Possible PG Replacement

I'd rather get D.Fisher

great spot-up shooter, tough-minded defensively & understands the concept of feeding the post

 

Payton proved in the playoffs that he's lost more than a step or two... more like both feet.

Not that I care for either but I'd rather have Fisher.

 

Personally I like Brent Barry. His outside shooting would be tremendous with the double teams that T-mac and Yao will create. But JVG might like Fisher better because of his defense. Fisher is still a pretty good 3pt shooter himself, just not as good as Barry. Those two seem like the most likely candidates from which we can choose from. We are clearly looking for a starter as Ollie appears to be the backup. So I dont see us looking at any Charlie Wards or Bob Suras now.

 

no Lakers please

this is the same crew of PGs that let Francis redeem himself, allowed Tony Parker to look like Kevin Johnson, couldn't challege the T-Wolves (and they didn't even have a point guard !) and halped Chauncy Billips win the MVP

 

I am out on the mitten. As much as I don't like him, I would take Fisher any day of the week over the mitten.

Be great to get Brent Barry although I still don't know what is the best way to utilize him.

 

I think Fisher would be a great fit. He is a veteran -- he's just never really been an acknowledged leader for the lakers, since there are so many other vets there.

He's a 3-point threat, especially in the playoffs (.431). That's a big bonus from the PG position. Teams would regret it if they tried to double T-Mac with two guards. He a smart player who protects the ball well (career A/T ratio is 3:1). He's not about showing off and being the star -- he's about winning.

Also, he's a great clutch player who has been in the NBA finals 4 of the last 5 years. In fact, he's been in 117 playoff games -- probably more than all the rest of our roster combined.

Fisher is EXACTLY what we're looking for, and he's not all that expensive. Exciting? No, but T-Mac will make up for that.

 

Payton would not fit JVG's system much better than Steve did. He's not a catch-and-shoot player, and certainly not content to bring the ball up and initiate the offense. His reluctance to move without the ball was also exposed with his short time in LA.

Gary Payton is a player that needs the ball in his hand and have plays run through him to be effective. Outside of that, he needs a heavy dose of transition opportunities to get his points.

He's not a distributer that would feed Yao (and McGrady?), and his defense has slid horribly.

Van Gundy wouldn't want to touch him.

Derek Fisher and Charlie Ward are probably the top guys out there for this system.

Evan

 

I agree, if he doesn't cost TOO much. We'll be losing three guards in these two trades. Barry would be a good addition because of his versatility.

 

I am a Clutch backer and any thing he supports is a-okay with with me. He wants Brent Barry - I want Brent Barry.

 

I have to agree...Aparently, we can't have "Stars" as our Point Guard, so DFisher works for me...

 

Rack 'em

 

Call me crazy, but I want Fisher AND Barry. Why? Imagine the three man rotation with T-Mac if Barry was coming off the bench?

Heck, I'd be willing to trade MoT for Barry. Maybe MoT would do good in Seattle.

 

Barry as the starter and Fisher as the first guard off the bench would be really nice. Fisher could play the Bobby Jackson role of Sacramento or the old NVE role from Dallas. The energizer. But I dont think we can get BOTH players. Additionally it is reported that we are getting Kevin Ollie for Pike. It looks like Ollie is the backup PG so there is only room for one more PG on the roster.

Barry is requesting a 4 year FULL MLE deal. Would the Rockets bite on that one at his age? Tough to tell. I do feel a team could get Fisher for less than the FULL MLE, maybe 3/4 of the MLE, perhaps with a deal starting at 3.5M a year. Remember, Ollie's contract is now 4yr 12M.

Again, I think Barry would be dynamite on this team in terms of hitting jumpers with T-Mac and Yao being double teamed. But his defense is average. I have a feeling that JVG likes Fisher's toughness on D. It is obvious that JVG values DEFENSE over outside shooting. We proved this with the Ollie for Pike deal.

 

One more player out there that might be of interest to the Rockets is Troy Hudson. He might be available at a good price (half to 3/4 of MLE) and is a GOOD outside shooter and a clutch shooter. Remember what he did against the Lakers last season in the playoffs? He is having surgery so I bet that will lower his cost but he would be another PG that might be a good fit here. He isnt a great ball distributor but he does the one thing that JVG wants offensively from the PG position and that is a "catch and shoot" type player. Something to keep in mind.

 

Not that I'm necessarily in favor of getting either Fisher or Payton (although I would lean more towards Payton), but the Lakers guards shouldn't shoulder all of the blame for the great PG performances in the playoffs. You have to remember that the Lakers biggest weakness on defense is defending the pick and roll (b/c of Shaq). All three of those PGs took advantage of that, and the T-wolves would have as well if Cassell or Hudson had been healthy.

 

FYI...Mike James is a free agent. He played well for Boston last year, and did well down the stretch for Detroit.