# Baston to the Pacers



## donnie888 (May 23, 2006)

Maceon Baston , The PF/C of Maccabi Tel Aviv (israel) , is very close to a deal
with the indiana pacers. baston who was a player of maccabi for the last three years, won 3 championship titles and 3 cups with maccabi along with 2 euroleague titles.

baston is great from the paint, huge athlete , excellect in shot blocking and very quick. 

http://www.nba.com/playerfile/maceo_baston/index.html?nav=page

baston played for the raps on 2002/3 but with not much success, his slim body and poor outside shooting are his biggest disadvantages , but in europe that didnt stop him from being one of the biggest stars.


The Israeli Press reports about 3M$ for two years.


----------



## Pacersthebest (Aug 6, 2005)

Big man, yes please!!

edit: spoke with a Maccabi fan:

but he's crap..
he only knows how to dunk and rebound
crap from free point line and a crap shooter 
and looses a lot of balls

He should be good for EU teams but not NBA.


----------



## deannahum (Aug 7, 2003)

Mace and Saras are just a superb combo...

Baston is not a true center but he is VERY long and active in the paint... magnificent dunker...

check out this left hand scoop frin Saras to Baston :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPEK6KtROeg&search=Maceo Baston


----------



## Auggie (Mar 7, 2004)

Pacersthebest said:


> Big man, yes please!!
> 
> edit: spoke with a Maccabi fan:
> 
> ...


he can rebound!!

3mil for 2 years? why not. bring him aboard.


----------



## #16is#1 (Mar 7, 2006)

Sweet deal.


----------



## Banjoriddim (Aug 14, 2004)

I guess not bad singing (compered to other moves a la plan to giving AL 60 mil and draft picks to Atlanta) since it seems he can block, defend and rebound a bit is big enough (6-9 w/s so 6-10 by NBA standards) has some experience, seems agressive and isn't too old (30 years old). For 3 mil not bad singing... might turn out good player.


----------



## donnie888 (May 23, 2006)

when he gets the ball near the basket its a sure dunk. the guy can fly, but thats the only thing he knows.


----------



## Banjoriddim (Aug 14, 2004)

donnie888 said:


> when he gets the ball near the basket its a sure dunk. the guy can fly, but thats the only thing he knows.


Stromile Swift less talented twin? I am allready waiting some serious dunking an bonehead plays


----------



## deannahum (Aug 7, 2003)

this dude just dunks eveything that moves under the rim... such a long reach


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

Okay, if he rebounds and plays defense, give him a max deal. Very welcome addition to Indy.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

I guess this paves the way for a Bonzi S&T for Foster.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> I guess this paves the way for a Bonzi S&T for Foster.


Haha, no. Foster isn't going anywhere.


----------



## PaCeRhOLiC (May 22, 2005)

Pacers Fan said:


> Haha, no. Foster isn't going anywhere.



He betta not be going nowhere.... :curse:


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Pacers Fan said:


> Haha, no. Foster isn't going anywhere.


Obviously this is just an outsiders perspective, but it would fit in the scope of the makeover that is underway. I don't think it would be a good idea at all for the Pacers, but then again I don't believe Harrington is a good fit either.

A team crazy enough to add Al when you have Granger and JON is crazy enough to add Bonzi.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> Obviously this is just an outsiders perspective, but it would fit in the scope of the makeover that is underway.


It doesn't make sense at all. If we want to run more fast breaks, we need someone to trigger them by getting rebounds. If our best rebounder is Danny Granger, the opposing team is going to get a billion 2nd chance points, and we'll be running half court sets more than last year.



> I don't think it would be a good idea at all for the Pacers, but then again I don't believe Harrington is a good fit either.


I also don't think Al's a good fit.



> A team crazy enough to add Al when you have Granger and JON is crazy enough to add Bonzi.


