I'm over it. Chicago will be tough. I've heard that the Bulls dangled the idea of acquiring KG over Ben's head along with that mega contract. I don't think Garnett is going anywhere, though.
What's funny to me is that if Ben would have stayed and retired in Detroit, his number would have been retired and hung in the rafters.
I'm over it. Chicago will be tough. I've heard that the Bulls dangled the idea of acquiring KG over Ben's head along with that mega contract. I don't think Garnet is going anywhere, though. What's funny to me is that if Ben would have stayed and retired in Detroit, his number would have been retired and hung in the rafters. That won't be happening in Chicago!!!
I think he was smart in leaving. Flip Saunders is gonna have you in a holding pattern as long as he is coaching. Garnett should land on an east coast team. But who the hell knows. If Mchale wants to give him a chance at a ring, there is only 3/4 teams that could benefit in the east.
i love that move for the raptors. im not sure what the bucks are thinkin, with the NBA today, PGs are key, and now they have moe williams starting at point?
TJ Ford, while a good PG, would never help the Bucks get deep into the playoffs. With him at the helm, I don't think they'd get past the 2nd round...if that far at all.
He's undersized, doesn't play defense very well, doesn't shoot all that well and is one tough fall away from retirement. (I was at the game against Minnesota in his rookie year where he took a hard fall and missed the rest of the season, and the following.) Plus, this past year TJ was often out of the game during the fourth quarter because he was a liability in crunch time.
The Bucks were able to trade a small PG for a young PF who had a great year. Mo Williams and Charlie Bell...neither are Jason Kidd, but keep in the mind the Bucks are also looking to trade Magloire. I normally don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to give away a decent center for a guard, but with Bogut looking start, Magloire is expendable.
Size is still at a premium in the NBA, and I like the idea of starting Bogut and Villanueva, with Joe Smith and Danny Gadzuric coming off the bench.
The Raptors, with their new GM, are starting to imitate the Suns, but with a lot less talent. They'll be more fun to watch than last year but who knows how much they will improve.
As for the Tim Thomas signing to the Clippers...I remember a few years back when he signed a huge contract with the Bucks, didn't live up to it, had a fight with George Karl over being benched and then pouted his way out of town. He didn't do ANYTHING until all of the sudden he was a darling in Phoenix. Surprise suprise, he's playing for a contract. I'm of the opinion that the Clippers got suckered.
I'm glad they resigned Cassell though. Dude is underated, but I appreciate his confidence. Not many people believed him last year when he was traded to the Clips and he came out and guaranteed they'd make the playoffs.
Oh, and since I'm a huge Knicks fan, I'm looking forward to the season with Thomas at the helm. I'm rooting for him to lead them to 8 victories and the worst record of all time.
I'm over it. Chicago will be tough. I've heard that the Bulls dangled the idea of acquiring KG over Ben's head along with that mega contract. I don't think Garnet is going anywhere, though. What's funny to me is that if Ben would have stayed and retired in Detroit, his number would have been retired and hung in the rafters. That won't be happening in Chicago!!!
I think he was smart in leaving. Flip Saunders is gonna have you in a holding pattern as long as he is coaching. Garnett should land on an east coast team. But who the hell knows. If Mchale wants to give him a chance at a ring, there is only 3/4 teams that could benefit in the east.
In an interview, Ben Wallace hinted that Flip Saunder's offense-minded game plan was one of the reasons why he was leaving for Chicago. And how can you blame that? He's all about defense and grabbing boards. He was also offered 46mil by the Pistons supposedly, as opposed to the 60mil given by Chicago. Well, the Pistons have definitely fallen off as a championship contender, and Chicago will be the hottest ticket in the NBA for a while with this acquisition. Tough inside presence is hard to come by these days in the NBA, and Ben Wallace is the prototype of a true power forward/center. I'd be very excited as a Bulls fan.
it'll be cool this year, maybe next year. then he will get old and he wasnt all that big to begin with. then you will be complainin about the 15 mill per year you are payin an undersized center who cant move very well.
its an interesting mix of win-now between ben wallace and pj brown and still staying young with heinrich, gordon, nocioni et al.; im interested in seeing how it will work. i have to admit tho i dont like skiles i dont think as a coach he can lead a team to the promised land...
well if there's anything we've learned from the recent success of detroit, miami, san antonio, dallas, et al, it's to troop out a severely offensively-limited 6'8" power forward alongside a severely offensively-limited 6'9" center.
they needed a LEGIT power forward (which tyrus thomas most definitely is NOT) who can score in the absolute worst way and they shat the bed on it. lamarcus was staring them in the face. he'll not only be the better pro, but by far the better match for their roster before and after the wallace signing.
