should we give the birdman another look?

[celtpinoy]

Will Birdman fly south to OKC?
Former OKC fan favorite unlikely to wear Thunder uniform
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Buzz up!
By Berry Tramel
Published: May 28, 2009

The Birdman will be a free agent as soon as his Denver Nuggets finish, in victory or defeat, their NBA playoff push. Should the Thunder make a play for Chris Andersen?
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The Birdman, the 6-foot-10 flying cartoon character of a basketball player, was a Ford Center fan favorite for the first couple of months of the Hornets’ two-year stay in Oklahoma City, before the NBA banned him for drug use.

His spiked hair and wild tattoos belie the truth, that the Birdman, when healthy, is one heck of a ballplayer.

The Birdman is just what the Thunder needs, an interior defensive presence. Despite making just one start and averaging just 20.6 minutes per game, the Birdman placed second in the league in blocked shots, his 2.5 per game trailing only Dwight Howard’s 2.9.

Andersen is the new Dennis Rodman. The young Dennis Rodman. Rodman eventually became a kook and more trouble than he was worth, but the early Rodman was a wonderful, unique player.

Rodman averaged 9.0 and 8.8 points and 9.4 and 9.7 rebounds in Detroit’s two championship years, 1988-89 and 1989-90. He was a rebounding demon who played defense and didn’t care if he shot or not, but shot a high percentage when he did. All of which made him a rare NBA player.

Just like Birdman, who is like Rodman in that there’s really no one else like him in the NBA, a player who does one thing better than anyone else in the league and does all the grunt work well. You win titles with players like that.

But would Thunder general manager Sam Presti take a flier on Birdman? No. Presti would sign Andersen only after the most intense research into the Birdman’s rehabilitation.

My guess is, Birdman is not worth the financial risk. Maintaining fiscal sanity, so that the upcoming big contracts for Kevin Durant and Co. can be offered.

[crownsy]

Denver's pretty high on the birdman right now, HE's giving them solid time and he's a fan favorite, and he likes it there from all accounts.

I don't think denver will let him walk.

[BballTim]

  Comparing Andersen to Rodman (as basketball players) is a little like comparing Big Baby to a younger KG.

[Chris]

I have a feeling Birdman will be this year's "playoff roleplayer who shines in the playoffs, and gets a huge contract from some team that ends up regretting it within a year when they realize he is not nearly as good as they thought or hoped".

Every year, there is some player who shines in the playoffs, because they are perfectly cast on the team they are playing on, and then end up falling apart when another team overpays for them.

Of course the other biggest candidate for this is Big Baby.

[footey]

That ship has sailed. Or rather, that Bird has flown the coop.