Young Centers

[dirk2003]

Can some of you help me make a list of young centers with potential... I'm gonna name as many as I can. Maybe the Mavs can try to acquire one of them.

Dalembert
Diop
Mihm
Magloire (How is his defense?)
Miller
Przybilla
Swift
Etan Thomas
Curry
Chandler
Haywood
Okur
Bosh
Gadzuric
Ely

Would any of these guys greatly help our team or are they just spares?

[ddh33]

Prizybilla can't stay healthy, but he can rebound and block shots.
Mihm looks a lot like Will Perdue to me. Kedrick Perkins never sniffed the court this season.
Eddie Curry looks like the franchise in Chicago. Chandler is skinny and has back problems.
Diop needs a change of scenery in Cleveland. He needs more experience too. I like him here though.
Okur has some potential. Darko isn't going anywhere.
Dampier isn't that young any more, but he's gettable. Foyle is limited but plays hard.
Yao isn't going anywhere, and that is an understatement.
The Clippers have some young, big talent. But I don't know how to get a hold of it since Sterling despises big contracts.
Shaq might help here [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
Stromile has got a ton of ability, but he hasn't put it together. Wright does his job. Big Jake can't get any time in Memphis.
Gadzuric plays with a lot of effort and intensity. Haislip is a 4, but he can't play in Milwaukee.
I like what I read about the Kristic kid coming to Jersey next season, but he's not available.
Mohammed isn't a difference maker for the Knicks.
Steven Hunter looks like he might never get it.
Dalembert looks like a young Theo Ratliff. Good luck getting him.
Bosh is a 4, but I would love to have him.
Ostertag isn't young, but he's a realistic option. Borchardt is gettable too, but he's a walking infirmary.
Kwame still has a ton of potential. Haywood is limited and a little soft. Thomas has already been here.

After looking at that list, you realize just how hard it is for the Mavs to find and get a good center. That is one of the reasons I would advocate trying to get a young guy in the lottery this year even if you have to wait for him to develop. The problem, as you can see, is that this league is littered with big players drafted high that never panned out.

I think one of the things this franchise needs to do is look for young kids who may have worn out their welcome in the current setting:

Chandler might be an option here, even if he is a forward with a center's game.
Diop is an even better fit. He supposedly has fans in this front office too. I just look at him and think of a James Donaldson.
Dampier isn't young, but if you can get him, you do it.
Like I said, I like the Clippers bigs, but I don't want to part with our kids to get theirs.
Can't see anything happening with Memphis. Divison rivals usually don't deal together.
I would take a flier on Steven Hunter even if I would hate to rely on the kid. If he ever screws his head on right, he could still be something. I like his athleticism though.
Ostertag is what he is, but I would take it.
The Wizards bigs probably aren't moving just yet either.

[dalmations202]

Chandler might be an option here, even if he is a forward with a center's game.
Diop is an even better fit. He supposedly has fans in this front office too. I just look at him and think of a James Donaldson.
Dampier isn't young, but if you can get him, you do it.
Like I said, I like the Clippers bigs, but I don't want to part with our kids to get theirs.
Can't see anything happening with Memphis. Divison rivals usually don't deal together.
I would take a flier on Steven Hunter even if I would hate to rely on the kid. If he ever screws his head on right, he could still be something. I like his athleticism though.
Ostertag is what he is, but I would take it.
The Wizards bigs probably aren't moving just yet either.

IMO:
Chandler is option #1. He is athletic, and gets pushed off the blocks, but has range to 15' and could play a high post, ala Chris Webber. He can't guard the bigger post player (Shaq ,TD, etc) but does a good job against the quick athletic type players and off the ball stuff. He would be a great option with Ostertag as a banger on the team as well.

Diop is a good idea, just don't know if he is really available.
Gadzuric is a good idea, I would check on him. (not enough offense though)

Dampier is what he is......I just don't think that is much more that Ostertag. Both are great when motivated, and really spare when not.

I doubt you getting anything from Washington. Most of the other players listed are not available.

[birdsanctuary]

I think you should list Chris Kaman to your list. He looked like a nice player at times last year.


If its a big guy we need, I don't understand why we cant bring one in. I am assuming that we'd rather go small ball than to play a stiff. It certainly seems like with the influx of Euros that there are a lot more 7 footers than there was years ago. I remember a day when there were like 5 7 footers in the whole draft. Now it seems like there are more than enough to go around.

I like sticking with a late pick and going for a Euro big man. The scrub bigs from Europe seem to pan out better at a higher percentage than the US ones. Illgaukas, Stepania, Okur, Potapenko, Nesterovich, Songailia pf. I know some people in this forum are very sold on Pavel, but I am not convinced of his work ethic. Who is the best Euro Big in the Draft, who do you like?

[FilthyFinMavs]

I've seen Pryzbilla look like a scrub at times and when Shaq comes to town i've seen him give Shaq hell. I'm not sure whats the problem with Pryzbilla.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Some more guys you can add to that list are Tony Battie and Stephen Hunter. Stephen Hunter is extremely quick for his size and can even dribble the ball. IT seems his main problem is staying healthy. Another guy I think has potential is the guy who played for the Hornets 2 years ago but now he is a Raptor. I forget his name but he seems to have a problem with injuries too.

[ddh33]

Originally posted by: FilthyFinMavs
Some more guys you can add to that list are Tony Battie and Stephen Hunter. Stephen Hunter is extremely quick for his size and can even dribble the ball. IT seems his main problem is staying healthy. Another guy I think has potential is the guy who played for the Hornets 2 years ago but now he is a Raptor. I forget his name but he seems to have a problem with injuries too.

Jerome Moiso...The Mavs supposedly showed some interest in him last summer. I don't know how serious they were, but his name was mentioned in a few articles.

[foglemann]

A big you also left off there was Blount. He showed me a lot last year with a multitude of 20-20 games and quite a few blocks. He is a FA and could be had for the right price, just don't think we have that option. He will be leaving Boston for sure.

My fav is Foyle. Always plays hard and with a lot of emotion. Very smart man and basketball player, limited on offense, but is a beast at blocking shots and can rebound when given the minutes. I just think if you gave him the starting job, he would be perfect in front of Bradley. He probably can be had for much less than any other FA big out there like Blount and Dampier.

[ddh33]

Blount and Foyle both interest me too, but are you surprised? I'm a Mavs fan. Practically any serviceable big guy interests me.

I think Bount either stays in green for more money, goes to Miami as rumored, or follows O'Bie for Philly. I don't think Dallas will be able to get much done there.

Foyle is a different story. There are some people who think that Dampier won't even opt out and risk losing what money he already has. We'll see. But Foyle actually played better than Dampier most years in Golden State. I love his effort, shotblocking, and rebounding. He seems like a high character guy. I don't know if lmitations would be exposed with more minutes or if he could actually be a semi-dominant force.

[FilthyFinMavs]

Originally posted by: ddh33

Jerome Moiso...The Mavs supposedly showed some interest in him last summer. I don't know how serious they were, but his name was mentioned in a few articles.

That's him. I think the Mavs had some interest but I don't know I don't think Jerome Moiso was picked up by the Raptors for a steep price. He had a great playoff run. I was for sure Mavs would pursue him a bit harder but seemed that concentrated on Mourning far too hard.

[FilthyFinMavs]

In that Golden State trade I was really hoping we could've got Dampier or Foyle in that deal. Both bring to the table what the Mavs need.