He's very close to done. His athletic decline hasn't been quickly at all. The reason it might seem so is because he was on full display with the Heat and was playing too many minutes. At this point in his career, Bibby is no more than a 3rd string specialist player at 10-15 mins/game max. And he shouldn't play every game.
Just wait for Nash to expire after this year and pick him up at a min. Nash still hasn't shown a lot of decline, which mean he will probably play at a high level for another 2-3 years.
If I were riley,I would keep chalmers and sign ford. Although his shooting is suspect, ford can get his feet in the paint,is a pure pg, and james and wade would trust him with ball . That would allow the 2 best finishers in the game to do just that. Chalmers should played more and earlier and that's what cost them the ring. They can then get a guy like josh howard off the bench to help with that end. They need more players who can get their own shot vs waiting for wade and lebron to get them shots.
Who would make a 'sizable' offer for Chalmers? He only looked decent in the finals because their other guards sucked so bad.
Players like bibby don't decline like that by the age of 33. There has to be an injury or some underlying problem there, especially when his game isn't based on athleticism. Maybe it's just issues at home that's affecting his mental game.
I don't understand what you mean. All players decline at some point and Bibby's started a couple of years ago. Just ask Hawks fans who grew sick and tired of him as he aged. Other than completely losing confidence in his shot and morphing into a bricklayer the last month of the regular season, Bibby performed as expected. His defense is horrific, he cannot create and his only value is shooting open 3s. If you expect him to bounce back next year, you'll be disappointed. He's never been very athletic or a good defender. Now he's a joke on the floor and should just retire. He won't make a rotation on any team now. There's a reason the Hawks and Wizards considered his value close to zero and the Heat picked him up for a plugged nickel. For ulterior reasons, I was happy when Miami signed him and said so in the Dish.
Bibby has been a statue on both ends of the floor for years now. Trust me, I follow the Hawks closely. The only difference is the Hawks' version of Bibby could hit open shots. Something that might have been a tad bit useful against Dallas and their zone defense.
I think Marcus Thornton would fit in well with Miami, even if not in a starting role. He's got burn in the NBA mostly as a SG, but at 6'4" he's quick and athletic enough to defend a lot of PGs and that's where Miami could play him. By no means is he a traditional PG on offense; not a good ball handler and not good at creating for others. Doesn't do well on pull-up jumpers either. That's what LeBron and DWade are for. Where he excels is catching and scoring the ball off of screens and cuts around the basket, and spotting up. Shoots around .370 from three. Also, he's pretty good at crashing the boards for his position. Miami could have him focus on grabbing ORBs like they did with Mike Miller. He's a RFA with Sacramento right now, coming off of his rookie contract. Oddly enough, Miami traded his pick to NO on draft day '09.
I mean that, physically speaking, NBA players like bibby don't decline that early and quickly. Of course all players decline at some point, especially as they start to hit 30, but again, not this quickly. 33 is too early for them to be "done" or a "joke on the floor", unless they have injury issues or were never very good players to begin with and Bibby doesn't fit that description. He's also not known for being out of playing shape. And bibby just turned 33 last month, so he was even younger at 32. I'm not saying youre wrong about how he played. He obviously played poorly, but i don't think that's all he had left in the tank. He did shoot 44% from 3 for the season and it wasn't due to just having a good month or two. I think he probably put too much pressure on himself in the playoffs to make shots. As for the rest of his offensive game, it's hard to get going when 2 guys dominate the ball, for bibby or anyone else.
You can't stereotype players based on any set of factors and predict when they will start declining. The notion is ludicrous IMO. To say 33 is too young for a "player like Bibby" to be in decline makes no sense to me at all. Take b4l's word for it. He and another member here are forced to watch the Hawks year after year and have kept us updated. If something happened to Bibby 2 years ago, so be it. Whatever it was, it probably won't go away. He remains a joke on the floor (or statue) who can only shoot 3s. I'll repeat: The way the Hawks and Wizards treated his value last season says it all. Two straight years of increasing patheticness don't add up to a resurgence next season. I think Miami was the ideal team for Bibby. He got plenty of wide-open looks. All he had to do was occasionally bring the ball up the floor, stand around and wait for the kick.
Here's a quote from Riley... "I don't think you win championships with young, athletic players that don't have experience," Riley said.
33 is old for any player and many of them inexplicably lose their jumper around that age. He is done.
What they need is a dude that is quicker than Lebron/Wade, that can defend smalls and hit the 3. That dude might be Reggie Jackson in the draft and that is probably the reason why Miami is trying to buy a first rounder. They do not need any type of ball handler/passer/initiator point guard. A guy like Hinrich would be ideal. And I hate to say it, but Courtney Lee would be ideal also. Lee can defend both backcourt spots, he can dribble it a little bit, and he sure can shoot and finish.
He hasn't worked out for anyone supposedly because he has some guarantees from a couple of teams, including the Heat. I think he would be perfect for them. I want OKC to get him at 24.
I dont understand what's ludicrous about what i'm saying. I wouldn't agree with something as vague as saying he just can't be done at 33, period, but i'm not forming my opinion based on his age alone. Like ive said: -No apparent lingering issues with his health. -No current injuries. -No past issues coming into the season out of shape or not staying in shape. -Game wasn't based on athleticism. -Hasn't played a lot more than other players of comparable age, who had significant roles throughout their career, from his draft. He's right up there in games played with Pierce, dirk, and they've had more on their shoulders than he has had. Generally, above average players with all of the above don't physically decline this quickly by 32 years of age. Maybe you can think of some, but I can't recall any. Usually other factors were involved that forced them into insignifcant roles or completely out of the league....but i guess we'll leave it at that and agree to disagree. Dave_78, he had his 3pt jumper for the whole season. I'd agree more with saying he lost his speed and therefore his ability to drive. I think there needs to be a larger sample to declare his shot gone.
