Ha ha! My nefarious plan worked perfectly. As soon as I said the Hornets would do nothing this off-season, they had to go and prove me wrong. It's something I love about their front office - they clearly watch for my opinions, and then set out to make me look foolish. Too bad I'm on to them now.
Anyways, Posey is a solid pickup. He'll slot nicely into the intense defense the second unit plays, and will be able to let both West and Peja get some nice minutes of rest. Honestly, that second unit is going to be very, very hard to score on with Armstrong, Posey, Wright and Pargo.(assuming Pargo returns) That group already put up some of the best defensive numbers in the league, and Posey is a clever, tough defender.
Offensively - he'll help a little bit. He's a lot like Bruce Bowen - tough defender who can drill the corner three. The second unit was pretty short on shooting, so having him on the floor will give Pargo a nice option on the drive and kick. Still, expect the beginning of the second and fourth quarters to be really ugly as our team shows intense defense and a sputtering offense.
I'm excited to have Posey on board. If they re-sign Pargo now, I think I can live with having Hilton as the primary back up big for now. Maybe we can bring Andersen in, and with a training camp, have him actually do something.
24 awesome comments post your own
Disalvo
07/16/08 08:40 PM
Will we be saying goodbye to Bonzi now?
#1
Dario
07/16/08 10:32 PM
honestly ryan, that was my first thought when i red the hornets aquired james posey! they really want you to look bad :-) i think if we bring pargo back, the team will bea tough-to-beat! great news!
#2
Diane
07/17/08 04:02 AM
Enjoyed your thoughts Ryan. I hope they bring Pargo back too. Just so they talk to him about all those crazy shots he is always taking. It would be great to have Anderson and Armstrong too. Hope they are working hard in the off season. Can't wait to see the Hornets in OKC! Hopefully our new team will get a name one of these days.
#3
ticktock6
07/17/08 04:07 AM
Pargo and a cheap backup big aaaaand... we're done!
hornetshype.com #4
Kamo
07/17/08 04:28 AM
Overpaid...but still a good playa
#5
saunak
07/17/08 04:30 AM
first to address those read hollinger's article and think this is a bad signing - You are morons Hollinger is a stat guy; posey is not about stats he is about doing whatever it takes to win. How many championships does he have the last two years. Did anyone forget how big plays and ridiculous in the corner threes he made in the finals this year. I agree that three years would be idle but there are much worse contracts in the league This trade also won't affect Julian's time because they both can play multiple positions. Maybe posey or wright will move to the starting lineup to replace Peterson. Be happy that you team will be top five teams in the league with a legitimate title chance. HORNETS BABY
#6
Anonymous
07/17/08 04:42 AM
i like the posey signing as he gives us a huge boost on defence and he is a good spot up shooter. I really think we need to go after Kurt Thomas now and hope he is willing to take a min contract. He will get plenty of minutes here and he along with Posey would make the Hornets definite contenders to win a championchip. Than we need to resign Pargo, resign Bowen for additional depth at the 3-4 positions and sign Brown as a future backup PG. PG-Paul/Pargo/James/Brown SG-Peterson/Posey/Butler SF-Stojakovic/Wright PF-West/Thomas/Bowen C-Chandler/Armstrong/Ely That right there is a solid 15 man team.
#7
Jason
07/17/08 05:50 AM
One thing that might be forgotten here is: We got James Posey for next year, and we've given up NOTHING. As of yet, we have not let any significant players go from last year, and odds are we won't. So the same team from last year adds Posey. That's unquestionably a net improvement. And the 5 million dollars saved from the draft pick allows this to happen. That 5 million is the difference between our offer and Boston's offer. As far as overpaying in length, remember, expiring contracts are extremely valuable in the NBA. Three years from now, Posey is a valuable chip. So if we can get 2 solid years out of this guy, then this signing was probably worth it.
