Solutions!?
by LocoSaint on Nov 3, 2009 8:59 PM CST
11 comments
Clearly this team is in a state of confusion. They have no identity on any part of the game, and I believe that has a lot to do with the coaching of this team. I would like to present a few options that may get us a step closer to becoming a better team. While most of this is unlikely as George Shinn is a failure as an owner, I can still fantasize right?
- First and foremost we must fire Byron Scott to give our guys enough time to learn a new system that hopeful replacement Rob Werdann or Robert Pack would place
- I would try to find some potential trade partners for guys like Jim Posey (I call him Jim now because he's only a shell of the player he used to be, so it's not really fair to call him by a name he no longer truly plays to), Morris Peterson, and David West. Now the reason I threw West in there is because we have Ike Diogu who has proven when he has starters minutes, he can play huge on offense, defense, and in the rebounding department. Ike is still young and has a much upside as anyone in the NBA.
- Now if i was to trade David West I'd look to get as much value for him as I could possibly get. I'd definitely try to get an atheltic 2 guard that can play or a true center (Sam Dalembert?) and Meka Tron could move to a better suited PF spot. Heck maybe try to get both! Don't get me wrong, I love DWest, but he doesn't play defense and if he's not hitting that midrange jumper then he will struggle for points all night.
- Some guys I'd be looking at for trade would be Thaddeus Young, Samuel Dalembert, Andris Biedrins, Kelenna Azubuike, and A.I. (mainly as a stop-gap until Thornton is ready)
- Next I would bench Bobby Brown and put Collison in. Collison is more a true point guard, Bobby Brown plays like a ball hogging shooting guard in the body of a PG, therefore he is no PG.
- After I did that, I'd let Marcus Thornton fight for a starting job. A guy with this much potential shouldn't be rotting away on the bench, he needs to be getting live reps.
- I would also get Darius Songaila much more involved. This guy is a chippy guy who can play the 3,4, or 5. I'm not sure exactly what Scott has been using him as in his offensive schemes, but it's not suiting him. Get Songaila on the block or let him post up, he plays down low, not it the grey area where Scott has placed him.
- Next, I'd MAKE Julian Wright get involved. All too often he becomes completely invisible in games, and thats not what starters do. Now I'm willing to put much of this on Scott's misuse of Julian in his position on the court, but he needs to get more involved. I'd work diligently on working up plays to get him free in the lane, ready for the lob and slam. Not to mention, he has been nailing open shots unlike some people *cough*Bobby Brown, Jim Posey, Morris Peterson, David West*cough*. Woo, ahem, must've swallowed a fly right there.
- And the last adjustment I'd make is to yell at Hilton whenever he's on the floor at all times, just to remind him to keep his head in the game. If he could somehow manage to put it together this guy could be sooooooo good. I'd also tell him to stop taking jumpshots, even if they are open, because that's really just not his thing.
So with all of that being said I would like to make a dream depth chart!
Point Guard!: The Great, Goodly, and Godly 6 Footer, out of Wake Forest, Number 3, CHRIS PAUL!, spelled by Darren Collison, replaced by only in an emergency Bobby Brown
Shooting Guard!: The New Orleans Native and "Young" Gunner THADDEUS YOUUUUUNG! (or Kelenna Azubuike!), backed up by the other Louisiana Native Marcus Thornton!, backed up by Devin Brown(!?)
Small Forward!: The Feisty Slam Jammin, Shot Shootin, Rotin Tootin Julian Wright!, followed by your 6th man of the year candidate, The Serbian Assassin, PEJA STOJACAVIC!
Power Forward!: Making a recent switch in position, at 6-10 out of Conneticutm the Nigerian Nuke Bomb, EMEKA OKAFOR!!!, followed by Ike Diogu!, followed by Darius Songaila!
Center!: The newest big man on the block in the BIG Easy, the Haitian Sensation SAMUEL DALEMBERT!, followed by Hilton Armstrong, and Sean Marks
And standing at 6-11, 240 pounds out of St. John's University, your new head coach, ROB WERDANN!
GEAUX HORNETS!!!
...oh how I would love to hear that at the beginning of every home game...
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All of your suggestions would make the hornets even worse than they already are.
by jamesyyyboyyy on Nov 4, 2009 5:40 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
Disagree
As much as I love, love, LOVE David West, this would be the right business decision. It’s why the Patriots and Spurs are so good… they let players walk or trade them right as they turn the corner out of the peaks of their careers. That’s exactly where West is right now. And like you, LocoSaint, I’m a huge believer in Ike Diogu. He needs to get minutes for sure.
Agreed on Collison over Brown. I think Brown can still provide value to this team though. Maybe Collison at 1 and Brown at 2 for some stretches? But in the long run, Collison needs to be the backup 1 because he’s bound to be much steadier than Brown.
“And the last adjustment I’d make is to yell at Hilton whenever he’s on the floor at all times, just to remind him to keep his head in the game.” Hahaha… that in itself deserves a rec.
by atthehive on Nov 5, 2009 12:05 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
What we really need is more talent, and theres not much talent in the team LocoSaint is suggesting, and it would eventually lead to Chris Paul wanting to be traded.
by jamesyyyboyyy on Nov 5, 2009 4:45 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Agree with trading West... if we're not getting anywhere by the All-Star break
West is a tweener. He’s stuck somewhere between small and power forward. His rebounding numbers have been in a steady decline for a while now and he’s probably just a year or two away from being a 6 rebound per game forward, not exactly what you want to see at power forward. Further, sure he’s an accomplished offensive player who can create his own shot and make shots from various positions—he’s really a small forward in that respect, but that also means that he puts up a lot of fadeaways from 12 feet instead of going for power layups or dunks. Do you guys remember the Denver series? He just couldn’t get rolling. He also shoots from 16 to 18 feet much too often for a power forward—granted he has decent touch, but he’s not the second coming of Reggie Miller or anything like that. West’s shooting % has declined each season the more confidence he has gained in operating away from the basket. His defense? I think it’s “ok”. Not that bad actually.