That doesn't make sense. Al's going to start at SF until we realize he can't play there anymore, then he'll just get tweener minutes. We already have a nice SG/SF rotation, with Daniels, Jackson, Granger, White, Marshall, and Powell, and our PG's seeing time there, also. At least, until now, we only had one PF, so Al could find minutes. I doubt Baston plays much as all. More than John Edwards, maybe.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Pacers Fan said:


> It doesn't make sense at all. If we want to run more fast breaks, we need someone to trigger them by getting rebounds. If our best rebounder is Danny Granger, the opposing team is going to get a billion 2nd chance points, and we'll be running half court sets more than last year.


You're completely underrating Baston as a rebounder



> I also don't think Al's a good fit.
> 
> That doesn't make sense. Al's going to start at SF until we realize he can't play there anymore, then he'll just get tweener minutes. We already have a nice SG/SF rotation, with Daniels, Jackson, Granger, White, Marshall, and Powell, and our PG's seeing time there, also. At least, until now, we only had one PF, so Al could find minutes. I doubt Baston plays much as all. More than John Edwards, maybe.


Bird was pretty clear about Granger being his SF. I can't see Al starting at SF. Bird also was clear about wanting athletes at every position and Baston is certainly a better athlete than Foster. Unless Bird decided to tell the media 180 degrees from the truth, Foster's position is as the backup center.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> You're completely underrating Baston as a rebounder


No, Baston's not going to see many minutes.



> Bird was pretty clear about Granger being his SF.


Yeah, of the future. Granger might not be ready to start 70+ games, yet.



> I can't see Al starting at SF.


Well, he demanded a trade because we didn't start him, so I'm pretty sure he's still going to want to start.



> Bird also was clear about wanting athletes at every position


Where did he say he wanted athletes at _every_ position, let alone starting at every position? He's trying to fill what Rick Carlisle wants: Athletic wings who can run isolation. We have them.



> and Baston is certainly a better athlete than Foster. Unless Bird decided to tell the media 180 degrees from the truth, Foster's position is as the backup center.


We're not going to start a 6'9" player at Center, or even give him more minutes than David Harrison.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Pacers Fan said:


> No, Baston's not going to see many minutes.
> 
> Yeah, of the future. Granger might not be ready to start 70+ games, yet.
> 
> ...


JON isn't 6'9" and Granger is 23 years old, he is definitely ready to start 70+ games.

Bird saying he sees Williams as a PF tells you everything you need to know about his vision. The handwriting is on the wall.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> JON isn't 6'9"


Baston is 6'9", and Jermaine is NOT a Center.



> Granger is 23 years old, he is definitely ready to start 70+ games.


Since when does age show maturity? Granger's mental breakdown against New Jersey in the playoffs convinced me he's not yet ready. Start 30, maybe 40 games, sure, but he can't handle 70, yet. Maybe next year, but we're not going to give Al Harrington 60 million dollars to be a benchie.



> Bird saying he sees Williams as a PF tells you everything you need to know about his vision. The handwriting is on the wall.


Bird says that he sees Williams and Granger both playing PF/SF in the future, together, at some points. That doesn't mean starting. Williams isn't going to start for a very long time.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Pacers Fan said:


> Baston is 6'9", and Jermaine is NOT a Center.


I'm aware of who you meant and I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised at how the season plays out



> Since when does age show maturity? Granger's mental breakdown against New Jersey in the playoffs convinced me he's not yet ready. Start 30, maybe 40 games, sure, but he can't handle 70, yet. Maybe next year, but we're not going to give Al Harrington 60 million dollars to be a benchie.


Correct about Harrington, which is why JON starts at Center. Harrington isn't a pressure player, nor a BBall IQ giant so why would Danny starting bother you?



> Bird says that he sees Williams and Granger both playing PF/SF in the future, together, at some points. That doesn't mean starting. Williams isn't going to start for a very long time.


I'll find the quote but he specified Williams as the PF and obviously he didn't mean at this moment. However, you don't take someone like him for that position if you don't plan to change the design of the team.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> I'm aware of who you meant and I'm pretty sure you'll be surprised at how the season plays out


No, I won't. We're going to fall somewhere between 6-10, so unless Maceo Baston starts averaging 25/15, nothing's really going to surprise me. JO averaging 30/15 wouldn't even surprise me, because he has the ability.



> Correct about Harrington, which is why JON starts at Center.


