Minnesota Sports Forum

I am not sure this team is a good fit for Whiteside. If I am a GM I don't touch him without a strong veteran leader that is a star and feel he can keep the team in line. (or a coach)

TeamRicky wrote:Here are some available unrestricted free agents this offseason (only listing those I think we at least have a remote chance to sign):

1. Batum
2. Horford
3. Whiteside
4. Mahinmi
5. Courtney Lee
6. Noah
7. Al Jefferson
8. Bazemore
9. Marvin Williams
10. Pacchulia
11. Deng
12. Biyombo
13. Ryan Anderson
14. Chalmers
15. Mozgov
16. Evan Turner
17. OJ Mayo
18. Brandon Jennings
19. Teletovic
20. Hibbert
21. Sacre
22. Tarick Black
23. James Johnson
24. Felton
25. Eric Gordon
26. Cole Aldrich
27. Beno Udrih
28 DJ Augustin
29. Gerald Henderson

I think Biyombo has still one more year left of his contract.

What about Roy Hibbert as a backup? I am guess he will be cheap and would at least be solid 3rd or 4th big.

bleedspeed177 wrote:What about Roy Hibbert as a backup? I am guess he will be cheap and would at least be solid 3rd or 4th big.

Hard for me to like a player that's 7'2" and can't rebound the basketball. He's softer than soggy bread and I'd hate having to root for the guy.

On a more serious note, he wouldn't be the worst pickup by any means, but I'd hope we use our money better than that.

Camden0916 wrote:

bleedspeed177 wrote:What about Roy Hibbert as a backup? I am guess he will be cheap and would at least be solid 3rd or 4th big.

Hard for me to like a player that's 7'2" and can't rebound the basketball. He's softer than soggy bread and I'd hate having to root for the guy.

On a more serious note, he wouldn't be the worst pickup by any means, but I'd hope we use our money better than that.

He will end up being pretty cheap this summer and will be some team's backup plan like Dallas or something. I know he is on a crappy team but he had plenty to play for (a new contract and a chip on his shoulder from being discarded by the Pacers) and it seems he has been pretty underwhelming for the Lakers. He does seem like the type of true center that would be nice to have for this team but part of me doesn't want such an under achiever around. Maybe he was never that good and the game has changed the last couple of years but it feels like he has fallen off a cliff in terms of usefulness.

Nene interests me. He is injury prone but he can still play and bring some nastiness to the team. Fits nicely with towns and dieng.

Nene is going to be 34 at the start of next season, he's going to be on full out championship mode I would assume. He's the exact type of vet that will do it too, he plays pretty good all around basketball and he's never won. It's conjecture, of course, but I don't think he's a guy we'd target. Batum seems the obvious choice. I like the idea of a Whiteside/Towns front court but it doesn't fix our three point shooting issue and I hate that sumbitch.

I think Ryan Anderson is our best target. He's a young veteran that can shoot and rebound. Has a little post game. I think Wiggins/LaVine are what we are going for on the wing going forward, so Batum makes sense but if LaVine is the game changer he looks like he can be, then we have to let him grow. LaVine as our #2 option, Wiggins as our lethal scorer and hopefully lockdown wing defender, Towns as our all around #1 superstar, Rubio being Rubio and leading the unit, and Anderson as our sniper and glue guy. Bring in a defensive wing to play with Bazz and sub with the starters, Dieng off the bench, Tyus playing smart basketball and hitting some 3's, that's a solid unit. Let them grow together. Longer guys play together, the better team defense will become over time; with 3 plus defenders that should be enough to improve the defense overall. Time and a new coach/scheme.

I am guessing Hibbert gets less then 5M a year if not a vet minimum deal. He think he would be a good backup for this team. I would be willing to take a flyer on him and D. J. Augustine as cheap backups that have been around, but are under 30 yet.

I have no interest in Hibbert. He is another one of these guys that peaked early in his career and has just gotten worse and worse over time. It's weird how this happens to some players: Ronnie Brewer, Andris Biedrens, Kendrick Perkins, Roy Hibbert just to name a few - guys that were pretty damn good in their early to mid twenties and then just went down hill for no apparent reason. With some players you can blame injuries, but I'm not aware of that being a major factor with any of these guys.

Mikkeman wrote:
I think Biyombo has still one more year left of his contract.

Biyombo has a player's option, so he can opt out and become a free agent this offseason.