Targeting PF's

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I think we make way too big of a deal of positional fit versus functional fit. How is it possible that Dieng looked great at C last season, but somehow he could never do any of the same things while playing PF some of the time?

It reminds me a bit of the ridiculous debates waged about Michael Beasley and then Derrick Williams' best position - PF or SF - with one side arguing that one position would maximize his talents and the other side saying, no, the other position was best. Guess what? It really didn't matter.....their basketball IQ, decision making, and other on-the-court functional skills had a much larger impact on their effectiveness than what position they played.

One of Dieng's strengths coming out of college was his lateral quickness when switched onto guards on pick and rolls. The guy can move his feet. Where he gets burned is when posted up deep by an opposing big. He also proved in college, and again last year as a rookie, that he can knock down mid-range jumpers.

Not that positional fit is meaningless, but functional fit deserves equal or more weight in my opinion. What are Pek's biggest weaknesses? Rim protection and weakside defense. What are Dieng's biggest strengths? Rim protection and weakside defense. I see major defensive synergies in pairing these two guys up for stretches.

[Lipoli390]

I agree with Q. I'll add that, in my view, functional fit is for more important than positional fit. And overall talent trumps both. So I'm not worried about who plays where. It's many about who plays.

[Lipoli390]

I agree with Q. I'll add that, in my view, functional fit is for more important than positional fit. And overall talent trumps both. So I'm not worried about who plays where. It's many about who plays.

[Lipoli390]

I agree with Q. I'll add that, in my view, functional fit is for more important than positional fit. And overall talent trumps both. So I'm not worried about who plays where. It's many about who plays.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I'm all for going after John Henson if Flip could swing it. I just don't think it'll happen.

[bleedspeed]

I'm all for going after John Henson if Flip could swing it. I just don't think it'll happen.

That would be an awesome trade. I think we would have to take Mayo somehow with him.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Anyone think the Hawks would do a Pek for Millsap trade straight up? That's about the only team I can find that has anything we would want and could use a guy like Pek next to Horford and Payne. All the other Center needy teams don't really have anything that would help us moving forward. I'd rather overpay Millsap to bring him back than Thad, that's for sure. A Ricky/Martin/Wiggins/Millsap/Dieng lineup would be very good defensively and Millsap can make up most if not all of the lost offensive production for Pek. It's a lot of faith to put in Dieng, but I think given how stacked next year's draft is with bigs that his shot needs to be given this year so we can truly see if he has the potential to be the long-term starting C or if he should be our primary bench big.

It would be a good trade for us. I am not sure what the Hawks are trying to do. Are they trying to build a team or win? I am a huge fan of Millsap.

Good research, khans...that's a deal that has some potential. When we bandied about the idea of trading Pek for a good 2-way wing, we all struggled to find a trading partner that worked. I love Millsap and love the idea of him next to Dieng. And the salaries are close (Atlanta might have to throw a small piece into the deal). Now, why would Atlanta do it? The answer is they probably don't, because a healthy Pek and Horford are redundant. On the other hand, Mike Scott really came on last year and has the potential to be the kind of stretch 4 coaches covet these days, and they drafted Adreian Payne, who appears to be as NBA ready as any rookie this year. Plus they still have Elton Brand who says he definitely wants to play this year. So they are deep at PF. They might need additional enticement to trade Millsap, so maybe Glen Robinson could be an attractive piece for them. Maybe Pek and GR3 for Millsap and Pero Antic. Who knows...maybe.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Q and Lipoli, I hear what you guys are saying about functional fit being more important than positional fit (or maybe I'm swayed by the fact that Lip said it 3 times!), but I would argue that Gorgui just doesn't fit nearly as well at PF. Defensively, I agree that his feet are quick enough to defend quicker PF's...I don't see that as a problem. But having him defend stretch 4's far from the basket negates the biggest strength Gorgui brings...rim protection and shot blocking. I don't see that as an effective use of his inside defensive strengths.

Before SL, I would have argued that Gorgui had the skills to handle the PF position offensively. He showed a nice mid-range touch and the ability to distribute the ball in his late season minutes at center. But Flip gave him a lot of burn at PF in SL, and to me he looked like a fish out of water. After surprising many of us offensively last season, he didn't show much at all this August. I think Dieng seems to have a high basketball IQ, so maybe he can learn to play more adeptly at PF. But I didn't like what I saw from him in Vegas.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Anyone think the Hawks would do a Pek for Millsap trade straight up? That's about the only team I can find that has anything we would want and could use a guy like Pek next to Horford and Payne. All the other Center needy teams don't really have anything that would help us moving forward. I'd rather overpay Millsap to bring him back than Thad, that's for sure. A Ricky/Martin/Wiggins/Millsap/Dieng lineup would be very good defensively and Millsap can make up most if not all of the lost offensive production for Pek. It's a lot of faith to put in Dieng, but I think given how stacked next year's draft is with bigs that his shot needs to be given this year so we can truly see if he has the potential to be the long-term starting C or if he should be our primary bench big.

It would be a good trade for us. I am not sure what the Hawks are trying to do. Are they trying to build a team or win? I am a huge fan of Millsap.

Good research, khans...that's a deal that has some potential. When we bandied about the idea of trading Pek for a good 2-way wing, we all struggled to find a trading partner that worked. I love Millsap and love the idea of him next to Dieng. And the salaries are close (Atlanta might have to throw a small piece into the deal). Now, why would Atlanta do it? The answer is they probably don't, because a healthy Pek and Horford are redundant. On the other hand, Mike Scott really came on last year and has the potential to be the kind of stretch 4 coaches covet these days, and they drafted Adreian Payne, who appears to be as NBA ready as any rookie this year. Plus they still have Elton Brand who says he definitely wants to play this year. So they are deep at PF. They might need additional enticement to trade Millsap, so maybe Glen Robinson could be an attractive piece for them. Maybe Pek and GR3 for Millsap and Pero Antic. Who knows...maybe.

Horford has a good midrange game where he can fit next to Pek offensively. I was thinking along the lines of giving him a breather from having to bang in the post all the time and defend opposing C's could lessen his chances for injury. I always thought Al was a 4, but they just never put a real center next to him to see if that was really true. When you also combine that with the fact that Pek is a long-term deal and Millsap just has a year left, this trade offers them more personnel security as who knows what Millsap would do in free agency. The trade also works salary wise straight up, so I wouldn't want anything else back from them. I view it as an even swap as is as they are both solid players that are probably borderline all-stars. I think from a fit standpoint it makes sense for both teams as Horford and Payne fit under the rim protecting category needing to be next to Pek and Millsap gives us probably the best replacement we could get for Love.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Horford's been playing out of position his whole career. In my opinion, he'd be a dominating power forward, but has been used at center out of necessity. Pekovic would be a huge get for them. Personally, though, I don't like the Pek for Millsap trade. I worry that Millsap would walk. His name and brand around the league has grown since his Utah days. He could probably find plenty of money on a contending team needing his production.