Now that Plans A-E have been exhausted, is it time to roll with what we already have and simply find a new defensive anchor? Fesenko fits the definition of an under the radar free agent. Unrestricted. Pedestrian stats at first glimpse (however, quite the contrary whenever you take a close look at his defensive +/- numbers). The odd man out in Utah's log jam of big men. If you watch him play the first thing you'll notice is he's HUGE. 7'1", 280 lbs. The second thing you'll notice is he's a workhorse that's not afraid to play physical and ugly it up on the interior. He's surprisingly nimble given his size and moves his feet well. Knows how to defend the PnR. Granted, he's a complete zero offensively. No post game, no ball skills. Can't hit a FT to save his life. But outside of his rebounding and shot blocking (which, admittedly, is pedestrian), he sounds like everything Asik is supposed to be and he nearly cost us Courtney Lee. The drop off in rebounding/shot blocks isn't staggering and he's a year younger than Asik. If a gigantic garbageman with room for improvement is what we seek, somebody like Fesenko is somebody to keep in mind. Are we better off making a move like this or pursuing a Dalembert type that will cost 3x the price? That's the question you need to ask yourself. Also, is the idea of having to pay Thabeet (regardless of whether or not he's amnestied) PLUS additional salary for Fesenko simply too much for two offensively-challenged project bigs? At the end of the day you need to ask yourself these questions. I'm not entirely sold on the idea (wish Thabeet wasn't in the picture so this would be easier to digest). But regardless, it's something to consider. Thoughts?
Agree with OP. However, Morey won't be interested until Fesenko has gone D'Andre Jordan on us. Instead, we get some guy like Sampan.
He has foul troubles. In limited time, he seems to be a decent rebounder that does a great job keeping his man off the boards.
Looks like he signed with Toronto http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/20111211/21941/raptors-sign-free-agent-centre-aaron-gray
I mean, if Kwame Brown is worth $7M I'm not opposed to paying a Fesenko or Gray type a fraction of that price. But Fesenko is the better fit. Fesenko is the one that seems to impact the game defensively similar to the ways Chuck and Shane did. We know how highly DM values that.
Back in September. I read he was only supposed to be out for two months. Have you heard differently? Is he close or was it more serious?
You know what I find interesting is Fesenko looks a little bit like McHale in his playing days - as far as body type.
Morey wanted to sign Fesenko last season. The only thing stopping him was that Fesenko was a restricted free agent and Morey knew that the Jazz were going to match any offer sheet (like with Marc Gasol, only on a much smaller scale). The interest was definitely there. Like others have said, though, the question is whether having Hasheem Thabeet on the roster fills the role for which Morey would otherwise want Fesenko.
