haseem thabeet

Before you go writing this guy off, maybe take a closer look at him. I know he hasn't really proven himself in the NBA thus far, but he is better than any big man that we have right now.

Now with the new news of DeAndre Jordan getting a pretty wealthy offer I think Thabeet would be a pretty cheap alternative.

He is 7'3 who blocks shots and could possibly fix some of our problems. When watching him in colllege he doesnt demand the ball, and scores of rebounds and tip ins. Also by having him on our team we still protect the salary cap that we have established via trade.

I just want to hear some of your thoughts on this?

He definitely has some potential on the defense end. I would worry about his work ethic though. Also I believe he is still under his rookie contract with the Rockets. What would we give up for him anyway?

I rather just roll the dice with Jordan, Harrelson, and a vet big man than give up any of the few assets we have for this guy.

A 1 year deal is all he is worth and if he proves himself we could use the MLE on him next year. His size and age can't be taught so provided it does not hamstring our cap flexibility I am all for it.

Well he's set to make $5.127M this year according to hoopshype --- he's not a FA and would have to come via trade...What combination of salary that equals around $5M are we exporting to get him? That's one...Also, I would think that we're gonna need all available assets on deck for a potential CP3 deal with New Orleans.

Two, is he really that good, as in $5M dollar good? I don't think so -- I see where you're coming from though -- he's huge and he has the potential to be a big-time rim-protector with that shot-blocking...He's still somewhat intriguing but I dunno man...Memphis has already given up on him and Houston may too now..I'd rather go the low-cost route myself with someone like Alexi Ajinca. He's the best name I've heard in awhile as far as available big-men go..Or, while we're talking Houston Rockets for a sec, I'd bring in 7' C Marcus Cousin if they ever cut him loose. Infinitely more skilled than Thabeet across the board. Picture Ajinca offensively plus the ability to body up, play much more physical and rebound. These are the bigs I'd go after right now:

C: Alexi Ajinca (we should take a shot -- size, skill-set and upside), Marcus Cousin (if Houston cuts him), Dwayne Jones (currently playing in China)
PF: Jeff Adrien (Italy), Sean Williams (Israel)
Hybrid 3/4s: Joe Alexander (Russia), DeShawn Sims (Korea)

All of these guys playing in Europe, if their agents were smart and really looking out for them, should have out-clauses to return to the NBA when the lockout's officially resolved...I like all of these guys much more than any frontcourt player I've been hearing about lately (Jeff Foster, etc..).

He's 7'3 and that's why he have some NBA experience. At 7'2 he would never get out of D-league.

CoolRunnings said:

Before you go writing this guy off, maybe take a closer look at him. I know he hasn't really proven himself in the NBA thus far, but he is better than any big man that we have right now.

Now with the new news of DeAndre Jordan getting a pretty wealthy offer I think Thabeet would be a pretty cheap alternative.

He is 7'3 who blocks shots and could possibly fix some of our problems. When watching him in colllege he doesnt demand the ball, and scores of rebounds and tip ins. Also by having him on our team we still protect the salary cap that we have established via trade.

I just want to hear some of your thoughts on this?

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We do need to sign 3 centers for this 66 game season (2 young bloods and 1 veteran)
Turiaf is not a center he is injury prone but a decent backup for Amare to box-out,
screen, and clog the paint.

Having big-body Jorts is a good thing for 8 to 16 minutes of playintime,
but if we dont sign Jerome Jordan then signing Thabeet would be a great
choice. Why? we have Billups and coach Woodson to make Thabeet into
a great asset off the bench in the 3rd quarter to give the Knicks a 2nd half
defensive-plan, completely different from the first half plan.
The Knicks have to get a veteran starting center even if its Kwame to give
pointers to the young up coming centers on the roster.

Kiyaman said:

The Knicks have to get a veteran starting center even if its Kwame to give
pointers to the young up coming centers on the roster.

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Kiya, learning from Kwame Brown does not sound like a hot idea to me.

Thabeet

For the 3rd pick in a draft, Thabeet has been awful and his work ethic has been seriously questioned. But I believe this is the last year of a committed contract. Turiaf is a solid veteran presence, but he is not taking us anywhere. His remaining one year contract is at $4.6M. Close enough to Thabeet's $5.1M.

Thabeet could continue to be a bust, but perhpas he still has a reachable upside that we could test this season. If I am right about his contract, he will not diminish next year's cap space when Billups comes off the books.

I hear today that Kurt Thomas is still open to offers from teams other than the Bulls, namely the Knicks. I think a big man rotation of Thomas/Turiaf/Jorts/Jordan could be enough.

Thomas would really be a great addition if we could get him for the vet minimum as it would allow us to keep our MLE for other veterans like Grant Hill, Battier, Vince Carter etc.

Hey you know what CoolRunnings, Turiaf and Jerome Jordan would work, even Turiaf and cash, though we'd probably have to give the Rockets at least 1 young chip back to get them to do it, maybe even a future 2 in the draft. That wouldn't be terrible for us. We bring him in, play him heavy a-la Mozgov early on and see if he could be an upgrade over Turiaf. If he didn't work out, he sits (I don't even know if Mike would play this guy -- Thabeet doesn't feel like a D'Antoni big-man at all to me), we then incorperate Jorts, go out and sign the best DL/Euro/undrafted big out there for additional depth (Sean Williams?) and Thabeet comes right off the cap with next yr's salary only a team option. Is he even worth us giving up on Jerome Jordan? Tough call...We might actually be better off playing Jordan..Turiaf/Jordan is about all I'd be willing to go here. Is that enough for Houston to get it done?

finestrg said:

Hey you know what CoolRunnings, Turiaf and Jerome Jordan would work, even Turiaf and cash, though we'd probably have to give the Rockets at least 1 young chip back to get them to do it, maybe even a future 2 in the draft. That wouldn't be terrible for us. We bring him in, play him heavy a-la Mozgov early on and see if he could be an upgrade over Turiaf. If he didn't work out, he sits (I don't even know if Mike would play this guy -- Thabeet doesn't feel like a D'Antoni big-man at all to me), we then incorperate Jorts, go out and sign the best DL/Euro/undrafted big out there for additional depth (Sean Williams?) and Thabeet comes right off the cap with next yr's salary only a team option. Is he even worth us giving up on Jerome Jordan? Tough call...We might actually be better off playing Jordan..Turiaf/Jordan is about all I'd be willing to go here. Is that enough for Houston to get it done?

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I don't really see what the point of this trade would be... Trading our only half-decent big plus a rookie with potential for a 7'3 known bust who may or may not just sit the whole season because he has no place in a D'antoni team. I'm confused.

The idea is that we take a chance on something that might turn out to be an upgrade over Turiaf, who ain't great..And if it doesn't work out, we move on right away and wipe the slate clean the following yr (which we would've done with Ronny anyway). That's how I'm looking at this..

finestrg said:

The idea is that we take a chance on something that might turn out to be an upgrade over Turiaf, who ain't great..And if it doesn't work out, we move on right away and wipe the slate clean the following yr (which we would've done with Ronny anyway). That's how I'm looking at this..

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But giving up Jordan doesn't really make sense when he is a 7 footer with potential vs someone we know is a bust.

smokes said:

But giving up Jordan doesn't really make sense when he is a 7 footer with potential vs someone we know is a bust.

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I tend to agree with you..