What Gerald must do for you to keep him

[Veteran_Picksetter]

Last night's game-winner illustrated what I eventually wanted to see from Hendo when we drafted him at #13 a few years ago.

Perhaps we've been over this before, but how do you see this shaking out??

1. Would we be seeing more points from Gerald if we didn't have established vets Gordon and Sessions, along with the improvement of Walker?

2. Is Gerald expendable because he is injury-prone? It seems like he's always got some nagging situation or has to sit out altogether. It's hard to develop a guy in that situation.

3. How should Jeff Taylor or the possibility of getting Shabazz Muhammed affect our negotiations with Hendo??

4. I was hoping to see Gerald jump from 15 points to 18 a night this year, but likely due to reasons 1 and 2 above, it's just not happening.....

[superb1]

As far as no. 1, I think Hendo has to be more assertive. Sometimes he plays as if he's the 3rd or 4th option.

sent from the pseudo GM offices of the Charlotte Hornets

[Chef]

gerald henderson would be the perfect sg on the thunder. so i guess if he is the 4th or 5th option and the other options aren't sg's than he is your guy.

[fan_of_a_fan]

I have despised Hendo's presence as a go-to guy, #1 option, and the face of our franchise for the past year & a half, but now that that phase has phased out I'm more than obliged with the possibility of keeping him around for a few more years. We have much bigger issues in our frontcourt going forward, and that's the area in which I hope we address in this upcoming draft or via trade.

[adam187]

love his attitude, love the fact that he has consistently gotten better every year and continued to add new facets to his game. seems like an excellent teammate and person. he cares about the game.

the only thing i'd want from hendo to keep him around is him signing at the right price. he's an average to above average player, so the team should try to keep him because he is an asset and you don't let assets just walk unless you have some plan in mind for replacing them (see sessions for augustin). so unless the salary goes so high as to make him a non-asset i say we try to retain him.

no, i do not think he is the shooting guard of the future for this team.

his injury history also makes it basically impossible to consider him part of a team's core. sucks because he's a good dude, but those recurring injuries are a real liability.

[GoBobs]

The main thing is just sign a reasonable contract. ( 3yrs 18-20 mil or 4 years 24-26 mil )

Other then that I want to know he is healthy and not playing through some injury that won't go away. I want the coach to tell me he is a good teammate and locker room guy, and I want to see more mental toughness.

[QC Thundercats]

The only thing he needs to do for me to want to keep him is agree to a reasonable salary.

If we draft one of the stud SGs coming up this year, and Hendo is good enough to hold them off as a starter for a couple years, then more power to him. That would mean he has a strong competitive streak and he would have improved his game a lot to stay ahead. If the rookie SG beats him out for the starting spot, then we have great depth at 2 guard spot, something that all great teams have.

He's not an alpha dog, so he'll never be that go to scorer or someone to carry the team home. But he does have that nasty edge to him, and isn't afraid to mix it up with other players. We need more players like that. I'd lock him up long term if its reasonable. If he gets an offer elsewhere that is too much for us, then I wish him well in his next destination.

[fan_of_a_fan]

No way should we offer Hendo more than 3 years with his bulging disc in the lower back history since Duke, and even that's a stretch. He won't be able to demand but so much in the open market due to the fact that everything Bobcats related in the NBA has diminished value. Personally, if I was Cho & Co. I would play it safe, dare a team to offer him a contract that we aren't willing to match, and then extend the qualifying offer to him.