I don't mean to be harsh, but I don't ever see Grant Hill being healthy enough to contribute in the league again . I have love for the dude and think it's unfortunate that his career got stunted, but I'm not convinced that he can play up to par now. I think it's time for him to retire and take a front office job. Tamia can contribute immediately, though!
toronto (--beginning to lose it's "screwface capital" title) also picked up john salmons in a sign and trade with phila. and the raptors got the best 2 guard in the euro league...mutli-title winner...Anthony Parker from macabi tel-aviv. this dude is good, although he stunk in his first try at the NBA, i'm sure he'll be in a "prove something" mentality.
i'm hoping for an entertaining season from the team with the worst name, and worst colours, and who once made the worst draft pick ever.
Chicago aquired P.J.Brown for Tyson Chandler. That's 2 non-scoring big men in their front court. I wonder if theyll play together or will Brown come off the bench. Their combined defense is sick.
The Portland Trailblazers have had the best off-season of any team in the league. Great draft. Decent trades. If we can get rid of Darius Miles, it will set up the historic worst to first, 82-0 season in 2006-2007.
chicago will play great D, but the league is kind of moving away from that and favoring offense/action/slashing/scoring/etc. the rule changes really are not friendly to defensive teams. san antonio will survive it because they have plenty of offense and a nasty slashing guard (second in the league in layups boyyyy, from an undersized PG .. not bad), detroit has plenty of offensive options as well .. but outside of gordon and hinrich and maybe deng the bulls don't have many scoring options, and the ones they do have are inconsistent.
portland is on the right track. the have an absolute stud in brandon roy, i've mentioned on here before that i'm really optimistic about martell, and even though lamarcus isnt there yet he reminds me a lot of chris bosh coming out of ga. tech. big men need time to mature. he still doesn't want to play on the low block but if he wants to have a career in the nba he won't have a choice. i agree though, portland did very very well for themselves this offseason (telfair for roy might end up being a steal, although i think foye is going to end up being the best player out of that whole transaction) and will look to have a real future once they shed miles and randolph. when you look at their core - blake/jack at pg, roy at sg, 'tell at SF, aldridge at PF and pryzbilla .. that's rock solid in terms of skills and character and would only need a few years to start to look pretty decent. reminds me a lot of the young group of guys they have in charlotte (although i still like them better). nate is the perfect coach for those guys too.
so who's left in free agency .. al harrington is the big prize and i hope the knicks don't try to get him. bonzi wells is out there but i bet he'll stay in sactown .. but maybe they'll let him walk and let the glory of kevin martin's high top fade step in.
as for new orleans .. risky moves for sure. peja/tyson/bobby jackson ?? combined, what ... $125 million for those three? i'm not saying it can't work but dang ... at least chris paul has tools to work with now.
Harrington is trying to decide between the Warriors and the Pacers. Atlanta is in all kinds of legal problems though, think it's over ownership, and the League has put some limitations on signing contracts, which has held things up. I don't know about the Pacers, but if the Warriors were to try to get him, they'd have to do a sign and trade and involve a 3rd team because the Warriors are capped out and Harrington will have a base year contract.
but if the Warriors were to try to get him, they'd have to do a sign and trade and involve a 3rd team because the Warriors are capped out and Harrington will have a base year contract.
are they really capped out? i thought they free'ed up a lot of room w/ the derek fisher trade?
i thought that shit was wack! derek played real solid last season... probably not worth his contract but dude was consistent and this is coming from someone who hates the lake show and hated d-fish...
id be stoked if the w's could land harrington... but only if we gave up dunleavy for him! ship dun & murph out for harrington... keep adonal foyle cause that fool is hella cool. a diplomat, a scholar and a gentleman.