#8
Dave
07/17/08 07:03 AM
Julian Wright should start working overtime on his perimeter game, especially his three point game. If he wants a long term role he's going to have to be able to beat out Mo Peterson. Otherwise minutes are going to be too hard to come by.
nbaroundtable.wordpress.com/ #9
Adam Rodney
07/17/08 08:29 AM
They need to sign Pargo,go getKurt Thomas, bring back Kirk Snyder and pick up Bobby Brown. PG - Paul, Pargo, James, Brown SG - Mo, Posey, Snyder, Butler SF - Stoj, Posey, Wright, Wells PF - West, Thomas, Bowen C - Chandler, Thomas, Armstrong, Ely
#10
Glen Fried Rice
07/17/08 09:52 AM
Please, no Kurt Thomas. I'm still trying not to hate Devin Brown as a former Spur. Also, Kurt Thomas sucks. I Hate the Spurs! I love making fun of Kurt Thomas! How can I do that if we sign him?
#11
kc
07/17/08 02:05 PM
make trades for another big name player, such as a michael redd, and trade pargo for steve francis. or possibly steve franis and another big man, such as emeka okefor.
rrrr #12
Moam133
07/17/08 02:17 PM
Skip Kurt Thomas! He was on his way out when the suns got rid of him. He just takesup space without providing any defense. He can't move his feet! Instead lets strengthen the two position with a big name....maybe jr smith or ron artest. Some defense and/or another scorer that can drive to the lane. Chandler and West can hold the inside. As long as they stay out of foul trouble, which they are doing better at (besides b.s. in game 6) with them gaining experiance, hilton posey and ely are sufficient.
#13
mW
07/17/08 06:06 PM
Thank Zeus that two people bashed the Kurt Thomas suggestions before I got to comment. For the love of Hades, what are you people thinking? Kurt Thomas? He fucking sucks. I watched him in NY and he has Aaron Brooks written all over him. He sucks and sucks and sucks and then has a good game, and you think, oh yeah, he's finally turned that corner!! No. He sucks. Seriously, do you people watch basketball? Anyway, lots of talk of Pargo here. I'm not sure, but I think I agree with the analysis over at atthehive.com. If we're paying Mike James $6 mil, and Bobby Brown is tearing up the Vegas League, financially speaking, bringing back Pargo makes no sense. Give BB a minimum contract and use MJ as your back-up PG. Hilton's looking good in Vegas, too, but another big wouldn't hurt. Anderson doesn't count against the cap as long as he's within certain re-sign limits, so they should go there. Same with Bonzi.
www.hornetshype.com #14
Ryan Schwan
07/17/08 06:17 PM
It all depends with Pargo. If he's not expecting much of a raise - and just wants more years, I say give it to him. a 3-year $7 mill deal wouldn't hurt our flexibility much, and he's probably worth that much. Using Mike James as our backup point guard makes me cry, BUT doing so would free up time at the Shooting Guard slot for Posey and Wright, which may be good in the long run.
www.hornets247.com #15
ticktock6
07/17/08 06:29 PM
You know, I was going to comment earlier on the relish with which mW makes fun of Kurt Thomas on a regular basis, but I'm glad I waited... that was totally worth it.
www.hornetshype.com #16
sportnlife
07/17/08 11:54 PM
I still hope the Hornets use the $$ to buy out Butler and James. Those moves would put them far enough under the cap to give them the option to make a sizeable offer to a back-up pf that could play major minutes in a playoff run. But even if they don't, they need to be moving now to the next important personnel move. Power forward. If they want an undersized, hustle player in the Leon Powe/ Jason Maxiel/ Paul Milsaps PF mold, one who would come with a mid-range price tag, they can make a bid for restricted FA Carl Landry, who gave Houston a shot in the arm in the playoff series against Utah. Or if they prefer a short term fix, they could do a deal with Detroit (especially if Billups gets traded) of James and/or Butler for Antonio McDyess' expiring contact; or, possibly a double sign and trade with Seattle/ OKC for Chris Wilcox, using Mo Pete or Pargo as bait. They could also start pestering Portland about Channing Frye's availability. Ryan is right that Pargo might come cheap. But Posey at the wing and Brown's emergence make re-signing him less critical to next year's success than the front line banger. I say strike now for an energetic, young back-up PF who can play 15-20 minutes a night, provides more physical play under the basket, and/or can hit the same foul line elbow shots as D West. If those options don't pan out, sign the best available stiff, and coax PJ Brown out of mothballs for the playoffs and hope he's got another two months left in him.
