What to do with Tyreke
- Thread starter rainmaker
- Start date
IfAt1st
Starter
Good idea.
A decision has to be made soon about his future.
Can he learn to shoot and become a SG?
Can he learn how to initiate an offense and learn where his teammates will be on the floor and improve his bball IQ to become a PG?
I think the Kings front office and coaching has been fairly clear that (currently) they don't think he is a PG (and Maloof mentioned as much - "the PG experiment is over"). This is muddied by the experiment in Denver OT, with him initiating the offense 6 consecutive times.
The fact that they haven't yet moved MT to the bench and started Tyreke as SG suggests that they don't think Tyreke shoots well enough yet to warrant that (duh), or they just have taken the excuse of not having anyone else to reliably play SF to punt the situation for later.
It's a serious problem - I'm curious KF's thoughts as well.
However, the question may be a bit leading ("Where do you want to see Reke played?") - I WANT Tyreke to learn a ton of skills and be a PG and dominate the league - but it doesn't matter what we want - it matters what he realistically can play, given his almost 3 seasons of NBA play have shown us.
Really, which is more likely?
That he learns all the skills required to play the point?
Or he learns a reliable mid-range game, to play SG?
That he stays as he is, a "point-forward" that wastes his physical guard mismatches?
A decision has to be made soon about his future.
Can he learn to shoot and become a SG?
Can he learn how to initiate an offense and learn where his teammates will be on the floor and improve his bball IQ to become a PG?
I think the Kings front office and coaching has been fairly clear that (currently) they don't think he is a PG (and Maloof mentioned as much - "the PG experiment is over"). This is muddied by the experiment in Denver OT, with him initiating the offense 6 consecutive times.
The fact that they haven't yet moved MT to the bench and started Tyreke as SG suggests that they don't think Tyreke shoots well enough yet to warrant that (duh), or they just have taken the excuse of not having anyone else to reliably play SF to punt the situation for later.
It's a serious problem - I'm curious KF's thoughts as well.
However, the question may be a bit leading ("Where do you want to see Reke played?") - I WANT Tyreke to learn a ton of skills and be a PG and dominate the league - but it doesn't matter what we want - it matters what he realistically can play, given his almost 3 seasons of NBA play have shown us.
Really, which is more likely?
That he learns all the skills required to play the point?
Or he learns a reliable mid-range game, to play SG?
That he stays as he is, a "point-forward" that wastes his physical guard mismatches?
Padrino
All-Star
tyreke and thornton have enjoyed some amount of success together, as recently as the end of last season, before westphal instituted his idiotic "read and react" offense early this season, and before keith smart replaced westphal just long enough to move 'reke out of position at the SF. in the immediate sense, i would return to this pairing in the backcourt, and start a SF who can defend and operates best without the ball in his hands, like, say, donte greene. its the simplest, and most obvious solution available with respect to the starting lineup:
PG evans/thornton
SG thornton/evans
SF greene
PF thompson
C cousins
this balances the lineup, and if donte can see enough court time to consistently find the bottom of the net, it solves some of the kings' outside shooting problems, as well. it was a mistake to trade beno udrih, and a mistake to bring john salmons over as a starter. evans, thornton, and salmons are all ball handlers who are less effective off-the-ball. donte greene doesn't require the ball in his hands to be effective, and he's an above average defender. again, the kings need balance in their starting lineup, and the above scenario refashions the kings as a BIG team, rather than a wimpy, unfortunate collection of smallballers...
however, i believe the long term solution for the kings' backcourt rotation is to bring in another guard (a veteran, jose calderon type, perhaps?) who doesn't need to put up many shots, but shoots a solid percentage, and who can share passing duties with tyreke, thus moving thornton into an ideal sixth man role as a heart-attack-and-a-half off the bench. jimmer fredette or isaiah thomas then becomes the fourth guard in that rotation, and, oh my, now there's depth in the backcourt!! what a lovely problem to have, ya know, instead of starting three guards and leaving the bench void of adequate ball handling and passing ability. and with so many guards to go around, the kings would then have actual, flexible trade pieces, too. somebody out there could easily take a flyer on a package that might include either jimmer or thomas...
detractors aside, tyreke evans has a valuable skillset, and one that's always at a premium in the modern nba. always. i wouldn't trade that skillset unless i was getting the same skillset from an equally-talented player in return, and there are so few of those kinds of players readily available. so, instead of stacking the kings full of gunners and additional ball dominant players, as petrie and co. have done, they need to acquire players that complement cousins and evans, the kings' two most clearly talented players. i guarantee that the turnaround for this team would be swift if the front office and head coach decided to balance the goddamned rotation. you don't win with an overabundance of duplicative skills in your starting lineup. you win with two, maybe three players who account for the bulk of your scoring (ie: cousins, thornton, evans), and two, maybe three players who know how to effectively play a role (ie: greene, thompson, hayes)...
