Who do you least want Cleveland to trade for?

[ManUp]

amare can work with shaq...lol..that would not be fair and stern should never let that combo get together..illegal..

Stern already let that combo get together and they couldn't make the playoffs

That crew didn't have LeBron...or a bench.

or health Amare missed 20+ games down the stretch.

[PosImpos]

amare can work with shaq...lol..that would not be fair and stern should never let that combo get together..illegal..

Stern already let that combo get together and they couldn't make the playoffs

That crew didn't have LeBron...or a bench.

or health Amare missed 20+ games down the stretch.

still, his comments imply that Amare + Shaq = ownage and when they were both healthy last season that clearly wasn't the case.

[indeedproceed]

amare can work with shaq...lol..that would not be fair and stern should never let that combo get together..illegal..

Stern already let that combo get together and they couldn't make the playoffs

That crew didn't have LeBron...or a bench.

or health Amare missed 20+ games down the stretch.

still, his comments imply that Amare + Shaq = ownage and when they were both healthy last season that clearly wasn't the case.

Amare+Shaq alone doesn't equal ownage....I'm saying that the 1st place in the east, by 4 games, with the best player in basketball, adding Amare Stoudamire without giving up too many significant pieces...that's a nightmare for the Celtics.

[PosImpos]

amare can work with shaq...lol..that would not be fair and stern should never let that combo get together..illegal..

Stern already let that combo get together and they couldn't make the playoffs

That crew didn't have LeBron...or a bench.

or health Amare missed 20+ games down the stretch.

still, his comments imply that Amare + Shaq = ownage and when they were both healthy last season that clearly wasn't the case.

Amare+Shaq alone doesn't equal ownage....I'm saying that the 1st place in the east, by 4 games, with the best player in basketball, adding Amare Stoudamire without giving up too many significant pieces...that's a nightmare for the Celtics.

Yes, Cleveland getting any better is a nightmare.  But I think they'd be better with Antawn Jamison.  Amare can at least hit jumpshots from mid range well, so he doesn't totally clog up the lane for them any more than it's already clogged, but he still scores a lot of points taking it to the hoop.  Antawn is hitting 36.8% of his 3's this year and is putting up very similar numbers to Amare. 

Jamison is also scoring more points per game on a team in which he is not the 1st option on offense.  Amare is the 1st option in Phoenix, although Steve is pretty good at spreading the wealth.

I'd say the only way Cleveland getting Amare is significantly worse is that they could resign him potentially and have him for years to come alongside LeBron, which would indeed be scary.  Antawn is 33 so he probably only has another couple years left at most.

[scoop]

1.Stoudemire (great frontcourt: James+Stoudemire+Varejão - top contender for many years)
2.Jamison
3.West (small, unimportant improvement)
4.Murphy (would Murphy actually improve them? Another slow big who doesn't defend and can't create his shot?)

[GreenFaith1819]

I apologize ahead of time...I didn't vote.

I didn't vote because no one on that list of PFs frightens me. Don't get me wrong, they are all top flight PFs, but (and I know it sounds cliche):

"As long we play Celtics Basketball, we can beat anyone."

It's been proven before that a team that attempts to construct itself to be unbeatable in the end is Not (2004-2005 Lakers).

Chemistry. Most important.

I'll take my Celtics Old, beat-up, rusty Studebaker over  LA's sleek sportscar or CLE's Escalade. Any day.

[sk7326]

1.Stoudemire (great frontcourt: James+Stoudemire+Varejão - top contender for many years)
2.Jamison
3.West (small, unimportant improvement)
4.Murphy (would Murphy actually improve them? Another slow big who doesn't defend and can't create his shot?)

Murphy improves them.  Slow, not great defensively but at least high effort (hey, it works for Ray Allen).  Him not creating his own shot is a non-issue.  He is able to score without needing touches.  With his excellent 3 pt shooting and remarkable rebounding ability (led PFs in defensive rebounding a year ago) - he makes that offense work in a way that Big Z can't anymore.  He's no worse defensively than Z.

Jamison would help a lot - but also poor defensively.  Really it's close.  Amare would help - but he is a poor EFFORT defender and whines when he does not get touches.  Cavs will have to evaluate him fully.  David West is not a huge improvement - since most of his shots are elbow jumpers - and you need to hit them at Dirk's rate to be a star.

[screwedupmaniac]

Amare didn't work out with Shaq in PHX, and Lebron or no Lebron, I don't think it would work in Cleveland either. Amare best excels when he is a scoring center in an uptempo offense.

David West is used to being a complementary player, has a nice midrange shot, and could potentially fit into Cleveland's system well. However, is he good enough to take them over the top? I'm not so sure.

Troy Murphy is sort of the same story as David West. Slow defender.

I would say that Jamison is the one that I don't want Cleveland to trade for...Jamison would best complement Shaq's and Lebron's physical games and stretch the offense. Also, even though he's not known for his defense, we've never really seen him play in a system that eats breathes and sleeps defense like the Cavs do.

[RJ87]

Cleveland has been linked with some pretty big names, including Amare, Jamison, Murphy, and West.  The thinking is that they'd trade Big Z and maybe another piece, and then re-acquire Z after he's bought out.

What do you think?  Which player makes Cleveland the scariest, and do you think they have the pieces to pull off a deal?

