Boris Diaw anybody?

[naptownmenace]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

He's a career underachiever, IMO. Unless you pair him with a good PG that makes everyone else better, like Steve Nash, he'll probably fail. I'd rather give the minutes to Lou.

[Sandman21]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

I'd love to have Diaw here.....

If I was running a hamburger joint.

Otherwise, no to Cheeseburger Boris!

[spreedom]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/newly-bought-boris-diaw-available-disappoint-favorite-team-140231073.html;_ylt=An9jSJ2tg2g4QwrXIH41X1PZPKB4

The newly bought-out Boris Diaw is available to disappoint your favorite team



The Charlotte Bobcats and Boris Diaw have reached a buyout agreement, making the versatile forward a free agent. This is good news for those who embrace versatility's literal meaning, because Boris can come to you in several shapes and sizes, with different levels of motivation, declining to make an impact or completely taking over the game in a positive way. He can be brilliant, and he can be terrible. He can help your team, or absolutely waste its time. He could be in shape, or maddeningly portly. He's versatile.

Charlotte Observer reporter Rick Bonnell first reported the news on Tuesday morning, but this has been in the offing for two weeks, especially after Bonnell quoted Bobcats coach Paul Silas' infamous description of Diaw after his removal from Charlotte's active (a loose definition, to be sure) roster on March 7th:

"I like a player who is really committed to not only the team but to himself and then doing the best he can as a player,'' Silas said. "Some of the things that would go on, like not shooting the ball, passing all of the time."

The popular perception by those who are really looking forward to college basketball on Thursday night is that the NBA is a league full of players who are shooting "all the time," and not passing the ball; so Diaw's unique take on the pro game would seem to be a breath of fresh air. The problem with this is that, since being drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in 2003, Diaw has made an unfortunate career of passing up shot after shot; completely frustrating both fans and teammates with his refusal to utilize his profound gifts as a low post scorer.

The guy's a great passer, always has been, and it says a lot about Diaw's commitment to craft that he was originally thought of as a Grant Hill-type point forward before thickening up and becoming a low post threat. Heading into the post and using guile and wily ways is a typical career arc for most NBA players as their ages advance, but this dude's only 29. Come on. He's been the old guy in the post at the pickup game since before he was legally allowed to rent a car.

His career has been one big taunt. We'd get just enough taste to keep us going -- a nice touch dish as a Hawk, a couple of rolling hooks in Charlotte, his brilliant 2005-06 campaign with the Phoenix Suns -- and it would be enough to keep us coming back. Zach Lowe of Sports Illustrated pointed out on Wednesday morning that Diaw attempts one free throw for every 36 minutes of basketball he plays (one!), and yet you're considering it. You're a fan of 29 other NBA teams, and you're wondering if your team couldn't use that help up front, and someone to hit cutters.

Diaw will hit your cutters. He can't help it, despite his attempts at remaining completely anonymous. Even on Charlotte's 30th-ranked offense (perhaps better known as The Worst Offense You've Ever Seen) over a quarter of the possessions Diaw used up ended in an assist for the center. That would leave you enthused until you remember his 41 percent shooting, or the fact that the guy that doesn't shoot enough somehow still shoots too many three-pointers.

It's maddening. Diaw's 2005-06 campaign was one of the more enjoyable runs (he did run, back then) we've had as a fan of NBA big men. His quick hits and work in the post kept the Suns in championship contention despite playing almost an entire season without Amar'e Stoudemire in Stoudemire's prime years. Not only did Diaw make himself a threat, but he established that he could work with someone else (in this case, Steve Nash) dominating the ball. When the play breaks down, dump it in to Diaw and cut. See what happens. Get your hands ready.

We're six years removed from these nice things, and Diaw has let it all go to waste. At 29 he should be utilizing nearly a decade's worth of NBA know-how and a body that should still be in peak form, and yet one of the worst teams in NBA history wants absolutely nothing to do with him.

Nine years in, and it's clear that this is the Diaw we should come to expect. He might still provide those exhilarating hiccups, especially for whatever team he chooses to play for as 2011-12 winds down (the San Antonio Spurs, with close friend Tony Parker running the offense, appear to be the early leader), but Boris Diaw has spent 80 percent of his career betraying his gifts. By this time, there's no point in expecting anything else.

I think that article was pretty spot on.... I'd be okay with adding Diaw at the league minimum, but I wouldn't give him meaningful minutes until he proved that he was going to really bust his butt out there. He is like a hypertalented Tim Thomas (not a good thing) with how he drifts in and out of things for weeks at a time. But if he knew he was playing for a contract next season and really gave the effort that his talent deserves, he might turn himself into a bargain as opposed to a punchline.

[Pingu]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

He's a career underachiever, IMO. Unless you pair him with a good PG that makes everyone else better, like Steve Nash, he'll probably fail. I'd rather give the minutes to Lou.

