twslam07
All-Star
The Case for Alec Burks
I'm going to admit right now that I'm a little skeptical with the Rondo/Collison dynamic. Part of me really enjoys the idea of having a potent scorer like Collison coming off the bench, but the other part of me knows that he'll likely have to play out of position (causing us to go small) for a large chunk of his minutes.
If the Kings have any shot at relevancy this year, the key is Rondo. If he can play like he did in Boston, we are in for a treat. However, if Rondo is playing like he did in Boston, he deserves 34-37 minutes per game. He's a floor general. You want him out there for the majority of the game commanding your troops.
Again, the problem becomes that our sixth man plays the same position as our floor general who needs 34-37 minutes per game. Unfortunately, neither of them are equipped to guard SGs, so it leaves us with a disadvantage on that side of the floor.
What if we were able to switch Collison with another sixth man who can still play off the ball next to Rondo, handle the ball while Rondo is out, spread the floor, score, & actually defend opposing SGs? Would you do it?
Enter Alec Burks. Burks is acting as the Jazz's sixth man and has been playing very good ball so far this season. Below are his per36 stats:
.436 FG% / .481 3PT% / .836 FT% / 20.5 PPG / 4.7 RPG / 2.9 APG / 1.3 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 2.5 TOPG
He's only 25 and has a very well rounded game with great size, length, and strength at SG. He can handle the ball, setup teammates, finish in the lane, knock down the 3, rebound, and play good defense.
The Trade Offer
So now on to the actual trade. I would propose Darren Collison & Marco Belinelli for Alec Burks & Raul Neto. (Can't be made until January)
With Exum out this year, Collison gives them a very good temporary, starting PG this year. Collison's defense would go well with their identity, but his ability to score, shoot the three, & play off others would all be desirable traits in that starting unit. Next year when Exum comes back, Collison slides into the 6th man role off the bench and gives the Jazz a very reliable scoring option. Unlike the Rondo/Collison pairing, I think an Exum/Collison pairing would actually work out due to Exum's size, length, and ability to guard SGs on the defensive end.
They also get Belinelli who adds another floor spacer, ball handler, & scorer to their roster (to help replace Burks), but again, when Exum is back next season, a 5 man perimeter rotation of Exum/Collison/Hood/Belinelli/Hayward will be very talented and balanced.
Lastly, adding a couple veterans like Collison & Belinelli who have played on 50+ win teams should only help this young team continue to progress. The knowledge that they can bring would only help.
For the Kings, not only do we upgrade our sixth man talent wise, but our sixth man is now at a position that makes more sense for our roster makeup (thus freeing ourselves of the awkward PG minute share).
There are a few drawbacks, and that's the PG depth behind Rondo. If Rondo is logging 34-37 minutes per game, that leaves Curry or Neto 11-14 minutes per game at PG. However, Burks is capable of handling the ball and running an offense in short stretches. If we always have Burks in when Rondo is out, the PG depth isn't as big of an issue. I actually kind of like the Curry/Burks bench backcourt as I think they compliment each other almost as well as a Rondo/McLemore backcourt. The big risk is if Rondo gets injured, we'll be in trouble. We'd have to rely on Curry stepping up and proving he can play some serious NBA minutes while also having to rely on Burks running a lot of the point as well.
Overall, I think this trade could balance us out a little more, and not leave us with liabilities on defense. If we want to put our faith in Rondo leading this team as far as it can go, then in the long term, we should try and find a 6th man who compliments our core.
New Roster
PG - Rondo (37 min)/Curry (11 min)/Neto
SG - McLemore (24 min)/Burks (24 min)/Anderson
SF - Gay (32 min)/Casspi (10 min)/Burks (6 min)/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein (30 min)/Cousins (9 min)/Casspi (9 min)/Acy/Dukan
C - Cousins (28 min)/Koufos (20 min)/Moreland
Cousins - 37 min
Rondo - 37 min
Gay - 32 min
Burks - 30 min
Cauley-Stein - 30 min
McLemore - 24 min
Koufos - 20 min
Casspi - 19 min
Curry - 11 min
I'm going to admit right now that I'm a little skeptical with the Rondo/Collison dynamic. Part of me really enjoys the idea of having a potent scorer like Collison coming off the bench, but the other part of me knows that he'll likely have to play out of position (causing us to go small) for a large chunk of his minutes.
