He's never said that Gay was a better player. You are referring to his PER rankings, which he uses to rate a player's box score stats, not overall level of play. Do you consider those to be equivalent? It's also worth mentioning that Hollinger ranked Battier as the best defensive player at his position, but that's completely separate from his PER. And for the record, Hollinger ranked the Rockets trade for Battier as the 3rd best move of that offseason: [rquoter] 10 best offseason moves, from steals to smart deals Getting something for nothing isn't as easy as it looks. Just ask the Denver Nuggets, for example. Their offseason acquisition of shooting guard J.R. Smith -- who makes his return to the lineup tonight -- seemed like a simple, no-brainer play. Give Howard Eisley's contract and two second-round picks to the Bulls and -- voila! -- the shooting guard problem is solved. ... 1. Nuggets trade Howard Eisley and two second-round draft picks for J.R. Smith One more reason to like this move: Smith is on his rookie contract this year and next. So not only has Smith radically improved the shooting guard situation, he's doing it while making less than departed predecessor Greg Buckner made out in free agency ... an important consideration since the Nuggets are in luxury-tax territory. 2. Magic re-sign Trevor Ariza I remain completely baffled that nobody made a stronger play for Ariza this offseason. Did somebody find a crop of athletic 21-year-old forwards growing on trees and forget to tell me? Somehow, the 6-8 jumping bean only got a two-year, $6 million deal; his next contract will be worth five or 10 times as much. Ariza had a disappointing 2005-06 in which he was stuck at the end of the Knicks' bench and insulted by coach Larry Brown, but he was much more productive after Orlando liberated him in the Steve Francis trade. This year he's been even better. Ariza is shooting 54.0 percent from the floor for the division-leading Magic in addition to his usual solid work on the boards, and establishing himself as a defensive presence as well. His playing time has steadily increased as a result, and now he's breathing down Hedo Turkoglu's neck for the starting small forward gig. 3. Rockets trade Stromile Swift and the rights to Rudy Gay for Shane Battier I think Rudy Gay might be a heck of a player down the road, and in an up-tempo system Swift can wreak havoc. But on a team like Houston that plays a rugged, halfcourt style and is focused on winning today because Tracy McGrady's back might not make it til tomorrow, neither player was going to help the cause much. Battier, on the other hand, has made a huge impact. His spot-up shooting has been helpful (40.4 percent on 3-pointers) but the reason this deal ranks so high is his affect on Houston's defense. The Rockets leads the NBA in defensive efficiency by a wide margin after ranking seventh a year ago, thanks mainly to the acquisition of one of the league's best team defenders. With superior defense, they've been able to shrug off absences from Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming to maintain contact with the West's elite. One other sign of Battier's impact -- Houston gives up more points than it allows when he's off the floor, which isn't true of any other Rocket. 4. Portland's draft The Blazers' flirtation with respectability has been mainly the result of a career year from Zach Randolph, but in the long term this season may be memorable for a different reason: The Blazers' great draft crop. While the Joel Freeland Era doesn't seem imminent, Portland's other three first-rounders look like studs. Brandon Roy is the likely Rookie of the Year, and while that's not saying much in this disappointing class, he is scoring 14 a game and will be even more deadly once he figures out the NBA 3-point line. Joining him in the Blazers' backcourt of the future is Spanish import Sergio Rodriguez, who has played well in limited minutes and has posted an insanely high assist rate (11.7 per 40 minutes). But the best prospect of all may be big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who has played sparingly while the team showcases Jamaal Magloire for a trade. Aldridge can run the floor and shoot jumpers out to 20 feet, and with his length he can get the shot off against anybody. His per-game numbers don't do justice to his performance because he's seen so few minutes, but he's shooting a solid percentage (49.7 percent), dropping in 14.8 points per 40 minutes, and rarely turns the ball over. 5. Bucks trade Joe Smith for Ruben Patterson Can you even imagine where Milwaukee would be right now if they hadn't made this deal? The Bucks originally pulled the trigger because they felt they needed a backup small forward more than a backup power forward, and they were proven correct when Bobby Simmons' heel problem kept him on the shelf. But Patterson has played better than they could have possibly imagined. The veteran nomad is having a career year -- no mean feat for a 31-year-old player who is almost entirely dependent on his athleticism. He's shooting 56.4 percent from the floor, pumping in 18.1 points per game, and looking forward to six weeks as the Bucks' go-to guy while Michael Redd's knee heals. Patterson's line from the first game sans Redd indicates he may be up to the task -- 29 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and four steals against Denver on Monday. (Incidentally, this deal didn't work out so badly on Denver's end either -- Smith was a key piece in the Allen Iverson deal). 6. Mavs extend Josh Howard Dallas' decision to give Howard a four-year, $40 million extension looked solid at the time. Now it looks positively brilliant. Howard has elevated his game yet again and looks set to make his first-ever All-Star appearance this February, helping Dallas to the league's best record. He's added the 3-pointer to his arsenal to boost his scoring average to 19.4 per game, and upped most of his secondary stats as well. As a result, he'd be a max-contract player if he were hitting the free-agent market this summer, which would put his deal in the neighborhood of $100 million if he signed for the maximum six years. That's more than double what the Mavs paid. And considering the Mavs are already $10 million over the dollar-for-dollar luxury tax line, this extension will end up saving Mark Cuban tens of millions of ducats over the next few years. 