Palacio and Griffin

I have to agree with Mark and Kestas. No way should Palacio get $3-4m per year, even if it is only two years. The team has been balking at giving Bryant Stith that kind of money for two years, and he's an established veteran. I would think Palacio would snap up any 2 year guaranteed NBA contract. So, while I suspect this report is erroneous, I suppose anything's possible. If they are talking about that kind of money, I hope the second year is a team option.

As long as I brought up Bryant Stith, does anyone else wonder why they prefer him to Adrian Griffin? Adrian is younger, but has just as mature and professional an attitude. Griffin would certainly come much cheaper. Do Stith's years really give him that much of a presence in the locker room? Stith is a somewhat better shooter, but Adrian has much more court sense. As defenders, Stith is quicker and can probably guard faster players better, but Adrian has superb hands and instincts. I see them as being very different players, but similar in talent level, with Griffin having the advantages of being cheaper and younger. I guess they are choosing Stith because they see him as more of an outside scoring threat (although he's not a very good one) and they prefer his experience (so what?) to Griffin's youth, since they don't expect to keep either player beyond next year anyway. But I think it's a mistake to get rid of a player like Griffin. You need people like that on a roster. Someone who won't complain about playing time or make a lot of money and can step in and contribute when needed. In the end, I think he's another casualty of not being 'athletic' enough for the 'system'.