anthony johnson performs!
- Thread starter pinoy_king
- Start date
, so far. Oh yeah!!
If, as many say, AJ won't be back next year and we sign Beno, who is the backup PG? ahhh, nobody 'cause it ain't Cisco or Douby. Draft? Nah. You don't want to count on a rookie, available at the 13 slot, to be your main backup. If AJ does this couple of times and plays is normally good defense on opposing PGs then why not him next year?
Well, the draft comes before the free agent period, so we will go into the draft with basically no PGs signed. Apparently Petrie really prefers to go for BPA after passing on Pierce for J-Will in a "need" pick, so we should see what comes out of the draft.
If we come out of the first round with an Augustin/Collison type we can probably try to lock up Beno for 3-4 years (as the short-term, tradeable later plan) and let AJ walk. You can probably count on those guys to play solid backup minutes from the get-go.
If we draft big, we'll probably want to lock up Beno a bit longer (lean towards 5) since he becomes the primary plan, and I can see AJ coming back as the low-cost back-up (one year most likely) even if we grab a PG in the second that we like. Wouldn't want to count on a second for anything.
If we can't lock up Beno, all bets are off. We're pretty much depending on getting him back. The worst scenario would be drafting a big only to watch Beno go elsewhere, but I doubt that would happen because he'd be looking at guaranteed PT. The biggest worry is that we scare him off by drafting an heir-apparent PG, but having that PG not be ready yet.
If we come out of the first round with an Augustin/Collison type we can probably try to lock up Beno for 3-4 years (as the short-term, tradeable later plan) and let AJ walk. You can probably count on those guys to play solid backup minutes from the get-go.
If we draft big, we'll probably want to lock up Beno a bit longer (lean towards 5) since he becomes the primary plan, and I can see AJ coming back as the low-cost back-up (one year most likely) even if we grab a PG in the second that we like. Wouldn't want to count on a second for anything.
If we can't lock up Beno, all bets are off. We're pretty much depending on getting him back. The worst scenario would be drafting a big only to watch Beno go elsewhere, but I doubt that would happen because he'd be looking at guaranteed PT. The biggest worry is that we scare him off by drafting an heir-apparent PG, but having that PG not be ready yet.
Agreed. My tea leaves tell me that Petrie would much rather grow his own PG at this time than find a vet., based on the current youth movement.
IF Beno is the heir apparent, there's no harm in drafting a younger PG (fr, soph) to pick up the NBA game. If that PG happens to supplant Beno, then it will happen.
IF Beno is the heir apparent, there's no harm in drafting a younger PG (fr, soph) to pick up the NBA game. If that PG happens to supplant Beno, then it will happen.
Whiel I think "BPA" for Geoff is always going to eb a SG/SF since that is what he played and understand best, I don't know that that is always what he looks for -- in fact in explaining drafting Hawes over some of the smaller players behind him, Geoff went so far as to say that it was because we did not need any more swing guys. A belated realization perhaps, and perhaps relcutant, but noentheless an indication that position/need can still factor into his equation.
Steve Nash was drafted 15th, John Stockton 16th, Tony Parker 28th and the next coming of... Jose Calderon was not drafted, while Jason Kidd(2nd), Chauncey Billups(3rd), Baron Davis(3rd), Mike Bibby(2nd), Deron Williams(3rd), Chris Paul(4th) were all high draft picks.
Now if they were all available in the same draft I'd pick John Stockton 1st, Steve Nash 2nd, Jason Kidd 3rd, Chris Paul 4th, Tony Parker 5th, Jose Calderon 6th, Baron Davis 7th, Deron Williams 8th, Chauncey Billups 9th and Mike Bibby last. So, a good PG can be found later in the draft and a good enough one can even be found off the street (Calderon, Beno).
But, I think you're right about AJ, why not keep him if we can. He has a career 3:1.1 TO/Assist ratio, which is close enough to the 3:1 expectation of a good PG. And so far seems to have no problem with the backup role here and can mesh well with the team as seen last game. I hope we can keep him and address our more pressing need for a rebounder/interior defender to pair with Hawes scoring ability in the frontcourt. If we draft Hasheem Thabeet I'll be a happy camper. All the players that drive at will against us say Hello to Twin Towers II.
Actually, I'm not all that surprised. Anthony Johnson was actually having a nice season for the Hawks (at least for his standards) before being traded to us...had a marvelous assist per turnover ratio, started at PG, and actually had a couple of double digit assist games for them. I can't say much for his court vision, but his court savvy appears to be excellent and he has the leadership/organizational skills to get the ball to the right players. Yes, I know his game lacks luster because he's an offensive player last, and the fact that he's an older player makes us chastise him even more, but as a temporary reprieve he's an okay stopgap option, even as starter, and it showed last night.