Its still awfully early to be thinking about offseason maneuvering for Seattle, but when you are not in the playoffs (and even if you are), you can’t help but to think of adding players that may help shore up your weaknesses. We have no real indication yet what the team has planned for its draft picks. They could draft a Shooting Guard to backup Ray; a Small Forward to back up Rashard; a combo guard, a post player in case Wilcox doesn’t re-sign; or just the best player available regardless of position.
Outside of that discussion there is the possibility that the team will take a look at some free agents this summer. A glance at the list of Unrestricted and Restricted free agents for this summer will probably leave you as unimpressed as I was. The crop is really less than inspiring. I’d love to get Ben Wallace, but you know that will never happen. You can see Sheridan’s top ten list here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/feature/featureIndex?page=nbafreeagency2006
And you can find a complete list here:
www.insidehoops.com/free-agency.shtml
A few names that I though could be worth a look (and within Seattle’s notoriously tight fisted budget) are as follows:
• Reece Gaines- Combo guard, Height: 6-6 Weight: 205 lbs. Taken a few picks after Luke Ridnour. Good numbers in college, playing both guard positions. He has never gotten a shot at meaningful playing time in the NBA. Probably better than most players we could grab in the second round.
• Jumaine Jones-SF, Height: 6’8â€, Weight: 218 lbs. Able to play both forward positions... Explosive... Great in the open court... Has three-point shooting range... Very effective shooting from the corner... Pretty good rebounder... Tenacious defender... Should drive to the basket more often... An underrated player.
• Keith VanHorn-SF, 6’10-250. His big contract is finally over, and he will probably be playing for something close to MLE money next year. He could stretch the floor like Vlade did, and provide frontcourt depth.
• Nazr Mohammed-C, 6’10-250. A physically gifted player... Excellent offensive rebounder... Very good mobility... Has improved his offensive game... Injury prone in the past. We all got a good look at him in the playoffs last year against San Antonio. Bob Hill mentioned his desire for an experienced player/mentor in the post. He will probably be too expensive.
• Joel Przybilla-C, 7-1â€, 255. Coming off his best season. Didn’t he have like 7 blocks against us late in the season? Much like Nazr; probably too expensive after signing Wilcox and draft picks.
• Richie Frahm, Lee Nailon, Rasual Butler?
There are a ton of lesser known players that I frankly just haven’t seen play. Any ideas?