Have faith in the Flight.
In another thread on this forum regarding Mikael Pietrus it was mentioned that the Toronto Raptors were expected to make him a top priority with their MLE this year. I'm not sure about the validity of the report, but it got me thinking...
If the Raptors already have Anthony Parker, just traded for Carlos Delfino, and are seriously looking at bringing in Mikael Pietrus...what is to become of their first round pick of a few years ago, Joey Graham?
Joey Graham was picked by their old GM (Bab ) and has never really established himself as a fixture in their rotation, which adds to the ambiguity of his future in Toronto.
While he's been a dissapointment during his time in Toronto, I think he would thrive as a role player in this system.
He's an off-the-charts athlete, with good size (6'7, muscular 225lb), good length (6'9 wingspan), and a nose for the ball. He has a decent mid-range game, but thrives when slashing to the basket for monster dunks. He's not afraid of contact and likes to mix it up in the paint...having played alot of time at PF in college.
I understand he's probably a work in progress, but I think he'd be worth a shot if the Spurs can get him for something like Beno + a future 2nd.
What do you think?
Have faith in the Flight.
I do...
But Flight, who goes about 195lbs, doesn't have the ability to play the four in small ball sets.
Graham, who is a STRONG 225 (reportedly benches over 400lbs), does have that ability.
I think they could co-exist.
Isn't Graham a fairly capable defender? I'd definitely say give him a shot if the Spurs can get him for dirt cheap. He seems coachable and if he's willing to put the work in he would have a role on the Spurs that he could master.
Joey Graham had enormous potential, but it looks more and more likely that it's not going to be fulfilled due to his extremely poor basketball IQ. He makes poor decisions on the court, and is not a strong team defender at all.
Graham is an athlete, not a BB player.
Hes a good defender and a great rebounder though. I would gladly throw my lot with him instead of a late 2nd rounder anyday...as well as dumping Beno's contract. This is a team that may well have an interest in Mr. Udrih also. They are looking to trade their backup PG and have a taste for the Euro players. Not to mention that Nesterovic is already in town. Whats one more Slovenian? If you can do it, pull off the trade. He might not be the perfect player for the job, but could you really do much better or Beno?
It's possible. As I have repeatedly said, I'd prefer to get Singleton from the LAC; now he's a GREAT rebounder...
(stats from 82games.com 06-07 season, Bowen & Duncan included for comparison)
Player EFG DrawF% PassingR ReboundingR BlockR HandsR
Singleton .384 7.9% 1.4 29.4 8.4 5.8
Graham .506 13.6% 1.5 20.2 0.6 7.8
Bowen .500 6.0% 2.2 9.3 1.2 10.0
Duncan .547 19.3% 5.1 32.8 11.3 12.2
The bolded numbers should give you an idea of whose neighbourhood we're talking here...Yes, Singleton's probably the worst player of the bunch offensively - he's in Bruce's neighbourhood overall, but I think he's trainable. In particular, the 05-05 season, his EFG% was .543, and his DrawF% was 12.2. He had a shooting slump this season, and never got his own (and the coach's) confidence back; he only played half the minutes this year...
I've long learned the danger of going by youtube videos.
I watched him 2 years in college on his way to the B12 POY and a Final Four. He will hit a few mid rangers, the occasional 3 (of which he is very accurate for a finisher) then blow by you and make you look silly, as he did there to Posey there.
If Finley opts out, of which I'm skeptical, I think that trading for this kid should be explored. It should take little to get him, based on the direction of the franchise, and he could be a very intriguing piece for the future of this team...
Agreed. I love the idea of picking this kid up as a Bruce Bowen trainee. He might not be that "long 3" but hes better than nothing!
Completely different type of player to learn from Bruce. He's more physical and stronger, but nowhere near the foot quickness.
Weren't we wanting a stronger more physical SF for the LeBrons and Carmelos of this league? Regardless of their obviously differing skill-sets, both Bruce and Joey can play some D. Surely Joey can get some pointers from a guy like Bowen.
With the Raptors looking to acquire Mickael Pietrus, as well as already having too many wings, it looks like Graham could be on his way out.
Couple that with the fact that they are obviously shopping Jose Calderon in order to move into the draft (and have been looking Euroleague adaptation Sarunas Jasikevicius to replace him) and you have serious intrigue. If they are interested in a player like Saras then they likely will have at least a passing interest in Udrih. Not to mention...the salaries match. Toss in a future second rounder and I think we're in business.
The Raptors get the flexibility to trade Calderon (who will be gone on draft night I assume) and will get a backup PG with an expiring deal in case he doesn't work out. Plus it reunites Rasho with his long-lost buddy.
The Spurs get a defensive minded, athletic, physical SF that could come in and help immediately and for cheap. Not to mention, hes a former PF in college that could play the small ball 4.
I realize this isn't the sexy choice, but we give up very little and get a very decent player (who is under 30 no less). Plus, how much do we really think a Beno Udrih trade would command? This is one of the better options.
Read Post #1 of this thread...
You plaigerizer!
Well said, though. I think it makes alot of sense, but we'll see if the Spurs think so too...
I made a few original points...but wow, those posts look very similar!
Sorry, I read your post a while ago and I've been rehashing this whole thing in my mind. I guess I forgot exactly what had been said earlier.
Anyways, I think the Joey Graham trade makes a lot of sense. If we can't land Nocioni or Posey then I like this idea. Hes a much better plan than Pietrus for sure. A fraction of the money (retaining the 08 plan) and an actual small ball 4.
Graham isn't a good defender at all. He is a bad one and that's the main reason why he didn't get more playtime in Toronto while Toronto was maybe the weakest team in the league at SF.
Other teams' first-round busts should - by definition - be disqualified from consideration by the Spurs.
Graham was touted as a good defender coming out of college and the Toronto Raptors routinely matched him up against the opposing team's best players...or should I say, overmatched.
Graham was mishandled in Toronto. He should've been on the bench his first year, refining his game....not thrown to the wolves. There's hope for this kid yet...
I think that Flight can be a great player. But I really look at him more as a guard than I do a forward. A player like Graham would be able to step in at the 3 and also play spot minutes at the 4 when we go small. There is a place for both.
So he is good at defending college players and not at defending nba players. Too bad Spurs are a nba team and not a NCAA team.
Some of you guys act as if everyone on our team are all defensive specialist! You can't eat steak @ every position! There is nothing to suggest that he wouldn't thrive with a year or two under his belt in our system. Give the kid a chance and more importantly get rid of BENO!
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