Darko to Boston official [pg 3] Turned down Real Madrid offer

[Chris]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

What I think happens is there will be a real battle in camp (and beyond) between Darko and Wilcox as the primary backup.  I also think you will see Wilcox playing more PF (his true position) against teams that going small against is not a good idea.

The nice thing is, the C's are in a situation where they have a bunch of big men who don't NEED minutes...but can handle minutes.  And that is what you want.  It really gives you a lot of flexibility, and much needed depth.

[fairweatherfan]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

I'd say this signing pretty much confirms that we're going with KG's wishes and NOT playing him at center, at least for the regular season.

[guava_wrench]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Collins is behind the emergency glass and Melo will get lots of run in practice. What is great is that no one HAS to pan out since there are other options.

[indeedproceed]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

I'd say this signing pretty much confirms that we're going with KG's wishes and NOT playing him at center, at least for the regular season.

That is something I hadn't even considered. Wow I hope that's not legit.

[Rondo2287]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

I'd say this signing pretty much confirms that we're going with KG's wishes and NOT playing him at center, at least for the regular season.

That is something I hadn't even considered. Wow I hope that's not legit.

haha same, I had some mouth vomit at that thought.  I loved KG at the 5 last year. 

[snively]

I just don't see the need. I cannot fathom what about Darko makes him better than Collins or what we already have.

I would have preferred Birdman over either Collins or Darko, but this is a solid gamble on a player with legit defensive skills.

Me too -- Birdman over Darko.

Chris Andersen brings more diversity to the backup big man options for Doc Rivers. A different type of skill-set as a mobile defensive five / possession creator. Something none of the other bigs on the roster (outside of KG) offer.

As bucknersrevenge said, I don't see what Darko does that Jason Collins doesn't bring to the table.

Collins is the stronger post defender, overall man-to-man defender and offers similar (if not superior) team defense. Both are very limited offensively (liabilities) and both are weak rebounders (Collins worse than Darko).

I am not seeing a reason or situation where Darko offers more value than Jason Collins does. I can't see a reason to play him ahead of Jason Collins.

Still, having another big body has it's uses. Another big lug with 6 fouls that Doc can throw at power-based centers is useful ... but it felt like there were better options out there (Birdman being one of them) that would have offered the team more value.

I think Darko's weakside shot-blocking makes him more appealing as a team defender than Collins.  That and Collins rebounding is so unbelievably bad that even a poor to mediocre rebounder like Darko is a pretty big upgrade.

Then of course, there is the slight upside you've alluded to if Darko can get in shape and offer something similar to what he was able to do for Memphis, i.e. above average back-up center play.

I too would have preferred Anderson, but I can see some of the reasoning for picking up Darko.

[fairweatherfan]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

I'd say this signing pretty much confirms that we're going with KG's wishes and NOT playing him at center, at least for the regular season.

That is something I hadn't even considered. Wow I hope that's not legit.

It seems to be where the roster is pointing, and KG's been very clear about what he wants.

I look at it this way - it might not be ideal in the short-run, but KG says playing C wears his body down.  If that's true, it doesn't make sense to trot him out there for 82 and the playoffs.  Keep him mostly at PF for now and shift him over to C in the playoffs when the matchups call for it.  This isn't a team designed to be at its best in the regular season.

Oh yeah and if I'm right, this also means we'll see very, very little of Green at the 4, which I'm cool with too.

[Interceptor]

It seems to be where the roster is pointing, and KG's been very clear about what he wants.

At the same time, KG will do what Doc asks him to do, so if we see KG at the 4, it's because Doc also thinks it's a good idea. Maybe to save KG, maybe because of the composition of players on the floor, who knows.

I will be very sad if we don't see a lot of KG/Bass/Pierce/WHOEVER/Rondo, though. That line-up was money in the bank.

[mgent]

I just don't see the need. I cannot fathom what about Darko makes him better than Collins or what we already have.

I would have preferred Birdman over either Collins or Darko, but this is a solid gamble on a player with legit defensive skills.

Me too -- Birdman over Darko.

Chris Andersen brings more diversity to the backup big man options for Doc Rivers. A different type of skill-set as a mobile defensive five / possession creator. Something none of the other bigs on the roster (outside of KG) offer.

As bucknersrevenge said, I don't see what Darko does that Jason Collins doesn't bring to the table.