Amare and Shaq didn't work in Phoenix - they won't work in Cleveland either. Cle needs a 4 who can hit the outside shot, Amare a finisher around the rim. It was hard for him to do that before with Shaq clogging the lanes. So let them go ahead and trade for him, it could spell a 1st seed in the East for us.

[Reyquila]

We shouldnt care for whom the Cavs trade for. They are going down in 4, regardless. right?......right? 

[Fafnir]

Cleveland has been linked with some pretty big names, including Amare, Jamison, Murphy, and West.  The thinking is that they'd trade Big Z and maybe another piece, and then re-acquire Z after he's bought out.

What do you think?  Which player makes Cleveland the scariest, and do you think they have the pieces to pull off a deal?

Amare and Shaq didn't work in Phoenix - they won't work in Cleveland either. Cle needs a 4 who can hit the outside shot, Amare a finisher around the rim. It was hard for him to do that before with Shaq clogging the lanes. So let them go ahead and trade for him, it could spell a 1st seed in the East for us.

Why would the play Shaq for more than 15-20 minutes a game, that's what they do now.

Amar'e would be playing with LBJ and Sideshow Bob most of the time.

[sk7326]

Cleveland has been linked with some pretty big names, including Amare, Jamison, Murphy, and West.  The thinking is that they'd trade Big Z and maybe another piece, and then re-acquire Z after he's bought out.

What do you think?  Which player makes Cleveland the scariest, and do you think they have the pieces to pull off a deal?

Amare and Shaq didn't work in Phoenix - they won't work in Cleveland either. Cle needs a 4 who can hit the outside shot, Amare a finisher around the rim. It was hard for him to do that before with Shaq clogging the lanes. So let them go ahead and trade for him, it could spell a 1st seed in the East for us.

Why would the play Shaq for more than 15-20 minutes a game, that's what they do now.

Amar'e would be playing with LBJ and Sideshow Bob most of the time.

Really they could mothball Shaq for the rest of the season and be happy ... Shaq is there for ONE reason only - because he can play behind Dwight Howard in the post.  That is the only thing that separated them from the finals last season.  Dwight Howard needs to be guarded with strength and lower body strength, something none of their bigs but Shaq has.  Also why Kendrick Perkins does such a good job on him while being a below the rim player.

[Roy Hobbs]

Cleveland has been linked with some pretty big names, including Amare, Jamison, Murphy, and West.  The thinking is that they'd trade Big Z and maybe another piece, and then re-acquire Z after he's bought out.

What do you think?  Which player makes Cleveland the scariest, and do you think they have the pieces to pull off a deal?

Amare and Shaq didn't work in Phoenix - they won't work in Cleveland either. Cle needs a 4 who can hit the outside shot, Amare a finisher around the rim. It was hard for him to do that before with Shaq clogging the lanes. So let them go ahead and trade for him, it could spell a 1st seed in the East for us.

Don't underestimate Amare's outside game.  He doesn't really have three point range, but he can definitely keep teams honest from beyond the paint. 

[PosImpos]

Cleveland has been linked with some pretty big names, including Amare, Jamison, Murphy, and West.  The thinking is that they'd trade Big Z and maybe another piece, and then re-acquire Z after he's bought out.

What do you think?  Which player makes Cleveland the scariest, and do you think they have the pieces to pull off a deal?

Amare and Shaq didn't work in Phoenix - they won't work in Cleveland either. Cle needs a 4 who can hit the outside shot, Amare a finisher around the rim. It was hard for him to do that before with Shaq clogging the lanes. So let them go ahead and trade for him, it could spell a 1st seed in the East for us.

Don't underestimate Amare's outside game.  He doesn't really have three point range, but he can definitely keep teams honest from beyond the paint. 

Not as well as Jamison can.

If we're talking about just this year I just don't see why Amare makes them better than Antawn would.

[Who]

Cle needs a 4 who can hit the outside shot, Amare a finisher around the rim.

Don't underestimate Amare's outside game.  He doesn't really have three point range, but he can definitely keep teams honest from beyond the paint. 

Not as well as Jamison can.

If we're talking about just this year I just don't see why Amare makes them better than Antawn would.

According to 82games.com -- 54% of Amare's shots are jump shots and he has an eFG% of 47.2% on them. Jamison takes 70% of his shots, jumpers, and only makes eFG% 43.9% despite a big bump from his three point shooting. Jamison also has a far higher proportion of shots assisted on (87% to 65%).

According to Hoopdata.com

(1) 10-15 feet -- Amare makes 53% of his jump shots while Jamison makes 37%. They take a comparable number of attempts per game from this range. Jamison has been consistently in that 35-38% range for three years while Amare varies widely year-to-year (38%, 51%, 36%, 53%).

(2) 16-23 feet -- Amare makes 45% of his shots from this range and has consistently hit 44-48% over the past four years. Antawn Jamison makes 40% of his shots and hit 33-36% in his previous three years. Again, they both take a comparable number of attempts from this range.

(3) 23+ feet -- Amare doesn't take any shots from this range. Jamison takes 4 attempts a night and has an eFG% of 55% on them. He has consistently taken 3.9-to-5.4 attempts and made 51-55% of them over the past four years.

In summary, Amare Stoudemire is the more effective midrange shooter + long two point jump shooter but doesn't shoot threes. Jamison, on the other hand, has a three point shot and is very effective with it.