The others on the Sixers’ radar, include Los Angeles Clippers’ unrestricted free agent Corey Maggette and two restricted free agents, Golden State’s Andris Biedrins and New Jersey’s Nenad Krstic. - Philly.com
Yet another name is now popping up on the Sixers free agent radar. I think this will continue to happen as the chances we land Elton Brand continue to die. As of right now the Sixers can’t completely blow Atlanta out of the market by offering Josh Smith a contract the Hawks can’t afford to match, which leaves all the cards still in Atlanta’s favor. Unless the Sixers can move a player to free up additional cap space or the 2008 NBA salary cap is larger than estimated, I just don’t think we are going to be able to land Josh Smith. Atlanta’s management has made so many promises and assurances to their fans that allowing a core player to leave would be disastrous for that franchise who are just turning the corner.
Because of that new players will be under consideration for the Sixers to improve the team even if they don’t land one of their top guys. Enter Nenad Krstic. A 7-foot center/power forward who was highly touted coming into the league. Before Krstic got hurt I think he was essentially on the path to become a similar player as Pau Gasol offensively. He used his height, quickness and soft touch to score around the basket with both hands. He has a nice jump hook and mid-range jumper as well which makes him very effective in pick-and-pop situations. He was progressing fairly rapidly and averaged 18ppg and 7.5rpg on 56% shooting against Shaq and Alonzo Mourning in 4 playoff games verse the Heat - as a rookie!
Then he tore his ACL, which stunted his growth and damaged his confidence. Last season he only played 45 games and wasn’t as effective as he once was.
The big question if the Sixers are really considering Krstic is can he return to form, continue his development and remain healthy?
The guy is only 24 (turning 25 later this month) and had/has a lot of potential. Looking at the market for PFs and centers Krstic might have the best low-post and overall offense game among free agents NOT named Elton Brand. The kicker - he wouldn’t cost the Sixers $11-$12 million per year like Josh Smith will. That gives Stefanski more options to continue to add pieces that fill holes and make this team better long-term.
It looks like the Nets are willing to let Krstic, who is a restricted free agent, go. They aren’t willing to give anyone big money for longer than 2 years so they are loaded for the LeBron James auction. They also have bunch of bigs with the addition of Yi and rookie Ryan Anderson. Any New Jersey natives or Nets followers that can add some insight about Nenad Krstic?
What do you guys think about the newest additional to the Sixers free agent list? If the price is right do you think he would be a solid free agent pick up?
24 comments ↓
I’d steer clear of kristic, but it’s better than trotting out Evans on a nightly basis, but on second thought Evans might be still a better fit considering shots will be harder to come by with AI, TY, WG. And since Kristic doesn’t do anything of great significance for a big, like block shots or rebound, his role player like label is not as appeasing
http://www.collegefastbreak.com/
What is the right price?
I, shockingly, like Krystic. He is a talented big who can hit the midrange shot with very good efficiency. I cannot remember his defensive abilities since he hasn’t played healthy for awhile. Any help? He is a promising player still in my mind. Brooklyn can’t offer him anything more than 2 years because of Lebron, as you state.
It is all about how much it costs to get him. I think teams will offer him 3 year deals worth most of the MLE, so something like 3 years, 15 million. Is he worth that? Yes.
Is he worth 3 years 21 million? Probably not because of the possibility of his injuries coming back and the lack of other teams to bid similar amounts.
If you sign him, you have to be aware of losing future flexibility with the salary cap. If they got him, I definitely hope they find a way to dump Willie’s salary to maintain some of that flexibility, even if it means losing Smith and the utah pick.
Ed likes Nenad a lot. I think he is the only player Ed will likely really go after somewhat quietly, because he actually wants him, unlike Josh Smith who is looking more and more like a PR move to me. He managed to get the Sixers talked about on espn and DNL, which can’t hurt the team business-wise.
In the end, what is the right price though?
I like the idea of signing Krstic if we can’t land Smith. He’s shown he can be a productive player and give you 15 points, 6 boards a game when healthy and he leaves you money to sign a 2-guard like Corey Maggette or Ben Gordon.
Is he athletic enough to fit our style of play? Not sure.
PG- Andre Miller
SG- Corey Maggette
SF- Andre Iguodala
PF- Nenad Krstic
C- Samuel Dalembert
Bench, Lou Willams, Thad Young, Jason Smith, Reggie Evans
The big question would be whether or not he could stay healthy. which no one can predict.
Joe - I think the right price is more about leaving the Sixers enough cap flexibility to get another impact player. So it’s hard to determine without knowing who that other guy is. But 3 years $15-$18M would probably be OK, leaning towards the lower end because of the uncertainty of his health.