Collins is the stronger post defender, overall man-to-man defender and offers similar (if not superior) team defense. Both are very limited offensively (liabilities) and both are weak rebounders (Collins worse than Darko).

I am not seeing a reason or situation where Darko offers more value than Jason Collins does. I can't see a reason to play him ahead of Jason Collins.

Still, having another big body has it's uses. Another big lug with 6 fouls that Doc can throw at power-based centers is useful ... but it felt like there were better options out there (Birdman being one of them) that would have offered the team more value.

I'd consider Darko better but not really significantly.  I don't think he's on the same level offensively as Collins.  Darko is only a liability in the sense that Perk was with us, he's still capable.  Collins on the other hand is in Ben Wallace territory.  Add in the extra rebounding advantage and that makes him more suited to be our 4th/5th big.  The marginal difference in defense isn't enough.

In the past 4 seasons Darko has averaged 6.7 and 4.6 on 48% shooting.

Collins, in half as many minutes, had 1.6 and 1.7 on 39% shooting.  Darko also has a huge advantage in blocked shots (1.3 vs 0.2)

This signing is mainly insurance for Sullinger, and I can't think of a player with a different skill set than these two guys, who is a better fit for that role (other than Birdman).

[fairweatherfan]

I will be very sad if we don't see a lot of KG/Bass/Pierce/WHOEVER/Rondo, though. That line-up was money in the bank.

Agreed.  I think we'll see a fair amount of that lineup in crunch time. 

But I do think the team believes, like KG does, that the pounding he takes at C should mostly be avoided when the games don't mean as much.  I think KG will finish some games at C but won't start many there until the playoffs roll around.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I love this... only one player we have picked up this season is not known to at least be a good defender (JET)... we are looking good! I haven't heard that JET is Steve Nash on defense so, looking GREAT!!!

[mmmmm]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

I'd say this signing pretty much confirms that we're going with KG's wishes and NOT playing him at center, at least for the regular season.

That is something I hadn't even considered. Wow I hope that's not legit.

It seems to be where the roster is pointing, and KG's been very clear about what he wants.

I look at it this way - it might not be ideal in the short-run, but KG says playing C wears his body down.  If that's true, it doesn't make sense to trot him out there for 82 and the playoffs.  Keep him mostly at PF for now and shift him over to C in the playoffs when the matchups call for it.  This isn't a team designed to be at its best in the regular season.

Oh yeah and if I'm right, this also means we'll see very, very little of Green at the 4, which I'm cool with too.

I totally agree with this reasoning.

[Who]

Is Darko good enough to play ahead of a two PF big combination? Some combination of Bass, Sullinger and/or Wilcox? With Jeff Green getting some PF minutes too (preferably alongside KG).

When you need that extra size and interior defense that the smaller bigs (PFs) don't provide, why go with Darko over Jason Collins?

For me -- I think the team is better playing smaller bigs as part of their regular rotation instead of Darko at center and then using Jason Collins ahead of Darko is situations where tougher post defense is needed. I would consider Darko at the end of the depth chart amongst those players.

Edit: Just to add -- I would happily reconsider this view if Darko lost all that extra weight he is carrying around.

[Who]

I think he offers a similar skillset to what Jermaine brought.  Good defense, bad offense, iffy board work.   

I think this is a really good comparison to make.

I think Darko will have a comparable negative effect on Boston's offense and a comparable negative effect in terms of their speed.

Defensively, with all that extra weight, Darko is not as strong a defender as Jermaine was in Boston so they'll be taking the same hits offensively (and pace wise) without the same gains defensively.

[BballTim]

Why do we have a gridlock at the 5?

KG
Wilcox
Collins
Melo
Darko
occasionally Sullinger

Well, I don't think Melo enters into the equation now, he is a long-term work in progress (as he should be).  And Collins will be a spot player, only against very few matchups.

So that leaves KG, Wilcox, Darko, and occasionally Sullinger.

I'd say this signing pretty much confirms that we're going with KG's wishes and NOT playing him at center, at least for the regular season.

  At worst he'll split time between pf and c. There's no way he'll play close to 30 minutes a game at pf, leaving 48 minutes for Darko/Wilcox/Collins/Melo while leaving about 35 total minutes (sf and pf) for Bass and Green.