Toronto trades Tayshaun Prince
Atlanta trades Jason Thompson
Interesting trade. Helps balance out both team's lineup in the short term.
Atlanta HawksLet's Atlanta move Josh Smith back to his natural position at power forward and gives Joe Johnson some legitimate help on the wing with Tayshaun taking over Marvin Williams' role. That's a quality trio at SG + SF + PF.
I would like to see Atlanta start Jordan Farmer alongside them. A more creative offensive player albeit primarily as a scorer. I don't like Derek Fisher. He can do a Bibby imitation but I don't think that's valuable. I would rather see another point guard brought in to take away his minutes if possible.
The team still needs a true center to play in the middle. Someone with a bit of muscle, some defensive ability and in particular post defense + man-to-man defense because Josh Smith already brings a lot of weakside defense but not man-to-man D against opposing bigs, and some tough rebounding ability. Another Al Horford.
Chris Andersen would make a very good backup big with his energy + effort + solid defensive/rebounding/garbage man contributions. I don't like him as the starting center but he is a good piece.
I also love Ryan Anderson as the backup power forward, he has All-Star potential if he can get his defense up to a solid level and based on his defensive improvement this season that is an achievable target. It's a shame he's stuck behind Josh Smith because he could have added huge value to a team as a low valued high quality 30-35mpg power forward.
James Posey is a good secondary reserve wing but I'd rather see someone else as the primary backup wing. Or two comparable reserve talents who's minutes vary depending on matchups.
Jordan Hill isn't a rotation worthy player but he is a decent prospect. A good rebounder and a decent garbage man offensively with a solid stand still jumper out to 20 feet. Some defense would be nice though.
So, I would like to see the Hawks add another solid reserve/rotation wing + a starting center + a Fisher replacement ... to get the most out of their core/squad.
Toronto RaptorsI'm not sure what to make of Gilbert Arenas. He has been poor this season but he's only at the early stages of his comeback attempt. He may improve and if he does he's exactly the type of prolific offensive perimeter player that this team could use.
The one major downside to Arenas is that I don't like him around JR Smith. Smith is too immature to handle playing alongside such an erratic + ball dominating point guard. So if Arenas is in the plans, then JR Smith has to go, or vice versa.
Anyway, to the rest of the team since Arenas is an X-Factor for the time being ...
Kirk Hinrich and Mario Chalmers is a good point guard rotation. Mainly because of their defense. JR Smith and Martell Webster is one of the better defensive wing combinations in the league. Combine those two elements together and you have the makings of an elite perimeter defense.
JR Smith would be the best perimeter scorer and likely a 18-20ppg threat as well as a solid passer + solid defender + solid rebounder. Martell Webster is one of the finest role players in the league with his excellent defensive play + decent rebounding (SF, good rebounding SG) and high quality complementary offensive game. Their quickness + defensive ability would make life difficult for opposing teams on a nightly basis. And, their shooting ability will keep opposing teams on their toes all night long.
There is a lack of a 3/2 type reserve player. A small forward/shooting guard. It would be preferable to have that type of role player (defender + effective offensive player) but that isn't a big deal due to Smith's + Webster's flexibility. JR Smith is a prototypical two guard who can play some time at both the three and the one while Martell Webster is a natural two guard who can double up as a three. So the Raps could field a big small forward like Jerebko or Nocioni and just keep Webster or JR Smith on the court to play the two guard position while they're out there.
Jonas Jerebko is a good utility man who can backup all three frontcourt positions. Andres Nocioni is a mediocre reserve player who provides streaky offensive player + good rebounding at the small forward position and can play the four in some small ball lineups. Nocioni is slow footed defensively at the three and struggles defensively against more PFs, that's the main reason for my interest in a quicker solid defensive reserve wing. So not the strongest at the reserve SG + SF + semi-PF positions but adequate.
Jason Thompson is a very good acquisition. He can switch between the four and five seamlessly. It allows the Raptors to put more quickness out there with their big men (Thompson vs Perkins) when required without resorting to a small ball lineup and without losing a lot of their quality rebounding.
Thompson is a very poor defensive player but he's young and capable of making large strides defensively over the next few years. He's also a skilled + versatile offensive player who is comfortable anywhere on the court. Thompson is an excellent offensive + rebounding complement to Chris Bosh when you want to put Bosh at center and create more matchup problems (very valuable!).
Nazr Mohammed is a serviceable backup center and JaVale McGee is a solid prospect at center. Nice depth as the fourth + fifth bigs in the rotation.
So, ideally -- short of acquiring an All-NBA wing -- I would like the see the Raptors add one more wing player. Someone who can play solid defense (slightly above average or better) and provide some offensive quality (either as an efficient complementary player or a go-to scorer off the bench). Also, primarily a natural small forward who is a solid rebounder (board work is important here) but is also able to matchup against some twos.
Without Gilbert Arenas, that squad is still a tad short on perimeter offense so it's important they have an effective offensive player backing up the wings. Nocioni is acceptable but Jerebko less so.
If you can't get that though, it's fine, Nocioni will do a good enough job. And Jerebko gives enough depth. Add a two guard who is a strong defensive player as a situation substitute to balance out the bench.
Topic: Is Your Pick Two Team Better than When it Started? (Read 195677 times)