I agree with all that has been said. I say package Sura and Wesley for a true PG and keep M. James and J. Barry on the bench as SG. I think we can draft someone to back up at PG or maybe Spanoulis.
It'd be nice to have a pg that could find ways to feed Ming in the post. I'd prefer Sura to be moved to sg or the bench. We have a decent rotation at pg right now, but it could definitely be improved, and it seems like there are more options to bring in good pgs than sgs ...
PG isn't as big of a problem as some of you make it out to be. Sura/James are an above average 1-2 punch and IMO are adequete. Sure, a pure playmaker like Kidd would be nice in some regards but you people make it sounds as if the PERFECT playmaker is just out there, waiting for us to scoop up. Sura, in a lot of ways, is like a poor man's Kidd. Of course he's not half the playmaker Kidd is but he does all of the little things like a Kidd in his prime could do. Plus, despite not having "pure PG instincts" he is still very efficient when it comes to protecting the ball. Let's also not forget what we saw out of Sura this year wasn't a 100% healthy player. Let's give the guy a shot to see what he can do with his knees and back working for him. James is the kind of spark playoff teams need off of the bench---hence his success on a championship basketball team just last season. He gives the best of them a run for the money as top backup PG. Yes, he can be reckless at times but the point is he can be controlled. He's so quick and his ability to push the ball up the court is something I think many of you are taking for granted. He's a tenacious defender and just oozes energy when he comes into the game. I'm all for using the draft to take a PG but I would prefer to see us address the bigger needs of a PF and/or 3rd scorer in addition to providing youth and depth with the MLE and through trades, rather than keying in on "upgrading" a position we may not even need to tinker with in the 1st place.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?columnist=gottlieb_doug&id=2053126 By Doug Gottlieb Special to ESPN.com With the NBA draft rapidly approaching, I have an easy tip for Atlanta, Charlotte, Utah, Portland, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers. Draft a great college point guard. I know, I sound like Dick Vitale passionately pleading the case for teams to look at the college players, but in this case, he's right on. College guards translate to wins in the NBA, and pure point guards are the best way to fix a team. In recent years, NBA teams that added a pure point guard improved at a greater rate than clubs that made alternative changes (outside of maybe Miami's grabbing Shaq, but there's another reason there, too). Sure, the NFL draft has a cult following more fitting a Lollapalooza concert, but the NBA draft is a much greater test of a team's ability to judge talent on three vastly different levels of play. Teams must judge high school, college and international competition to find a player whose skills will develop on the NBA stage. Within these complex analyses lies one overwhelming truth when in doubt, draft the best point guard available. The NBA is full of 6-foot-9 athletes who can run and jump, yet more often than not, their teams never win. A point guard has more value today, largely because of both zone defenses (against which penetration and shooting is valued) and how tightly officiated the regular season has been (also valuing penetration). With a point guard in the mix, mediocre teams become playoff teams, and playoff teams become champions. The Phoenix Suns are a prime example. Last year, many NBA analysts pegged Amare Stoudemire as a great athlete and dunker without much "game." Joe Johnson never truly lived up to the hype that followed him from college. Shawn Marion was seen as an amazing athlete whose funny-looking shot limited his effectiveness. Quentin Richardson was an amazing yet streaky shooter with the Clippers, NBA lottery regulars. Coach Mike D'Antoni was in desperate need of a guy to set the table for his team or he could be out of a job. From the day Steve Nash became a Sun, Stoudamire suddenly became the most dominant, young big man in the game, Johnson became a dynamic scoring guard (his 3-point shooting is up 17 percent from last year), Marion averaged nearly 20 points and 12 rebounds all while shooting an unbelievable percentage from the field, and Richardson is once again dominant, but now takes better, more timely shots. D'Antoni now coaches the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. The Milwaukee Bucks, though, might be a better team to study. Last year, they made the playoffs behind Michael Redd, Desmond Mason and a combination of two point guards: Damon Jones and T.J. Ford. While they re-signed Redd over the offseason and Mason has had his best offensive season as a pro, this year's Bucks ended with a dreadful record. With Jones gone (now incredibly valuable to the Heat) and Ford hampered by a spinal cord injury, the Bucks were left with Mo Williams and Erick Strickland, and while both are serviceable backups, neither created the open looks that Ford specialized in or stretched the defense like Jones could. What is the secret to Miami's explosion this year? Sure, Shaq is a big reason for the Heat's success, but so are Dwyane Wade and Jones. The Heat got rid of many pieces to last year's puzzle, but upgraded