Bruce Bowen will be on this list within a week or so, once his $4M option is officially declined. I'm not a huge fan, either of his dirty play or of what seems to be a huge decline in his play, but I'm thinking there's at least a 50/50 chance we see him in green.
* We could use another wing, but whoever comes isn't likely to see a ton of minutes behind House, Daniels (and this will be magnified if we re-sign Marbury or bring in Ty Lue, so that House is playing mostly at the off-guard).
* Therefore, younger off-guard/SF-types that we might pursue (like an Ime Udoka) aren't going to view Boston all that favorable; not only will they likely be playing for the veteran minimum, they'll likely be looking at maybe 10 minutes a night, tops - not setting themselves up to get paid in 2010
* Some of who we can target may depend on whether Daniels is acquired via S&T or via the LLE. A S&T means that Tony Allen will be in Indiana, opening up a roster spot and giving us a little more money to spend. If he's signed w/ the LLE, we've got no money to spend and a LOT of fringe-rotation wing-types on the roster; TA, Giddens, Walker. Either Giddens or Walker seems likely to be on their way out of town, just to free up a roster spot if you want a veteran-type on the end of the bench, or if you need room to solidify the backup PG/4th-big man roles.
Incidentally, I think Danny's trying to preserve the LLE not necessarily to spend it on another wing/PG/big, but to have some extra $$ available to spend on whoever this year's Joe Smith happens to be. Someone will get bought out in February, and if we've got $2M (prorated) to spend instead of $1M (the vet minimum), that's got to help if we're competing with Cleveland or Orlando or whoever.
* I bet Danny's going to give every opportunity for Giddens or Walker to earn some minutes. Both players have talent, energy, and SHOULD be good defenders in the NBA. Both seem like the game's still moving too fast for them; seems like both need to learn how to play in control. If the game starts to slow down for one of them, there's your backup wing.
* This is where Bowen fits in. Bowen's old. If he doesn't play much in the regular season, so be it; you sign him because you want a crafty guy in the playoffs, as well as someone who can show some of his tricks to the new kids. If you need him for 10 minutes a night, he can give you that - but if you don't really need him in November and December, he seems to be at that point in his career where that'll be OK. He's only going to go to a team where he can fill a role on a championship-caliber team. His personality and style of play... well, on a team with KG and 'Sheed and Perk and Pierce and Rondo, don't you think he'll fit right in perfectly? We could have the most-reviled rotation in NBA history, or at least since the Bad Boy Pistons.
Hell, I think that's what we are; the new-version of old-school Detroit teams.
* Plan on one roster spot for Robert Swift. At the very least, 90% chance he gets an invite to camp (with some kind of partially-guaranteed deal likely).
* Pruitt is gone - either traded in the next few days or we aren't picking up his option. If he's traded, it'll likely be as a salary dump, so he's pretty likely to be unemployed regardless within the next five business days
* Scal needs to be listed among the rotation players, not the deep-bench. Right now, he's our fourth big, which I can live with (but would prefer him to be the 5th big). But, he showed last year that on this team, he's a legit rotation player.
* BBD's running out of options; I bet he comes back, signs the qualifying option (or some kind of one-year contract) that makes him a free agent again in 2010. He's a great fit for the 4th-big here, and they'll be enough minutes for him to keep proving himself to League execs.
That's a long-winded way of saying:
1. Bruce Bowen, but Giddens/Walker given every chance to take his minutes
2. Baby'll be back
3. Don't sleep on Scal
4. The Swift Era FINALLY will begin
Topic: Bench Help?? (Read 1543 times)