W's == playoffs... yeah i've been saying this for the last 13 years but i feel it coming.
but if the Warriors were to try to get him, they'd have to do a sign and trade and involve a 3rd team because the Warriors are capped out and Harrington will have a base year contract.
are they really capped out? i thought they free'ed up a lot of room w/ the derek fisher trade?
i thought that shit was wack! derek played real solid last season... probably not worth his contract but dude was consistent and this is coming from someone who hates the lake show and hated d-fish...
id be stoked if the w's could land harrington... but only if we gave up dunleavy for him! ship dun & murph out for harrington... keep adonal foyle cause that fool is hella cool. a diplomat, a scholar and a gentleman.
W's == playoffs... yeah i've been saying this for the last 13 years but i feel it coming.
-rich
The Warriors received 3 players in return for Fish. Unless they cut them with a buy out, they'll still all be under contract for one more year. Then the Warriors will be saving something like $20+ mil on the rest of Fish's contract.
Yes, Fisher was good at one thing. Catch and shoot playing a 2-guard off the bench. Unfortunately, after Davis went down Derek became the starting point guard and all his problems started. The dumb fouls, the drop in shooting percentage, the horrible shots, the missed lay-ups, etc. He's just too old to be playing that role, but got forced into it. I'm sure he'll do fine in Utah.
Harrington would be an upgrade, a BIG one, over Dunleavy, at SF, but that seems to be the ONLY real difference in the line-up unless they trade Murphy, Pietrus, Foyle. Dunleavy is almost untradeable because he has a new contract, which makes him a base year player. He can only be traded for a fraction of his actual contract.
I watched O'Bryant, their draft pick twice in summer league on NBA.TV. He's got great fookwork, will block some shots, but needs to add some bulk and will probably be a walking foul for a while. It looks like a good pick, but not one that will really help this season, which AGAIN looks to be a rebuilding one.
Right now I am not counting the Warriors in the playoffs, but that's the fate of being a fan of GS.
nah ATL is oaky to sign contracts. that 1-year limit got lifted by the courts and even at that they were always cool to take back longer deals in trades or sign-and-trades, just couldn't do the FA thing.
ATL would have to be fucking insane to take back any of GS's big money players, especially murphy or dunleavy. if it's the money they're concerned about, it be absurd to take back one of their cringeworthy deals, esp. because those slots are full w/ shelden williams, marvin williams, (for now), josh smith, etcc. all's ATL needs is either a point guard - which isn't even that big of a deal now after the excellent speedy claxton signing - and another big body. GS is really terrible with their finances ... awful. i dont see hwo they can work out a deal with a team that's one of the most spendthrift in the league to begin with and that also happens to be going through an ownership dispute.
Ill take him back but that means O'Neal moves to Center,Granger at PF,Harrington @ SF, Jackson @ SG,and whomever wins the PG position. The Pacers are looking to run more this season,shown by there draft picks. But I would like to see him help rejuvinate Golden State, they need it more than the Pacers. Indiana has a serious logjam at SF. Granger is a natural 3. Jackson/Daniels can play there as well. And The new draft picks are forwards who are gonna need some time. Harrington either/or.
nah ATL is oaky to sign contracts. that 1-year limit got lifted by the courts and even at that they were always cool to take back longer deals in trades or sign-and-trades, just couldn't do the FA thing.
ATL would have to be fucking insane to take back any of GS's big money players, especially murphy or dunleavy. if it's the money they're concerned about, it be absurd to take back one of their cringeworthy deals, esp. because those slots are full w/ shelden williams, marvin williams, (for now), josh smith, etcc. all's ATL needs is either a point guard - which isn't even that big of a deal now after the excellent speedy claxton signing - and another big body. GS is really terrible with their finances ... awful. i dont see hwo they can work out a deal with a team that's one of the most spendthrift in the league to begin with and that also happens to be going through an ownership dispute.
If the Warriors are able to get Harrington it'll be in a 3-way deal so ATl will probably end up with someone else's player.
And Claxton isn't that great as a PG. He's a back-up, not a starter.
Here are 3 scenarios for Harrington from the Atlanta Journal ConstitutionThree deals that make sense as the Hawks try to move unrestricted free agent Al Harrington:
.Sign-and-trade Harrington to Indiana for Jeff Foster, Anthony Johnson and a future draft pick. Foster's reasonable salary ($5.2 million and $5.7 million over the next two seasons with a player option for a third) has made him one of the talked-about trade pieces of the summer. His rebounding prowess, 6-foot-11, 250-pound frame and lunch-pail attitude are things that would most benefit the young Hawks. Johnson has two years (at less than $2.9 million per season) left on his contract and would round out a much-improved Hawks backcourt rotation. And draft picks are always a plus.