Pete - I think Krstic would fit our running style if he is healthy. He could run the floor very well before he got hurt.
“So it’s hard to determine without knowing who that other guy is.” Did I read somewhere that Roger Mason maybe available?
I of the school of thought that we need a “bench specialist”. I don’t see anyone out there that would make us instant contenders for this season and that includes Brand and J. Smith. I think Ed is looking two seasons down the road atleast when he can take advantage of the perceived chaos that LaBron and Wade will cause when they’re FA’s.
I’m seeing alot of trade Iggy talk on this site and I don’t like it one bit. If he wants to leave so be it, get good value via sign-and-trade but if he wants to stay I say do whatever (within reason) to keep him. He may not be the best player in one area but he is (to borrow a baseball term) a five tool player; scoring, rebounding, passing, defense, and leadership. He has gotten better each year and now with the Tayshon Shutdown on his resume’ I think he’s more determined than ever.
I’m sorry I jumped off topic with that rant but I had to say it. I’m OK with Krstic if Willie Green was part of the deal, getting rid of him would free up minutes for Thad who won’t get many PF minutes with Krstic on the team.
I like Krstic, i had him a seasons back on my fantasy squad and for the money he really performed. I dont see him fiitting in with our style before the injury and certainly not after. The question to be asked, is altering our identity worth getting a “back to the basket” player? I dont think so. Dre I agree with you, first playoff appearance IGG does bad and everyone wants to burn him, he killed all year long. I guess everyone already forgot. I also think if there is anyone on the team to move it has to be WG, no defense…poor shot selection…all he can do is score, and not consistently. Pete you cant leave Teddy out of the starting lineup like that, he may be our future and is prob the 3rd best player on the team even with the roster you put up. I dont like the idea of corey magette either. IG is a 2 he needs to be put there, thad needs the 3 and the team needs a new 4. If we cant get J smoove save the money for next year, we did make the playoffs with the team we have. No sense in wasting money if there isnt a sure thing out there
I don’t understand Young’s role on next year’s team, seems to me he should be a starter. Adding pieces to this team shouldn’t bury him on the depth roster.
what’s up Dannie? finally I have the time to read some Sixers news (new job, new town, no Internet at home yet…)
I am a BIG Josh Smith fan but if we can’t land him Krstic would be a good, cheaper solution for PF/C. Better than, say, Villanueva, similar to Wilcox IMO
I’m 25% serbian and I’ve been following Krstic as much as all the other serbian players in the League for the last years, and what I have to say now is that damn injury risked to destroy what could have been a very good NBA career.
Nenad is a player that waited the right time to go to the NBA (unlike Milicic, to name one…), after gaining solid experience in his club and in the Euroleague here. He’s a smart guy, hard worker and has a good attitude, a team player
ASSETS: fundamentally sound, good use of both hands, nice mid range jumper and set of offensive moves, good passing ability
WEAKNESSES: not much athletic, poor rebounder for his size (not a big problem if we keep Sam and Evans, though)… HEALTH ?? Will he go back to being the player he was before that injury? or at least close to?
If so, I think we can get him for a reasonable price (12 mill, 2 yrs?) and he could really be a good addition. Not the missing piece, of course, but a solid contributor
One could eventually question if him, Speights, Jason Smith and Reggie Evans to cover a single spot wouldn’t be too much, but this is another story… and Krstic can play also C
regards from Italy, I hope I’ll be back at full blogging efficiency soon (LOL) !!!
Hmmmm. We’ve finally got some cap space and money… it’s been so long…. and we may end up with an ACL-recovery victim. Yikes!!!!! Guess it works, if there’s enough money left to get a second impact player.
Actually, my bet is that they never really expected to get Smith (but would be happy if they did). But by driving up the priece, they’ll get the guy they were really angling for — Childress.
But as a Philadelphian, I won’t be surprised if we ended up with nothing. (It’s ingrained.)
Krstic would be a decent option at the right price - maybe a 2 year deal at low money with a team option for a third year. You are taking a good deal of risk with his injury, but there is a lot of upside as well. Anyone have a report on his defensive abilities? He could be a good backup to Sammy.
Kristic should only be considered as a last resort option, once Smith, Brand, Biedrins, Okafor, and Childress are officially off the market. I think his number may be a little lower than most think (probably 4-5 million per year). That would leave enough money to go after a young pg (Livingston, Telfair).
Duke - Did u really just mention Sebastian Telfair? Thank god you are NOT our GM.
Shaun Livingston too? Are you basing this on his career numbers or all the hype that once surrounded him?
Have you watched basketball in the past 2 years or are you infatuated with young, overhyped, ‘cant cut it in the league’ PGs?
