Damon Stoudamire recently reached an agreement on a buy-out with the Memphis Grizzlies that will make him a free agent once, as expected, he clears waivers on Wednesday.
The teams that have reportedly expressed interest in signing the one-time Rookie of the Year are the Celtics, Raptors, Nuggets, Spurs and Suns.
The Raptors could use some insurance at the point guard position because they are still without the injured T.J. Ford.
The Nuggets have been starting Anthony Carter in place of their own injured point guard, Chucky Atkins. The addition of Stoudamire would definitely strengthen the Nuggets hopes of winning the Northwest Division, but if Stoudamire is hoping to sign with a team that would give him a chance to win a championship, the Nuggets might rank near the bottom of that list.
The Spurs would definitely meet the criteria for trying to win a ring but it seems more like the Spurs are only interested in Mighty Mouse to keep him away from the Suns and Celtics.
Tony Parker gets the bulk of the minutes at the point guard position in San Antonio and back-up Jacque Vaughn, although not a superstar, provides stability and playoff experience, as well as statistics that compare favorably to Stoudamire.
The Suns could definitely use a reliable back-up to Steve Nash, and Stoudamire is remembered fondly in the desert for his contributions to the University of Arizona basketball program.
The problem with the Suns is that Stoudamire and Nash are too small to share the same back-court and Nash already plays about 34 minutes a game. So if Stoudamire is looking for a team where he can play important crunch-time minutes, it's not going to happen in Phoenix.
That leaves the Celtics as his most intriguing possibility. For a team like the Celts that are hoping to win a championship this season, Stoudamire brings the two intangibles that Rondo sorely lacks--playoff experience and 3-point shooting. Rondo is also shooting 58% from the charity stripe this season while Stoudamire is an 83% career foul shooter.
Who would you rather have playing in the last two minutes of a close game?
There are two glaring risks that the Celtics would be making by bringing in Stoudamire-- surprisingly, neither of them involve airport security.
First, what would Rondo think? From the time the Celtics traded for Kevin Garnett up until now the Celtics have touted their affinity for Rondo and their faith in him to man the point on a championship-caliber team.
With the exception of the occasional hiccup, Rondo has done very well. He's not going to score 20 points for them too often, but he doesn't have to on this team. His only job is to not turn the ball over, penetrate and kick, play team defense, and hit the occasional outside shot. All of which he's done with relative success.
His outside shot is definitely lacking but he's shooting 48% on the season. For a point guard, that's pretty good. In fact, he's tied with Devin Harris for seventh amongst point guards in that category.
15 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Kenneth David about 1 year ago
Defensively, Rondo can be exploited too easily via picks and offensively, Tony Allen can't handle the ball, so the Celts MUST get another point guard if they want to win a championship. It is the final roster move they need to make. Once they do that (Stoudamire or Cassell), all they have to do is give Glen Davis more minutes (in lieu of Scalabrine) and they will be unstoppable if they remain healthy.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Who can Damon Stoudamire or Sam Cassell guard? Stoudamire has never been able to play defense and Cassell hasn't played good D since he was in Milwaukee. He does know how to butter up refs and he knows little tricks like clutching jerseys and hand-checks but he's no defensive stopper.
I'm not saying the Celtics shouldn't get a point guard. I'm saying that Damon Stoudamire isn't the answer.
I don't see how the addition of either Stoudamire or Cassell and more minutes for Glen Davis makes them "unstoppable". Those guys are much savvier than Rondo but only marginally better.
Glen Davis has never played more than 35 games in a season. I don't see him contributing greatly to a championship run in June.
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
While I don't think Stoudamire or Cassell will be appreciably better than Rondo defensively, either of them would be an upgrade over Rondo's decision making. Sometimes he overpenetrates into traffic and gets himself stuck, and other times he'll miss open guys.
Plus his offensive game is putrid and teams will sag off of him and dare him to shoot. Or he'll drive and bigs wont come off to challenge, daring him to finish. And I don't think he's good enough defensively (he has quick hands and excellent timing though he's much too weak to avoid getting pushed around by physical guards) to make up for it.
Rondo would be an excellent player off of the bench, but if the Celtics are serious about contending for a championship this year, they'll need a smarter point guard. I'm not sure if Stoudamire or Cassell are the answers though.
Andre Miller would be a perfect fit because of his intelligence and his unselfishness. Plus, it's time Miller's subtle talents and winning attitude wasn't wasted on young, inexperienced, inferior ball clubs.
As a surprise candidate, Larry Hughes wouldn't be such a bad candidate either. He isn't exactly a true point guard, but he's a better defender than Rondo, and he's a much more versatile scoring threat. But he is expensive, and again, he doesn't have the court awareness of a point guard, but at least he isn't prone to making horrible decisions. Plus, he might be able to do more things in a complicated offense instead of standing around on the perimeter waiting for LeBron to shoot.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Now you're talking, Erick. Andre Miller would be perfect on a team that doesn't need his scoring. Unfortunately for the Celtics, the Kyle Korver trade gave the Sixers some room to bring in a free agent this summer and see if they can build around Miller and Igoudala. I don't think Miller is going anywhere until the deadline next year. And that's only if the Sixers are out of the playoff picture by the all-star break or Miller asks to be dealt.