7. Pistons sign Nazr Mohammed Losing Ben Wallace was a huge blow to the Pistons, but as far as plug-the-hole-in-the-dyke moves go, grabbing Mohammed has turned out pretty nicely for Detroit. Mohammed's PER is actually substantially better than Wallace's (19.38 to 14.88) thanks to his 57.5-percent shooting mark and his usual yeoman work on the glass. And while Mohammed's defensive impact is nowhere near the same -- Detroit has dropped from fifth to 11th in defensive efficiency -- he's kept the Pistons' frontcourt credible, and could be doing more were it not for Flip Saunders' puzzling tendency to give him the quick hook. Bonus points go to Detroit team president Joe Dumars on this one because of the alternatives -- in the hands of another exec, the Pistons could easily be lamenting the acquisition of Joel Pryzbilla, Melvin Ely or Jarron Collins, all three of whom have struggled mightily after re-signing with their teams over the summer. Essentially, Dumars was taking a quiz with only one correct answer, and he aced it. 8. Heat re-sign Alonzo Mourning As disastrous as the Heat's season has been, it's hard to envision how much worse it would be had Mourning decided to walk off into the sunset after winning a championship last season. Instead, he decided to re-up for two years and $5 million, a pittance for a player with his shot-blocking skill and interior scoring ability. With Shaquille O'Neal out of the lineup, those skills have been more in need than ever. 'Zo has sent back 2.8 offerings a game to help make up for his teammates' shameful perimeter defense, and his 57.9-percent shooting from the floor has lent Dwyane Wade one of his few sources of offensive support. He'll retreat into the background once Shaq comes back, but if the Heat manage to eke out a playoff spot, they'll have Mourning to thank for it. 9. Nets trade 2009 second-round draft pick to Seattle for Mikki Moore Could the Nets possibly have obtained this guy for any less? A second-rounder in 2009? What, they couldn't offer an Amazon.com gift certificate? Moore may have come cheaply, and he may be paid cheaply (just a hair over a million for this season), but he's the one guy keeping the Nets' heads above water in the Titanic Division right now. With the loss of Nenad Krstic and the demise of Jason Collins, only the play of Moore has averted a full-scale frontcourt disaster. The slender seven-footer is shooting 65.5 percent from the floor and averaging 9.7 rebounds per 40 minutes, but even more important is the energy he's played with -- something that's been glaringly lacking from Jersey's arsenal any time he's off the floor. 10. The Derek Fisher trade Often when a trade is made commentators will cop out and say, "I think this deal will help both teams." Usually they're full of it, but every so often a deal plays out that really does have strong benefits for both sides. The trade between the Warriors and Jazz this summer was one example. Utah desperately needed guard help and outside shooting, and got both of them at a stroke when they sent two non-guaranteed contracts and backup point guard Keith McLeod to the Warriors for Fisher. Fisher's shooting and defense have solidified the backcourt enough that the Jazz are comfortably ensconced in first place in the Northwest Division. That deal also had benefits for Golden State, allowing them to unload one of the worst mistakes of the Chris Mullin era -- the six-year, $36.6 million contract he gave Fisher in 2004 (sadly, this was soon to be outdone by larger deals for Adonal Foyle and Mike Dunleavy). The deal not only allowed the Warriors to skirt the luxury tax, it also let phenom Monta Ellis move into Fisher's vacated backcourt spot and establish himself as a rising star, averaging 17.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Fisher's contract wasn't poisonous for the Jazz because they've managed their cap space so well. So in the end, everybody won, and both the Warriors and Jazz are better this year as a result. John Hollinger writes for ESPN Insider. [/rquoter]
Why are you guys still arguing over Battier Gay (Thabo Sefolosha)? Might as well bring back the old Yao vs Jay Williams debate.
i think that's a fair assessment of both players. no way does ginobili carry a team as well t-mac by himself, but i'll concede it's possible that ginobili is a better fit than mcgrady in san antonio. i do have a hard time believing that if you put t-mac in manu's spot over the last 5 years they wouldn't have just as many rings, but it's impossible to predict.... as for the van gundy comment, i think that was an in-game remark rather than an indepth commentary on the best sg's? i wouldn't hold him to that opinion even 5 minutes after he said it.
Well, this thread is well and truly hijacked, huh? Everybody is still thinking about Rudy Gay? After Scola has given you 14, 14, 16, 7, and 18 points each game of this series? And Landry has contributed mightily, including a game-winning block of Deron Williams? And they along with Deke and Hayes have held Boozer to less than 20 points per game EVERY SINGLE GAME. Come on, put down the pipe, and get on the Rocket train. This team would not even be in the playoffs without Battier. Our defense is still our signature, the thing that allows us to compete with only about 1/2 of one superstar and a group of hard-nosed players. And speaking of Rudy Gay, how's he doing in the playoffs? Mike James scored 20 a night on a bad team, and how well did that work out for the Rockets? Why don't we worry about the future, not the past?
whats the chances of Gay getting to see the floor as a rookie if he can't defend? He can't even defend now and his being the man. He fouls like a nutcase as well.
