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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 14, 2006 7:01:00 GMT -5
Well, at first I thought he was coming here because Ainge wanted to make us more like the Phoenix Suns of the east--you know, lots of good shooters on the team so that the PG has many kickout options to choose from (Wally, Delonte, Luke, Pierce, Ray, Gerald, and even Gomes). Rajon and Telfair have been doing a fantastic job of penetrating into the paint and kicking the ball out. Wally had terrific success with that in yesterday's game. With more shooters to choose from, defenses cannot load up on any one player.
But now we read that the player swap with Cleveland was just a money crunching move that helps out both teams a bit. Luke has had 2 back surgeries and has played very little in his two years as a pro. Ainge commented that LJ is good when he's healthy, but doesn't know which LJ to expect (a healthy one or a hurt one). He doesn't sound excited to have him in Boston.
So what's the deal? Are we able to get excited over this deal because it could make us a more dangerous offensive team like the Suns? Or should we just forget about LJ because he wasn't brought here to really help us out?
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Post by Ossric on Oct 14, 2006 9:20:00 GMT -5
I think we should just forget about him. his future is not in the NBA, but in Europe. Provided he can get healthy.
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Post by BCHISTORIAN on Oct 14, 2006 12:15:41 GMT -5
if healthy he has a chance to stick around instead of allan ray. but that's a pretty big if
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Post by eddietours on Oct 14, 2006 14:12:08 GMT -5
is werid how this turnsout l remember that luke had a workout with iguodala the article say that he destroy igoudala in does tryout back then bafore the nba draft.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 14, 2006 17:49:37 GMT -5
No, I don't think many of you are aware of how good Luke Jackson is, and can be when healthy. This kid is not just an urban hero in Eugene Oregon. He's not just a product of overhype during the draft craze. He's really an exceptionally talented player, moreso on offense. If healthy, he has the ability to be just as good as Wally, maybe even better because he fits more into the uptempo game than Wally, being that he is quicker and moves around the court well.
In our offense, with excellent passing PG's running the show, guys who can run with them and score when they pass them the ball are valuable. I think this is partially a reason why Ainge brought him here.
Basically, Luke is here for a 6 month tryout. If he fits, good; we keep him and sign him to a new contract. If he's injured and doesn't work out for us, we simply let him go.
The Herald eluded to the fact that Jackson was brought here for money reasons, but I have trouble believing this was the underlying reason for the trade. We aren't going to save a lot of money by making this trade. It won't break open the bank for us. The money we save will not be significant enough to make this trade worthwhile. And we still have an overloaded roster.
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Post by BCHISTORIAN on Oct 15, 2006 1:13:45 GMT -5
i would keep him over allan ray that's for sure. after all the kid was 10th pick. he's got decent size for a wing player as well. a lot of our wings are on the short size anyway
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 15, 2006 3:44:52 GMT -5
Yeah, LJ is better than Allan Ray, when healthy. It does help to have shooters with legit size, since Delonte, Ray and Tony are all under 6'4".
I just think its smart of Ainge to add more shooters on the team. The more guys who can knock down shots, the better our offense. Hopefully, LJ is free of injury.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 15, 2006 21:01:14 GMT -5
how is he on defense? We have a lot of shooters now (Although in the last game, they definitely weren't scorers)... We need more defensive players. Dickau was a good shooter but couldn't guard that proverbial chair.... I think we need to start considering players on their defensive prowess as well as scoring
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Oct 15, 2006 21:07:45 GMT -5
From Bulpett's article
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Post by mev17 on Oct 16, 2006 1:48:59 GMT -5
As a UCLA alum, I remember Luke Jackson from his days at Oregon. He can shoot, and in college showed good athleticism and could drive to the basket as well -- think of a quick Wally who could put the ball on the floor and that was Luke Jackson. Plus he hit a lot of clutch shots to win several Pac-10 games for the Ducks. If healthy, he will definitely give us a scorer off the bench. We lacked that for the most part last year.
Worth a shot, and did not cost us much, as Kandi has looked better than Jones in pre-season anyway, plus we have Perk and Ratliff.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 16, 2006 9:23:36 GMT -5
Talent wise, LJ is a better player than Jones. But, I can't see how LJ is going to get any playing time over Green, West, Wally and Allen. Unless one of those guys are going to be move for a bigger deal down the road.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 16, 2006 17:58:50 GMT -5
Right, FL, defense is the name of the game right now. We have a bunch of scorers, but the emphasis needs to be placed on defense.
But from an offensive standpoint, getting LJ is a good move. I was looking for some old posts I had on Luke Jackson during his Orgegon days, but I think we got rid of our archived posts. But like Mev said, he's a quicker Wally and that helps in our running offense.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Oct 16, 2006 17:59:36 GMT -5
I really don't know how the media, and maybe even our party, have been downplaying the acquisition of Luke Jackson and making it seem like it was done for no other reason than to save money.
On the surface, it may seem like it was just a trade of 2 unproven players going to new teams, but I see it a bit deeper than that. First of all, why in the world would Cleveland trade away LJ and pay us for taking him (they are paying for almost all his salary)? I think they have a big interest in Dwayne Jones and were willing to pay the price for him. Luke Jackson is not some talentless kid who was taken #10 in the '04 draft by luck. They were willing to move him because they need help defensively and they may think that DJ will help them down the line.
Ainge liked DJ and wanted him included in the Minnesota trade last season. And FL agrees with me that DJ does have rebounding and shot blocking talent, though he needs more seasoning.
I think we are getting a solid player in LJ, and he will be a regular in our rotation. He can play the run and gun, as well as be an effective halfcourt player.
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Post by ferbo on Oct 16, 2006 20:40:50 GMT -5
Doc is going to go with some unconventinoal "small" lineups this year. There may be a good many more minutes for the 2s and 3s than would meet the eye.
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Post by eja117 on Oct 16, 2006 20:52:23 GMT -5
There are six reasons I think this was mostly to save money.
1. Almost always hurt and very few of the guys we have on our team are sickies (like say Grant Hill or Camby)
2. Hasn't been good in this league.
3. We already have 3 trillion good young guards who can run and want playing time
4. Contract up soon
5. The Cavs agreed to pay like 75% of his contract and gave us money. It doesn't look like we gave up DJ as willingly as maybe some believe.
6. How often do teams give up their 3rd or 4th big (which are really hard to find) in order to get a 6th-7th swing (which are easy to find)
Gosh forbid all these guards make the team and stick and nobody gets traded and everyone gets resigned (yeah right) (Ray will be in the NBDL (possibly even with GG down there a few weeks) the whole year unless someone gets hurt) that pretty much cements going for a big in the draft (and probably waiving Kandi)
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