their backcourt with Wade's improvement and the addition of Jones. Look around the NBA. The Pistons go as Chauncey Billups goes. The Luke Ridnour-Antonio Daniels tandem works well in Seattle. How much better was Golden State at the end of the year with Baron Davis at the helm? Is it me or is Tony Parker the best 22-year-old we never talk about? Why has Houston struggled at times this year despite having two of the top players in the game? Not having a true point guard makes Tracy McGrady handle the ball way too much. The Nets? Very little without Jason Kidd. Now imagine the Atlanta Hawks's actually considering drafting anyone other than Chris Paul or Deron Williams. Yes, Andrew Bogut is an intriguing big man with solid skill to go along with soft hands and a massive yet agile frame. Sure, Marvin Williams has the look of a young colt whose inside/outside game combined with his dynamic athleticism might dominate NBA games in the future. But if these teams really want to win, they will look only for the point guard who fits their team best. Now I can hear a cynic saying that Portland already has Sebastian Telfair, whom I never would have taken out of high school, but with two years under Rick Pitino I would have gobbled up in a heartbeat. Fine, keep Telfair, take Deron Williams and play them together. The Bulls have made it work with Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon, neither a pure point. I am not blind to the fact that after Paul and Deron Williams, Marvin Williams and Bogut should be taken before anyone else is considered. After that, though, there are several guards such as Jarrett Jack (assuming he stays in the draft) and Raymond Felton (how valuable was he to UNC?) who would still be on the board after the top four are taken. There are also substantial point guard values in the second round this year. Guys such as Travis Diener, John Gilchrist, Salim Stoudamire, Carl Krauser (if he stays in the draft), Nate Robinson and Filiberto Rivera all have a tremendous shot at making the league, which ordinarily is below a 50-50 proposition as a second-rounder. While not every point guard will pan out, it is easier to measure them against each other because they rarely switch positions (the true points, that is) and there is higher quality in guards than in big men at the Division I level. This class has four clear first-round possibilities and all will improve the teams that draft them.
Why? Tracy is a finisher. Yao is a finisher. Wesley is a shooter. Future PF will be a garbage man. Sura is not much of a passer and James has glue on his hands like we haven't seen since the departure of the Cat. What does this mean? on nights we are not hitting our open shots, we have tremendous trouble scoring the ball. On those nights, we only have T-Mac who can get into the paint and create open shots for his teammates. We rode him like he did Sean Bradley in the playoffs because nobody else could break down the defense. If we have someone else who could penetrate to leave Tracy with some open shots or chances to catch and finish, all of these guys become better players by shooting open shots and we don't waste our most proven commodity driving and dishing. Of course, it would help if this mystery penetrator can hit from the outside so defenses don't sag off and dare him to shoot to stop penetration.
Mike James is a scorer and the spark off the bench, this is a good thing. Sura is hurt, and I don't feel as Sura is good enough to get us all the way to the Finals. We need a pure point guard.
Considering that the rockets PG is not really called on to do those things too much in the current offense, I doubt it. It is the same formula as last year - we need three point shooting and defense from the other both guard slots - that's why wesley was brought in, same with James. They both do that, not as well perhaps as we would have liked, but that's what they do.
Sura can't shoot from 3 very well, or he's too hesitant to take the shot and miss. I'd take Luther Head if we could swing a second rounder in the draft. Love his athleticism and his range. Yea, he shot alot, but he was always getting set up by the other two PG on the team. And he still avg. 4 apg. while shooting over 40% from 3's. S.Stoudimire would be a nice alternative.
The point guards weren't called on to do this because they COULDN'T! This is why our offense bogged down against the Mavs and the entire load fell on T-Mac to always make something happen with an iso or a PnR. When our offense was rolling before Juwon Howard was hurt, it was anything but the same formula as last year. I don't know what you were watching. We were ugly last year (remember the boring iso plays by SF & CM)? This year, our offense was awesome at times because the ball was being spread around to find the open man. If we keep that up and add another player (the new PG) besides T-Mac who can pass down low and penetrate & dish, we will be contenders.
Sura's not a real PG. The guy plays well, but we all can see the moments when he seems to give up on the play much faster than a real PG would. Sura at best shoudl be the 6th man, and first guard off the bench.
apostolic3 Amen. Well said by a man who understands the game. Spread the gospel according to apostolic3!! As I said in a post earlier, the PNR is penetration for teams with no point guard and is instant death in the hands of a magician like Nash or Kidd.