#17
mW
07/18/08 02:49 AM
It's my take that the Hornets are <strong>not </strong>looking to pick up any expiring contracts. They want to win now. And not only have they built a team to win now, but who will have the chance to win it for the next four years.
hornetshype.com #18
sportnlife
07/18/08 12:54 PM
mW: The whole point about considering going with the expiring contract for McDyess (or even Wilcox, though a sign and trade would be better there) is that you want to have some cap space next year for what is a much, much more favorable PF free agent class. Some highlights: Anderson Varejao, Drew Gooden, Carlos Boozer, Jason Maxiel, Paul Milsap, Shareef Abdur Rahim, Channing Frye, Hedo Turkoglu, Wilcox, Donyell Marshall, Malik Rose, David Lee, Stromile Swift, Charlie Villanueva, Mark Blount, Lamar Odom, Jeff Foster, Rasheed Wallace, Brandon Bass, Sean May, Glenn Davis. . . . So, which year would you rather be picking up a PF for the future, this year or next? The point is not that all of these players would be in the N.O. price range, would fit into the system, would want to come in as a back-up, or would not require giving up an asset or two. The point is that with a market this flush, you have a far better crop of mid-price range talent that will be competing head to head, and so there's better opportunity here to get a stud that completes your roster to solidify your elite status, and keep your Chris Pauls and David Wests in town.
#19
mW
07/18/08 02:30 PM
I was just saying looking at the Hornets' moves, it doesn't seem like they are interested in expiring contracts right now. I get the purpose behind them. That said, I'm not really impressed by your list, and would only really like to see Boozer, Lee, or Odom join, but all would be out of our price range, and none would be willing to play the small 10-12 minutes a game D-West doesn't play. I say re-sign Birdman as insurance (along with Ely) behind West, TC, and Hilton. You see, with our core locked down for 4 or so years, we don't really need to "free up" major space, just have enough to make moves here and there. Like picking up Posey.
www.hornetshype.com #20
sportnlife
07/18/08 02:57 PM
Lots of sizzle. Needs more beef. (Cf. Phoenix Suns, 2005-2008.) You don't have to be impressed with the list. But trust me, you want to have cap space next year for this piece of the puzzle.You don't want a marginal player tying up your cap space, like our current group, that can't even get on the floor during the payoffs, much less have an impact. My point is that next year's market is glutted, so value PFs will be scrambling for contracts. Not like this year, when the real plums can sit back and entertain suitors. We'll get a much better player then and won't have to overpay, as with Posey. For the long haul, you need a couple of energetic horses under the backboards that give you Leon Powe-type energy off the bench.That's when you go from contender status to favorite. If we can get to the finals with this group so thin up front, that's fine. But as we saw this spring, even Phoenix doesn't want to be Phoenix anymore. You need the beef down low, if its not a one-year wonder you're talking, but a potential dynasty.
#21
John Page
07/19/08 06:33 AM
Another aspect of the Posey signing I haven't seen mentioned is his physical play (to be kind). Check out the video on YouTube of the hit he put on Deng http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLnTdZb18oM The fact is the Hornets got pushed around sometimes this past season. I don't think Posey is going to let that happen.
#22
Emir lidan
07/19/08 12:46 PM
i want that new rookie that played in germany to play for the hornets as pauls back up but whatever gues pargo is better then no1
#23
Anonymous
07/20/08 05:42 AM
IMO Hornets should resign Pargo and wells and call it a day. Than we can run out a very effective small ball lineup off the bench. Starters- Paul-Peterson-Stojakovic-West-Chandler Bench- Pargo-Posey-Wright-Wells-Armstrong yes the bench is undersized but all5 of those players are good defenders and all 5 are good rebounders. Plus Wells game is more inside than out so he should be ok at PF in limited minutes. IMO that would be one of the best benches in the league.
#24