Desmond Mason, the perfect Tony Allen replacement (vet min)

[Snakehead]

Interesting fact on Des Mason.  Since the end of the '03 - '04 season, he's hit exactly TWO three point shots (on seventeen attempts). 

Even PERKINS has taken eleven shots (I'd assume all end-of-quarter attempts)!

Well in that respect he'd be better than TA, who should never of taken 3's.  Nothing wrong with not taking 3's if you aren't going to hit them.  Josh Smith learned this and it made him go from a very good player to a great one.

You still want your small forward to be able to stretch the floor, particularly when playing alongside slashers like Rondo.  I agree, better to not take a shot you can't make...  but far better would be to work on your longball so that you're a better contributor. 

 Very much agreed.  That's was a huge problem with the TA at SF lineup when Rondo was at PG.  Great defense on the perimeter but poor offense.

TA always seemed like a guy that just couldn't shoot though. Rondo as well, but we'll see if that can change (hopefully).

This is why I think Rudy or a wing who is athletic and can shoot would be awesome off our bench but we'll see what happens.  Maybe Wafer could be that guy if he turns out well.

[pearljammer10]

Hmmm, perfect seems like an awfully strong word when it is used in the same sentence as Desmond Mason.

[Cman]

What ever happened to the idea of bringing Delonte West to Boston for the vet min?

He was waived by the Wolves 2 weeks ago... and no team has gone after him?

[Snakehead]

What ever happened to the idea of bringing Delonte West to Boston for the vet min?

He was waived by the Wolves 2 weeks ago... and no team has gone after him?

Well there is the whole gun situation.  Plus rumors with him and Gloria James... I don't know if those are true but in the inner NBA circles if it turned out to be a true story, they would know and probably avoid him even more.

Also I don't think there is a rush really.  I don't think we need him back.  We need a SF/SG option, not another PG/SG.  We have Nate.

[Rondo_is_better]

Desmond Mason is 32. Paul Pierce is 32 as well, but superstars perform at a high level for 2-3 years longer than role players. When you're a role player and you hit thirty, its time to start adding 3 years to your age to accurately estimate your effectiveness. In other words, what we could expect from Desmond Mason is the performance of a 35 year old wing. And not a Ray Allen-type 35 year old wing. An "ouch my knees....oh dear there goes Courtney Lee...HELP!!" type 35 year old wing. I'm skeptical of Desmond Mason's perfection.

[blake]

I think most are missing the OP's intention.  He w(c)ould be a perfect replacement for TA.  Very, very similar games.  

Could we find better players out there?  Yes.

If all else fails though in bringing one of those guys in here, it wouldn't be bad to have a good sized defender to put on one of Miami's guys and give Pierce or Ray a break for 10 minutes a game.  I think we can go 10 minutes a game without 1 extra outside threat.  If he gives PP a break, then RA will still stretch the floor plenty.  

The question about him is:  Can he still defend?  

[EJPLAYA]

I think most are missing the OP's intention.  He w(c)ould be a perfect replacement for TA.  Very, very similar games.  

Could we find better players out there?  Yes.

If all else fails though in bringing one of those guys in here, it wouldn't be bad to have a good sized defender to put on one of Miami's guys and give Pierce or Ray a break for 10 minutes a game.  I think we can go 10 minutes a game without 1 extra outside threat.  If he gives PP a break, then RA will still stretch the floor plenty.  

The question about him is:  Can he still defend?  

I don't people are missing the point, rather challenging the assumption that he is/was an elite defender. I would argue he was never an elite anything. If he was an elite defender then someone would have taken a chance on him when he got cut. I have always felt that TA's defensive abilities have been overstated, however he was definitely a very good defender. TA is a thousand miles closer to elite defender than Mason ever was. Mason was a potential guy that never panned out. He's washed up and has no place on this squad. Marquis is a better current defender than he would be.

[Vermont Green]

All of these ideas like Rodney Carney, Jarvis Hayes, and Mason are all just lateral moves that are redundant to Daniels and Wafer.  Redundancy is not necessarily a bad thing especially with Daniels' injury history but adding any of these guys now just doesn't help.  Some or all of them will still be available if needed if/when Daniels goes down during the season.  I suspect this is why Danny is not bothering to sign any of them.  Keep the roster spot open and fill it with what we need, when we need it.  For example what if Daniels is healthy but Nate gets hurt.  Then we need a PG, not a Mason type.  This is doubly important this year because we have Perk taking up a roster spot but not playing.

[blake]

I don't people are missing the point, rather challenging the assumption that he is/was an elite defender. I would argue he was never an elite anything. If he was an elite defender then someone would have taken a chance on him when he got cut. I have always felt that TA's defensive abilities have been overstated, however he was definitely a very good defender. TA is a thousand miles closer to elite defender than Mason ever was. Mason was a potential guy that never panned out. He's washed up and has no place on this squad. Marquis is a better current defender than he would be.