.Sign-and-trade Harrington to Golden State for Troy Murphy and Mickael Pietrus. Murphy is expensive ($10 million per season over the next five years) but he rebounds (averaging 10.4 the past two seasons) and hits jumpers from 17 feet. Pietrus is the deal sweetener. Much like his friend and French countryman Boris Diaw, the athletic swingman is poised for a breakout season in the right situation and should be eager to prove himself in a contract year.
.A three-team deal that would send Harrington to Golden State, Murphy to Milwaukee and Jamaal Magloire to the Hawks. Magloire's expiring contract ($8.3 million this season) works perfectly for a Hawks team that seeks to maintain its salary-cap flexibility. And he's the veteran bruiser they lacked last season. Magloire has helped anchor the middle for playoff teams in New Orleans and Milwaukee.
Grant Hill might return to Detroit after his contract expires w/ Orlando.
Please, not Grant Hill again.
LOL,
Couldnt he contibute off the bench IF HE IS HEALTHY.
that way of thinking is exactly the problem. as long as he's grant hill, you're always thinking of him as the player he was first time around at detroit... til you watch him.
it'll mean orlando has some serious cap space next off season tho. stevenson ain't re-signing, but then bogans can do a decent job there and saves on cap, so all the better for next year. i heard all the bitching about redick, but he'll nail 3s like the rebirth of 3D... if his back ain't fucked
Grant Hill might return to Detroit after his contract expires w/ Orlando.
Please, not Grant Hill again.
LOL,
Couldnt he contibute off the bench IF HE IS HEALTHY.
that way of thinking is exactly the problem. as long as he's grant hill, you're always thinking of him as the player he was first time around at detroit... til you watch him.
Dont get it twisted, I've seen him play this past season for Orlando. His Basketball IQ is still there and his midrange jumpshit is still water. He doesnt have the explosiveness or first step. Asking him to come of the bench in Detroit isnt asking much. He knows what his role would be there, unlike in Orlando where they hoped he'd regain some of his "magic" and lead the young cats during the rebuilding process.
word, that's a fair point. in detroit he'd make impact of the bench, no question. in orlando he's expected to be sophomore year grant hill. howard and nelson are looking nice. turkoglo, battie, milicic... there's a decent group of players building there but the magic'll still not do much this year.
Comments
This has shifted the whole EAST coast power alignment.
Pacers got Marquis Daniels. Alright!
What's funny to me is that if Ben would have stayed and retired in Detroit, his number would have been retired and hung in the rafters.
That won't be happening in Chicago!!!
I think he was smart in leaving. Flip Saunders is gonna have you in a holding pattern as long as he is coaching.
Garnett should land on an east coast team. But who the hell knows. If Mchale wants to give him a chance at a ring, there is only 3/4 teams that could benefit in the east.
TJ Ford, while a good PG, would never help the Bucks get deep into the playoffs. With him at the helm, I don't think they'd get past the 2nd round...if that far at all.
He's undersized, doesn't play defense very well, doesn't shoot all that well and is one tough fall away from retirement. (I was at the game against Minnesota in his rookie year where he took a hard fall and missed the rest of the season, and the following.) Plus, this past year TJ was often out of the game during the fourth quarter because he was a liability in crunch time.
The Bucks were able to trade a small PG for a young PF who had a great year. Mo Williams and Charlie Bell...neither are Jason Kidd, but keep in the mind the Bucks are also looking to trade Magloire. I normally don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to give away a decent center for a guard, but with Bogut looking start, Magloire is expendable.
Size is still at a premium in the NBA, and I like the idea of starting Bogut and Villanueva, with Joe Smith and Danny Gadzuric coming off the bench.
The Raptors, with their new GM, are starting to imitate the Suns, but with a lot less talent. They'll be more fun to watch than last year but who knows how much they will improve.
As for the Tim Thomas signing to the Clippers...I remember a few years back when he signed a huge contract with the Bucks, didn't live up to it, had a fight with George Karl over being benched and then pouted his way out of town. He didn't do ANYTHING until all of the sudden he was a darling in Phoenix. Surprise suprise, he's playing for a contract. I'm of the opinion that the Clippers got suckered.
