Re: OK, now what do we do?

[Kestutis.Kveraga@xxxxxxxxxxxxx (Kestutis Kveraga)]

--- You wrote:
I think Antoine's game is better suited for the 3, certainly on offense. On 
D he will have to struggle at times, but that is the trade-off. With 
Antoine at the 4 we suffered in defensive match-ups at times also. He is a 
tweener. If Antoine gets the word this summer he can work on his quickness.

And truth be told, Antoine will never join the first tier of 4s in the 
league: Duncan, Webber, Garnett, Nowitzki, etc. He isn't in their class. 
But he can be in the first tier of 3s. That is where he can emerge as a 
all-pro caliber player. Especially if he gets his assists in the 6 apg 
range. Then this team has a chance to do some serious damage.

So, for our rotation:

5: Battie
4: Baker
3: Walker
2: Pierce
1: Williams
--- end of quote ---

I agree - which pretty much guarantees it's not going to happen. It's too bad -
this starting five has size and a lot of offense, both from low-post play and
3-point shooting. I'd bet that even Antoine  - if he chose to do so - would
have a much easier time scoring in the low post with opponents also having to
guard Baker. As for defense, Battie would cover up the relative slowness of
Baker and Walker, and our guys would be bigger than the opponents at most
positions. The problem is, who is going to play backup center/PF? Our putative
#5 pick this year, Sundov? I'd bet that, all the PR talk aside, Obie will start
the lineup of Battie-Walker, EWill, Pierce, and Swilliams (or point guard X) to
provide more D, sending the relationship with Baker (and thus, his game)  on a
downward spiral right off the bat.