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The Pacers are a mess. They have a bunch of under producing guys with big contracts, no cap space, and no draft picks. It is clear the team needs to rebuild, get younger, and more athletic.
In looking at that team, it struck me that they might be willing to unload Jeff Foster in a deal for Jones and Banks and possibly the #29th.
Jones used to be a Pacer and from all indicaitons still like him. He's a good defender and outside shooter. He's not an impact player, but he's young and has some skills with a reasonable contract with just two years left.
Banks might get some playing time on the Pacers. Tinsley is physically limited and injury prone and Armstrong is 40.
Foster has two years left on his contract with a player option on the second year. Financially the deal forces the Pacers to pay for the last two years of the Banks deal.
Does it work for the Pacers? Foster is 30 years old on a rebuilding team. They may decide it is better to just work though developing Diogu and Harrison's learning curve than to keep Foster on a rebuilding team.
Jones is a guy they know and Banks might benefit from going to a team that does not demand so much from their point guards.
If the Pacers were close to being a contender they would never do this deal. But he's not doing them much good in rebuilding mode.
It is not a drastically unbalanced deal, though there is no doubt it only happens if they really like somebody late in the first round.
Good low-post defender... Great lateral quickness for his size... Plays with high intensity and runs the floor well... Excellent leaping skills... Very good offensive rebounder... Lacks offensive talent.
Banks is clearly expendible and Jones is likely to lose his rotation position after the draft anyway. As a bench player, Foster is vastly more likely to be useful and could be very very useful in a rematch with the Spurs.
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I remember him being a tenacious rebounder the last I saw of him. I don't know if the stats reflect it but I was impressed (though a lot of underachieving bigs seem to shine against us).
I remember him being a tenacious rebounder the last I saw of him. I don't know if the stats reflect it but I was impressed (though a lot of underachieving bigs seem to shine against us).
He got 13 rebounds in 20 minutes in one of the last regular season games in april.
Not sure that Larry Bird would trade him. He seems to love the guy. Foster would fit on any team.
If the Pacers had the slightest hope of improving without new blood, I'd completely agree. However, with only an MLE and no draft picks, their options are limited. I don't know if one or two late first round picks are enough to get Bird to bite, but I expect Foster will get moved before his contract is up.
I like Foster, but it's the same case with him as it is with almost any other defense-oriented big man: He's not much of a runner or scorer, so D'Antoni wouldn't use him.
I like Foster, but it's the same case with him as it is with almost any other defense-oriented big man: He's not much of a runner or scorer, so D'Antoni wouldn't use him.
I think he'd get more minutes than Banks.
If the Suns decide they want to play tougher defense, they have to add some fouls to give. Burke is not any help on defense and there is no one else when playing Duncan gets KT and Amare into foul trouble.
If D'Antoni was calling the shots, I'm sure it wouldn't happen. But Kerr may have other ideas.
If the Suns decide they want to play tougher defense, they have to add some fouls to give. Burke is not any help on defense and there is no one else when playing Duncan gets KT and Amare into foul trouble.
If D'Antoni was calling the shots, I'm sure it wouldn't happen. But Kerr may have other ideas.
MLE is the Mid Level Exception. It is a tool that allows teams that are over the salary cap the ability to sign players in the off-season. Using examples the Suns used the MLE to sign Raja Bell two summers ago and Marcus Banks last off-season.
Quote:
MID-LEVEL SALARY EXCEPTION -- This exception allows a team to sign any free agent to a contract equal to the average salary, even if they are over the cap (see question number 24 for the definition of "average salary." Also note that for 2005-06 they used a defined figure of $5 million). This exception may be split and given to multiple players. It may be used for contracts of up to five years in length, and raises are limited to 8% of the salary in the first year of the contract. Signing a player to a multi-year contract does not affect a team's ability to use this exception every year. For example, a team can sign a player to a five-year contract using this exception and still use the exception the following year to sign another player. Also see question number 20 for more information on the availability and use of this exception
Jeff Foster is a good player who can play decent defense and is a solid rebounder but I just don't see D'Antoni ever giving him playing time because of his lack of an offensive game, more specifically a mid-range jumpshot.
It's an interesting problem. The Suns seriously need some depth on the inside. In the last two years their defensive stats dropped radically when KT was injured and the Spurs killed the Suns whenever KT was out.
How many guys can give the Suns solid post defense who are fairly good offensively - and why aren't they starting for someone?
Assuming Jones goes for Foster, the depth chart is like this:
C - Stoudemire, Thomas
PF - Diaw
SF - Marion
SG - Bell, Barbosa
PG - Nash
It is not hard to imagine Foster getting 10 minutes a game with that roster. Considering how Jones was mostly in for defense anyway, there is at least a chance of using Foster as a Hunter type backup. D'Antoni hated using Hunter (too many bad decisions), but ended up using him anyway because he helped.
Given a choice between Foster or Jones against the Spurs, I think Foster makes a lot more sense. Prior to that, it is hard for even KT to get minutes.
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