I'm glad they resigned Cassell though. Dude is underated, but I appreciate his confidence. Not many people believed him last year when he was traded to the Clips and he came out and guaranteed they'd make the playoffs.
All in all it's been a good off-season thus far.
In an interview, Ben Wallace hinted that Flip Saunder's offense-minded game plan was one of the reasons why he was leaving for Chicago. And how can you blame that? He's all about defense and grabbing boards. He was also offered 46mil by the Pistons supposedly, as opposed to the 60mil given by Chicago. Well, the Pistons have definitely fallen off as a championship contender, and Chicago will be the hottest ticket in the NBA for a while with this acquisition. Tough inside presence is hard to come by these days in the NBA, and Ben Wallace is the prototype of a true power forward/center. I'd be very excited as a Bulls fan.
im fiending...
its an interesting mix of win-now between ben wallace and pj brown and still staying young with heinrich, gordon, nocioni et al.; im interested in seeing how it will work. i have to admit tho i dont like skiles i dont think as a coach he can lead a team to the promised land...
well if there's anything we've learned from the recent success of detroit, miami, san antonio, dallas, et al, it's to troop out a severely offensively-limited 6'8" power forward alongside a severely offensively-limited 6'9" center.
they needed a LEGIT power forward (which tyrus thomas most definitely is NOT) who can score in the absolute worst way and they shat the bed on it. lamarcus was staring them in the face. he'll not only be the better pro, but by far the better match for their roster before and after the wallace signing.
Grant Hill might return to Detroit after his contract expires w/ Orlando.
I think picking up Murray is a solid move. He adds instant offense coming off the bench and seems to be a consistent player.
Please, not Grant Hill again.
LOL,
Couldnt he contibute off the bench IF HE IS HEALTHY. At least youll get Tamia in the deal.
OK Grant, come on back.
and the raptors got the best 2 guard in the euro league...mutli-title winner...Anthony Parker from macabi tel-aviv. this dude is good, although he stunk in his first try at the NBA, i'm sure he'll be in a "prove something" mentality.
i'm hoping for an entertaining season from the team with the worst name, and worst colours, and who once made the worst draft pick ever.
Goooooooo Craptors!!!!!!
Hear me now, believe me later.
JRoot
portland is on the right track. the have an absolute stud in brandon roy, i've mentioned on here before that i'm really optimistic about martell, and even though lamarcus isnt there yet he reminds me a lot of chris bosh coming out of ga. tech. big men need time to mature. he still doesn't want to play on the low block but if he wants to have a career in the nba he won't have a choice. i agree though, portland did very very well for themselves this offseason (telfair for roy might end up being a steal, although i think foye is going to end up being the best player out of that whole transaction) and will look to have a real future once they shed miles and randolph. when you look at their core - blake/jack at pg, roy at sg, 'tell at SF, aldridge at PF and pryzbilla .. that's rock solid in terms of skills and character and would only need a few years to start to look pretty decent. reminds me a lot of the young group of guys they have in charlotte (although i still like them better). nate is the perfect coach for those guys too.
so who's left in free agency .. al harrington is the big prize and i hope the knicks don't try to get him. bonzi wells is out there but i bet he'll stay in sactown .. but maybe they'll let him walk and let the glory of kevin martin's high top fade step in.
as for new orleans .. risky moves for sure. peja/tyson/bobby jackson ?? combined, what ... $125 million for those three? i'm not saying it can't work but dang ... at least chris paul has tools to work with now.
are they really capped out? i thought they free'ed up a lot of room w/ the derek fisher trade?
i thought that shit was wack! derek played real solid last season... probably not worth his contract but dude was consistent and this is coming from someone who hates the lake show and hated d-fish...
id be stoked if the w's could land harrington... but only if we gave up dunleavy for him! ship dun & murph out for harrington... keep adonal foyle cause that fool is hella cool. a diplomat, a scholar and a gentleman.
W's == playoffs... yeah i've been saying this for the last 13 years but i feel it coming.
-rich
The Warriors received 3 players in return for Fish. Unless they cut them with a buy out, they'll still all be under contract for one more year. Then the Warriors will be saving something like $20+ mil on the rest of Fish's contract.