Grr, his rebounding. I know, I’ve touched upon it, but it still annoys. He got 4 rebounds against the Lakers. Think about that, 4 rebounds for a power forward. He’s averaging 5.7 rebounds this season in over 36 minutes. He’s never gotten more than 8.9 per game.
He was an All-Star last year. His trade value is high now.
He’s still a pretty good player who has a number of skills, but he’s a tweener and that’s not something you want out of the second best player on the team and his rebounidng is poor, especially on the offensive glass.
Still, would like to see a little more of what happens with this bunch once they start to gel. It’s still too early to say the season’s a bust.
by MZURK on Nov 9, 2009 8:47 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
Some thoughts
1) I think we need atleast 15-20 games to really see where this team is at. The first 5 games have been bleak, but who among us didn’t expect a rough start? This rough? No, but still rough. I’m frustrated too though. But right now the Hornets don’t even look like a playoff team, and I can’t quite wrap my head around the team being in that state of affairs.
I think we are going to see improvement ultimately, but how much is the question?
2) I don’t know what to think about Posey. I’m hoping it has to do with coming off of surgery. I believe I heard something to the effect that this is the first offseason in his whole career that he’s been unable to play basketball during the summer. Might take 15-20 games to see if he can be a contributing member also.
3) DWest DOES play defense. Did you watch him on Dirk? He played hard D on Dirk. His help defense is lacking… always has been and probably won’t ever get better, but one on one I think West is atleast an average defender and I don’t think its accurate to say he “doesn’t play” defense.
4) I don’t think AI helps this team at all. The only situation AI has ever really flourished in is one in which he’s surrounded by a bunch of low-usage, defense-minded players. Pairing him with a guy who dominates the ball like CP just doesn’t seem like a good fit. But I do like your Azuibuike idea… I’ve been wanting to see him as a Hornet for a while. Wish they would have signed him instead of Pose.
On Collison, Diogu, Songalia, etc…. good points and I agree.
Nice post, even if I don’t agree with all of it.
by Caleb462 on Nov 7, 2009 6:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
agreed
1) Agree here. Still too early to tell. We’ve began with 2 new starters this season. One of them had no training camp. We’ve had injury issues—Meka missed preseason because of it. Ike and Sean Marks may still be affected. Peja and Posey are coming off injury.
2) Agree, but I’m concerned. Unfortunately, Posey got too much money over too many years on his contract and it may be coming back to haunt NO now. I think he’s a player that, at this stage in his career, can put it together if he feels that there is something to play for—like in the Denver series, despite playing with injury, he was actually one of the few players who was doing ok. Same thing in Boston—whole season was meaningful for Posey there. I am concerned that he’s not very productive at this point. That may mean that he already either believes that the season will be a bust or that he’s saving his strength for later, once things start to come together, maybe for a push for the playoffs and thereafter. We’ll see. It’s too early to tell.
3) Agree. Dwest is generally ok on defense. He played the majority of the minutes at his position for the last two years when the Hornets ranked among the better defensive teams. Obviously other players contributed to that, but DWest generally pulls his own on that end.
4) Agree. I think we don’t need AI. Azuibuike? Call me a sceptic. He’s a player who puts up decent stats on a horrible team. That brings question marks.
by MZURK on Nov 9, 2009 8:56 AM CST up reply actions 0 recs
The only way i would agree on trading David West would be if it involved getting Chris Bosh
by jamesyyyboyyy on Nov 9, 2009 5:04 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
It’s tough to figure out what to do and I don’t really know a solution but this current crop of players just isn’t getting it done. Getting rid of West, though I think he’s a great player, might be the best option.
by dcdawg07 on Nov 10, 2009 3:33 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
I agree with Loco
Especially after they just fired Scott.
Trading West could land you some good talent. OKC more than likely wouldn’t be interested since West is only a large version of Green, but I can see other teams interested.
Azuibuke would be a great catch. I’ve been wishing the Thunder would try to make a move for Azuibuke, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Peja has been stinking it up for a while. The Hornets need to get rid of Peja. In fact he is on my fantasy team. I need to get rid of him myself.
Also Known as "4D" one step beyond 3D
by daddydai on Nov 14, 2009 8:07 AM CST reply actions 0 recs
Agreed on most issues
Thaddeus Young is the best thing you put in here. He is only like 20 years old and he will be a star in this league one day. I f we can nab him from the 76ers then we will have a high energy scorer who plays defense and can rebound. I dont think we need dalembert but he would be a nice addition. Either him or Chris Kaman would do the same job. But aquiring Thaddeus Young has been on my mind for some time. Great choice.
AI is not a great fit here and would just be another vet that we would owe money to. Not saying that AI isnt great, but not a good fit for the hornets.
by Buzzkills on Nov 16, 2009 7:32 PM CST reply actions 0 recs
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