Carlos Arroyo anyone? Although he kinda fits in with the strong Puerto Rican community in Florida. Chris Duhon starts in Chi town, but his numbers are horrible for a starter! He seems like the unselfish PG the Rockets might need. Jason Hart was bothered by playng time in Sac. Not sure if I would want him though. Steve Blake has been fire for Denver, not sure if we could pry him away. Boston has a PG glut. Telfair started the season, then Delonte West kinda got the job after a bad showing by telfair. The seem to be priming Rondo for their future PG. Marcus Banks seems to be on the block but I'd run from him! Brevin Knight has been mentioned a million times in the past! Antonio Daniels would be nice but he seems to fit in well over in Washington. HMMMMMMM...still thinking this one out!
I think most of your posters are missing the point (pardon the pun). We have a short three year window here with Yao and TMac. This year we're closing in on the 3rd best record in the NBA. We have fantasic chemistry. Deke and Juwan have maybe one or two more good years in the tank. Forget Lucas and VSpan. They may be good down the road but JVG doesn't trust them right now. They can't be relied on for consistency and stability in the playoffs. Chucky Atkins, Damon Stoudamire and Brevin Knight should all be available. The point guard is incredibly important since we're facing Nash, Terry, Parker, Deron Williams, and the like. Yes, Deke or Juwan could go down. Any injury could happen between now and when Yao gets back. The most important thing is still the playoffs and I don't think you make a championship run with just Rafer and no reliable veterans. A backup big would be a nice luxury but a veteran point is imperative if we're thinking championship THIS YEAR. Despite the competition, I think this team can beat anyone once Yao is healthy. Please get a point guard CD! This is your last stand and could be your ultimate legacy.
only reason i say mo would be off the bench is because mike james came off the bench. it would be smarter to have mo off the bench for the instant offense. i think mo williams would be a possibility for the rockets since he's in his contract year. i dont know if milwaukee will resign him. he'll probably go to a desperate team willing to pay him...kinda like how ATL paid speedy claxton and thats not working out for them.
My priorities: Atkins, D. Stoudamire, Duhon, Ridnour, Watson, Arroyo... Seems that most of them are teammates What we need from our backup PG is a ballhawk who can run the offense and at the same time can score a little bit...
...unless we get another injury. Then suddenly a backup big goes from luxery to critcal mass. Everytime Deke falls down, I cringe (and TMac). Come playoff time, Rafer will be able to play 40+mpg ...and Rafer has proven that he can lead this team to wins. Given that TMac essentially plays PG half the time, finding a backup PG isn't mandetory this year although it would be nice to have.
Padgett and Battier at the 4 are as good as options as JLIII and Head are at running the show for extended portions of the game.
Some thoughts........ Mo Williams: The "Mike James" of this year with worse outside shooting and defense. The difference though is there's about a six-year age cap between the two which is why MJ was forced to settle for MLE dollars and is why Mo Williams will get a much larger contract from somebody that's likely out of the MLE range. Any mid-season trade is unlikely too as Milwaukee's asking price would understandably be extremely high for him. Either way you look at it he's out of our range. Salim Stoudamire: Deep range on his shot but other than that he has little other discernable NBA guard skills. He's a tweener that's not that quick or athletic. Add to that his Antoine Walker-like shot selection and eagerness to enter the game and do too much and what we basically have is another JLIII. JLIII is a much better ball handler, much quicker and see's the court much better so those traits easily offset Stoudamire's edge in shooting. Chucky Atkins: Probably the most logical choice given his age and contractual status with the lowly Grizzlies. He clearly doesn't factor into their long-term plans and fits the prototypical mold of the intriguing experienced veteran that's playing great basketball on a lottery team. The question remains how much Memphis really believes they can get for him. My guess is our combination of part of the trade exception plus a second round draft pick or two would be enough to get the job done, however under no circumstances do you part with your first-round pick for a rental player that could bolt at season's end. Dickau? No thanks. Nothing more needs to be said. For those of you that are actually in favor of Dickau you should love the idea of going after Ridnour. He's basically a poor man's Steve Nash that's still young and is ready to contribute right away. The problem is he's on a "poison pill" deal making him difficult to move. Ridnour has been somewhat disappointing in Seattle given that he just signed a contract extension and got demoted but he's still twice the player Dickau is. Duhon/Daniels: It's unrealistic to assume two of the top teams in the East would so easily trade away two of their "glue guys". I'm sure they are attainable but at what cost? Telfair: Normally I would be all for getting a player like this given his age, potential and status in Boston but he's simply not ready yet. This kid was cocky and came into the league thinking just because SLAM Magazine decided to anoint him the next Isiah Thomas or whatever and figured since he shared a magazine cover with LeBron that he was automatically a player on that level. Needless to say -- that's not quite true. The truth is he's about the same height/weight and possesses a similar skill set to JLIII. Add to that the similar positive/negative tendencies and disciplines they both have and you basically have somewhat of a clone.
Mo passes.................MJ doesn't. Mo Williams can score man, his numbers prove it this season. His got vision and he can dish. There is a reason why they traded TJ Ford away. I heard the bucks might make a play for Billups. if thats the case Mo might be available for cheap.
He is nowhere near "Mike James" territory. First of all he is young (25), secondly his numbers have been gradually increasing. Look at his stats from the last couple of years and you will see that his current stats are not an anomaly. He's getting increased minutes and it shows in his production, but it is not a mega jump. He is nowhere near a career year yet. Mo will only get better. The man will be a star next year.
