Pairing a C with Love?

[arctic 3.0]

This should be titled counting chickens...
If we get Love (not sold, but if)
Who's the better fit at center?
Sanders, an athletic shot blocker who can cover for Loves purported weakness's?
Asik, a bull of a lowpost defender with a head forD?

[footey]

Head says Asik, heart says Sanders.

[Clench123]

Asik.

Rondo, Melo, Love, Asik, and Avery Bradley....sweet dreams

[Who]

Sanders = A quick footed center is a more ideal fit alongside K-Love. Can cover more ground on team defense + overall team speed. Asik would do a good enough job though and would certainly be a great acquisition himself but Sanders would be better.

[D.o.s.]

I'd rather have Sanders than Asik, too.

[pearljammer10]

Head says Asik, heart says Sanders.

Sanders = A quick footed center is a more ideal fit alongside K-Love. Can cover more ground on team defense + overall team speed. Asik would do a good enough job though and would certainly be a great acquisition himself but Sanders would be better.

These both play into what I am thinking as well... Sanders of two years ago is ideal... However, can he keep his head straight and return to form? If so, he has an outside chance of being nearly as effective as Noah, and alongside Love that is exactly the type of duo down low a team would want in contention to hide Love's deficiencies. However, Asik is most likely more attainable and also has a better chance of being a more consistent hard worker. He isn't as athletic as you would like next to Love but he might be the best option, and most attainable.

[jambr380]

Head says Asik, heart says Sanders.

Sanders = A quick footed center is a more ideal fit alongside K-Love. Can cover more ground on team defense + overall team speed. Asik would do a good enough job though and would certainly be a great acquisition himself but Sanders would be better.

These both play into what I am thinking as well... Sanders of two years ago is ideal... However, can he keep his head straight and return to form? If so, he has an outside chance of being nearly as effective as Noah, and alongside Love that is exactly the type of duo down low a team would want in contention to hide Love's deficiencies. However, Asik is most likely more attainable and also has a better chance of being a more consistent hard worker. He isn't as athletic as you would like next to Love but he might be the best option, and most attainable.

You make a good point about attainability. We all know that Asik seems very available, but what is Sanders' status in that department? He is signed to a pretty ridiculous contract after a worst case year scenario. With Henson making a name for himself, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that Sanders can be had for someone just taking on his contract (especially with the number of non-guaranteeds we have).

I have thought a similar thing with Eric Gordon in New Orleans. I realize both players are far from a sure-thing, but we probably could hold on to most of our assets in the process.

[Who]

You make a good point about attainability. We all know that Asik seems very available, but what is Sanders' status in that department? He is signed to a pretty ridiculous contract after a worst case year scenario. With Henson making a name for himself, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that Sanders can be had for someone just taking on his contract (especially with the number of non-guaranteeds we have).

It sounds like Sanders' trade value has bottomed out. So Milwaukee have taken the point of view that is the wrong time to trade him. They can't get anything close to comparable or even adequate return for such a talented young big man. So they are going to hold onto him for now and try to rebuild his value (and likely offload him further down the road) unless some team ups their offer considerably and makes it worthwhile for them to part ways with Sanders.

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Edit: My best guess for what type of trades they would deem acceptable:

(1) A low lottery pick (#10-14) + cap relief
(2) A good young prospect (H.Barnes type) + cap relief
(3) An established pro, a quality starter, who is young enough to be part of a rebuilding program (J.Green type, C.Parsons)

I would think Boston's best offers would be a (a) straight swap of J.Green for L.Sanders (b) #17 + next year's lotto protected pick and cap relief for L.Sanders + 2nd rounder (c) Olynyk + #17 + cap relief for L.Sanders + OJ Mayo.

I am not sure they'd be interested in Olynyk with Ilyasova there though.

[Evantime34]

Immediately my first thought is a good rim protector like Asik or Sanders, but it might be offensively unstoppable to pair Love with another big who can shoot and post up. My answer is Pau Gasol. Stick him and Love together and that is a very strong offensive front line.

