Addressing the hole at center

[Mr. MacPhisto]

i liked what i saw from that donatus (sp?) dude yesterday

I love Donatas, but I think the Rockets are unlikely to trade him. With Asik gone, he'll see more minutes coming off the bench at PF and C. I'd love to get him, but I doubt Houston will part with him.

I wonder if Utah would be willing to trade Rudy Gobert?

 

[dano_24_26]

I wouldn't mind taking a look at this Travis Hyman kid. Watching him twice this summer and I like him. Played 20 minutes in the dleague last year. Averaging 2 blocks in those 20 minutes.

 

[Fuggles]

I love Donatas, but I think the Rockets are unlikely to trade him. With Asik gone, he'll see more minutes coming off the bench at PF and C. I'd love to get him, but I doubt Houston will part with him.

I wonder if Utah would be willing to trade Rudy Gobert?

I think they are higher on Gobert than Kanter. Kanter couldn't even keep his starting role and they ended up sliding Favors to center with Marvin Williams being the starting PF. I would assume Kanter is the one who will be traded before they have to give him an extension next off-season.

 

[Soar]

I think they are higher on Gobert than Kanter. Kanter couldn't even keep his starting role and they ended up sliding Favors to center with Marvin Williams being the starting PF. I would assume Kanter is the one who will be traded before they have to give him an extension next off-season.

And Kanter isn't really the type of center we are looking for given he only averages .5 blocked shots a game and isn't much of a shot blocker in general.

 

[DJTJ]

I wouldn't mind taking a look at this Travis Hyman kid. Watching him twice this summer and I like him. Played 20 minutes in the dleague last year. Averaging 2 blocks in those 20 minutes.

Is he Buster's kid?

 

[Simon]

I have no idea if the Magic would be willing trade Nikola Vucevic, but he is still on his rookie deal I think. He'd be a great center for us. He averaged 14.2 ppg and 11 rpg.

 

[DatDudeZ3]

I'm still holding hope for Udoh, relatively young compared to other free agent big men, can alter/block shots with good length. Can play a lot of minutes unlike these other old guys, if necessary.

 

[tn819]

I think that one day bringing back the hometown boy kosta Koufos would be a good play. Reasonable contract demands in all likelihood. Solid rim protector (advanced stats suggest very good and maybe elite) and he has a reason to take a hometown discount, play his part and give a bit of limelight to an otherwise ho-hum nba career.

 

[Fuggles]

I think that one day bringing back the hometown boy kosta Koufos would be a good play. Reasonable contract demands in all likelihood. Solid rim protector (advanced stats suggest very good and maybe elite) and he has a reason to take a hometown discount, play his part and give a bit of limelight to an otherwise ho-hum nba career.

I want Koufos but the Grizzlies want to win now and need that depth. If they are faltering and/or Koufous is talking about a significant raise he might be on the block sometime during the season. We should definitely keep him on our radar.

Sadly, I think it is going to come down to an in-season trade. We just have to hope Andy stays healthy and that Udoh are whatever scrub we get as a back-up is at least serviceable.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I like Udoh. He can protect the rim. While he is an offensive black hole, he actually is a career 72% free throw shooter.

 

[Ruken]

I think that one day bringing back the hometown boy kosta Koufos would be a good play. Reasonable contract demands in all likelihood. Solid rim protector (advanced stats suggest very good and maybe elite) and he has a reason to take a hometown discount, play his part and give a bit of limelight to an otherwise ho-hum nba career.

I met him during my time at OSU, he was a major douche. I haven't really watched him play much but it surprises me to hear someone call him a rim protector.

 

[Homestar]

Would Okafor take the minimum to play for a contender as he tries to come back from injury?

 

[ajz20]

Would Okafor take the minimum to play for a contender as he tries to come back from injury?

There are not too many teams left with cap space that would invest a high dollar in him. I would also push for a vet minimum for Jermaine O'neal. We are going to have to band aid this thing this year. Hopefully we can get our center of the future late in next years draft (if we indeed trade away the Miami and Memphis [pick)

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

Would Okafor take the minimum to play for a contender as he tries to come back from injury?

I'm not sure that anyone would give him more than that due to risk. Certainly no one would sign him long term. Nice thing about Okafor is that he's not old. Only 31, he's in his prime years IF he can recover from that neck injury. If you pay him the vet minimum, you can cut him and not have to worry about the roster spot or the long term cap impact. The reward on Okafor would be quite good if he recovers. He's a good rim protector, defender in the paint, and rebounder. He wouldn't need to be a big contributor on offense for the Cavs and would usually be the 5th option. He also wouldn't need to play the minutes if Varejão is playing. They could essentially split time and do 24 minutes a pop.

My preference would be to sign Okafor or Oden off the scrap pile and then sign a younger guy like Udoh. I'd be happy to give Udoh our $1.4M remaining in cap space because he can protect the rim. He's not a superb rebounder, but he doesn't need to be.

I think if we sign Oden, that means the Cavs think he's in good shape. The Heat brought him along slowly last year so as not to tax him. I think he'd only be good for 10-15 a night, but that'd be enough if you have Varejão and Udoh as well. Varejão was more durable last year, playing less minutes. I think he'll be a bit more durable this year due to less minutes and better floor spacing.

Beyond this year, holes could be filled with the full MLE. If we're successful this year in getting deep into the postseason, it'll be easy to attract guys for the MLE that can help. They won't be superstars, but they won't need to be.

 

[WantThatChip]

I think we should get Epke Udoh as a back up Center, or sign Okafor or Jack Cooley