Why did we sign Jamar Smith?

[bfrombleacher]

Not sure why we signed him--is it just for training camp? How many players can we have on the roster for camp? Is it 15? more?

A lot of people don't know this, but ever since 2007 KG has demanded management provide him with a middling combo guard for ritual sacrifice. It ensures a season of bountiful rebounds and colorful profanity.

TP

[BudweiserCeltic]

2 spots left?

1. rondo
2. AB
3. PP
4. Bass
5. KG
6. JET
7. Lee
8.  Green
9. Sully
10. Wilcox
11. Melo
12. joseph
13. Collins

Hope Christmas grabs one and they bring back dooling for some PG depth

The way I see it, between Dooling, Christmas, Joseph... I think there will be at most 2 spots for them.

The other spot will be left open, or for another big if they find one.

Personally I'd go with Christmas and Joseph. Even though I liked him in the playoffs, and love what he does in the locker room, I just don't like what Dooling brings on the court.

If we're using 2 spots between them, there's little reason to get both Christmas and Dooling. Dooling is not really a PG, and Christmas can play some PG if it gets to that.

  Is Christmas a point guard? I don't think we need a 4th shooting guard (although Dooling isn't really a ballhandler...).

He's a SG that can play 3 positions and has a good handle. From what I've seen he's incorporating playmaking skills to his game, but he's not really a PG, at least not yet. That said, Dooling is not much of a PG for example, and neither was House, TA, or Bradley for that matter. But we made do. Christmas is a better ball handler than all of them, and if he continues some of the play-style I've seen from him, it's someone who'll push the tempo up; "run, run, run".

[kozlodoev]

The way I see it, between Dooling, Christmas, Joseph... I think there will be at most 2 spots for them.

The other spot will be left open, or for another big if they find one.

Joseph isn't going anywhere.

And keeping a spot open is pretty pointless. By the time the deadline rolls around, we may as well have 6 capable bigs.

[BudweiserCeltic]

The way I see it, between Dooling, Christmas, Joseph... I think there will be at most 2 spots for them.

The other spot will be left open, or for another big if they find one.

Joseph isn't going anywhere.

And keeping a spot open is pretty pointless. By the time the deadline rolls around, we may as well have 6 capable bigs.

Agree to a degree. Will have to see how it affects the hard cap situation we're in, and the consequences of using the spot for someone we don't need, and then suddenly having a different need by mid-season.

But in all, I think using 3 spots on those 3 players would be a waste (and I was up for that idea once a time), in part because much of their roles would be the overlapped.

I think there's room for another Collins like big to stash at the end of the roster, or someone like Birdman if available to us, and with that we've pretty much covered all our bases at all the positions.

[the_Bird]

Whether to fill that last spot or not depends on how close we are to the $74.3M hard cap.  I've heard that we're at $71M now (which would argue for leaving a spot open), and I've heard figures closer to $69M (which would argue for spending the BAE on the best available SF, or maybe another big man). 

[Chris]

Whether to fill that last spot or not depends on how close we are to the $74.3M hard cap.  I've heard that we're at $71M now (which would argue for leaving a spot open), and I've heard figures closer to $69M (which would argue for spending the BAE on the best available SF, or maybe another big man). 

To play devils advocate, if we really are at closer to $69 million, that actually would be more reason to stand pat, and try to stay under the tax.  That makes the owners much more money, but it also gives them more flexibility going forward, since they would be in less risk of paying the "repeaters tax" for being over the tax line 4 years in a row. 

It also allows them to hold on to the BAE to either use on buyout guys later this year (if there is someone going over the tax line for), or to use next summer.  Plus, it will give them more cushion under the $74 barrier, in case a good trade presents itself at the deadline. 

[kozlodoev]

Whether to fill that last spot or not depends on how close we are to the $74.3M hard cap.  I've heard that we're at $71M now (which would argue for leaving a spot open), and I've heard figures closer to $69M (which would argue for spending the BAE on the best available SF, or maybe another big man). 

The BAE is ~$1.9 million, so it appears we have a pretty comfortable cushion either way.

Also, SF is really our last need, so I doubt you'll see another SF signing.

[the_Bird]

Also, SF is really our last need, so I doubt you'll see another SF signing.

We've got Pierce and Jeff Green, but who's the third string?  Who backs up Green if Pierce gets hurt, or they just want to give him the night off?  What happens if they find some other anomaly with Green's heart (god forbid)?  

Courtney Lee in a three-guard lineup?

Kris Joseph?

I'd feel a lot better if there was someone else who could slide into the small forward spot, who had a little NBA experience.  Doesn't have to be a star.  Hell, even having Quis on the bench would give us some depth that I think we're lacking.

EDIT: And if we are at $71M right now, that's not including the rookies with non-guaranteed contracts.  You've got to add in $854k still for whichever rookies we keep.  Add in one rookie and spend the BAE (leaving a 14-man roster), you're really on edge if you want to be able to sign anyone else mid-season. 

[kozlodoev]

Also, SF is really our last need, so I doubt you'll see another SF signing.

We've got Pierce and Jeff Green, but who's the third string?  Who backs up Green if Pierce gets hurt, or they just want to give him the night off?  What happens if they find some other anomaly with Green's heart (god forbid)?  

Courtney Lee in a three-guard lineup?

Kris Joseph?

I'd feel a lot better if there was someone else who could slide into the small forward spot, who had a little NBA experience.  Doesn't have to be a star.  Hell, even having Quis on the bench would give us some depth that I think we're lacking.

