Samuel Dalembert.....what it will take to sign him

[CBAreject]

It seems like there are 2-3 lines of thought on this forum on Dalembert:

1) We can sign him or SNT for him for 7-8 mil per year

2) We can get him but only if we overpay

3) We can't sign him b/c we can't sign any FA and no one will ever want to play here (WAAAAAAAH!)

Let me say that I believe none of these are completely accurate! I do believe we can sign Dalembert. I don't believe that no FA's will want to come here. I don't believe we will have to overpay to get him.

What I do think is that it will take a near maximum deal to sign Dalembert (starting at 10).....not just for us, but for ANYBODY. What I want you to think about is that he is 24 years old and the best center available as a FA in several years. He will NOT be cheap.

What pushes him close to the MAX is the playoff series he had against Detroit. That was bad for us. He put up something like 13 and 12 in that series. Sure it's a small sample, but GM's won't care. Look what Carlos Beltran's playoffs did for his massive contract...and he has NOT lived up to expectations.

The question isn't 'Should we overpay?' Rather, it should be 'Is Dalembert worth what he will be paid by whatever team signs him?' He might just be. He is better than Gadzuric and he will continue to get better. He's 24, still 2-3 years away from his prime, which should coincide with our being in the playoffs. He's already one of the best defensive centers in the league, and he can score enough, too.

I'm not sure I would obligate all that salary to Daly, but I would be really excited to get him here.

[mrhonline]

If the Hawks try to sign him, I think they will front-load the contract to make it harder for Philly to keep him (luxury tax issues).

I imagine he will cost the Hawks $10-$12M in his first season.

[Final_quest]

I say we try to sign him, but if the price is too high we get out of the bidding. Just like we did with Dampier.

[jezmund]

Dalembert is not worth $10+ million.

[mrhonline]

Quote:

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Dalembert is not worth $10+ million.

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I would say about $8M avg. per year is what it will take to get Philly to let him go.

If you front load it, it will be easier the last four years of the deal.

[Vol4ever]

He has NO game and gets pushed around, . Sure he blocks a few shots but so did Mutombo.

I would pass. There is not a big man out there on the free agent market besides Curry and Big Z and neither plays D.

[swolehawk2]

I would sign Gadzuric on the cheap...Swift...and Lue or Watson...play ball.

[Yeti]

How about big Z from Cleveland? His stats look pretty good and he is unrestricted.

[OGRat]

Z's to slow for a run and gun team. What about Chris Andersen? Someone suggested him last free agency period, and I said no way. His performance this past year surprised me though.

[Sage11]

tell me more about anderson, his stats don't move me and he seems a bit lite (from his stats) for the middle. I've not seen him play so I know nothing about his game.

[OGRat]

Blocks and rebounds are his strong suit. Very defense oriented.