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December 13, 2008
Diaw, Bell to start tonight
They haven't gone through a full practice as Charlotte Bobcats, but Boris Diaw (power forward) and Raja Bell (shooting guard) will start tonight agaisnt the Detroit Pistons, Brown said at shootaround this morning.
The Phoenix Suns couldn't complete physicals Friday in time for Diaw, Bell and Sean Singletary to suit up for practice Friday afternoon.
But they were there, picking up the principles and terms from the sideline, and the coaches sent them home yesterday with DVD's full of a crash course in what the Bobcats run.
The Suns completed those physicals in time for Jason Richardson to score 21 last night, and the three ex-Suns participated in shootaround this morning.
Posted by Observer Sports on December 13, 2008 at 01:36 PM | Permalink
Comments
Mr. Michael Thompson,
Just a suggestion, but having employees/former employees posting on her and answering to complaining fans seems like a waste of time - people on here are pretty cemented in their anti-Bobcats feelings. In addition, people can post as several different people and make it seem as though there are more people complaining than there actually are.
Second, you should really improve the website. Player profiles haven't been updated, game stories are now only written by the AP, fan comments aren't posted, the videos have been cut down, and the blogging seems to be non-existent. As a fan, I'd like to go to the Bobcats website for info, but nothing seems to be updated until way after something has happened or a new ticket deal is out.
Posted by: Website | Dec 13, 2008 1:57:01 PM
Mr. Bonnell,
What do you think that says about the players on this team if the new guys are starting and haven't yet participated in a practice?
J-Rich got significant minutes but didn't start for the Suns. I mean, I did expect Diaw to start due to his position and skill set, but Bell too? Could Bell starting be because we are playing the Pistons who have Stuckey, AI, and Prince?
Posted by: Yeah? | Dec 13, 2008 2:00:42 PM
From ESPN.com's Marc Stein:
"Sources say Charlotte remains highly confident that it can follow up the Richardson deal by finding a taker for versatile swingman Gerald Wallace, despite the prospect of three seasons at $9.5 million each left on Wallace's contract beyond this season. It's believed that teams interested in trying to pry Raymond Felton away from the Bobcats instead of Wallace -- Portland has been mentioned -- have to be willing to take back mothballed center Nazr Mohammed (owed a combined $13.4 million in 2009-10 and 2010-11) thanks to Felton's improvement since being moved to shooting guard alongside rookie point guard D.J. Augustin. One source close to the situation said new Bobcats coach Larry Brown had already been grinding on vets such as Richardson and Wallace, which has apparently exacerbated Brown's famed penchant for wanting to make changes."
Bonnell who would we be targeting on Portland? Frye? Pryzbilla?
And any chance we would try to move Gerald back to Sacramento for Brad Miller (even though that would push Diaw to the bench @ 9mil a year)?
Posted by: Yeah? | Dec 13, 2008 2:44:25 PM
We're anxiously waiting to see the result of tonight game with the Piston to see if this trade merit anything. Richardson played last night and scored 21 points, which justified him as a good player. By all account, this guy was under rated because of the team he played for (Bobcats). It is my hope that Brown's ego is being fulfilled, and he need to turn this team around. I am a basketball fan, and last season, I attended most of the games, but I'm not encourage this year with the team's performance at all. Hope we all sports lovers can see a better Bobcats with Larry Brown as Head coach. It will be a mistake to trade Wallace, just how I feel that it was a mistake trading Richardson, who was one of the best shooting player on the team.
Posted by: aaron siafa | Dec 13, 2008 3:09:48 PM
Hey Michael Thompson,
Give me the digits to the hot blond that works for you guys. She's smokin'.
Posted by: Denny Hamlin | Dec 13, 2008 3:14:27 PM
Hey Rick -- ESPN.com mentioned something about Portland possibly being interested in Felton, but Charlotte supposedly wants them to take Nazr's awful contract as well. So that would be about $10.1 mil in salary going out. If true, and assuming each of their core players (Oden, Roy and Aldridge) is untouchable, who do you think Portland might send this way?
