as anything this point with Davis, he weighs about 220.

He's currently averaging 19.22/10.22/1.44/1.61/3.28 on 51 percent from the field and 81 percent from the FT line.

The only thing imo that Drummond does better than Davis is rebound imo.

Aside from that Davis is clearly the superior player though, offensively and defensively imo.

Davis is still raw too and his raw is 20/10/3/1.5 which is much better than 13/13/1.5/1.5

[catch20two]

IDK I would take Drummond over Davis but you can't really go wrong with either. Drummond need to be surrounded by shooting and Davis need to a bigger frontcourt mate. They both are defensive anchors in their own right. Davis is the superior scorer while Drummond is more physically imposing. It's a matter of preference more than opinion.

[mrknowitall215]

I don't understand how the majority of the sports world condemned the Bobcats for signing Al Jefferson to a 3-year/$41 million contract, but commended the Timberwolves for retaining Nikola Pekovic with a 5-year/$60 million deal. I won't say that Jefferson is a better scorer than Pekovic because that's arguable, but he is the better rebounder, better passer, and coincidentally a better defender despite reputation.

Things pundits said about Charlotte signing Jefferson...

Tom Sunnergren of ESPN's TrueHoop Network: The Al Jefferson signing. Charlotte overpaid Jefferson so it could ... win 28 games instead of 24? Still miss the playoffs, but dent its odds of landing one of the future stars of the 2014 draft class? Continue its run as the worst team in the history of North American professional sports? Am I getting close?

Ben Golliver of NBA SI's The Point Forward: Will Jefferson’s dependable low-post game make the Bobcats more watchable? Yes, it should. But does Jefferson’s addition move Charlotte into position for a playoff spot this year, or next? The answer to that would seem to be a firm “no.” With that in mind, what was the point?

Kevin Pelton of ESPN Insider: Jefferson was in this same spot for a team with better young talent (Utah Jazz), and they didn't win a playoff game in three seasons. So I don't know about (Jefferson) being a building block. He may provide post scoring, but that's not really a weakness in the modern NBA. When your defense (for the signing) is that it doesn't "kill" the cap and doesn't make them a playoff team ... it's a bad signing. I probably would have saved my money and stayed put with this year's lottery coming up, but if I would have made a run at anyone, it would have been Pekovic. Pekovic is a much better defender, provides some of the same value in terms of post scoring and is younger to boot.



It's beyond official. ESPN hate the Bobcats

[mrknowitall215]

Maurice (Metro, SC)

Why didn't you include Al Jefferson for the Bobcats in your 'top offseason moves' piece? He's been playing like arguably a top-5 center so far. Do you not like to give the Bobcats no love or something?

Amin Elhassan | ESPN Insider (3:11 PM)

Yes, I hate the Bobcats so much I decided to include Josh McRoberts on my "best value deals" piece today (http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/ ... ayers-nba_. Gosh I hate Charlotte!

[JDR720]

ESPN hates all small market teams unless they're the Thunder

[fatlever]

re: wolves signing pekovic

i figure the pekovic signing was view more positively for the wolves because they wolves were in a definitely "win now" year or else they would risk losing kevin love. had they let pekovic get away, they probably wouldnt have been able to replace him with anyone nearly as good and love would have one foot out of minnesota.

however most analysts assumed the cats were still one year away from making a playoff push and figured jefferson was signed a year too early.

i dont really think it had anything to do with player value vs contracts. i think the commentary would have been the same had we signed pekovic for 5/60 and the wolves signed jefferson for 3/41.

[mrknowitall215]

re: wolves signing pekovic

i figure the pekovic signing was view more positively for the wolves because they wolves were in a definitely "win now" year or else they would risk losing kevin love. had they let pekovic get away, they probably wouldnt have been able to replace him with anyone nearly as good and love would have one foot out of minnesota.

however most analysts assumed the cats were still one year away from making a playoff push and figured jefferson was signed a year too early.

i dont really think it had anything to do with player value vs contracts. i think the commentary would have been the same had we signed pekovic for 5/60 and the wolves signed jefferson for 3/41.

Maybe, but I wonder when will people realize that having a superstar (Kevin Love) on your team doesn't necessarily mean 'win now'. It takes chemistry & complementary pieces more so than just displaced talent. Minnesota is long overdue for placing a rim protecting big next to Love in the frontcourt to makeshift for his lack of interior defense that they keep overlooking the real reason why they're not a playoff contender

[JazzMatt13]

Big All only got crap end of stick for being on Jazz. Now that he went to Bobcats nothing has changed.

There will only always be doubters, and the only one laughing now is Hornets Fans!!!


I thought he slowed our Pace too much, and didn't feel Jazz really had a spot for a post up guy like him, it wasn't him, but the rest the players who didn't seem to adjust. Big Al has a great line up who just seem to work. I know things would have been different if Big Al had Trey Burke for a PG, because he did great the year Jazz had a decent PG the entire season, which was 6 games above .500, and 8th place vs Spurs.

[Seven11]

For as good as Big Al is he don't get much respect around the league. If he can help us into the second round that should shut up the critics. But that's just wishful thinking.

[Elden Payton]

As good as Al is, there is a reason he's not valued particularly highly around the league.

He's better than most think but not as good as we think, if that makes sense.