EDIT: And if we are at $71M right now, that's not including the rookies with non-guaranteed contracts.  You've got to add in $854k still for whichever rookies we keep.  Add in one rookie and spend the BAE (leaving a 14-man roster), you're really on edge if you want to be able to sign anyone else mid-season.  

Yes, Courtney Lee and Kris Joseph are your third stringers. Comparatively, this is way more solid than tne situation at the guard spots, where you enter the season with only 1 capable backup (Terry). I'd feel a lot better if we were 4-deep at each position too, but in the grand scheme of things, some issues are more important than others.

Also, that's not baseball. "Giving the night off" like that just doesn't really happen, unless it's a very specific set of circumstances.

[the_Bird]

That's something that Doc has talked about doing, and I seem to recall a few back-to-backs last year where guys got the night off.  

Has Lee played much small forward before?  He seems to have decent size for the offguard, but not really for the forward position.  Not a good rebounder.  Looks like he played a TINY but of SF for Houston last year, but 90%+ of his playing time was at the 2-guard (and as per 82 games, he was not very effective - especially defensively - when he was in at SF).  

The year before, he played essentially no small forward (1% of Houston's available minutes at the SF, versus 38% of their SG minutes).  

In New Jersey ('09-'10), he got 54% of the SG minutes and only 3% of the SF minutes.

In Orlando his rookie year, again the substantial majority of his time was at SG (41% of the available 2-guard minutes, only 6% of the SF minutes).

I know the 82games figures aren't necessarily perfect, but their stats seem to back up my impressions of Lee; he's a shooting guard, pure and simple.  He's played hardly any SF in the NBA, doesn't really have the size to do so, and last year was noticeably worse in the stints he did play there.

I'm not comfortable with Courtney Lee as the third string SF, not with Pierce (old) and Jeff Green (heart issue) being the only other SFs on the roster (you can't count on the rookie second rounder for any real contributions).

There are roster spots and at least a LITTLE money left to spend; they should acquire a depth SF, be it Pietrus (if no one else will pay him) or someone else.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Also, SF is really our last need, so I doubt you'll see another SF signing.

We've got Pierce and Jeff Green, but who's the third string?  Who backs up Green if Pierce gets hurt, or they just want to give him the night off?  What happens if they find some other anomaly with Green's heart (god forbid)? 

Courtney Lee in a three-guard lineup?

Kris Joseph?

I'd feel a lot better if there was someone else who could slide into the small forward spot, who had a little NBA experience.  Doesn't have to be a star.  Hell, even having Quis on the bench would give us some depth that I think we're lacking.

EDIT: And if we are at $71M right now, that's not including the rookies with non-guaranteed contracts.  You've got to add in $854k still for whichever rookies we keep.  Add in one rookie and spend the BAE (leaving a 14-man roster), you're really on edge if you want to be able to sign anyone else mid-season. 

Yes, Courtney Lee and Kris Joseph are your third stringers. Comparatively, this is way more solid than tne situation at the guard spots, where you enter the season with only 1 capable backup (Terry). I'd feel a lot better if we were 4-deep at each position too, but in the grand scheme of things, some issues are more important than others.

Also, that's not baseball. "Giving the night off" like that just doesn't really happen, unless it's a very specific set of circumstances.

Which is why I see value in someone like Christmas for us, who can cover 1, 2, and 3 if we get to that point (and to get to that point, we'd have to suffer quite a bit of injuries).

For our undersized guard situation, he'd fit in nicely with his size, and it's a body you can throw as SF if there's no one else to cover it.

[the_Bird]

Christmas is potentially a Quis replacement, but I'd like to see him against legit NBA competition before counting on his being able to contribute.

[kozlodoev]

Which is why I see value in someone like Christmas for us, who can cover 1, 2, and 3 if we get to that point (and to get to that point, we'd have to suffer quite a bit of injuries).

For our undersized guard situation, he'd fit in nicely with his size, and it's a body you can throw as SF if there's no one else to cover it.

I really don't see Christmas as a regular rotation guy. Him, Joseph, and Melo are insurance/developmental players.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Which is why I see value in someone like Christmas for us, who can cover 1, 2, and 3 if we get to that point (and to get to that point, we'd have to suffer quite a bit of injuries).

For our undersized guard situation, he'd fit in nicely with his size, and it's a body you can throw as SF if there's no one else to cover it.

I really don't see Christmas as a regular rotation guy. Him, Joseph, and Melo are insurance/developmental players.

That goes without saying. But he's the "prototype" of someone I'd like as a safety net. Spend one roster spot on a guy who can cover various different roles and positions for your team. It's really what Daniels was for us, but I think at this point, from what I've seen and jury is still out, Christmas has potential to offer more right now.

At this point, other than a big that Ainge might find, we're beyond talking about regular rotation guys.

[kozlodoev]

Which is why I see value in someone like Christmas for us, who can cover 1, 2, and 3 if we get to that point (and to get to that point, we'd have to suffer quite a bit of injuries).

For our undersized guard situation, he'd fit in nicely with his size, and it's a body you can throw as SF if there's no one else to cover it.

I really don't see Christmas as a regular rotation guy. Him, Joseph, and Melo are insurance/developmental players.

That goes without saying. But he's the "prototype" of someone I'd like as a safety net. Spend one roster spot on a guy who can cover various different roles and positions for your team. It's really what Daniels was for us, but I think at this point, from what I've seen and jury is still out, Christmas has potential to offer more right now.

At this point, other than a big that Ainge might find, we're beyond talking about regular rotation guys.

He _is_ insurance, but currently we only have 3 players for 2 positions in front of him. This is much worse than the number of players we can use before we get to our developmental guy at SF (2 players for 1 position, without considering Lee) and bigs (5 players for 2 positions).