@215guy
A bit harsh.
Wanting Livinston has some merit. Livingston showed solid PG abilities before he left. He couldn’t really score, but he was a big PG who could pass the ball pretty efficiently. His assist to TO ratio was improving and he showed some promise. With Lou Williams on the roster, A bigger point guard is a smart move.
I personally wouldn’t touch Livingston, but I understand why some would. Perhaps he learned to shoot and his knee will be ready for this year. I doubt both things.
Telfair? I don’t understand why his name would be coming up for the Sixers personally. He made improvements by getting his assist to TO ratio over the 3 and all but he can’t defend and is too small. He just doesn’t fit for us and isn’t good really. We need a PG, preferably, with range, size, and defensive ability. Tefair fits none of those.
Hey 215 guy, have you seen the list of available pg’s? Are you all sorts of psyched by guys like Keyon Dooling? Chris Paul isn’t out there. We need a backup pg. I personally prefer young with upside over old underachiever. Obviously not in love with Telfair, but when the alternative is Kevin Ollie…I’ll take my chances.
215 Guy way too harsh.
Everything I have read about Livingston is that he has played some one on one and is now dunking again but probably still won’t be cleared to compete in summer league. That 100% takes him off my list for the Sixers.
Never really been a fan of Telfair. Regardless of that we have Lou Williams and to me he is better than Telfair and can get you the same 6 assist per game if he played 30mpg at the point. And Williams is a better shooter/scorer.
Oh by the way why is everyone sleeping on Chris Quinn? I am sure people are going to say he sucks…but he has decent size for a point guard and would be the shooter we need as well.
He isn’t a breakdown the defender and dish style of PG but as a back-up I don’t think that is necessary with the slashers we already have on the wing. He is more of the Steve Kerr/John Paxson style PG that can succeed when surrounded by other penetrating players. I mentioned him in my other post, just a thought.
You all happened to basically agree with my points.
Sometimes the truth is ‘Harsh’.
@Dannie
Me and bski(I think) were just talking about him in one of your previous posts as well.
He makes sense and likely wouldn’t be expensive.
@The Duke
Keyon Dooling is a solid NBA PG.
Other names… Travis Diener, Dan Dickau, Jason Hart, Sergio, Ronnie Price, Luke Ridnour, Darius Washington, Dee Brown, Taurean Green, Jamont Gordon(on summer league team)
@Joe
Nothing against Dooling. I actually mentioned him in particular because he may be the best pg available. My point was simply that he’s not exactly what I’d consider a prize FA with the type of expectations are on the Sixers this summer. Again my point was simpy that if we can’t swing one of the big FA, a backup plan of Kristic and Livingston might be the next best option.
As a side note, it’s pretty rough to label kids three or four years out of high school as busts. If you’re doing so, you probably labled Tyson Chandler a bust in Chicago, but probably wouldn’t mind having him on your team at this point. It’s even sillier to do so when they’re pg’s, as it’s pretty difficult to expect an 18 year old to come out and run an NBA offense.
Joe - There is a seldom mentioned cap exception the “bi-annual exception” that gives the Sixers who didn’t use theirs last season $1.91M to offer a player a 1 or 2 year deal at that salary. When I read that Quinn was the guy that came to mind. Quinn made $687,456 last season so that would be a nice raise for him.
At the right price, I think krstic can be of much help to our team. Our frontline is basically a huge offensive liability with Evans and Dalembert. I’d much rather have krstic be the starting 4 on our team than Evans. Evans is more effective as a bench player anyways. If Brand doesn’t pan out, krstic may provide us with a short term solution.
The right price is the key word here though. We shouldn’t strap ourselves in the future just so we can make a marginal improvement to our team.
@ Morty: Krstic is a below average defender to me, he’s pretty slow, lacks bulk (gets pushed pretty easily) and he’s not an intimidating factor. He’s not terrible, but he’s a poor defender overall.
He gives his best in the offensive end, definitely
@ 215 guy: calm down dude, LOL !! Anyway I agree with you, Telfair and Livingston (not his fault, though) aren’t exactly good options… we better bring Scott Brooks back
I hope we are able to get Brand or Smith after giving up Carney and a future pick.
I think I’d rather try to trade for Villenuva or Chris Wilcox, or even try to steal Leon Powe from Boston, than to settle for Kristic.
I’d also like to sign someone who can shoot, maybe Dooling or Pietrus.
I hope Ed has something up his sleeve?
BFrank aka BillyKing- Im going to Be Frank with you (get it). I dont want anyone you mentioned.
If we added a future first round pick into the mix we better get some first round material. And nobody you named is just that, first round material.
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