What Player Benefits The Most From The Lockout In Your Opinion

[StartOrien]

Wonder if the Blazers and Bulls could do a deal around Wes Matthews and Taj Gibson.

Mathews and a heavily protected first for Gibson and Ronnie Brewer? Gives Portland some desperately needed depth in the frontcourt, and gives Chicago a legit starting 2 who doesn't give up anything defensively and is capable of scoring.

[Who]

Wonder if the Blazers and Bulls could do a deal around Wes Matthews and Taj Gibson.

Mathews and a heavily protected first for Gibson and Ronnie Brewer?

Ronnie Brewer would be a really bad fit with Gerald Wallace. They'd suffer from the same floor spacing problems Utah had with Brewer and Kirilenko had.

Taj Gibson would be a nice guy to put alongside LaMarcus Aldridge. And Wes Matthews would be a really good glue guy to round out that starting five in Chicago. Not sure I'd sacrifice Gibson to land him though.

[Who]

And Wes Matthews would be a really good glue guy to round out that starting five in Chicago. Not sure I'd sacrifice Gibson to land him though.

Chicago should keep Taj Gibson and sign Nick Young.

Nick Young would be fantastic on that Bulls team. They have a strong defensive backbone and with their interior defense + Deng and Brewer on the wing, they don't need much more than adequate defensive play from their starting two guard. They are the best rebounding team in the league so they can live with a weak rebounding two. They don't need passing or creativity out of the position. But they do need an aggressive scorer to chime in with 15-17ppg to add to Boozer + Deng. He'd be excellent for them.

And I think he'd grow a lot as a defender while there.

[StartOrien]

Wonder if the Blazers and Bulls could do a deal around Wes Matthews and Taj Gibson.

Mathews and a heavily protected first for Gibson and Ronnie Brewer?

Ronnie Brewer would be a really bad fit with Gerald Wallace. They'd suffer from the same floor spacing problems Utah had with Brewer and Kirilenko had.

Taj Gibson would be a nice guy to put alongside LaMarcus Aldridge. And Wes Matthews would be a really good glue guy to round out that starting five in Chicago. Not sure I'd sacrifice Gibson to land him though.

Brewer would be needed to match salaries, not so much for his abilities.

[Chris]

And Wes Matthews would be a really good glue guy to round out that starting five in Chicago. Not sure I'd sacrifice Gibson to land him though.

Chicago should keep Taj Gibson and sign Nick Young.

Nick Young would be fantastic on that Bulls team. They have a strong defensive backbone and with their interior defense + Deng and Brewer on the wing, they don't need much more than adequate defensive play from their starting two guard. They are the best rebounding team in the league so they can live with a weak rebounding two. They don't need passing or creativity out of the position. But they do need an aggressive scorer to chime in with 15-17ppg to add to Boozer + Deng. He'd be excellent for them.

And I think he'd grow a lot as a defender while there.

I still think the guy to look out for is Rip.  If (when) he is amnestied, he becomes absolutely perfect as the starting SG in Chicago.  Smart guy, knows how to play off the ball, good shooter, great midrange game...and IMO still has plenty in the tank, and has just suffered from playing without a PG the last couple of years. 

[StartOrien]

And Wes Matthews would be a really good glue guy to round out that starting five in Chicago. Not sure I'd sacrifice Gibson to land him though.

Chicago should keep Taj Gibson and sign Nick Young.

Nick Young would be fantastic on that Bulls team. They have a strong defensive backbone and with their interior defense + Deng and Brewer on the wing, they don't need much more than adequate defensive play from their starting two guard. They are the best rebounding team in the league so they can live with a weak rebounding two. They don't need passing or creativity out of the position. But they do need an aggressive scorer to chime in with 15-17ppg to add to Boozer + Deng. He'd be excellent for them.

And I think he'd grow a lot as a defender while there.

I still think the guy to look out for is Rip.  If (when) he is amnestied, he becomes absolutely perfect as the starting SG in Chicago.  Smart guy, knows how to play off the ball, good shooter, great midrange game...and IMO still has plenty in the tank, and has just suffered from playing without a PG the last couple of years. 

I'm not sure if I share your vision. Ideally that offense is iso rose or, with improvements, pick and roll Boozer & Rose. I'm not sure if Rip's mid range game works well in that particular system.

[cman88]

every year, we hear the same thing "rose needs someone else to take the pressure off him" thats why they signed boozer...the guy was dangerous in the pick and roll the year before...

whats the reason for the drop in production?? d.williams is a much better playmaker for his team-mates than D. Rose...Boozer isnt the kind of player to create his own offense..and right now D.Rose thrives with the ball in his hands most of the time

Rose needs to work on his playmaking skills IMO, or I think well hear the same schtick from the analysts next year....what they really need is someone else who can create their own offense for themselves..boozer cant, he needs his offense to be created by his PG

[nickagneta]

Rip would look great in Celtic green as the first guard coming off the bench since his style of play would fit in perfectly with the C's half court flow.

