Cassell is the best player of the 4, so the combo that includes him is a safer bet. If AB shows consistency and heart on D all the time, then I may change my mind.
smith and cassell for me but i think brooks may have something above them if he continues to progress....not sure if brooks has the iq though.
Smith >>>>>>>>>>>> Alston Cassell >>> Brooks Check out Smith's numbers during the peak of his career. Outstanding percentages for a PG. Brooks is closer to the early Cassell than Alston is to Smith but the edge still goes to Cassell. The stats are fairly similar but Cassell had a bigger role on a better team and came through in the clutch.
what do you mean set aside the rings? no dude. we never forget the rings. maybe the new fans want to. its no freaking contest. Kenny is a lights out shooter and solid PG. Sam Cassell is one of the best and clutch PGs of our time. He's taken New Jersey, Milwaukee, Minesotta and the Clippers to the playoffs He's got the solid mid range game, plus he can post up small PGs Kenny Smith/ Sam Cassell is a championship PG combo, its been proven.
I agree Brooks has potential, but he reminds more of a iverson/tim hardaway type PG. Cassell has been one of the most underated PGs of all time. He did make the All Star team and has been unbelievable in the playoffs for all the teams he played for. He was in decline with the Celtics, but when he was with the Bucks and Wolves he was phenomenal. in the 99-00 season, he was 2nd in the league in assists. that year, 18.6 pts game and 9 assists per game.. That's unbelievable. that's Magic/Stockton numbers Also, he took the worst franchise of all time, the LA Clippers to the playoffs and that was solely on leadership. Its only Brooks 2nd year and he looks great, but Sam became a legend from the beginning in his rookie year. That 3 to beat the Knicks in the Finals was awesome. And Sam brings swagger to any team he plays. Anyways, if Brooks ends up being Tim Hardaway 2, I'd take that.
Yea, I didn't say it but I didn't mean to hint that I think Brooks will ever be as good as Cassell. He won't be. I was just comparing the little I know about their early careers. You brought up Cassell's great mid-range game and his ability to post up and hit turnarounds. Those are two things Brooks will never be as good at. Brooks may develop a solid mid-range game but he will never be able to use his body to get space like Cassell did. He simply isn't tall enough and even if he was, few have ever been able to match Cassell in that area. At this point, I feel that Brooks' ceiling is a very solid backup PG on an average to good team or a starting PG on a bad team. If he reaches (or exceeds?) that ceiling while he is with us, that would be great. It doesn't answer our persistent need for a good starting PG but looking at where we were just a few years ago, we seem to be slowly but surely moving in the right direction.
I think Brooks finishing games in the 4th quarter is a good idea considering our players, you know who.. get tired.
I'd take Kenny Smith by himself on the current team for 40+ minutes a game, and feel much better with him over what we have now combined. He'd be devastatingly effective torching teams with the three. He'd have a better ft%, probably get to the line slightly more, average the same amount of assists as the current starter... With Kenny Smith you wanted him to shoot MORE sometimes, the opposite of what you want for the current starter...