Here's a question, and possibly a topic for an entire other article, do the Nuggets regret making the Iverson trade?
Sure Iverson has drummed up more support for the Nuggets on a national scale and made them much more of a draw. But with an emerging superstar SF in Anthony, a top-five center in Camby, and decent role players like Nene, Kleiza and Najera, wouldn't the Nuggets be better off at this point with Miller than Iverson?
Not trying to change the topic here but it's something to think about.
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Sean Stancill about 1 year ago
You're wrong .Chances are the Clippers will find several teams willing to deal if they try to trade Cassell.
1. In Cleveland, The Cavaliers definitely need a point guard with their ongoing saga with trade talks about Mike Bibby virtually dead. Sam Cassell would be perfect to at least give tips to Daniel Gibson on how to defend.
2. In Orlando, the Magic could use him thanks to Jameer Nelson and Keyon Dooling battling injuries and he would be a perfect distributor for Dwight Howard.
3. In Houston, Cassell could rejoin his former team to help take the pressure off Yao and injury riddled Tracy McGrady.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
That's not what I said. I said it's unlikely the Clippers would find a trading partner willing to take Tim Thomas' contract as well.
Please tell me what any of those teams, Cleveland, Orlando, or Houston could offer for an expiring contract that the Clippers would be interested in? Brian Cook? Keyon Dooling? Eric Snow? Mike James?
The Clippers have to re-sign Corey Maggette and Elton Brand also. Cassell's expiring contract is a luxury. The only thing I see them trading Cassell for is another expiring contract and either a young player on a rookie contract or a first-round draft pick.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Following up on what I wrote above, a trade of Keyon Dooling's expiring contract and JJ Redick works under the cap. The Magic don't seem to care about him anymore and the Clippers are third to last in three-point fg percentage and Redick needs a change of scenery. Maybe the Clippers could be intrigued if they could get the rights to Fran Vasquez as well.
Would Cassell want to go to Orlando, though? Do they have a realistic shot at winning it all THIS year? I don't think so.
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Sean Stancill about 1 year ago
Tracy Mcgrady or Shane Battier from Houston, Larry Hughes or Anderson Varejao, Hedo Turkoglu or Carlos Arroyo plus there's always Draft Picks.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Do you really think the Rockets would trade Shane Battier for Sam Cassell? The Clippers don't want McGrady and his horrible contract. Varejao can't be traded until after the season because he signed so late. Larry Hughes makes twice as much money as Cassell and makes $12 mill a year for two more years. Turkoglu is having a great year and the Magic could do better than Sam Cassell if they did decide to trade him.
Carlos Arroyo is also in a contract year so he gives the Clippers what they already have in Cassell, an expiring contract. Draft picks are always good but the Magic's first-round pick this year is gonna be somewhere between 20 and 25. It's not that the Clippers wouldn't want it. It's that they could probably do better than Carlos Arroyo and the number 23 pick.
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John McClory about 1 year ago
I think the C's would be just as well to find a hidden gem in the d-league or something...
That is all.
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Anonymous about 1 year ago
you are dumb, and so is this article...rondo will start even if they sign stoudamire because he can run the offense and make key defensive stops. it wont make a bad impression on him because he, himself, said that the celtics need a back up pg and he would love to have somebody to get pg advice from. personally i like cassell much better, but i dont that that stoudamire would be a bad pick up.
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Erick Blasco about 1 year ago
Has Rondo really shown he can run an offense? He makes a lot of bad decisions by overpenetrating and getting into trouble and having to bail himself out. Don't think Detroit wont punish that. And physical guards can outmuscle Rondo when Rondo's defending.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
Nothing says "I'm a coward" like an Anonymous poster who calls someone dumb. The type of coward that does graffiti in public bathroom stalls and makes prank phone calls.
The signing of Stoudamire doesn't provide them with what it is they need--a point guard that can stop Chauncey Billups from posting up and dominating them.
You said the "the celtics need a back up pg and he would love to have somebody to get pg advice from". Are you implying that Stoudamire is some wise old sage? Isn't he the same guy who thought the best place to hide his pot when going through the metal detector was by putting it in aluminum foil?
Perhaps they could sign Keon Clark to give Kendrick Perkins advice. Maybe J.R. Rider could be brought in to mentor Tony Allen.
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Michael Whittenberg about 1 year ago
To be honest, I would totally be surprised if he signs with Boston. San Antonio could use him, especially since Tony Parker was shut down indefinitely last night. I can't see him signing with the C's, even though that's what all the Celtics bandwagons want.
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Andrew Ungvari about 1 year ago
It looks like he's gonna sign with the Spurs.
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