This is all just talk. The C's could win 65 games with Scal playing the backup point. The more important matter is what happens come playoff time, and come playoff time, House and Daniels are going to play all the backup minutes at the 1-3, no matter what you want to call them position-wise.
That's why this Nocioni business is silly. We'd be paying 7 million a year for a guy who might not even crack the playoff rotation. Because people need to realize that when you have three All Stars at the 1-3, there are not a lot of minutes left over for backups.
On the other hand if it costs $7 million a year to keep Pierce's and Ray's minutes down to 31-33 minutes per game and yet not lose any effectiveness, I would be all for it. 82 games is a long season and as last year shows, the team that goes into the playoffs healthy and rested will always do well.
I don't mind this team being 10-11 deep during the season if it means that the older players get to rest a lot and be fresher come playoff time while at the same time not having to roll rookies out there to do it. This way you can still win and get the rest for the starters.
Just another way to look at things. Where trading for Nocioni might hurt is in payroll tax for the next couple years but a Nocioni type player would go a long way to extending our depth and making sure that Doc can keep the wings minutes to a minimum.
My preference might be to pick up a guy like Raja Bell who could move into the slot behind Ray and move Daniels to the 3. Bell is an expiring so that still works short term for the C's.
An interesting scenario could happen in Phoenix. If it looks like they aren't going to make the playoffs, maybe they would want to dump some salary and I would love a Tony, Scal, Giddens package for Leandro Barbosa and Jared Dudley. Both would be excellent long term additions for the bench as they give you your backup 3 and combo guard for the future as House could be gone after this year.
