Fried Chicken and Bonghits: The Al Jefferson Thread 2.0

[catch20two]

Still like the "Could of had Paul Millsap for less - The Al Jefferson Thread"

I wonder if we would have signed Millsap, if we would have drafted Noel instead of Zeller. Damn, that lineup would have been soooo much better.

"Still Should of drafted Noel instead of Zeller because he's better" thread should be made. I'd post in that one a lot.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Should have*

Come on, two posts in a row.

[catch20two]

Shoulda coulda woulda. I ain't writing no English essay where I gotta be proper. I post in here how I talk. I save all the professionalism for those arenas. I graduated with my bachelors degree over 10 years ago. Them (those) days are over lol.

[HornetJail]

"Should of" makes absolutely no sense.

[Hornet Mania]

Noel would be glued to the bench if he was on our team. Do you really think Cliff would play him over Al? He'd have Vonleh's spot this season, Cliff would say something like "Well, when a kid sits out a whole year it's really tough. He's going to need a lot of time to figure things out at this level. It's all about earning your minutes, nothing is given to you in this league." And Al would definitely see all the 4th quarter minutes.

The only reason Cliff played Zeller was because he was labeled as "NBA ready" coming out of college. That's almost as good as "veteran" in his eyes, it gives you access to minutes regardless of performance. In Zeller's case it was ultimately helpful and he ended up improving quite a bit from his miserable first few months. (Of course that would never work for Vonleh or Hairston though )

[yosemiteben]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/580756357034438656[/tweet]

Super!

[-Ian-]

Might as well deactivate him for the rest of the season.

[Robot Rock]

It's really pathetic for a fan to be happy that a player is injured.

[tondi123]

Noel would be glued to the bench if he was on our team. Do you really think Cliff would play him over Al? He'd have Vonleh's spot this season, Cliff would say something like "Well, when a kid sits out a whole year it's really tough. He's going to need a lot of time to figure things out at this level. It's all about earning your minutes, nothing is given to you in this league." And Al would definitely see all the 4th quarter minutes.

The only reason Cliff played Zeller was because he was labeled as "NBA ready" coming out of college. That's almost as good as "veteran" in his eyes, it gives you access to minutes regardless of performance. In Zeller's case it was ultimately helpful and he ended up improving quite a bit from his miserable first few months. (Of course that would never work for Vonleh or Hairston though )

Thats right and even with Cody, as soon as Cliff had a mediocre journeyman with absolutely zero upside he started playing him over Cody waaaay too much right away and has never looked back. Noel would be getting 4 minutes a game right now, just like whoever we end up drafting in the 1st round next year, regardless of who it turns out to be. In Cliffs world, young guys get better from practice and sitting on the bench, not from playing which is why tanking for a pick won't help us for at least 2 years since Cliff won't play whoever we pick anyway.

[HornetJail]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/580756357034438656[/tweet]

Super!

Sit him. Injured Al is pathetic on both ends

[Hornet Mania]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/580756357034438656[/tweet]

Super!

Sit him. Injured Al is pathetic on both ends

Yep, Cliff is going to be play him anyway though, probably killing our playoff chances in the process. It would be interesting to see us try a faster pace over the home stretch if Al is limited, some of our best ball this season was when we were pushing it up and down the floor. Kemba in particular benefited quite a bit.

This is great news for the folks rooting for the 10th pick though.

[Braggins]

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2015/03/sout ... ttman.html

Found this on reddit. I imagine it is meaningless but I can dream. Hopefully if it happens we don't do something stupid like offer him a 3 year 33 mil contract. I can't imagine any team in the league valuing him as much as we foolishly do. We'll probably end up being the highest bidder...