I don't think that this is quite true. Diaw can create offense and is a good passer. He usually makes people around him better, not so much the other way around, and at any rate I don't think it's accurate to say that he needs a Steve Nash-caliber PG to succeed.

His MIP year, the Phoenix offense was running through Diaw (in the high post) almost as much as through Nash. Diaw got good numbers that year in large part because he was playing with players who can make good cuts and make shots, not so much because he was playing with somebody with the play-making abilities of Nash. Obviously, it didn't hurt to play with Nash, but I don't believe it was key to his success. What was key to his success that year I think was D'Antoni's ability to light a fire under his *** (and also obviously increased minutes from Amare being out).

I don't think that Diaw is primarily motivated by money as some seem to suggest. He's played with the French national team (for free) every time he was asked to do so, is one of the team captains, and has always shown a high level of commitment. I think that Diaw is motivated by playing and winning high stakes games (e.g. international tournaments or playoff games) more so than by money.

So the Pacers should look at Diaw if they think Vogel can light a fire under his *** and if they think the playoffs will be enough to get him motivated.

Also, while the fact that he defers a lot to other players and passes up shots he could take may be a problem as a starter on the worst team in the NBA but in a second unit with Hill, Barbosa, Hansbrough, etc. having somebody who'd rather pass it than shoot it would actually be a plus.

[CableKC]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

Just my opinion....but given the scoring flexibility of the 2nd unit of GH ( or DC ) / Barbosa / Inferno, I don't think that we need a Big Man that can is good at ball movement.....we need experienced size and strength down low to get those extra rebounds, scoring opportunities and defend against Players that West, Hibbert and Hansbrough can't defend. We need "beef" with the proverbial "Cheeseburger" that is the 2nd unit...not "extra fat".

[vnzla81]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

Now that Foster retired I really hope we go hard after Diaw we need him.

[ilive4sports]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

No thank you. Dude hasn't been motivated in a long time.

[PaceBalls]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

I know right? Why are you so fixated on Boris Diaw of all people VNZLA? He is a lazy overweight halfasser.

[vnzla81]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

I know right? Why are you so fixated on Boris Diaw of all people VNZLA? He is a lazy overweight halfasser.

An "overweight halfasser" that is been wanted by championship contender teams, he is so bad that he averages 7.4 points 5.3 rpg and 4.3 apg, yep let's bring the "better player" in Turiaf or Hollins

[spreedom]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

An "overweight halfasser" that is been wanted by championship contender teams, he is so bad that he averages 7.4 points 5.3 rpg and 4.3 apg, yep let's bring the "better player" in Turiaf or Hollins

Just about any player is desirable at the league minimum. It's not like contenders were blowing up Jordan's phone, trying to make a deal for Diaw.

[cdash]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

An "overweight halfasser" that is been wanted by championship contender teams, he is so bad that he averages 7.4 points 5.3 rpg and 4.3 apg, yep let's bring the "better player" in Turiaf or Hollins

Pssshhh...Murphy blew those numbers out of the water.

I don't really give a **** about Diaw. He's incredibly fat and I think the fact that he gets assists gives some the illusion that he is a team oriented player--he's not. If we signed him for peanuts to slop up whatever minutes were available, that's fine. But I'm perfectly okay with leaving him to someone else as well.

[TheDavisBrothers]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

An "overweight halfasser" that is been wanted by championship contender teams, he is so bad that he averages 7.4 points 5.3 rpg and 4.3 apg, yep let's bring the "better player" in Turiaf or Hollins

He's put up those numbers in a lot of minutes on by far the worst team in the league. Nobody is impressed in the slightest by them! Again with the rediculous exaggerating, I don't think anybody really thinks they are better players, they just realize that they are not much worse the Diaw and probably a better fit.

[vnzla81]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

Pssshhh...Murphy blew those numbers out of the water.

I don't really give a **** about Diaw. He's incredibly fat and I think the fact that he gets assists gives some the illusion that he is a team oriented player--he's not. If we signed him for peanuts to slop up whatever minutes were available, that's fine. But I'm perfectly okay with leaving him to someone else as well.

Well the point has always been to sign him cheap, nobody is saying to give him a max or anything like that.

[vnzla81]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

Just about any player is desirable at the league minimum. It's not like contenders were blowing up Jordan's phone, trying to make a deal for Diaw.

I didn't know that you work for the Bobcats thanks for the inside....

[cdash]

Re: Boris Diaw anybody?

Well the point has always been to sign him cheap, nobody is saying to give him a max or anything like that.

Yeah, and I'm okay with that. I wouldn't hate it if we signed him for the minimum.

I didn't know that you work for the Bobcats thanks for the inside....

I don't think it takes a Bobkitty insider to declare that if they had been fielding offers for him, they most certainly would have traded him. Seeing as how they, you know, just released him.