From p.114 of this week's ESPN The Magazine: "Jefferson volunteered to lead the Nets summer team. He's eyeing Kerry Kittles' starting SG job, and his league-high 22 ppg and 6.5 apg in the Shaw's Pro Summer League in Boston was a good start. He improved his outside shot, but it was his play at point forward that impressed NBA execs. Says one GM: 'He's the total package. He's going to be a star.'" I guess it was still worth it to make the big trade for Eddie, but Richard Jefferson seems to have it all ... improving offense, great D, and the will to win. I see him doing all the things people were raving about in Caron Butler this year. With KVH gone, Jefferson is going to have to assume more of a scorer's mentality in Jersey this year ... I wouldn't be surprised to see him break out big time. OTOH, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong aren't exactly lighting up the world.
It's true, Eddie is going to be one of the best, but if you think about it, we allready had Mo Taylor and KT who are pretty adequate at pf so maybe we should have kept Jefferson. It might have helped our team more. Our lineup would be: PG-Steve Francis/Moochie SG-Cuttino Mobley/Jefferson/OT SF-Richard Jefferson/Glen Rice/Nachbar PF-Mo Taylor/KT/T-Mo C-Yao Ming/Cato/Collier
Griff's summer league numbers were better than Jefferson's and the only reason Jefferson will have better numbers during the regular season is b/c he'll start this yr b/v VanHorn is gone now and he'll get more PT than EG. Don't worry about it though, when Jerfferson max's out at 15ppg and in 2-3 yrs EG is starting his decade long run of 18-20ppg and 10reb, you'll feel a lot better.
Jefferson is the second coming of Shandon Anderson. Wait and see. Both benefitted from superior athleticism and having PG's with great vision to get them the ball. Neither can shoot from the outside (I'll believe it when I see it on Jefferson... I saw him brick 18 footer after 18 footer in the playoffs), and neither has the height to do that much defensively against the bigger SF's. Griffin, at PF, is a substantially better shooter. He also has better rebounding, better shotblocking, and more range. Trading Jefferson for Griffin is one of the best moves this franchise has made.
Not at all. And remember, we didnt' want him. We were drafting him for NJ. He's a decent player, but I'm not that big on summer league performances. EG has a much higher ceiling.
NO! Don't wast space with a STUPID POST like this if you know anything about the game you would not even think about such an idea!
No. There are plenty of PGs, SGs, and SFs coming from over-seas, college, or out of highschool....Jefferson isn't difficult to replace. Role Reversal: Had we not taken Eddie, we'd be on these boards b****ing and complaing because of how good he looks playing with Jason Kidd.
Looks like alot folks got there homer glasses on. Hindsight, I would still probably pick Eddie but this Jefferson kid is good, period. He will be a star in this league. He will excel at both ends of the court and he has confidence in his game and will let you know it. When the Rockets appeared to pick him I was pretty happy. But we all know what happened. Right now Jefferson is the better all around player and has the NBA body already but I do believe that Griffin has the the higher ceiling especially if he develops an inside game. I just don't want him turning into a Robert Horry. And as far as the second coming of Shandon, I dont think so because this guys game was the good in college and I have already seen alot of improvement. He also now has playoff experience which helps steady the nerves in the future. Can't wait until our guys get a taste of the playoffs to see who had the gonads for what it takes to get the job done.
Is it given that you would have picked Jefferson if you didn't pick for NJ? Maybe the Rockets would have picked someone else ... and then you sure are better off with EG who could be one of the top 5-6 player in that draft.
Cat, Playing the devil's advocate, Jefferson is ten times better than Anderson because he can take his man off the dribble and he create his own shot. As far as the bricks in the playoffs, my comment to that is the playoffs are a different situation than the regular season. It is where men are made into boys, see Peja and Christie. Jefferson was a rookie mind you. Dont know that your saying eddie is better shooter is correct since he only shot 36% from the field last year while Jefferson shot 46%. Griffin did have a better 3point FG% 33% vs 23%. So say Griffin has much range wouldnt be saying it by much. Griffen attempted 276 to 53 for Jefferson. My observation would be that Griffin settles for the outside shot more. And far as your argument for Jefferson against bigger SFs could also be said for Griffin against the bigger PF in the league which are all in the West. And even though I love the potential that Griffin has, to me the jury is still out on whether the Rockets got the better of this deal. We won't know for years I suppose. I just hope Griffin becomes what everyone says he will, myself include.
Lets say that Jefferson turns into an all-star and so does EG. Which stats would you rather have: 20 pts, 5 rbs, 2 asts, 2 steals or 20 pts, 10 rbs, 3.5 blocks Big and good is always better than small and good.
