Minny looking to acquire the second pick.

[KungPoweChicken]

"No GM in the NBA is apparently more active right now than Minnesota’s David Kahn, as he’s apparently set on “making a big splash in his first draft” according to one NBA executive, and is “talking to everyone” at the moment. One rumor that is making the rounds has Memphis sending Minnesota Kevin Love in exchange for the #2 pick (and filler). Minnesota would then draft Ricky Rubio, which could help them significantly with their ticket sales, and still have the #6 pick at their disposal, which they could use to take someone like Jordan Hill."


Okay, if the above is true, it tells me two things: One, this would be a great deal for Minnesota if they are able to pull it off. Two, the second pick can definitely be had for Perkins, and I would be all for it. I wouldn't want to draft Thabeet either. I'd go with Harden. Then I would try and fill the center position in free agency. Zaza? Birdman? Kwame? Rasho? The point being, there are some nice serviceable big men to be had. We could also package our expiring scrubs for Diop or Mohammed, both of whom are most likely available.


If we do this, we would immediately solve our wing depth. For Harden will be able to come in and play championship level basketball right off the bat. I firmly believe this. We would still have the MLE to fill in the team needs (a starting big man, a backup big man [which could be Davis] and a LLE big man who would play limited minutes.

The bench:

PG: House
SG: Harden
SF: Harden
PF: Davis, McDyess?
C: McDyess? Birdman? Zaza, second rounder?



I love Perkins as much as the next guy, but I do believe he has become overrated on this board. If you put any big man who has any sort of pride next to KG, he will be good enough to get the job done. KG has the ability to make others better.
Of course, there will always be a few exceptions to the rule; those few bad apples who just don't care (Blount). For the most part, Duncan has played next to hacks his whole life in the paint, and that didn't stop him from getting it done. If you put someone with limited skill but with a lot of heart next to KG, it's enough to get it done. Some of you may think this would be a disaster. But when you have the chance to get a future perennial all-star like Harden, Perkins becomes a second thought.

[winsomme]

although i agree with you that Perk is a better piece than Love, it probably is not perceived that way by most.

Perk's game is not glamorous, plus he was a low pick and was never heralded as a top talent.

just realized i left my point off this post....so i'm not sure MEM would rather have Perk than Love.

plus, I'm not excited about trading Perk. I think I'd be more interested in moving Rondo than Perk at this point.

[Roy Hobbs]

although i agree with you that Perk is a better piece than Love, it probably is not perceived that way by most.

Perk's game is not glamorous, plus he was a low pick and was never heralded as a top talent.

I think most GMs -- if not fans -- appreciate Perk.

Love would probably be a better fit for Memphis, though, as they need a power forward, rather than a center.  They already have Gasol and Darko at the 5, and a whole lot of nothing at the 4.

Also, of course, this was apparently the offer; it doesn't mean that Memphis would take it.

[winsomme]

although i agree with you that Perk is a better piece than Love, it probably is not perceived that way by most.

Perk's game is not glamorous, plus he was a low pick and was never heralded as a top talent.

I think most GMs -- if not fans -- appreciate Perk.

Love would probably be a better fit for Memphis, though, as they need a power forward, rather than a center.  They already have Gasol and Darko at the 5, and a whole lot of nothing at the 4.

Also, of course, this was apparently the offer; it doesn't mean that Memphis would take it.

certainly his work against Howard is now clearly in focus after DH then tore it up against CLE. So i agree that he is appreciated, but I would be surprised if he is appreciated to the tune of the #2 pick in the draft...

which is fine with me, by the way, because I think Perk is a huge part of why our defense works.

[bobdelt]

Yack - Birdman starting? The guy has no offense, and no defensive. He runs around jumping for a rebound. Not a starter on any team in the league.

[Fafnir]

although i agree with you that Perk is a better piece than Love, it probably is not perceived that way by most.

Perk's game is not glamorous, plus he was a low pick and was never heralded as a top talent.

I think most GMs -- if not fans -- appreciate Perk.

Love would probably be a better fit for Memphis, though, as they need a power forward, rather than a center.  They already have Gasol and Darko at the 5, and a whole lot of nothing at the 4.

Also, of course, this was apparently the offer; it doesn't mean that Memphis would take it.

Isn't Darko trying to ditch the NBA for Europe though?

[Gainesville Celtic]

I love Perkins as much as the next guy, but I do believe he has become overrated on this board. If you put any big man who has any sort of pride next to KG, he will be good enough to get the job done. KG has the ability to make others better.

I can certainly see the logic of moving Perk (though I don't endorse it one bit), but if anything I think given what he is making Perk may still actually be underrated on this board.

Perkins -- in my mind a top 10 center in the NBA, with or without KG (see the playoffs for the without KG part) -- is making $8.5M over the next 2 years...do folks realize how low that is?

That's Rony Turiaf money! It's much less than Gortat's gonna get this summer. It's less than the #2 pick will make.

Probably 1/2 the teams in the NBA are paying at least one player more than Perk who doesn't or barely contributes... Gadzuric, Blount, Nazr Mohammed, Jerome James, Matt Carroll, Kwame Brown ($4.1M): all those guys besides Kwame make more than Perk and that's just the teams A-D.

I'm for keeping this team together and adding talent via the MLE/LLE.

For the time being and with this team, I'd rather Ainge be content with (to switch to a baseball analogy) hitting 2Bs + a high average than hitting HRs with 200 Ks a year.

Buy a draft pick (or 2!), move Tony Allen, move Scal, maybe even move Ray (though i'd MUCH rather see him moved to the 6th man), make some solid, wise FA additions then go get the ring back from the Fakers. I think there's enough to build on with Rondo, Perk and maybe Bill Walker that the future is as good as it can be given we're in the hunt for the title.

[vagrantwade]

Why does it seem like Perk is highly underrated?