[kozlodoev]

Immediately my first thought is a good rim protector like Asik or Sanders, but it might be offensively unstoppable to pair Love with another big who can shoot and post up.

Love and Pekovic were exactly this, and it didn't work very well. Pairing up  two bigs who can't (or won't) play defense is never a good idea, regardless of how "offensively unstoppable" they are.

[pearljammer10]

You make a good point about attainability. We all know that Asik seems very available, but what is Sanders' status in that department? He is signed to a pretty ridiculous contract after a worst case year scenario. With Henson making a name for himself, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that Sanders can be had for someone just taking on his contract (especially with the number of non-guaranteeds we have).

It sounds like Sanders' trade value has bottomed out. So Milwaukee have taken the point of view that is the wrong time to trade him. They can't get anything close to comparable or even adequate return for such a talented young big man. So they are going to hold onto him for now and try to rebuild his value (and likely offload him further down the road) unless some team ups their offer considerably and makes it worthwhile for them to part ways with Sanders.

-----------------------------------------------

Edit: My best guess for what type of trades they would deem acceptable:

(1) A low lottery pick (#10-14) + cap relief
(2) A good young prospect (H.Barnes type) + cap relief
(3) An established pro, a quality starter, who is young enough to be part of a rebuilding program (J.Green type, C.Parsons)

I would think Boston's best offers would be a (a) straight swap of J.Green for L.Sanders (b) #17 + next year's lotto protected pick and cap relief for L.Sanders + 2nd rounder (c) Olynyk + #17 + cap relief for L.Sanders + OJ Mayo.

I am not sure they'd be interested in Olynyk with Ilyasova there though.

I'm not sure Boston would benefit of taking on the contracts of both Sanders and Mayo. That is a lot of money locked up over a lot of years for two guys that plummeted after getting big deals.

However. Say we could get Love for Sully, our high lotto pick, one or two future firsts and either the trade exception or unguaranteed contracts....

Would the Bucks take our Number 17 in 2014 as well as Wallace's contract? Get a mid rounder for Sanders while shedding off a couple years of his deal?

[JBcat]

Why do we have limit our options to these 2 guys?  I'm little intrigued if the 76rs draft Embiid and if we can trade for Noel.   He was an excellent dfender in college and seems to have his head on straight not like Sanders.

[McHales Pits]

An Okafor/Sanders combo would be appealing...Maybe Okafor's professionalism would rub off on Larry a bit.

However, I expect Asik is a target given Ron Adams' position on our coaching staff and his high praise for Asik in the past.

I think Love is being targeted because he is a star and this is a star driven league - not because he is a perfect fit for our roster.

[Evantime34]

Immediately my first thought is a good rim protector like Asik or Sanders, but it might be offensively unstoppable to pair Love with another big who can shoot and post up.

Love and Pekovic were exactly this, and it didn't work very well. Pairing up  two bigs who can't (or won't) play defense is never a good idea, regardless of how "offensively unstoppable" they are.

Pekovic isn't the good floor stretching shooter I was talking about. He only took 12.5% of his shots outside the paint. My thought was that if we could get another big to stretch the floor the lane would be wide open for Rondo to drive and score a lot of points.

And it's not like the Pekovic, Love combination is what doomed them, when they were completely healthy they were still a very good team (that most used lineup was a +272 on the season and responsible for 67% of the teams wins). Pekovic only played in 54 games, Rubio had an awful year and their bench didn't really have anyone to pick up the slack. I prefer sticking him next to a plus defender but I believe if the big man playing next to him is a good enough scorer it could make up for the lack of defense.

[LooseCannon]

I think Love is being targeted because he is a star and this is a star driven league - not because he is a perfect fit for our roster.

A stretch four is the ideal PF to have next to Rondo.  It's preferable to have one who is neither a defensive nor rebounding liability.  Love is obviously a great rebounder and his defense isn't completely hopeless.  His defense could improve if he stopped getting into rebounding position so early that he often forsakes the idea of contesting shots.