From Draft Express:
April 29, 2008
Overview: A freakish athlete who can still get by on his unbelievable physical merits. Good size and strength for a shooting guard. Ridiculous vertical leap. One of the most impressive dunkers in the game today. Fast and quick as well. Gets by on those traits alone at this point. May be a worse shooter now than when he entered the League. Abandoned that part of his game in recent seasons. Scores some points as a finisher or from the midrange. Solid defensively. Shot a pretty good percentage from the outside as a senior at Oklahoma State. Improved in that aspect of the game in each of his collegiate seasons. Not an NBA 3-point shooter, though, does not even attempt them now. Recent hand injury won’t help. Shows great character and is very active in the community. Good in locker room, but still trying to recapture his success on the court.

Here is an entire article about him being a good defender:

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2009/10/5/1071330/on-desmond-masons-defense

A tweet from Durant:

“[Desmond Mason] plays harder than anyone I ever seen!! Great defender.”

Others seem to think he was pretty decent at defense. 

[anthony83]

 Jerry Stackhouse could be another option,although he is more a
second guard,still a great scorer and experience for the playoff.

[Chris]

Others seem to think he was pretty decent at defense. 

Yeah, I think he WAS pretty decent at defense.  But that is the point, it is past tense.  He was never an elite defender however.  He was never on the level of Bruce Bowen, or Ron Artest, or other top defenders.  He was the next step down, but still very good in his own right.  But he is not anymore, and hasn't been for several years.  The last few years (when he has even played), he has been an average defender.  And that simply is not good enough to make up for his horrendous offense.

[Snakehead]

 Jerry Stackhouse could be another option,although he is more a
second guard,still a great scorer and experience for the playoff.

If we don't have the ability to get anyone else, I think Stack would be solid.  He played well last year for the Bucks and he could play some SF for us.

[ssspence]

 Jerry Stackhouse could be another option,although he is more a
second guard,still a great scorer and experience for the playoff.

If we don't have the ability to get anyone else, I think Stack would be solid.  He played well last year for the Bucks and he could play some SF for us.

We agree (for once), Snake. I was impressed with his play last year, and his numbers are pretty stong. He'd be a nice option when the 2nd unit is struggling offensively.

[ssspence]

I don't people are missing the point, rather challenging the assumption that he is/was an elite defender. I would argue he was never an elite anything. If he was an elite defender then someone would have taken a chance on him when he got cut. I have always felt that TA's defensive abilities have been overstated, however he was definitely a very good defender. TA is a thousand miles closer to elite defender than Mason ever was. Mason was a potential guy that never panned out. He's washed up and has no place on this squad. Marquis is a better current defender than he would be.

From Draft Express:
April 29, 2008
Overview: A freakish athlete who can still get by on his unbelievable physical merits. Good size and strength for a shooting guard. Ridiculous vertical leap. One of the most impressive dunkers in the game today. Fast and quick as well. Gets by on those traits alone at this point. May be a worse shooter now than when he entered the League. Abandoned that part of his game in recent seasons. Scores some points as a finisher or from the midrange. Solid defensively. Shot a pretty good percentage from the outside as a senior at Oklahoma State. Improved in that aspect of the game in each of his collegiate seasons. Not an NBA 3-point shooter, though, does not even attempt them now. Recent hand injury won’t help. Shows great character and is very active in the community. Good in locker room, but still trying to recapture his success on the court.

Here is an entire article about him being a good defender:

http://www.sactownroyalty.com/2009/10/5/1071330/on-desmond-masons-defense

A tweet from Durant:

“[Desmond Mason] plays harder than anyone I ever seen!! Great defender.”

Others seem to think he was pretty decent at defense. 

Another guy mentioned in the sactown article -- Kyle Weaver -- would be a better option.

[Snakehead]

 Jerry Stackhouse could be another option,although he is more a
second guard,still a great scorer and experience for the playoff.

If we don't have the ability to get anyone else, I think Stack would be solid.  He played well last year for the Bucks and he could play some SF for us.

We agree (for once), Snake. I was impressed with his play last year, and his numbers are pretty stong. He'd be a nice option when the 2nd unit is struggling offensively.

Yes, solid in the Playoffs too (7.3 PPG, .7 SPG, 1.1 Ast, 1.7 Reb, 90% FT, 33% from three, but negatively 32 % FG BUT he shot 40 % on the year).

His PER was 15.1 at SF and 11.2 at SG, and his opponets PER was 15.5 at SG and 9.8 at SF. So he seems like he could be well suited still to playing more SF, which he'd probably be doing for us.  He played more SG on the Bucks, but that was probably neccessity.

It's not an ideal backup for Pierce, but between Stack, Quis, and Wafer we could eat up the SF backup minutes and give Pierce rest.  Quis can be more of our D specialist, Stack all around, Wafer shooting.