Is Payton or NVE going to greatly improve our team over Wesley, Sura and James Running the point? IMO the answer is no. Both Payton and NVE are on their last legs and we have seen Payton abused by other guards in the league the last couple of years while NVE has never been known as a defensive dynamo. What was our biggest problem against Dallas in the play-offs last year? It was our back court defense. Our guards (outside of James) did not have the athleticism to guard Jason Terry or Jerry Stackhouse. Coincidentally those are the two players that won the series for Dallas IMO. Neither NVE or Payton does anything to improve the defense on those two or other players like them. I would much prefer to spend what little money we can on a diamond in the rough like Jay Williams who's upside may still be that of an all star caliber point guard. Or someone like Greg Buckner who is a defensive dynamo and still can produce some on the offensive end. Both Payton and NVE were certainly awesome during their careers and Payton IMO is with out a doubt hall of fame caliber for what he did both offensively and defensively but neither play with as much energy as Wesley, Sura, James or Barry anymore.
Peyton was offically finished by game 2 of the 2004 NBA Finals... he is NOT capable of playing better defense than James or running the offense better than Sura. However, to be fair and balanced, he IS capable of ... 1) making Chauncy Billups the Finals MVP & 2) watching the 4th quarter of game 7 vs. The Celtics sitting on the bench with a towel on his head
