Probably JJ's best game as a Sun. For the most part "statwise" JJ has been pretty much a non-factor. But he has been a good bench presence. And when on the floor gets the ball to the other scorers. He is helping the team, but not nearly in the same fashion as he helped the Rockets. Funny that on the Suns JJ is a 6th or 7th man but on the Rockets he was like the 3rd option. Just goes to show you how limited our talent was compared to the Suns in terms of # of players.
JJ barely put up 10-12 ppg for us playing over 40 mpg - he made some key contributions for us at times but we were not getting much production from his slot- and you are right, he was indicative of a real lack of depth.
We were really thin at the perimeter spots before the trades--especially before Sura came back from injury. TMac and JJ were pretty much the only scoring threat from outside. Now we have Barry, Wesley and James, and Sura when he's back.
I still don't see how trading JJ was necessary in the Wesley trade. There's no way that NO specifically asked for JJ, considering he wouldn't even report. With JJ, I think we're legitimate second-tier contenders. JJ's problem this season had been trying to fill the playmaking void that Steve and Cuttino(Yes...Steve, Cuttino...playmaking...I know) used to occupy when Yao was out of the game. T-Mac wasn't ready to shoulder the load by himself, so we often had JJ dribbling his way around the perimeter when he had no business doing so. With a better, smarter cast of characters surrounding him on the perimeter as well as the ever-increasing emergence of T-Mac, JJ could have accepted a more suitable role in the offense and provided us with a versatilte, solid defensive player. Sura/James(Speculation...assuming we would have still made the trade) Wesley/Barry McGrady/Jackson We would have actually been sort of stacked at the 1-2-3. Quite the contrast to the beginning of the season. Like I said, I don't think JJ was specifically requested in the Wesley deal. There had to be some sort of conflict between JJ and JVG/management, which is also pretty inexplicable, as JJ had been JVG's favorite and was genuinely(I assume) shocked and upset following the trade.
JJ"s defense was terrible this season. He was too small to guard forwards and too slow to guard shooting guards which forced Tracy to have to chase them around all season. Plus he bricked open jumpers with regularity. Add that up and that's why he's not here, he simply wasn't that good of a player and did very little this year.
Yep! JJ is a statue on defense. Comparing him and Wesley on defense is like comparing Ryan Bowen and T-Mac on offense.