Jermaine can barely play Center with a decent rebounder to help him with not getting hurt by those big, tall, mean players. Harrington stays in the 12 foot range just as much as Jermaine does. We won't rebound anything.



> Harrington isn't a pressure player, nor a BBall IQ giant so why would Danny starting bother you?


Because mentally, Danny's not ready to start 90% of a year. He's not a mentally weak player, though. I mean, he had an awesome rookie year, and rarely choked, but the point is that he did a few times. The pressure of being THE Small Forward, especially over a guy making 60 million dollars, could hurt his development. Give him another year. This is a developmental year for everyone, anyway.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Pacers Fan said:


> Jermaine can barely play Center with a decent rebounder to help him with not getting hurt by those big, tall, mean players. Harrington stays in the 12 foot range just as much as Jermaine does. We won't rebound anything.


That is part of the reason for my Bonzi theory. Granger is a very good rebounding SF and Bonzi is an excellent rebounding SG that both are comfortable playing near the basket.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> That is part of the reason for my Bonzi theory. Granger is a very good rebounding SF and Bonzi is an excellent rebounding SG that both are comfortable playing near the basket.


So, we have good rebounding PG/SG/SF's, and crap rebounding C/PF's? Sounds fun.


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

By the way:



> Williams, whom the Pacers envision playing both small forward and power forward, played in just the first game, scoring six points and grabbing 10 rebounds.


http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060715/SPORTS04/607150466

Not from the article I was talking about, but it helps.


----------



## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

Pacers Fan said:


> So, we have good rebounding PG/SG/SF's, and crap rebounding C/PF's? Sounds fun.


Well if JON starts at PF and Al at SF with SJax at SG you end up with good rebounding C/PG's and crap rebounding PF/SF/SG's

Which is better?


----------



## Pacers Fan (Aug 25, 2002)

cpawfan said:


> Well if JON starts at PF and Al at SF with SJax at SG you end up with good rebounding C/PG's and crap rebounding PF/SF/SG's
> 
> Which is better?


Jackson isn't a bad rebounder for his position. Big men are supposed to rebound, though, and matter more towards rebounds than guards. It would be interesting to see how a backwards team would work, however, especially since Jackson and Tinsley use their post games more than Jermaine O'Neal.


----------



## Banjoriddim (Aug 14, 2004)

cpawfan, seriously Bonzi makes no sense esp. if Al comes also Baston aka 1,5 mil for sallary doesn't sound like starter (I might be wrong but I saw him playing for Raps twice and he is not a starter heck he wasn't even NBA material, sure he improved in Europe but he ain't more than back up). They might put JO at C since they have some strange feelings thoward Al but he ain't center and I don't want to think they hate us and him that much that start him as full time center.


----------



## Auggie (Mar 7, 2004)

anthony parker, maceo baston and sarunas jasikevicius last year... maccabi TA has lost alot of talent..


----------



## PaCeRhOLiC (May 22, 2005)

Auggie said:


> anthony parker, *maceo baston* and *sarunas jasikevicius * last year... maccabi TA has lost alot of talent..



Hopefully these two can actually help us in what we're trying to do.


----------



## Grangerx33 (Mar 9, 2004)

I do not see Baston gettin much time. He seems like a poor mans version of Dale Davis. I don't see anything special that will have him playing when we have JO, Foster, Harrison, and Al.


----------



## Midnight_Marauder (Dec 1, 2003)

Wait...is this the same dude who played college ball for Michigan?


----------



## rock747 (Aug 3, 2004)

Midnight_Marauder said:


> Wait...is this the same dude who played college ball for Michigan?




Yes


----------



## rundmc00 (Apr 19, 2005)

Pacers Fan said:


> So, we have good rebounding PG/SG/SF's, and crap rebounding C/PF's? Sounds fun.


Sounds like the Nets.


----------



## Zuca (Dec 4, 2003)

Baston won't see much minutes in this team, but he isn't a bad player, at least I thought. In Raps, he was a poor man Keon Clark (and without the off court issues, of course, which is already better)... Pretty fine to be a third stringer PF... Nice sign!


----------

