A backup point guard/combo guard is the team's biggest trade deadline need

Love Aaron Holiday's tenacity and hustle, but he is just not good enough to be the only backup option at point guard right now. He's essentially a 6'0" shooting guard. His ballhandling and shooting are okay, but he has very little self-creation or playmaking in his game, and his defense, while not bad, is not good either due to his height. (He doesn't seem to play quite as "big" as Fred's similar height for whatever reason.) I like him, but I don't see him as a guy you really want playing more than a few rotation minutes in the playoffs, let alone becoming the starter in the event of a backcourt injury--knock on wood.

Cam Whitmore has been playing well lately, but he's been so up and down and still so incredibly young. It would be tough to play him more than bench minutes in the playoffs, and there is absolutely no way he can substitute for FVV's playmaking. Subbing him in for Jalen might work a bit better, but even still, he's not the point of attack initiator that JG is. He's more of an off-ball wing, closer to a small forward than to a shooting guard.

Amen is a possible option at point guard, but he's already playing huge minutes at the forward positions, and frankly I don't think he's ready to be the full-time floor general, or even to share those duties with JG and Alpi. He may get there, but he isn't there now.

Hopefully the front office sees the same thing I do and they're going to go get a guy. Here are some names that jump out at me:

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Jose Alvarado, Pelicans
My first choice. Fairly similar player to FVV. Undrafted 6'0" guy, but plays above his height with highly physical and pesky defense. Good 3P shooter on volume, really taken a step forward this season. Has become a good playmaker, averaging 4 assists in just 22mpg. On a great contract paying him only $4.5M next season. Only 26, so he's a guy we might keep around and possibly even give a chance to start in the future. Only issue is, it's uncertain whether he's even available on the trade market (they might prefer to keep him given his age and contract), and he'd probably cost the most assets of all these options.

Lonzo Ball, Bulls
Obviously when fully healthy was a starting-caliber, switchable, oversized point guard who could shoot and playmake. The health is the big question, his knee injury was possibly career-ending and it's unknown how well he will hold up, even just over the rest of this season. Would be a big gamble if he cost much in the way of assets, but if he's only going to cost a 2nd rounder or two, might be worth taking a chance.

Ayo Dosunmu, Bulls
Really good defensive player who is athletic and can finish well around the rim. 3P shooting has been up and down, 40% on medium volume last season, down to 32% on similar volume this season. Good playmaker, better than JG as a point guard/combo guard--currently averaging 4.7 assists in 30mpg. One more year on his rookie contract after this season, could extend him or send him to RFA and see how that turns out.

 

Possibly, but he keeps missing games. I'm worried whatever his foot problem is, is just going to linger. Also, at age 32, it's possible he's just washed from here on out.

It would also be nice to find a guy who is young enough that they could at least be an option for a long-term extension if that's the route the organization decides to go. Brogdon would clearly just be a veteran rental.

 

Sexton or Coby White would both be really good options, however I expect they would cost multiple first round picks if they're available at all, so it doesn't seem like the kind of large move the front office is looking to make right now.

Also, just in the context if this year--both of those guys deserve to play a lot of minutes, so it would be a significant shake-up to a rotation that's been pretty damn good.

For those two reasons, I think acquiring a guy like that would be more likely to happen during the offseason. Would love to pick up either of them though.

 

Most of these guys shouldn't cost FRPs--except White or Sexton. Maybe Alvarado, but probably only one if so, and maybe could be a pretty far-off pick.

 

I think you might be underestimating how important FVV's playmaking is to this team. The offense often looks lost and stagnant when he's off the floor. We don't really have anybody else who can take care of the ball, dribble safely in traffic, and find the open man. Yes, we can run the offense through Jalen, Alpi, and Amen to some degree, but it's very shaky and hit-or-miss right now. And I'm entirely uncertain we have a "point guard of the future" in the fold at all. It might be Amen, but he has some work to do to get there. It might be Reed, but holy hell has he looked bad so far, and it seems like he's two or three years away if so.

I agree adding shooting is important too--that's why Alvarado would be my #1 trade target if the price is reasonable, followed by Lonzo Ball.

As far as getting a big man who can shoot--would love to have a shooting backup center, but I also think that when Jabari returns he can kind of perform that function, and Tari also has some shooting ability at the 4. So, sure, would love to pick up an Olynyk type, but I think the team can continue to perform well without one, whereas if we lose Fred--we're screwed.