Yes, Fisher was good at one thing. Catch and shoot playing a 2-guard off the bench. Unfortunately, after Davis went down Derek became the starting point guard and all his problems started. The dumb fouls, the drop in shooting percentage, the horrible shots, the missed lay-ups, etc. He's just too old to be playing that role, but got forced into it. I'm sure he'll do fine in Utah.
Harrington would be an upgrade, a BIG one, over Dunleavy, at SF, but that seems to be the ONLY real difference in the line-up unless they trade Murphy, Pietrus, Foyle. Dunleavy is almost untradeable because he has a new contract, which makes him a base year player. He can only be traded for a fraction of his actual contract.
I watched O'Bryant, their draft pick twice in summer league on NBA.TV. He's got great fookwork, will block some shots, but needs to add some bulk and will probably be a walking foul for a while. It looks like a good pick, but not one that will really help this season, which AGAIN looks to be a rebuilding one.
Right now I am not counting the Warriors in the playoffs, but that's the fate of being a fan of GS.
ATL would have to be fucking insane to take back any of GS's big money players, especially murphy or dunleavy. if it's the money they're concerned about, it be absurd to take back one of their cringeworthy deals, esp. because those slots are full w/ shelden williams, marvin williams, (for now), josh smith, etcc. all's ATL needs is either a point guard - which isn't even that big of a deal now after the excellent speedy claxton signing - and another big body. GS is really terrible with their finances ... awful. i dont see hwo they can work out a deal with a team that's one of the most spendthrift in the league to begin with and that also happens to be going through an ownership dispute.
Ill take him back but that means O'Neal moves to Center,Granger at PF,Harrington @ SF, Jackson @ SG,and whomever wins the PG position. The Pacers are looking to run more this season,shown by there draft picks.
But I would like to see him help rejuvinate Golden State, they need it more than the Pacers. Indiana has a serious logjam at SF. Granger is a natural 3. Jackson/Daniels can play there as well. And The new draft picks are forwards who are gonna need some time. Harrington either/or.
If the Warriors are able to get Harrington it'll be in a 3-way deal so ATl will probably end up with someone else's player.
And Claxton isn't that great as a PG. He's a back-up, not a starter.
The Answer in Atlanta?
Al Harrington:
.Sign-and-trade Harrington to Indiana for Jeff Foster, Anthony Johnson and a
future draft pick. Foster's reasonable salary ($5.2 million and $5.7 million
over the next two seasons with a player option for a third) has made him one
of the talked-about trade pieces of the summer. His rebounding prowess,
6-foot-11, 250-pound frame and lunch-pail attitude are things that would
most benefit the young Hawks. Johnson has two years (at less than $2.9
million per season) left on his contract and would round out a much-improved
Hawks backcourt rotation. And draft picks are always a plus.
.Sign-and-trade Harrington to Golden State for Troy Murphy and Mickael
Pietrus. Murphy is expensive ($10 million per season over the next five
years) but he rebounds (averaging 10.4 the past two seasons) and hits
jumpers from 17 feet. Pietrus is the deal sweetener. Much like his friend
and French countryman Boris Diaw, the athletic swingman is poised for a
breakout season in the right situation and should be eager to prove himself
in a contract year.
.A three-team deal that would send Harrington to Golden State, Murphy to
Milwaukee and Jamaal Magloire to the Hawks. Magloire's expiring contract
($8.3 million this season) works perfectly for a Hawks team that seeks to
maintain its salary-cap flexibility. And he's the veteran bruiser they
lacked last season. Magloire has helped anchor the middle for playoff teams
in New Orleans and Milwaukee.
that way of thinking is exactly the problem. as long as he's grant hill, you're always thinking of him as the player he was first time around at detroit... til you watch him.
it'll mean orlando has some serious cap space next off season tho. stevenson ain't re-signing, but then bogans can do a decent job there and saves on cap, so all the better for next year. i heard all the bitching about redick, but he'll nail 3s like the rebirth of 3D... if his back ain't fucked
at least he ain't another fran tho
Dont get it twisted, I've seen him play this past season for Orlando. His Basketball IQ is still there and his midrange jumpshit is still water. He doesnt have the explosiveness or first step. Asking him to come of the bench in Detroit isnt asking much. He knows what his role would be there, unlike in Orlando where they hoped he'd regain some of his "magic" and lead the young cats during the rebuilding process.
but next... maybe?