If no Pargo, I think option #3 is Antoine Walker. He'd provide veteran leadership, outside shooting, and give this team the ability to play small ball from time to time. He's better than Scal in EVERY respect and as we've seen in the last 2 weeks, we've really missed the little that Scal does provide. Imagine if we replaced that with someone who was better than Scal and had that Championship experience? Walker is a fine #3 option if we can't find anything better.
Except, of course, Scal has contributed to an NBA team this season, and Antoine hasn't. That should tell you something about how NBA GMs see Antoine's potential contribution.
I was an Antoine fan, and I'd rather see him here than POB, simply because I like Antoine better. However, in terms of useful contributions, I'm not sure what Antoine has to offer.
Well, that argument works both ways. Scal could have easily been cut in training camp and not been signed by any other team and we could be thinking the same things about him. That said, I'd definitely have to have Antoine in for a workout to make sure he's at least in playing shape, but beyond that he's a no-brainer. Scal would be a rotation-level player if he did one thing consistently--rebound. He never has and that's why he's always been in and out of the lineup over the course of his career. Antoine can rebound and he'd give us a legitimate small ball lineup.
All this argument aside, I don't think Ainge is going to even think of signing Antoine unless there's a major injury in the front court. So, Pargo remains the best, lowest cost option to improve the bench, assuming PJ doesn't want to come back.
Pargo just signed a contract with Oly a couple of weeks ago. They surely aren't releasing him from that contract and I'm fairly certain he's not interested in being released anyway.
Plus, I know you have some peculiar opinions on basketball players, but Pargo would be, IMO, a bad fit. He's another highly unreliable player, who can singlehandedly make you lose a playoffs game. Just ask the Hornets. House is a better version of Pargo. Pargo is more versatile, can create shots and plays better defence, but he's also more mistaken prone and he likes to play heroics. We already have Tony Allen as a player who isn't intelligent enough to understand his limitations. I guess you like that kind of players - to the point you guaranteed that we're better with Tony Allen than we would be with Posey (improved defence, better offence, etc.) - but I personally believe some reliability is a fundamental trait of winning basketball. Players who can be so extremely horrific as Tony Allen and Pargo are often dangerous to their own teams. Anyway, it doesn't matter: Pargo is not a FA and he won't be anytime soon.
TA has had an up-and-down year, spraining the ankle and coming back too soon and then spraining it again. But he's back on the upswing. The real problem with him is that he's playing with Eddie House at point guard. A guy like Posey was better suited to play with Eddie House because you had to guard him on the perimeter. But put a bad-dribbling, no passing short point guard together with a guy whose entire game is premised on getting to the rim...well, we know what happens, you just pressure House, back off TA, clog the lane, and the offense is gummed up. No ball movement, bad possessions, and desperation shots as the shot clock is expiring. TA is a better player than Posey, but put him with a bad point guard and his limitations are exposed. TA's been the Cs best defender (not today perhaps) at least if you go by PER against. And if you want to compare him head-to-head with Posey, remember that TA's got the better PER (13.02 to 12.77). Not that you care about stats
And most importantly, TA came at a bargain rate and Posey didn't. Never forget about the money component when comparing those two guys. We're severely cramped by what we can do by virtue of the salary of the big 3.
Similarly to TA, Eddie House's limitations are highlighted when you ask him to play point. We really need Gabe back in the lineup or we need Cassell to start playing. The TA/House backcourt is a bad mixture.
Cordobes, you made a good point on Pargo, but I just assumed that if we really wanted him we could buy out his contract. Admittedly, I'm not sure if that works under the salary cap.
I'm also not sure how you can say House is better than Pargo. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer players who can actually play their positions. Pargo is an actual point guard, a better defender, dribbler, penetrator, and scorer. House shoots 3s better, that's about it. Also, don't underrate Pargo's ability to come up big in the playoffs. He's a big game player. House is awesome at hitting 3s after the game's been decided....but throughout his career he's usually come up small in the big games. But the worse thing about House is that you need to prop him up with a point guard (and a big point at that) to make him successful.
