Hoops

Posey agrees to four-year deal with Hornets

Depth is still an issue, and i am always expecting Camby to get hurt (though he has been an iron man the last 3 years..) but reall, a starting 5 of Kaman, Camby, Thornton, Gordon and Davis provides vet leaders with young talent, as well as matchup problems for the two bigs...

I'm a fan of teams that move slightly away from the normal 5 positions, i think it can be a real recipe for success...

Could Eric Gordan have anyone better to learn the undersized shooting guard role than Mobley?

No play-offs for the clips this year, their young guys are still too young, but you bet they will have a hand in determining who plays in june...

Unfortunate for the clippers, by the time Gordan and Thornton are playing at their peak- Davis and Camby will be commentators...

Hey Hereschenes, Posey will help the Hornets and they will still be a good team, I just feel that they don't have enough talent and depth yet to go all the way. Paul had to play out of his mind this season for them to get that far and I'm not sure he can keep that up long term. Teams will adjust to him and he will face injuries/ form slumps at times. When that happens, I think the Hornets would be in trouble.

I guess I compare them to the Celtics, who can afford one of their big 3 to play poorly and still win, because other guys will take up the slack. With the Hornets, Paul is the only guy who I see as dominant against all comers. If he's not on, I think the other guys would falter.

I reckon if the Spurs stay healthy and get a little younger off the bench, they may stick with their pattern of 'every second year'. The Lakers will obviously be right there, especially if they could bring in Artest for Odom.

I reckon I'd probably rank the Hornets 3rd in the West right now, so about where they finished last season. They'd better watch out for Portland and possibly the Clippers as well though, because they could both make big leaps forward

Thanks for the link, Quagmire, it's a really well written article. A lot of people on the Boston.com message board are saying similar things and I agree, in an ideal world it is too much to pay.

But as I said earlier, I think Posey still has 2 good years in him and since the Celtics window is really the next two years, I would be willing to overpay.

I really don't feel that it will be easy to get a guy who does everything Posey does, in particular, his ability to slot in and rest the legs of Pierce and Allen. His ability to do that is critical to the longevity of both Boston's star wings IMO.

I'm hoping Ainge can redirect the mid level money to the right FA. It has to be someone who plays good defence at the 2 and 3 positions and can make the 3. Anything else is a bonus.

Matt Barnes and Kelenna Azubuike are both being talked about as well as (optimistically) Childress. They sound like decent options, but there is really no guarantee until they are signed and we see if KG can work his defence mojo on them!

As far as the Hornets go, I hope Posey plays well for them. They have overpaid though, and I am surprised that they haven't been chasing some other FA's who are a bit younger. It will take more than Posey to put them over the top IMO.

Ok- i was pretty quick to label this a gun move by the Hornets, but take the time to read this article and see if your opinion doesn't change....

http://linky.com.au/mwt6h

Beantown- Sorry mate, i'm still getting used to the incredible powers the mocker gods have given me....

Celtics may be stripping down potential high-cost players and seeing if the club can still maintain a championship standard.

Basically I look at the situation as "Yes, we've won a title; we don't need a team containing the current roster anymore. We should be able to drop these people, replace them with low maintenance players and still be able to hold our own".

It's ALWAYS about "Da Moneyz"; If Rondo, Pierce, Allen and KG can support the Celtics; and have potential gap fillers in guys like Leon Powe etc. then losing players like Posey (although stupid) is probably in the clubs best interest.

Olskool, I tend to agree with you. Disappointing to lose such a key guy over one year. At least Posey signed for the Hornets and not an eastern conference team or the Lakers!

I would have been willing to cop possibly 2 years of an over the hill Posey in exchange for everything he brings to the team in the meantime.

Quagmire, did you put the mockers on the Celtics by guaranteeing Posey would resign with them?!?!

It's going to be tough for the Celtics to improve their bench now. Instead they've gone backwards big time. I like both Tony Allen and House and they can each cover part of what Posey brings but its not the same as having one guy who does it all.

I don't think it is likely that the Celtics draft picks will come on quickly enough this year to make a big difference either.

About the only option left is someone like Childress, but that is a real long shot for mid level exception money.

Anyway- fantastic for the Hornets, they should really look to start him over Peja, would make em a real tough defensive team with no step down in the offensive structure. Peja subs in when CP3 sits to keep the points coming.

They are going to be real tough out next season...

Boston slips a gear, but they will probably find a vet to fill the hole to an extent. Or we may even see their rookie get some extra burn.

Are you kidding me!!!!!

This is two times in two days i've been totally punked!!!!!!!

Throw me a frickin bone!!!!