I mean, is it bad to say he's just not a PG or a hybrid guard right now? He's a pure SG at age 23 and will develop those skills slowly as well as the muscle to play some smallball 3? Looking at more successful players in his style (2pters, transition and defense foundation, 3pt as a counter, lower rebounds and assists), would Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant be able to run PG better at age 23? I don't think so. I think we're trying to make him something he's not. He's a guy who likes to have a PG. Let Amen or Fred run it. Jalen can give you bursts or stretches of this, but to get every dollar out of his contract we need him to shift his focus to getting to the FT line.
Even if you truly believe this why put this in the aether and devalue his stock? Fyi Jalen was just recently Player of the Week + breaking NBA records for scoring for his age. Not for nothing, Ime also plays Jalen the 2nd or 3rd most minutes so you must assume his trust in Jalen is not the problem you perceived.
I'm dead serious. Tell me one thing he's actually good at. Cuz I don't see what yall see. If we could replace or upgrade one position to make us a contender it would be SG. His advance numbers are still so bad. Who cares if he has a one week hot streak 2 times a year. Hes a mental midget. He can't beat his man off dribble. He can't shoot. His defense is back to being sub par. He has terrible decision making. How is he any different than Gerald Green who made league min for us.
We all know Jalen will have hot streaks throughout the season but I've given up on him being consistent. Because when he's not player of the week he's probably the worst player on the team. So I dunno what to do with him. Cuz he's either really really good or god awful and most of the times it's the latter, I have 0 faith in the playoffs he will be successful as teams will have better defensive schemes and play him more physical and that's what he struggles with
Jordan played PG for 11 straight games in 1989 for Bulls and averaged 33.6 PPG, 11.4 AST + 10.8 REB. He averaged a 30 burger triple double at PG during this 11 game stretch. MJ was 25 years old. And it was Jordan who volunteered to.play PG because he was frustrated with Bulls offensive execution. Jordan was high IQ and do not doubt he had ability to play PG at high level even at 23.
Ok perfect, so when he was 25/26 years old basically to do that incredible feat. Doing something for 8 games doesn't mean you can have the motivation to help your teammates all year, that's not how jobs work, the PG actually loves setting teammates up over himself. I don't believe for one second that Jordan would be happy being the starting PG for a team. Also keep in mind, we're talking about arguably the best player of all time lol. That's exactly the type of timeline I'm expecting from Jalen, expect him to just be net positive at being a PG nearer his prime than right now. I can see him being a 6.8 assists to 2.8 TO's guy at that point. His handle will be a lot tighter and his experience will be a lot better having been through playoff pressure. Right now he's also facing the added downward pressure of the whole team sucks at shooting and assists. Just give him some time. We don't need him to be the PG. Amen/Sheppard/Fred got it for now.
If he was making good passes and people were missing shots I wouldn't hate it as much. But he's literally just throwing the ball to the other team or making passes that lead to no where. He has 0 play making ability and will never average close to 6.8 asssits a game. He's a volume scorer and that's it.
You compared him to Jordan, not me. And I truly believe that Jordan had the leadership, will to win + high IQ required to play PG full time at elite level. Jordan was also PG for the Dream Team as both Magic + Stockton were unavailable during Olympics. Jalen will never be an average NBA PG due to his lack of vision + processing, nevermind an elite one. But he could be an elite SG, his traits + past production in spurts has shown this.
He's a big reason we blow so many leads late. I swear he has the worst live ball turnovers in the clutch. Literally falling over himself gifting the ball to the opponents for a fast break score. That happens way too much.
I don't agree with you there obviously, I'm just sharing my opinion that he's not ready now and will be much better at it in a few years. Right now he's still working on core SG things, being able to play PG is not urgent.
If Jalen can pass and see the court like Cade, even at his current shooting, this thread would be much, much more positive and glowing about him and his future.
JG really needs to watch SGA, this man just went to the exact same spot on floor 8x in a row and either got fouled or hit the middy
Which is why comparing just their TS% is pretty pointless. Jalen's main job to shoot. It's literally in his job title. Cade is a PG and therefore people like him for his PG skills.
I was just saying we consider him an inconsistent inefficient guard and here's cade getting praise for his shooting numbers
Another big difference between them is Cade is a boss leader. I sort of knew this but I was 9 rows away at the Pistons game on MLK Day and his teammates constantly looked to him for inspiration and encouragement and Cade dished it out. His emotional energy and intensity are what drive that team whether he shoots efficiently or not.
