ED not the PF on the Block?

[your mom]

It comes down to physical vs. the intangibles.

Davis - High upside, more skills, possible jumpshot but sulks too damn much and his body language suggests he may not want to be here or put the work in to improve.

Amir - Obviously loves t-dot and the team, will do anything to help Raps win, and puts heart and soul into every game but skill level is lacking and what we see is basically what we get.

One factor is that once Davis improves and his value goes up, he may not commit long term to the Raps, while Amir already has. In my mind keep Amir, but to each his own...

[RandomGuy]

Lack of talent can be filled by spirit and passion for the team and the game, in other words, bloody practice, hard work.

If there's a talent but no spirit then nothing can help, and the player will remain just a guy with high ceiling, we will see him only regressing and when the time comes, throw him away.

I would say take the spirit, it does wonders to the players sometimes and is the quality, which is becoming rare and should be more valued in NBA (business).

[NoPropsneeded]

I'm hesitant to keep ED. I understand he has more potential to his offensive game (i.e. short range jumper, actual post moves..), but I really don't feel like he a) wants to be here or b) is willing to be a first big off the bench. Maybe I'm reading into it incorrectly, but I get the feeling that he wants out... Hopefully I'm wrong.

How do you know he doesn't want to be here? his attitude is just like that. He's calm and plays the game how it should be played. He can do anything amir does and possibly more. I love amir to death but if i had to choose one to go it would be amir. Although i think we could keep amir as a backup C next season and magloire as a 3rd string. Gray would most likely be gone

[jlongs]

In terms of upside, I would agree that Ed has the advantage. But Amir brings the energy and hustle that you need from your bench. Remember, Bargnani is playing PF so whoever stays will be first big off the bench once JV gets here (and if he pans out). And so far I don't trust Ed's demeanor and motor. I must admit though, it's hard to make a read on him since he's played so few games for us so far after being injured most of last season. But if I had to pick right now, I'd go with Amir because I already know what I'm getting from him off the bench, which is energy and hustle on both ends- just what I like from the bench. Age isn't a factor for me since both have long careers ahead of them.

I also like the combination of Johnson & Johnson on the defensive end. Along with Barbosa (highly unlikely to stay) on the offensive end, we'd have a very solid bench if we can find a decent PG (Calderon- minus the contract) and C (I can live with Gray/Magloire though). It's the starters that lack talent on this team since our starters should really be bench players on good teams.

[Lark Benson]

We can debate skill level and upside all day, but the reality is that it will come down to money. Amir's contract will yield far less in return than Davis' rookie deal, and there's little to no chance that the Raps will be able to afford to keep Davis if they sign DeMar to an extension and have Val and this year's draft pick to consider down the road.

[hateslosing]

Right now, they deliver the same things statistically. If you look at there per 36 number they are almost identical in every category. People have been arguing that Amir brings more heart but right now Ed is more developed in his post game, is bigger, is two years younger, and is paid about a quarter of what Amir is. In my opinion he is also a better fit both in this defense and with our current talent pool so I don't see how you can say Amir is better for the team. Ed is simply better value.

[draftedraptor]

I like both Ed and Amir. They will get you a double-double if we run our pick n roll properly against most teams. If we are looking for someone with a big ceiling it is not Ed unfortunately. we must trade both of them and get someone like Ibaka.

[Puffer]

Right now, they deliver the same things statistically. If you look at there per 36 number they are almost identical in every category. People have been arguing that Amir brings more heart but right now Ed is more developed in his post game, is bigger, is two years younger, and is paid about a quarter of what Amir is. In my opinion he is also a better fit both in this defense and with our current talent pool so I don't see how you can say Amir is better for the team. Ed is simply better value.

Pretty much wraps up the arguments for Ed. Only thing I don't like is a tendency to under perform, based on state of mind, if you know what I mean. As has been mentioned on here, his demeanour seems to have changed this year. I'm not liking the attitude he brings. We can all think of guys who have the skills and knowledge, but not the attitude. they do not help a team with aspirations to improve.

I want to see a guy who brings it virtually every night. Amir is closer to being that guy than Ed is. Having a plaer with a lower salary doesn't help you if that players effectiveness drops off because they are in a sulk.

[ebrian]

I don't think you can deduct anything from what we've read here. From Casey's standpoint as a coach and as a person responsible for making his players better, he has to plan ahead for every player on his roster. He has long term goals and short term goals listed for everyone on the roster. It's not like he'll go into his notebook and revise the plan for a certain player or scratch his name out just because the GM mentioned to him that a player might get traded. You can't plan ahead that way.

[ReubenJRD]

I don't think you can deduct anything from what we've read here. From Casey's standpoint as a coach and as a person responsible for making his players better, he has to plan ahead for every player on his roster. He has long term goals and short term goals listed for everyone on the roster. It's not like he'll go into his notebook and revise the plan for a certain player or scratch his name out just because the GM mentioned to him that a player might get traded. You can't plan ahead that way.

Well said.