I don’t really understand the Jabari pickup, when guys like Wilson Chandler, Austin Rivers and even Kyle Korver are available.
Jabari was always a defensive sieve going into the NBA and was worse after his two ACL injuries. He has never looked like someone who’s in 100% shape and for his size is a poor rebounder which is a reflection of effort. Perhaps we couldn’t get other vets so and Ainge is kicking the tyres on Jabari hoping he can help with a bit of scoring.
None of those guys listed are PF’s. Jabari just turned 26 the other day, he’s still young and has talent.
You can look at it like that but Parker is really at the end of his nba career.
Well, apparently Danny and Brad don’t see it that way. Guess we will find out soon enough.
I wouldn't confuse the contract Jabari got with some certainty that Ainge and Stevens believe he can be some great contributor to the team. It can just as well be a replacement of a complete nothing of a player, Wagner, that was going to become a free agent Boston wasn't going to bring back, with a guy who might see extremely limited minutes to get a bit of offense. In other words, a player just above a nothing player.
And that second year? That could simply be Ainge assuring he has some extra salary hanging around that he can use in a trade. He has done this with late in the season signing, buyout players before. If Ainge has plans to make a trade and needs salary to do it, losing Wagner's salary because he becomes a free agent doesn't help in the off-season trade market. No one will be clamouring to sign and trade Wagner so better to cut him now, sign Parker to that second year and suddenly Ainge has more salary to aggregate into a trade.
If that's the case, then why didn't they just sign IT instead? Whether they are correct or not, it does look like they have some level of expectation for Parker.
What makes you think IT was on their radar? They replaced a center with a scoring PF. The team didn't need a fifth PG, and certainly not a 4th PG below 6'1" that might be the worst defender in the NBA.
That is my point precisely, that they do have some expectations for Parker beyond what you described as him being slightly above zero value compared to Wagner. They do expect him to be a scoring PF. If they expected nothing but slightly above zero value, they may as well go for IT as at least he brings sentimental value in spades.
Stevens quote today clearly states that they expect Parker to bring scoring , versatility and ball handling/passing to complement their key guys. He said they have expectations for Parker for beyond this season and expects him to play the 4 and to play some small ball 5.
All that said, there’s a difference in what you say to the press and the expectations you have in planning out an actual rotation. Practically speaking, it is more likely than not Jabari will be a DNP many nights.
Or it could be that Stevens is just as tired as we are of seeing Semi or Grant Williams out there killing our offense off the bench and just wants a few guys he can bring in who can at least consistently score for some backup minutes.
After the Fournier trade, he said Fournier would play a lot of minutes and they value his scoring, and that has been the case when Fournier was available.
I think Quietly adding Fournier , Parker and even Langford to the second unit has been a major boost for this team. We know have Pritchard, Langford, Fournier, Parker and TT off the bench and even Kornet who has been great in short minutes. A legit, versatile bench with experience and shooting.
