Both just cut by the Celtics. Both available. If I'm Grunwald, I think long and hard about adding both guys for depth. QUALITY depth...You know the old adage --- one man's trash is another man's treasure...Instant infusion of (1) deluxe shot-blocking and very solid rebounding up front at one spot and (2) very sound, effective wing play at the 2 spot, better than anything Brewer or White are capable of providing. Simple move: buy out/waive Kurt Thomas and James White and swap in these 2. Even if they were to cut Ronnie Brewer at this point in favor of a replacement, it wouldn't bother me at all. Dude's been horrendous.
Said it before and I'll say it again -- Kurt Thomas is donesky -- dude is just taking up a valuable roster spot at this point, biding his time 'til retirement. Can't say Woody hasn't given him a shot recently -- he started this guy multiple times back when Sheed/Camby/STAT were all out and Thomas had virtually no effect on the game. Now with Camby and STAT back, he's glued to the bench once again. Thing is, if called upon, we now know Kurt's not capable of having any real impact, so what's the point in keeping him? Why not cut him and at least go with an alternative that's capable of having an impact on the game and adding 2 elements that are missing -- rim protection and rebounding? Camby's back but he too looks like a shell of what he used to be, maybe a tiny step up from KT production-wise. And we all know STAT, even when firing on all cylinders, isn't a great defender or rebounder. Varnado makes perfect sense to me. I think if used properly, he could be very productive here. I think this kid could come in here and definitely leapfrog Camby, maybe even Sheed eventually for playing time..
Same with Kris Joseph -- we have no real idea about James White -- I don't think he's anything special but Woody's not gonna give this guy a chance so I guess we'll never really know (why on Earth Woody hasn't at least played him a little in place of the struggling Brewer over the last month or so only coach knows). So again, what the hell's the point in keeping a dude like this? And Ronnie Brewer, our starting 2G, is just KILLING us right now. Either something's wrong with this guy physically or he was never as good a player as some of us thought. We all knew he couldn't shoot a lick but he was supposed to be strong and a great athlete that played standout D and finished with authority. Haven't seen none of that...Outside of the occasional corner 3 ball, this guy offers nothing else. Nothing at all...Hasn't been that standout defender, can't generate his own offense at all (this just puts that much more pressure on others like Melo/JR btw, as if they don't have enough reponsibility), hasn't shown any of the athleticism he's shown in the past and wierdest of all for me, he's been a TERRIBLE finisher around the basket. Dude is flat out killing us...I think this kid Joseph can play -- not great at any one thing but decent all-around. Joseph can shoot better than Brewer/White, take it to the hole/create his own offense better (much better than Brewer at least), and play just as good on defense (really ask yourselves when evaluating Brewer -- who's this dude shutting down in a game at this point? Who has he shut down so far this season? If anything, I've seen Brewer get abused on defense most nights).
STAT's back at about 50% or so and Shump's not even playing yet. We could use the help RIGHT NOW! And then GOD FORBID either have a setback or don't regain top form, we'll have 2 capable players to slide in at those positions, BETTER than what Woody has to work with right now. At the very least, if these couple of small moves helped us win a majority of our games over the next 20-game span or so until STAT and Shump regained top form and are eventually ready to step in full-time & became the difference makers we're all hoping for, it would be worth it as far as I'm concerned. Why piss away games in the meantime??
Said it before and I'll say it again -- Kurt Thomas is donesky -- dude is just taking up a valuable roster spot at this point, biding his time 'til retirement. Can't say Woody hasn't given him a shot recently -- he started this guy multiple times back when Sheed/Camby/STAT were all out and Thomas had virtually no effect on the game. Now with Camby and STAT back, he's glued to the bench once again. Thing is, if called upon, we now know Kurt's not capable of having any real impact, so what's the point in keeping him? Why not cut him and at least go with an alternative that's capable of having an impact on the game and adding 2 elements that are missing -- rim protection and rebounding? Camby's back but he too looks like a shell of what he used to be, maybe a tiny step up from KT production-wise. And we all know STAT, even when firing on all cylinders, isn't a great defender or rebounder. Varnado makes perfect sense to me. I think if used properly, he could be very productive here. I think this kid could come in here and definitely leapfrog Camby, maybe even Sheed eventually for playing time..
Same with Kris Joseph -- we have no real idea about James White -- I don't think he's anything special but Woody's not gonna give this guy a chance so I guess we'll never really know (why on Earth Woody hasn't at least played him a little in place of the struggling Brewer over the last month or so only coach knows). So again, what the hell's the point in keeping a dude like this? And Ronnie Brewer, our starting 2G, is just KILLING us right now. Either something's wrong with this guy physically or he was never as good a player as some of us thought. We all knew he couldn't shoot a lick but he was supposed to be strong and a great athlete that played standout D and finished with authority. Haven't seen none of that...Outside of the occasional corner 3 ball, this guy offers nothing else. Nothing at all...Hasn't been that standout defender, can't generate his own offense at all (this just puts that much more pressure on others like Melo/JR btw, as if they don't have enough reponsibility), hasn't shown any of the athleticism he's shown in the past and wierdest of all for me, he's been a TERRIBLE finisher around the basket. Dude is flat out killing us...I think this kid Joseph can play -- not great at any one thing but decent all-around. Joseph can shoot better than Brewer/White, take it to the hole/create his own offense better (much better than Brewer at least), and play just as good on defense (really ask yourselves when evaluating Brewer -- who's this dude shutting down in a game at this point? Who has he shut down so far this season? If anything, I've seen Brewer get abused on defense most nights).
STAT's back at about 50% or so and Shump's not even playing yet. We could use the help RIGHT NOW! And then GOD FORBID either have a setback or don't regain top form, we'll have 2 capable players to slide in at those positions, BETTER than what Woody has to work with right now. At the very least, if these couple of small moves helped us win a majority of our games over the next 20-game span or so until STAT and Shump regained top form and are eventually ready to step in full-time & became the difference makers we're all hoping for, it would be worth it as far as I'm concerned. Why piss away games in the meantime??
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