Arenas : "Calderon is 20 years away from being an all star"

lol

 

ROFL LOLLOLOLLOL

So I can't dislike kobe because i think hes an arrogant *******? Or how about his whole "cheat on my wife with a 19 year old ho" episode? (since you probably wont admit it was rape) How about his trade threats, even after the lakers stood by him through the rape crap? Do I need to go on?

Just because hes the best player in the league doesn't mean I have to have my head up his ass. I guess everyone can't be smart and like kobe.

And I just used Kobe as an example of your typical boring interviews you get from players.

 

I don't know about you but i've interviewed kobe before and I didnt find him boring. How bout u?

Now you want boring, i'll give you Dirk Nowitzki. nice dude but boring. The majority of smart star players ARE boring, they don't need to court controversy with their comments so they try not too. A small amount of star players don't really care.

 

I agree with him!

 

calderon> gilbert

@

passing

he is a poor mans steve nash.....

Gilbert just jealous that he aint a BROTHA

 

The guy's been playing at this level for two years now. Last year Calderon didn't get as much playing time with Ford being healthier, but he was still very solid in the time that he did play. There was already debate last year about Calderon starting over Ford, and this year his superb play in an extended starting stint has solidified that opinion.

In short, the guy's smart, knows what shots to take, and isn't afraid to drive to the basket. He doesn't make a lot of breathtaking plays or amazing passes, but he knows where everyone is on the court and thus doesn't hesitate in hitting the open man. The fact that Toronto has a lot of solid shooters on the team doesn't hurt either. Calderon has four scoring threats to pass to every time he's on the court.

 

Didn't have time (at work) to scan all the posts in this thread, so aplogies if this has been stated already.

Arenas overlooks the fact that a player's salary is direct factor in the overall sucess as a team. For instance, a player with a max salary will obviously tie up his overall team resources which directly impacts the team composition. A player like Calderon when injured, may not seem as detrimental to his team as Arenas suggests, but not because Calderon is not an All-Star but because the overall team composition is stronger. Note, salary is only one other contributing factor. Bottom line: Arenas' claim/assessment on what determines All-Star status is pretty much one-dimensional and narrow-minded.

 

So would your opinion of Calderon change once he cashes in this offseason? Calderon didn't accept his "below market value" salary because it would help the team, but because its what was offered to him. Even though a players Salary can effect how the team is built, it shouldn't be used to judge a players "worth" or all star worthiness. We all like to bag on players who don't earn their money, but whose fault is it when Larry Hughes plays like a scrub, while being paid max money? Its hughes fault for being a scrub, but the GMs fault for giving him such a dumb contract. A player is going to try to try to get as much money as they can, its just business, its the GM job to make sure that money is spent wisely.

 

I never stated my opinion on Calderon in the context of All-Star quality. Part of the claim that Arenas made, which is my opinion, is narrow minded. The claim was that if a player becomes injured, his All-Star worthy value is determined on the sucess and failure of the team without him. I countered that claim by providing only ONE flaw in his argument (there could be more).

It's like saying Nash wouldn't be considered an All-Star if he were injured and the Suns kept on winning. As to whether or not Calderon is a deserving All-Star, I'm not sure...I haven't seen his numbers, nor have I actually seen him play.

 

The argument that "Calderon is boring" has been raised against his All-Star candidacy in a bunch of places. I think that's a poor argument, because most people agree that effectiveness should be what makes you an All-Star. And if we go by what casual fans deem to be "boring," then Tim Duncan shouldn't be an All-Star either. But no one would dare argue against that.

Another argument is that Calderon is only getting good assist numbers because he's surrounded by good scorers.

Did anyone watch the Raptors/Nets game yesterday? I only saw the first quarter, but from what I saw both of those arguments are bull. Make no mistake about it, this guy can play. He looks very in control, and always thinking and aware of what to do. Several times he sprinted down the court and IMMEDIATELY dished crisp passes to running teammates, who were open and in good position to score. When the opportunity wasn't there, he knew when to slow it down. He really looked like a PG in control of his team, calling every play.

Calderon was downright lethal on the pick-and-roll, and was deceptively quick and able to take his man off the dribble by himself as well. In just the first quarter, he gave Bosh and Moon sweet alley-oops. Moon was already standing still inside the paint, WITH coverage. His defender got loose for a brief moment, and Calderon immediately recognized that and threw the alley-oop. The things this guy could do with Yao.

He finished the game with 22 points and 12 assists, on 9-12 shooting.