[grndmstr_c]

I guess since I started the darn thing I ought to reason it out a bit. Here goes:

Barry and Booth - this is probably my second favorite, and one of the most intriguing. I like Booth. Nice shot blocker and rebounder. Not a scorer, but has enough range on his shot to not be a liability. I think he'd round out our center lineup nicely. Barry's the one that makes it really interesting. The resulting guard rotation makes me giddy. My concern would be Nellie playing Fin at the three a lot, but my hope would be that the vacated SF minutes go to Howard, who absolutely deserves them.

Rasheed - this one got my vote. It's a gamble, we all know why, but talent wise this one is clearly the winner. With Sheed's ability to play inside and outside, his size, and his defensive abilities, I wouldn't at all mind starting and closing with a lineup of Nash, Fin, AW, Dirk, and Sheed, and it would unquestionably be the single most fearsome lineup in the league. A sort of odd upside to Sheed is that he comes from a team that was loaded with talent, and that he has, if anything, proved to be a little too unselfish out on the court, even if he is a blockhead more often than I would like. We're stuck with Best and Delk backing up the point, but with the frontcourt this would give us, I think we'd be allright. For those who favor this one, here's a question: If the Blazers wanted AJ and Najera instead of AJ and TAW, do you still like the trade?

KMart - I'd definitely do this one. KMart's a good rebounder, he can block shots, defends well, and is capable offensively. I definitely think he'd be a better fit for the team, even if I'd stop short of saying this would be a move that unquestionably puts us over the top since he's a little undersized, and would be unlikely to help our half-court offensive excecution much (sure wouldn't hurt our breaks, though, would he?). This is probably my third choice.

Ward and Thomas - I'd probably say no to this one. Another option at point would be nice, but I just don't think Thomas would help much beyond what we have, and talent-wise we're taking a hit. I'd rather be patient with AJ, and sign a FA center next year than give him up for a backup point, and another undersized, foul-prone center who's not going to do anything to discourage layup drills.

Tag and Harpring - The argument against is that Tag will be a FA, and potentially in our range, next year. True, but as LRB pointed out in the thread where he introduced this possibility, there are no guarantees in FA. I also like Harpring's game quite a bit. Thing is, though, I like Howard, too, so I'm not sure that we really need to replace AJ with another backup SF. Still worth doing, though, IMO.

Ratliff and Jackson - I'd think about it. Not in love with either one of those guys, but they both bring something to the table. If not for Ratliff's injury history I'd feel better about this one.