Doubt we could land him as, if he is an amnesty victim, there would definitely be a team out there willing to give him an MLE contract and the C's are going to need that for a center.

Regarding players that may benefit from this lockout, I have to think players like David West, Michael Redd, Rajon Rondo, Anderson Varejao, and other players that were injured at the end of last year have to be benefiting from having the extra recuperation time without having to already be in camp taking major contact.

I could be wrong but those players and older players that played in the playoffs, especially deep into the playoffs(Kidd, Terry, Dirk) got to be loving the extra down time to get their bodies healed and in shape.

[Chris]

And Wes Matthews would be a really good glue guy to round out that starting five in Chicago. Not sure I'd sacrifice Gibson to land him though.

Chicago should keep Taj Gibson and sign Nick Young.

Nick Young would be fantastic on that Bulls team. They have a strong defensive backbone and with their interior defense + Deng and Brewer on the wing, they don't need much more than adequate defensive play from their starting two guard. They are the best rebounding team in the league so they can live with a weak rebounding two. They don't need passing or creativity out of the position. But they do need an aggressive scorer to chime in with 15-17ppg to add to Boozer + Deng. He'd be excellent for them.

And I think he'd grow a lot as a defender while there.

I still think the guy to look out for is Rip.  If (when) he is amnestied, he becomes absolutely perfect as the starting SG in Chicago.  Smart guy, knows how to play off the ball, good shooter, great midrange game...and IMO still has plenty in the tank, and has just suffered from playing without a PG the last couple of years. 

I'm not sure if I share your vision. Ideally that offense is iso rose or, with improvements, pick and roll Boozer & Rose. I'm not sure if Rip's mid range game works well in that particular system.

I think he works perfectly in that, because he will be coming off picks on the backside, giving Rose and outlet if they have the pick and rolls covered.  And more importantly, with him running circles on the baseline, it keeps the defense honest, so they can't cheat as much when Rose is penetrating. 

Basically, defenses will have to defend him the same way they defend Ray (except maybe not as tight on the 3 point line), which means that instead of shading Rose wherever he goes, they will be shading those passing lanes to Rip.

[Who]

I think Rip Hamilton would be a good addition in Chicago. I don't think he'd perform at his highest possible level but he'd play at a good level. Mainly because of Boozer, Noah and Thibs rather than Rose.

That said, I don't think Detroit uses the amnesty on Rip Hamilton. No point now that he is so close to the end of his current contract. Only two years left. No longer viewed as the poisonous deal it once was. A tradeable asset now or in the near future. If Detroit uses the amnesty on anyone, it'll be either Ben Gordon or Charlie Villanueva (my choice).

[Chris]

I think Rip Hamilton would be a good addition in Chicago. I don't think he'd perform at his highest possible level but he'd play at a good level. Mainly because of Boozer, Noah and Thibs rather than Rose.

That said, I don't think Detroit uses the amnesty on Rip Hamilton. No point now that he is so close to the end of his current contract. Only two years left. No longer viewed as the poisonous deal it once was. A tradeable asset now or in the near future. If Detroit uses the amnesty on anyone, it'll be either Ben Gordon or Charlie Villanueva (my choice).

Its possible.  Although I just think the bridge might have been burned last year.  I really don't think they were happy at all with him leading the uprising against the coach.  If they don't use the Amnesty clause on him, they could use the stretch exception on him instead.

[slamtheking]

Now overall I don't think any player is benefitting from not having a season more then if we were finishing training camp and pre-season games right now. That being said clearly the lockout is going to benefit some players more then it would others and it won't benefit some at all either.

When I think of players it is benefitting it would be older players who played deep into the playoffs, guys rehabbing from injury, and young guys getting experience playing in other leagues that would be riding the pine in the NBA.

Guys who come to mind are Dirk and J Kidd after playing so deep in the playoffs. David West a guy coming off an injury was in danger of missing the beginning of the season. He could be 100% for FA which wasn't close to being the case in July. Maybe even a guy like Avery Bradley who gets some playing time playing against better competition then the D League offers (although there are rumors he will be cut and that league he is in might not be better then the NBDL).

At first I thought of Greg Oden. With all his injuries and surgeries, he might be able to come in Day 1 and contribute based on when the season started. Yet, then I changed my mind and chose Kendrick Perkins.
If the season does start in December/January then that would be around 18 months since he got hurt in the Finals and could come in Day 1 at almost 100% to help the Thunder compete for a title.

What player do you think is benefitting most from the lockout and why?

I think it would have to be the players who were restricted FA's coming into this year.  If the season's lost and therefore no contract is tendered, I would think they'd become UFA's per the last CBA and I'd be very surprised if the players didn't hold out in the negotiations (if this season is lost) to make sure that comes to pass