we missed out on Balkman!

[celticsfan8591]

I had no idea he was available for so little (Denver gave up Taurean Green and Bobby Jones for him).  The Celtics should have gone after him as a replacement for Posey.  Balkman isn't in the same statosphere as a shooter, but he is more athletic than Posey, probably as good on defense, and brings even more energy.  Balkman would have been hugely popular with in Boston, its too bad we didn't go after him.

[cdif911]

Balkman = bust - Isiah reached on him and he wasn't an NBA player- he played poorly in his first summer league game this year, and now has a bum ankle... not a guy I want

[Who]

Both Green and Jones have non-guaranteed contracts. Those contracts become guaranteed if the players are on the rosters past Aug 1st and Aug 15th respectively.

It was a salary dump pure and simple. Wipes $1.32mil off their books in an instant (he also had a team option at 2mil the following year).

So if Danny did want Balkman. He'd have to part with actual talent because the contracts here (outside of Powe) all have to count against the cap.

Balkman is exactly the type of hyper active disruptive defender that George Karl loves but Balkman's awful fit in their offense will stop him from getting enough playing time.

This is a bad move for the Nuggets. Denver don't move the ball well enough to use Balkman's passing/handle/movement, they also lack shooters which makes Balkman on the perimeter a problem and their bigs also don't provide enough offense so role players need to chip in a bit more than elsewhere. Balkman's lack of a jump shot will mean even less space for AI/Melo to operate.

[jdub1660]

I don't see any interest in Balkman. He's another undersized PF who plays SF but doesn't really have an offensive game. That's not what Boston needs. The team needs a reliable offensive source that can play team defense. Having 1 of the 2 does us no good. Our starting lineup was proven to be flawless when healthy. Our bench was able to pull through with veteran help(Cassell/Posey/PJ) now we need whats left of our returning bench(House,Tony,Powe,BBD) to pull through and our unproven players(Pruitt, BWalker, Giddens) to step up and grow, and we need to find vet replacements. Balkman doesn't really fit that role. Plus Denver only made the move to get a Najera replacement and to clear off 2 contracts they weren't using, as they are both traded to NY they will be waived b/c of non-guaranteed contracts.

[houlana]

I don't see any interest in Balkman. He's another undersized PF who plays SF but doesn't really have an offensive game. That's not what Boston needs. The team needs a reliable offensive source that can play team defense. Having 1 of the 2 does us no good. Our starting lineup was proven to be flawless when healthy. Our bench was able to pull through with veteran help(Cassell/Posey/PJ) now we need whats left of our returning bench(House,Tony,Powe,BBD) to pull through and our unproven players(Pruitt, BWalker, Giddens) to step up and grow, and we need to find vet replacements. Balkman doesn't really fit that role. Plus Denver only made the move to get a Najera replacement and to clear off 2 contracts they weren't using, as they are both traded to NY they will be waived b/c of non-guaranteed contracts.

i agree with u 100%. Balkman is an undersized PF.
we dont need any more, already have powe and BBD. works well for Denver, but he is not what the celtics need of the bench now. we need a replacment pre posey and a back up center in case o'briant doesnt work out for us.

[cordobes]

Balkman will play Najera's role for the Nuggets. I have no idea why would we need such a player.

[Petro]

Balkman to me is a poor man's Rodman at best. He plays with alot of heart. But honestley Powe and Davis are more talented than he his why would we we need another PF. I believe we are set with Powe and Big baby for next season so getting Balkman would have made no sense. Besides Walsh would have raised the price on C's because we are Divisional Rivals.

[ManUp]

I would've loved to have Balkman. I agree he could definitely do what Posey did defensively. Isiah definitely reached where he picked him in the draft, but he wasn't a bust. He didn't get playing time on the Knicks because they don't know what they're doing. Think about it David Lee there comes off the bench for them.

[Mr October]

I'm cool with what the C's have at the 4: KG, Powe, Davis, Scal.

I'd only want another 4 if they were good enough to be second only to KG on our depth chart at the 4. Otherwise 4 power forwards is enough.

[ManUp]

I'm pretty sure Balkman is a 3.

I couldn't see him trying to play the 4 he'd get out muscled by just about everyone.

[Roy Hobbs]

I wonder if there's some poster out there on another blog lamenting "we missed out on O'Bryant!"

I have a hard time getting too worked up about missing out on a guy who averaged less than 3.5 points and shot 8.3% from three and 43.2% from the line.  Yes, he hustles.  Yes, he's a decent rebounder and defender.  However, he's not exemplary in those areas, and he has no offensive game to speak of.  No thank you.

[Mr October]

I'm pretty sure Balkman is a 3.

I couldn't see him trying to play the 4 he'd get out muscled by just about everyone.

Whoops my mistake. Defensive, hustle guy who can't shoot - I assumed he was an undersized 4. I still don't want him. Our back up 3 has to at least have some offensive skill. I'd rather roll the dice with TA, Scal, Walker, Giddens platooning behind Pierce.

[Roy Hobbs]

I'm pretty sure Balkman is a 3.

I couldn't see him trying to play the 4 he'd get out muscled by just about everyone.

Whoops my mistake. Defensive, hustle guy who can't shoot - I assumed he was an undersized 4. I still don't want him. Our back up 3 has to at least have some offensive skill. I'd rather roll the dice with TA, Scal, Walker, Giddens platooning behind Pierce.

But he's a homeless man's Gerald Wallace!

[Who]

Balkman should be considered a wing and not a big man. His best skills are on the defensive end and they're defending perimeter orientated players, not bigs. He's also an excellent rebounder from the small forward position but would probably have a more difficult time keeping off big bodied power forwards off the backboards. His best skills are best used on the wing.

Offensively he has some handle/passing skills and is good at moving off the ball. Nice cutter. His lack of a jumpshot really hurts him but his defensive impact is enough for him to earn minutes as a perimeter player.

Be interesting to see what happens with him from here. Does he have to wait years until he ends up in the right situation and with a coach who has the bottle to play him? Or does he struggle for years. Is he forced to develop that jumpshot before he earns minutes? Can he develop that jumpshot is another one?

I like Balkman, hopefully it works out for him. Not surprising that Denver are the team that went after him. He shut down Carmelo Anthony in impressive fashion early last season, one of the few bright spots in his sophomore campaign.

[acieEarl]

Dang we really missed out. Too bad we got stuck drafting Rondo right after him.




Balkman will be out of the league in a year. Poor mans CBA player at best.