[BobsBuddy]

I wonder if (trade Checker 6574991) SAC Kings would trade us Landry and their 1st round pick for Lance and our 1st & 2nd round picks? Kaminsky understudies Al for next season as backup then starts in 2016/2017 season?
That would allow us to move up to 6 or 7 to draft Kaminsky and give us a solid wing vet in Landry.
We free up Cap space to sign Mo by letting Biz RFA and/or Hendo PO walk.
Then we let PJ JT and BRob fight it out in camp for starting SG. or start MO at 2
Kemba/ BROB
PJ/MO
MKG/Landry
Zellar/Williams
AL/ Kaminsky

[mrknowitall215]

Steve Clifford: Al Jefferson will remain hobbled rest of season

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/ ... of-season/

(inside voice) "...but we'll continue to play him 35 minutes a night as if he was healthier than ever"

[yosemiteben]

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2015/03/sout ... ttman.html

Just a heads up that that link is broken and takes you to some blurb from 2013.

Think you mean to link to this one, which refers to this:

Like Paul Millsap, Charlotte big man Al Jefferson has the option to hit unrestricted free agency in July. Jefferson has an option year worth $13.5 million, but will likely leave that option in favor of a new deal. Jefferson is not a full Bird Rights player, but through Early Bird Rights he can get a new deal starting at 175 percent of his previous or a starting salary up to the NBA max. The belief is that Jefferson wants to stay in Charlotte and is enjoying the situation. However, given that he’s now on the wrong side of 30 and this may be the last major contract he gets in his career, there is a sense that as much as Big Al likes Charlotte, he will go where the biggest payday takes him. The Hornets have the ability to go as high as they want to go with their offer, but is Jefferson really worth $20 million to them and will anyone offer anything close to that to poach him?

Source

[BlackOutBuzz]

^Kyler also refers to us as the Bobcats in that one.

[MasterIchiro]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/580756357034438656[/tweet]

Super!

Yep, Cliff is going to be play him anyway though, probably killing our playoff chances in the process(

I got the exact opposite impression from Clifford's comment. This statement gives him cover to do the exact opposite and get Biz some minutes as a way to groom him if Al opts out which is, despite our fears, still a real possibility Lord have mercy on us.

[fatlever]

Noel would be glued to the bench if he was on our team. Do you really think Cliff would play him over Al? He'd have Vonleh's spot this season, Cliff would say something like "Well, when a kid sits out a whole year it's really tough. He's going to need a lot of time to figure things out at this level. It's all about earning your minutes, nothing is given to you in this league." And Al would definitely see all the 4th quarter minutes.

The only reason Cliff played Zeller was because he was labeled as "NBA ready" coming out of college. That's almost as good as "veteran" in his eyes, it gives you access to minutes regardless of performance. In Zeller's case it was ultimately helpful and he ended up improving quite a bit from his miserable first few months. (Of course that would never work for Vonleh or Hairston though )

Cliff on sitting Noel for the 2nd straight year...

"Well, um, you know... Look, Nerlens is a great kid, but its tough to come back quickly from an injury like that. In this league, you can't rush young players back with injury, you know, especially in the feet and knees. You know, look, Pat and Mark will both tell you the same thing, you know. We hope to get Nerlens some playing time this summer in Orlando, you know, and then evaluate his progress next training camp. Next year, he'll probably get a few more minutes, you know, depending on how he picks up the defense. But, look, Al, Marvin and Jason, those guys are doing a helluva a job. Those guys already know what it takes to play in this league night in and night out."

[fatlever]

The Hornets need to take a page from Chelsea regarding Al Jefferson. Chelsea has a policy that any player over 30 will only be signed to 1 year deals. No exceptions, except goal keepers. They made club legends Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard, Ashley Cole and John Terry start signing 1 year deals when they hit 30.

I understand that you can't really do that in the Nba, but the point is, you can't reward players for what they have done in the past, you have to pay them on who they are currently and what they will be for the duration of the contract. Players over 30 are on the downside of their careers, usually. You have to be careful. (preaching to the choir, I know)

I am scared to death at the contract we might give Jefferson. It seems the coaches, front office and the local media view Jefferson like he is some kind of franchise superstar. He appears to be immune to criticism.

How many games have we seen where he gets the "player of the game" award after getting destroyed on defense and chucking his way to 20 points, while grabbing 10 meaningless rebounds?

[tondi123]

Somebody needs to start a "Things that will happen before anybody pays All Jefferson 20 million a year" thread.