i know we already agreed not to talk trades untill after the playoffs but this isnt a trade involving any of our players... only the TE what does every one think about aquiring jonathan bender? the pacers are looking to clear up the logjam in the front court. this would also give them the TE to find a SG to replace miller. for us, we get a young camby with a better jumper. JVG and ewing can bring him to the next level. ewing made mo into a decent rebounder, and JVG made boki into a good defender in 1 season. bender is already as good of a rebounder as mo is, and as good of a perimeter defender as boki. all he needs is the program that helped yao gain 15lbs last summer so he can guard post players better. he only got 12MPG this season but averaged 7ppg. and just under 2 rebounds with a half a block. if we play him for 30 MPG he will average just under 7 rebounds over a block per game. im sure he cant keep up 7pts for every 12 minutes since he wil be maybe a 5th scoring option, so well say 12 PPG. the numbers look like cato with a jumper and the ability to guard the gasols, odoms, stoudamires of the world. he is a slight upgrade at the 4, he will get even better. this is realistic. we can actually get this guy. would you do it.
Jonathan Bender is rather thin and has gone through a fair assortment of injuries. The Pacers always act like they can't bear to part with any of their players, as if you'd have to offer Kobe for Al Harrington----a player I'd like to have on the Rox, by the way. I know better than to think of acquiring Artest. If Bender showed himself able to go many games without serious injury, he might be the size we need at the 3. I just don't know what we'd give up for that.
for us, we get a young camby with a better jumper. JVG and ewing can bring him to the next level. ewing made mo into a decent rebounder, and JVG made boki into a good defender in 1 season. Bender is a small forward and even plays time at shooting guard. He isn't a power forward. The only comparison to Camby is similar height and injury prone. Their games are as different as night and day.
I made a case for Harrington during the offseason and I still think he would be a nice addition to the Rockets. He is a SF with decent size that can defend well, rebounds decently, and can score as well. Using the TE to require Harrington or R. Lewis would be a really nice. Lewis is probably coming along more than Harrington, but is more expensive. Smoothie- has the Pacers made it public that they want to clear up the frontcourt?
We wouldn't be able to get Rashard with the TE unless it was attached to a top 3 pick. That's a pretty sweet dream though. It would be the perfect fit, he's a native houstonian, his game compliments Yao's perfectly, and he's about the same age as Yao so they can mature together.
A top 3 pick? I don't think he's worth that. But there was an article that Seattle will go after Chandler or K. Brown this summer, and that R. Lewis could be used to get them. I think that Seattle is so desperate for a PF that we could pry R. Lewis from them.
I heard that Bender was the only Pacer able to beat the Legend at shooting competitions when he coached Indy.
maybe i was a little off with the camby analogy. to clarify, i was talking about his game if he played the 4 for us. however, its true that camby is a 4/5 and bender is a 3/4. the only reason he ever plays any minutes at the 2 is because they have no front court minutes available and they need some depth at the 2. he is versitile enough to play the wing, however his best/most comfortable position will eventually be at the 4 after he gains some bulk.