Joel Przybilla's contract is almost identical to Nazr's. For salary cap reasons, and because of his rebounding and shot blocking, I have to believe the Vanilla Gorilla would be part of this deal. Maybe Felton/Nazr for Przybilla, Fernandez and Frye? Felton/Nazr for Przybilla, Batum and Blake?
Or we could dump salary: Felton, Nazr and Morrison for Batum, Fernandez and the $12.7 million expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz?
Posted by: Earl Cureton | Dec 13, 2008 3:30:15 PM
Yeah,
Just my two cents, but I see two scenarios:
1. We dump salary and send Felton, Nazr and Morrison to Portland for a package like Rudy Fernandez, Nicolas Batum and the $12.7 million expiring contract of Raef LaFrentz
2. Or if the Vanilla Gorilla is involved (which would suck, because his contract is almost identical to Nazr's), it would have to be something like Felton/Nazr for either Pryzbilla, Batum and Blake or Pryzbilla, Frye and Fernandez.
All of those deals work on the ESPN Trade Machine
Posted by: Earl Cureton | Dec 13, 2008 3:38:02 PM
Dang, sorry, I thought my first post didn't go through. I'm a dork.
Posted by: Earl Cureton | Dec 13, 2008 3:38:42 PM
I don't care about Diaw and Bell; what about Wallace? Is he going to return to action tonight?
Posted by: Will | Dec 13, 2008 5:06:51 PM
I absolutely think that if someone wants Felton, you have to take a bad contract (which is definitely Nazr and probably Matt).
And, Yeah?, I don't think it says anything that Larry is starting those two except the obvious: They wouldn't have made this trade unless Larry planned to start Raja and Boris. So why not throw them in the deep end and start the process.
Posted by: Rick Bonnell | Dec 13, 2008 5:54:25 PM
whoever thinks we are getting rudy fernandez. please stop coming on this board cause we would have to trade our starting lineup for him. he's probably in the top five of rookies right now and portland ain't giving him up.
will. you don't want to see diaw or bell, yet you think we're better from the trade.
real bobcats fan will. real bobcats fan.
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 5:56:27 PM
Dougie, you're as stupid as ever.
How about this: now that we've signed Howard, assuming he can add anything, Howard/Richardson/Dudley would be better for this team than Howard/Diaw/Bell.
Why? Because this team needed someone to play PF. What we didn't need was to trade away our best player for a PF.
PS - were you one of the guys that said Richardson would be like a "3rd or 4th" option on Phoenix? Yeah, he came off the bench yesterday, took the second-most number of shots, hit 50% of them, and was tied as the top scorer for the entire game.
Another nice call. As I said, the only person on that team that might consistently get more shots than Richardson is Stoudemire. He was our #1 option, and on a "championship caliber" team, he will be their number #2 option. How are all those idiots looking now, the ones that said, "well Richardson sucks, the fact that he's our number #1 option but would be lucky to be a #3 option on a winning team just goes to show you how much he sucks!"
Posted by: Will | Dec 13, 2008 6:17:31 PM
Brad Miller is not worth getting by trading Felton, he's overrated, never scores much, and is a physical liability. There's better players to pursue in the NBA other than Brad Miller. Kaman is another I feel that way about too, he's never healthy. Fernandez will never be given up, especially when he's a vital piece to that offense. Portland wouldn't go and trade him so soon. Before everyone goes on a tyrant as to who should be traded next and what to do now, why don't we wait and see how this last deal plays out and see how they perform in the next few games before thinking about trading everyone else, even though Nazr, Carroll, and May inevitably need to be traded.
- Bonnell, if you were Larry Brown, what would you do?
Posted by: Brett Johnson | Dec 13, 2008 6:36:10 PM
good idea. let's judge it after the first game. sound like you would take sam bowie over jordan too.
one game will.
shaq didn't play last night did he?
3rd at best i said. he'll still be that. and who was guarding him last night. keith bogans????? or jj reddick. thanks for the input.
you said it earlier in the week though. we're better for this trade and if you really think juwan howard is better than diaw, you got problems.
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 6:40:08 PM
also, if richardson is there number 2 option, they got seriously problems, ask golden state about that.
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 6:41:46 PM
Bonnell: "And, Yeah?, I don't think it says anything that Larry is starting those two except the obvious: They wouldn't have made this trade unless Larry planned to start Raja and Boris. So why not throw them in the deep end and start the process."
