I sent a few questions over to Dave, a guy who's been watching Zach Randolph for the last six seasons. Here's what Dave had to say.
How's Zach as a passer and rebounder?
As a rebounder Zach gets nice numbers. However he's far more interested in offensive rebounds than defensive ones and many of his offensive rebounds come off of his own misses. He's a nice enough defensive rebounder but he won't put the same energy into it and tends to mostly get those that come to him. He's no Dennis Rodman but you won't be overly disappointed either.
Zach has made an effort in the last year to improve his passing. You have to give him credit for that. But he still passes reluctantly. He just doesn't seem to see the right passes to make. He'll often turn it over. The basic Zach Randolph Passing Flow Chart reads: Do I have a chance at this shot? No. Do I have a chance at that shot then? No. OK, well what about this other shot? No. I guess I better find someplace to dump this off.
Since Eddy Curry doesn't leave the post, except for snacks, is Randolph's midrange/outside game up to par?
Zach has a very nice mid-range game. He can hit face up jumpers and score in droves from around 15-20 feet. But what makes his arsenal really dangerous from there is his ability to either take it in or face up and shoot. If you have a behemoth taking up the middle already it's going to eliminate half of his moves and make him easier to guard. Also Zach is really at his best when he's encouraged to play in the post instead of settling for jumpers. In general though I think you'll be very impressed with Zach's scoring ability from any range. He is an offensive miracle worker.
Can you imagine this trade working out at all?
I have zero worries that you got a quality offensive player. I also think Zach will be motivated to play for you for the first year at least. I could easily see this trade looking very good for you in the short term. I am worried about the big picture. The biggest problem I see is that Zach got 23 and 10 last year because the Blazers chose to use him as the ONLY offensive option when he was on the floor. He got the ball almost every offensive set and was free to hold it for half of the shot clock. That's his game. Is that going to work with Stephon Marbury on the floor? Jamaal Crawford? Eddie Curry? How happy will those guys be to dump it in to Zach and then stand? How hard is Stephon going to play if he doesn't touch the ball? But then how hard will Zach play if HE doesn't? And believe me, Zach can not-play-hard in a number of different ways: not getting past halfcourt on defense (no exaggeration), not boxing out, hanging around on the weak side on offense not moving or keeping his hands up. Isiah better find a way to keep him really involved or the Knicks will have another headache after the honeymoon is over.
I'm gonna get a big link post up shortly.