That's my problem with Jefferson. I never saw him consistently creating off the dribble for himself. If he can do that, the Shandon comparison is inaccurate. However, in the games I saw him, he scored off a lot of backcuts and in transition, where he is a direct beneficiary of Jason Kidd. Because of that, I don't particularly care about the field goal percentage. If you watch two players enough, you can tell who the better shooter is. Jefferson's percentage is so high because a large percentage of his shots come from layups and dunks. If you watch EG, he can really shoot the basketball. However, in our offense, we had him taking too many threes, and too many contested shots for a rookie. Also, if Griffin has indeed bulked up 17 pounds, that would put him at about 6'10, 240. That's decent size for a power forward, even in the West.
Keep in mind that if we had not made the trade, we would have had two additional first rounders taking up roster space. Looking at guaranteed contracts I suspect OT and T-Mo would have to be cut. I want another year to evaluate TMo, OT I don't mind loosing. But our roster manuverability would be nil for a few years to come. I think Jefferson is a good player, but I think Griffin is better. Don't you feel that if those two had traded circumstances, they would have approximately traded statistics?
Jefferson will be a star? mmkay. If we're going by projections, if Jefferson's a star, Griffin will end up around the Duncan-Garnett tier of PFs, obtaining phreak-like status. Jefferson better all around? How? He can't shoot. He doesn't have a better NBA body-he's the same height as Caron Butler (who some worry about), and isn't nearly as strong (nor as good a scorer). Griffin's RIGHT NOW is a better shooter. Griffin makes a much bigger impact defensively. Just because Jefferson can fill a lane and finish does not make him a well rounded offensive threat. We saw how far that got Shandon Anderson, who also got playoffs and finals experience early in his career. Jefferson is a more explosive version of Shandon Anderson. That makes for a decent roleplayer, good even. We could use a player like him on the Rockets for a backup role, but you can get your Chris Jefferies types in the late first round. Not even a question that you take Griffin over Jefferson and a couple guys who probably won't stick in the league very long.
Jefferson is a pretty good all-round player, but i wouldn't have kept over griff. eddie has more potential of being a star. and Jefferson is easily replacable.
You know what this reminds me of? Trading lunch food in grade school. You trade your apple and your potato chips for the other kid's sandwich. Then you sit there and eat the sandwich and watch him eat the chips with so much delight on his face that you start to wonder whether you should have kept the chips. Wrong attitude. You wanted the sandwich more than he did, and he wanted the chips more than you did. Enjoy your food and let him enjoy his. Equations just aren't this simple in sports. 1. Jefferson is the guy you pick if your frontcourt is set. Theirs was. Ours wasn't. 2. Three lower picks is generally better than #7 if you need role players more than a key starter. They did. We didn't. 3. Whether #7 is worth giving up #13 + #18 + #23 depends on who the #7 is. This #7 happened to be worth it. By the same token, the value of the deal from New Jersey's side depended on who was available at #13. This #13 happened to be worth it. But the deal made more sense from our side because we were the ones who knew we could get the player we wanted at the slot we were trading for. 4. Jefferson isn't the only bet that has paid off. Griffin has turned out not to be the problem child that the GMs with the top six picks feared.
Will has some excellent posts. Do you think that if GM's knew that Griffin would turn out this way attitude-wise, and woujldn't have a single problem off the court, that they'd pass on him in the top 5? No way. As for Jefferson, please, don't compare him to Shandon. Everyone thought that Shawn marion was the direct beneficiary of Kidd, and that Marbury would kill his game. Well that wasn't true was it? The biggest thing about Jefferson is his INCREDIBLE, TREMENDOUS, STUPENDOUS work ethic. He wants to be the best player in the game, and he works that hard. Apparently he's improved significantly enough to move into the starting unit of a team expected to return to the Finals. Plus, he can play the 3. He's taller than Caron Butler, FOR SURE. He may even be an inch taller than Shandon. He plays excellent defense. Despite ALL this. I think Eddie is definitely better. Eddie will be a McDyess-calibre player. That's a tier above Jefferson (Marion status) at a much more loaded spot in the West.
He's probably going see some major action after the trade for Mt. Mutombo. Ought to be interesting to see what happens.
Small forward is the easiest postition to fill. Finding dominating front court players is the most difficult thing to find in todays NBA. Jefferson looks to be a very good small forward and Eddie looks like he will be a dominant power forward. Give me the dominant power forward over the all star caliber small forward any day.