Both MW this year and MJ last year were the starting PG's on bad teams putting up great numbers in their contract years. For that reason they are very similar. Age gap aside, it's the same exact situation. Not to mention, it seems you are basing your argument of MW's superiority based upon his increased production yet you are convienently overlooking the fact that up until this year that is the exact same way MJ's career had also progressed before he foolishly joined that disasterous Minnesota team.
You must be unaware that MJ averaged 20/6 in his career year last year with absurd shooting and efficiency numbers as opposed to MW's current 18/6 career year. Granted, MW might could continue to improve but it's foolish to argue that he's hands-down in a better league than MJ since he's only doing what MJ did last year in Toronto.
They are not similar. Mo WIlliams is in his 4th year and has already averaged over 6 assists in 04-05 besides the 6.2 he is averaging now. Mike James' highest total was 5.8 last year and before that 4.4. Plus, you cannot overlook the fact that Mo is averaging 5.2 rebounds a game. If you seen Mo play, you would know he is a much much more natural PG than James could eevr hope to be. And you can't put age aside, the difference is 6 years. Mo in his 4th year had already surpassed James' career year in Toronto. Mo has a career 43.1 FG% compared to James' 43.2, they also both average about a steal per game. Mo's defense isn't stellar but to say it's worse than James' is highly questionable.
Yes they really are. Monster numbers on bad teams in contract years. You act like this has never happened in the NBA before. Maybe you're right though and it's just a coincidence? Throwing these stats around is completely pointless. Are you really trying to argue one player over the other by using a 0.4 of an assist per game in their career years as your main point? You also aren't proving anything by pointing out MW's rebounding edge because MJ is much better long range shooter and that's a much, much more important abilty to have to NBA teams than a PG who will grab you an extra rebound or two a game. What you don't realize is MJ didn't take the conventional route to the NBA. I should know because I just graduated from his alma mater and I can tell you Duquesne isn't exactly notorious for producing NBA players. He took the hard route and worked hard to get where he is. His NBA career didn't even start until he was 25-26. He has gradually improved in every year he has been in the league until this year and helped a team win a championship. I'd say he's worked hard enough to be mentioned in the same breath as players like Mo Williams, whether you would like to admit it or not.
Mike james jumps from his previous years and career stats to his contract year in Toronto is a lot higher than Mo's this year. Where as Mike obviously had a career year and will probably touch those numbers again, Mo's production comes out of consistent growth. Yes the situation is similar, that does not make them the same player. Please re read sentence. I'm talking about their ceilings in temrs of playmaking ability. Again, have you watched Mo? Do you deny that Mike is a more selfish player than him? NBA teams prefer a PG who is a playmaker than a shoort first, pass later one. Glad to see he worked for things, but Mo's still a better player. Most guys who take the unconventional route take it for a reason. There are a few exceptions, but mostly people who take that route are there because they weren't as good as everyone else.
Which goes back to my point that Mo Williams is the "Mike James" of this year which he is judging by the criteria I already mentioned: monster numbers, bad team, contract year. It happens all the time in the NBA anymore. My point was never that they were the same player but that MW is simply doing what MJ did last year. Yes, I have seen Mo play a lot actually and with that being said I really can't possibly understand how you're going to imply MJ is selfish and MW is not. First of all, neither are selfish. The idea that MJ is a selfish is player is simply humorous since he's a very efficient shooter and scorer that gladly defers to teammates and does whatever he can to better his team -- hence the bling bling. I also think you're getting carried away with this idea that MW's ceiling is nowhere near reached. His scoring probably won't get that much better since he doesn't really have an outside shot nor does he get to the line much. 18-22 PPG is about the best case scenario for a player like that who plays 35-40 minutes a night, like he's been doing. As for assits: assist numbers are always going to be a product of the system and the players around you. How many assists per game do you think MJ would be averaging in Toronto right now had he opted to stay in Toronto with all the shooters Colangelo collected for that uptempo offense? Why does Nash average 12 assists per game? Nash averaged 7-8 assitsts per game during his Dallas years before sky rocketing to 10-12 per game in Phoenix once he came to a new system. It isn't like he magically grew as a playmaker once he changed teams.
well you kept arguing that MJ is in the same league as Mo, so what else could I assume but that? =P The difference I was pointing out was that Mo will get better while MJ will probably never touch those numbers again. Look, I respect MJ's shot and I think he's a good player, but he was not exactly the type to set up his teammates. His time in Houston was proof enough for anyone who saw him wave off TMac time after time to either take his own shot or do a kamikaze drive. I think Mo will be a 20/7/6 guy if he hits his ceiling. That would make him one of the top PG's in the league. MJ would still be getting 5.8 if he was playing in Toronto because he is not a natural playmaker. What he is is a very good shooter in a PG's body.
If MW continues to progress, find ways to make his teammates better and WIN for once in his career then he will be placed a completely different category in my book. Until then, let's wait and see how he plays next year with whoever after he gets his contract. That lone incident of MJ "waving" off T-Mac was so overblown and exaggerated. T-Mac even admitted it himself and later said countless times that he loved playing with MJ and wanted him back. Calling MJ selfish is apparently a common misconception on this board amongst those that don't watch him play enough. It's sad but oh well you can't expect everybody to be fair.
Atkins or Stoudamire is the answer if Francis doesn't agree to a buyout, which isn't going to happen. At the very least, the Knicks are going to wait until we burn a trade for a PG before they set him free, so as to not let him return here. I really wished the Sonics would release Fortson. I'd take him at the minimum for 1/3 season playoff run. Then send Sura, Padgett, and $1 million cash to Memphis for Stoudamire.