If the Kings have any shot at relevancy this year, the key is Rondo. If he can play like he did in Boston, we are in for a treat. However, if Rondo is playing like he did in Boston, he deserves 34-37 minutes per game. He's a floor general. You want him out there for the majority of the game commanding your troops.
Again, the problem becomes that our sixth man plays the same position as our floor general who needs 34-37 minutes per game. Unfortunately, neither of them are equipped to guard SGs, so it leaves us with a disadvantage on that side of the floor.
What if we were able to switch Collison with another sixth man who can still play off the ball next to Rondo, handle the ball while Rondo is out, spread the floor, score, & actually defend opposing SGs? Would you do it?
Enter Alec Burks. Burks is acting as the Jazz's sixth man and has been playing very good ball so far this season. Below are his per36 stats:
.436 FG% / .481 3PT% / .836 FT% / 20.5 PPG / 4.7 RPG / 2.9 APG / 1.3 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 2.5 TOPG
He's only 25 and has a very well rounded game with great size, length, and strength at SG. He can handle the ball, setup teammates, finish in the lane, knock down the 3, rebound, and play good defense.
The Trade Offer
So now on to the actual trade. I would propose Darren Collison & Marco Belinelli for Alec Burks & Raul Neto. (Can't be made until January)
With Exum out this year, Collison gives them a very good temporary, starting PG this year. Collison's defense would go well with their identity, but his ability to score, shoot the three, & play off others would all be desirable traits in that starting unit. Next year when Exum comes back, Collison slides into the 6th man role off the bench and gives the Jazz a very reliable scoring option. Unlike the Rondo/Collison pairing, I think an Exum/Collison pairing would actually work out due to Exum's size, length, and ability to guard SGs on the defensive end.
They also get Belinelli who adds another floor spacer, ball handler, & scorer to their roster (to help replace Burks), but again, when Exum is back next season, a 5 man perimeter rotation of Exum/Collison/Hood/Belinelli/Hayward will be very talented and balanced.
Lastly, adding a couple veterans like Collison & Belinelli who have played on 50+ win teams should only help this young team continue to progress. The knowledge that they can bring would only help.
For the Kings, not only do we upgrade our sixth man talent wise, but our sixth man is now at a position that makes more sense for our roster makeup (thus freeing ourselves of the awkward PG minute share).
There are a few drawbacks, and that's the PG depth behind Rondo. If Rondo is logging 34-37 minutes per game, that leaves Curry or Neto 11-14 minutes per game at PG. However, Burks is capable of handling the ball and running an offense in short stretches. If we always have Burks in when Rondo is out, the PG depth isn't as big of an issue. I actually kind of like the Curry/Burks bench backcourt as I think they compliment each other almost as well as a Rondo/McLemore backcourt. The big risk is if Rondo gets injured, we'll be in trouble. We'd have to rely on Curry stepping up and proving he can play some serious NBA minutes while also having to rely on Burks running a lot of the point as well.
Overall, I think this trade could balance us out a little more, and not leave us with liabilities on defense. If we want to put our faith in Rondo leading this team as far as it can go, then in the long term, we should try and find a 6th man who compliments our core.
New Roster
PG - Rondo (37 min)/Curry (11 min)/Neto
SG - McLemore (24 min)/Burks (24 min)/Anderson
SF - Gay (32 min)/Casspi (10 min)/Burks (6 min)/Butler
PF - Cauley-Stein (30 min)/Cousins (9 min)/Casspi (9 min)/Acy/Dukan
C - Cousins (28 min)/Koufos (20 min)/Moreland
Cousins - 37 min
Rondo - 37 min
Gay - 32 min
Burks - 30 min
Cauley-Stein - 30 min
McLemore - 24 min
Koufos - 20 min
Casspi - 19 min
Curry - 11 min
