Perfect backup center right now on any team, IMO. I'd give our pick for him straight up, and throw in the Chinese guys, too if needed. Are we going to get someone better than Steamer in the draft?
Does he remind anyone else of a healthy and tuned-in Chris Mihm?
Doesn't Withey seem like he's likely to be as good as or better than Stiemsma? He's projected late 1st/early 2nd, so I think the 16th pick would be too much to give up for Steamer.
And Dieng, who will almost certainly be available at #16, also seems like every bit the defensive prospect Steimsma was/is, with some other athletic advantages.
Don't get me wrong, I think Steamer's a fine 9th man or so. But I think we stand a good chance of doing better than that, even in a weak draft, at #16.
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Gorgui-Dieng-6219/
http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Jeff-Withey-5259/
Not knowing better about the prospects, I'm just going to go ahead and agree with you.
However...
I am 100% confident that Steamer can contribute as a 20 minute backup center in this league on a playoff team next year, and for the next 5 (during the present and next contract). I am almost 100% confident that a rookie picked at 16 won't next year, and perhaps not ever.
We are all 100% confident that Steimsma is someone we want on our roster, and in our locker room and practice facility.
He's a sure thing, and with Rondo and Green already in the fold, likely KG for one more, and 50/50 on Paul, I say the difference is negligible enough that Steimer's experience and readiness wins out, hands-down.
In our situation, with a middle-round pick in a role-player draft, take the sure-thing role player in trade (Steims) if he fills a need as perfectly as Greg does.
He makes White and possibly Shav expendable, so including them to just get the deal done isn't a big deal to me; they're found money anyway. For all three, I'd try to pick up a 2nd or something, too.
Well, I mentioned Withey and Dieng because they're both 23 years old and perceived as at the high end, in terms of NBA-readiness.
But more important, if it were 2010 - meaning we were real contenders - I'd be much more inclined to agree that we need immediate help.
Unfortunately, I think we are already in rebuilding mode (or at least reloading). So, I'd prefer to take a chance on someone at #16 who could be significantly better than Stiemsma.
I wouldn't want either Withey or Dieng, for what that's worth. Personally I'd be much happier with Carter-Williams, Schroeder or Caldwell-Pope, or maybe even Alan Crabbe. But I will freely admit that last year I was dying for us to get Royce White, so I'll just trust that Danny knows a lot more about talent evaluation than I do.
Who knows, maybe OKC will find a way to get Stiemsma to replace the fossilized remains of Kendrick Perkins, and then we will get to root for Steamer against the Heat in the finals next year.
See, I think "real contenderness" is why I still like Steimsma over a rookie.
His legit-center position bumps everybody else to the right spot. Sully remains at PF instead of center, we NEVER see Bass/Sully as our "twin outhouses" in the paint, KG can take jumpers all day, etc. This gives us a gluttony of traditional PF's, keeping Green at SF where he belongs.
We need a center, not just a big.
But in any case, back to the point, if we're going to be real contenders, it's going to ride on Rondo/Green and at some point, given our best projected talents over the next 5 years, Rondo/Green/Sully. Putting role players next to them that don't screw up like rookies do will further their development as well.
One thing I do like is the balance of our current "young" roster: allstar PG, star SF in Green, young stud PF, each rather traditional for their position (e.g. a PG who passes, a PF with 'power,' a SF with an all-around game).
That leaves spots at SG and C, and with Green, Sully, and Rondo as future 1-2-3 options, guys like Bradley and Steimer fit well.
He's so almost perfect that I can't see Minny giving him up, especially for less than $3M for next year.
