tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758702.post5483218685227401090..comments2023-11-05T01:50:45.024-08:00Comments on Supersonicsoul - The Sonics Blog!: Curiouser and CuriouserPaulhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07413382016761430333noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758702.post-69287106336583962452008-04-11T13:09:00.000-07:002008-04-11T13:09:00.000-07:00Obviously, Oakley was not your typical "finesse" c...Obviously, Oakley was not your typical "finesse" center. However, one of his most valuable skills was his reliable 18-footer from the elbow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758702.post-34416019893869466202008-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:002008-04-11T13:06:00.000-07:00He's a "gunner"? Wow, I had no idea (I live in NY...He's a "gunner"? Wow, I had no idea (I live in NY now, and don't get to see any games). <BR/><BR/><BR/>Oh, and looks like Sene was named NBDL Defensive Player of the Year.<BR/>http://www.nba.com/dleague/news/defensive_players_080410.html<BR/><BR/>Past winners include such giants of the game as Mikki Moore, and.... well, his was the only name I recognized...<BR/><BR/><BR/>Generally, I don't trust overly coordinated big men (if that's what Elson is). They're just never worth the trouble. <BR/>An 80% free-throw shooting big man prospect? I don't want him. <BR/>Any tall guy that can shoot that well has never had to trade elbows, or play hard at any level below the NBA, and there's about a 90% chance that he's a huge pus%% (see, Darko). The only NBA finesse centers that succeeded were the ones that honed their skills AFTER getting to the NBA, a la Ewing, Olajuwon, Oakley, et al.<BR/><BR/><BR/>The qualities that I look for in a good center are:<BR/>-Tall<BR/>-Strong<BR/>-Sharp Elbows<BR/>-Good fundamentals (ie. boxes out, sets good picks, etc.)<BR/>-Plays hard/Maintains good conditioning<BR/>-minimal ego<BR/><BR/>Yes, I am a big fan of Eduardo Najera. (Although he's a bit undersized...)<BR/> <BR/>Hopefully, Sene can develop into this kind of player (he needs to hit the weights!)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758702.post-38920040268032546112008-04-11T10:18:00.000-07:002008-04-11T10:18:00.000-07:00I can see your point, Howard, but is any team goin...I can see your point, Howard, but is any team going to make a decision on Elson for the next trading deadline based upon what he did in the span of four games at this point in the season? I suppose it might make sense if they were planning on including Elson in a deal this summer regarding draft pick movement, but, honestly, having seen Elson for the past couple of weeks or so, I think the best way to enhance his value is to not let other teams see him play. The guy is a flat-out gunner and doesn't seem to do much else.PNhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10338259096142095348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758702.post-14707723973992643772008-04-11T06:36:00.000-07:002008-04-11T06:36:00.000-07:00Well, they're definitely not tanking, because Sene...Well, they're definitely not tanking, because Sene is probably (I'm forced to guess due to lack of empirical evidence...) much worse than Elson at this point. If they wanted to lose games, they could trot out a lineup of Sene, Petro, Green, Durant, Watnour. It could "maybe" be justified by using the "evaluating our scrubs" excuse, and would be sure to lose games.<BR/><BR/>The only reasoning for this that I can think of, is that management thinks that Elson/Marshall are good enough players that given playing time, they can showcase their "skills" to prospective trading partners. Given Elson can play a lick of defense (again, I'm guessing due to lack of actual visual evidence...), I could see some contending teams showing interest in trading for Elson next season to add six more big man fouls to their roster...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7758702.post-24559480652644090052008-04-10T17:18:00.000-07:002008-04-10T17:18:00.000-07:00HYPOTHETICALLY they could decide to keep Elson as ...HYPOTHETICALLY they could decide to keep Elson as a 5th center (a serious drain on roster spots) given 2 recovering from knee surgeries or there might be a slight chance to do a sign and trade by iteslf or in some complicated arrangement. But the simple answer is playing Elson doesnt mean much and not playing Sene in the NBA hardly at all in a wasted season is ridiculous.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com