I realize that they made this trade to start those guys, but PHX did the same with J-Rich and he didn't start (although I know each coach/team is different).
I just figured that we are trying to win games and they haven't practiced, and Bell & Diaw could still contribute off of the bench w/o starting tonight since Brown's offense sets are supposed to be complex.
I think it says something that the new guys start (esp Bell) who haven't even practiced and know the system, over someone like DJ or Carroll or who has been here.
Posted by: Yeah? | Dec 13, 2008 6:47:47 PM
they will go small
dj
ray
bell
diaw
okafor
detroit will do the same with stuckey, ai, rip, prince, sheed
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 6:49:16 PM
Howard isn't better than Diaw. And Diaw and Bell are not better than Richardson and Dudley. That is the point.
Howard is a PF. We needed a PF that is capable of starting in this league. If Howard is able to provide that, we would have been better off keeping Richardson and Dudley. We should have signed him and seen what he was able to provide before beginning to dismantle this team. As I said elsewhere, if Howard was able to block out, rebound, hit the occasional 10-15ft jumper, and not be a complete sieve on defense, that's all we need to be competitive for a playoff spot. It would have been a stopgap measure till we could have done more to shore up the PF position long-term. We didn't need to trade away our best player, our only 20ppg scorer, a legit starting-caliber SG on a championship team, just to fill a need.
And Golden State had a helluva run before they dismantled that team. Where did they go last year without Richardson? Where are they going now? They've only taken steps backwards.
Posted by: Will | Dec 13, 2008 6:51:30 PM
they will go small tonight starting i would bet because detroit is doing the same
dj/ray/bell/diaw/okafor
stuckey/ai/rip/prince/sheed
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 6:56:14 PM
helluva run to the eighth seed in the west and they beat an overrated team in dallas. dudley isn't better than bell or diaw. jordan said it a couple weeks a go. dudley should be the 9th best player on this team and he wasn't at the time. he was number six. richardson is a better player than diaw and bell. but there impact together is better than what richardson can do for us...
is wallace playing tonight?
that changes the lineup if he is...dj to the bench...
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 6:58:53 PM
Trade is working at great! We are already down 15 in the 2nd quarter. Good thing we got rid of our top scorer and picked up some defenders!!
Posted by: tbone | Dec 13, 2008 7:47:31 PM
Amen Tbone Amen. This trade sucked, plus still looks like a lot of empty seats in the arena when the camera pans around.
Posted by: mustache35 | Dec 13, 2008 7:51:42 PM
"whoever thinks we are getting rudy fernandez. please stop coming on this board cause we would have to trade our starting lineup for him. he's probably in the top five of rookies right now and portland ain't giving him up."
Dougie, our whole lineup would be just a wee bit too high a price for a guy who's averaging 11 pts, 3.5 boards and 1.9 assists. I just threw him in to that trade to make the salaries work, so take your nose out of his crotch and settle down.
Posted by: Earl Cureton | Dec 13, 2008 7:55:22 PM
earl,
have you watched a blazers game this year. or the championship game in the olympics.
untouchables of hte blazers
oden, roy, fernandez
fernandez to the blazers is like manu to the spurs...
read up on the nba my friend...i think will and i can even agree on that...
Posted by: dougie | Dec 13, 2008 8:01:25 PM
I get so sick and tired of people overrating other team's talents. Fernandez is no basketball God. People are hyping him up the same way that Diaw was hyped up after first being traded from Atlanta, and look how great he turned out.
Fernandez may be a good player, but please don't talk about him as if he is someone destined for superstardom or something. He's far from it.
Augustin is comparable or better at everything. He's got a bright future ahead of him, but I'd be pretty damn stupid to think Augustin is worth more than already established players that have shown they can produce 18-20ppg and 6-8rpg, on top of play defense and fill up the rest of the stat sheet.
I guess Augustin is now our "untouchable" player, and we can go around bragging how it would take like 10 future 1st rounders, or an All-Star + 6th man of the year candidate for us to even think about trading him.
Cool.
Posted by: Will | Dec 13, 2008 8:18:22 PM
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