Re: Holley on who may be going. . .

[Alex Wang <awang@mit.edu>]

Here are some stats to evaluate the proposed Detroit trade:

Jerome Williams: His three year, $10M extension kicks in this
offseason so he will evidently be a base-year compensation player.
(Were there any changes to this rule in the new CBA?)
His season stats: 23 mpg, 7.3 ppg on 50% fg, 7.0 rpg (3.2 offensive).
He's listed on NBA.com as 6'9" and 206 lbs, which I thought was a
typo. But the Sporting News team report calls him undersized at
6'9" and 220. The offensive rebounding stat is impressive though. 
He's also averaging 12.0 ppg (64% fg) and 10.5 rpg (4.9 offensive)
as a starter (10 games) for Detroit. Does anyone know how his post 
defense is?

Bison Dele: Entering the third year of his 7 year, $45M contract.
I would estimate that his average salary over the remainder of the
contract would actually be over $7M. 
Season stats: 24 mpg, 10.5 ppg on 50% fg, 5.6 rpg. 
Doesn't Dele have a reputation for being emotionally fragile? 
It wouldn't seem to be a good mix with Pitino's volatility.

If Pitino truly does have a budget, I'd think that this trade wouldn't
happen because of Dele's large contract. And it's risky because Dele
is so inconsistent. Of course, signing Battie to a large extension is
a risk too because he's unproven, but I'd be willing to gamble on 
Battie due to his shotblocking potential.

Alex