PG evans/thornton
SG thornton/evans
SF greene
PF thompson
C cousins
this balances the lineup, and if donte can see enough court time to consistently find the bottom of the net, it solves some of the kings' outside shooting problems, as well. it was a mistake to trade beno udrih, and a mistake to bring john salmons over as a starter. evans, thornton, and salmons are all ball handlers who are less effective off-the-ball. donte greene doesn't require the ball in his hands to be effective, and he's an above average defender. again, the kings need balance in their starting lineup, and the above scenario refashions the kings as a BIG team, rather than a wimpy, unfortunate collection of smallballers...
however, i believe the long term solution for the kings' backcourt rotation is to bring in another guard (a veteran, jose calderon type, perhaps?) who doesn't need to put up many shots, but shoots a solid percentage, and who can share passing duties with tyreke, thus moving thornton into an ideal sixth man role as a heart-attack-and-a-half off the bench. jimmer fredette or isaiah thomas then becomes the fourth guard in that rotation, and, oh my, now there's depth in the backcourt!! what a lovely problem to have, ya know, instead of starting three guards and leaving the bench void of adequate ball handling and passing ability. and with so many guards to go around, the kings would then have actual, flexible trade pieces, too. somebody out there could easily take a flyer on a package that might include either jimmer or thomas...
detractors aside, tyreke evans has a valuable skillset, and one that's always at a premium in the modern nba. always. i wouldn't trade that skillset unless i was getting the same skillset from an equally-talented player in return, and there are so few of those kinds of players readily available. so, instead of stacking the kings full of gunners and additional ball dominant players, as petrie and co. have done, they need to acquire players that complement cousins and evans, the kings' two most clearly talented players. i guarantee that the turnaround for this team would be swift if the front office and head coach decided to balance the goddamned rotation. you don't win with an overabundance of duplicative skills in your starting lineup. you win with two, maybe three players who account for the bulk of your scoring (ie: cousins, thornton, evans), and two, maybe three players who know how to effectively play a role (ie: greene, thompson, hayes)...
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Sac.1989
Starter
Its a hard fine line situation as whats best for tyreke isn’t necessarily the best for the team and our offense and whats best for the offense isn’t getting the most out of what is a very talented player.
We need to decide which way to go in style of play and building this team. It may be a case of if were not getting the most out of tyreke then to trade him for a player that would fit our system better.
We’ve said it before but we really need a system which harnesses Tyreke yet not for a detriment of the team. He was working well with Thornton prior to perhaps it’s a matter of re visiting that. Then again maybe Its recent prominence suggests its like to get in a true PG in which case reke could be your trade bait to land that said PG or upgrade the SF spot he currently occupies.
We need to decide which way to go in style of play and building this team. It may be a case of if were not getting the most out of tyreke then to trade him for a player that would fit our system better.
We’ve said it before but we really need a system which harnesses Tyreke yet not for a detriment of the team. He was working well with Thornton prior to perhaps it’s a matter of re visiting that. Then again maybe Its recent prominence suggests its like to get in a true PG in which case reke could be your trade bait to land that said PG or upgrade the SF spot he currently occupies.
KingsCitizen
Starter
People easily forget that moving Evans to SF is not because Tyreke sucked at PG or SG. It's because every freak'n team in the NBA is destroying our SF position. When Smart way implemented the run-and-gun offense Reke averaged 8 assists a night. But still we see Salmons, Greene, Garcia, and Outlaw all got destroyed early this season.
Reke moved to that SF spot and the bleeding stopped. Then Salmons started playing well at point-forward off the bench. Garcia started hustling and Donte learned his best defending perimeter-oriented big men. And yes, IT popped good numbers playing the starting PG.
But those are not even close to any reason of trading Evans. Reke easily the best perimeter defender on this team. And you rarely see any team's premier perimeter defender that is could also destroy opponents on offense unless their name is Kobe, Lebron, or Wade.
My conclusion, keep Evans and fix the SF and PF spot.
Reke moved to that SF spot and the bleeding stopped. Then Salmons started playing well at point-forward off the bench. Garcia started hustling and Donte learned his best defending perimeter-oriented big men. And yes, IT popped good numbers playing the starting PG.
But those are not even close to any reason of trading Evans. Reke easily the best perimeter defender on this team. And you rarely see any team's premier perimeter defender that is could also destroy opponents on offense unless their name is Kobe, Lebron, or Wade.
My conclusion, keep Evans and fix the SF and PF spot.
To me this is the issue. What is best for Tyreke may not be best for the team. Ultimately, it's about winning.
I sense that some people think that putting all your faith in Tyreke is the only way to winning and that eventually some superstar will hatch from what has been a one dimensional player, but I am not sure it is worth wasting away more years to pursue. The big change is Cousins. He's made Reke NOT the best player on the team, at which point Reke is forced into adapting to a style that helps win games.
Big Cuz 15
All-Star
We need a coach that can blend his skillset with the rest of the team *cough* adel *cough* man
Evans is the best perimeter defender, and it isn't close. The logical reason for moving Evans could be because of the crappy play at SF, but I haven't read anything stating the reason as such. Also, Smart's proclivity towards smallball leads me to believe that this isn't the case.
That being said, how many players can successfully (yes) play three positions? Amazing that some can't see that he can adapt. Amazing still that some call out BBIQ as a reason he can't succeed. Show me someone with the same level of success going through what Evans has had to go through (coaching, etc.) and consistently put up numbers. I don't know what else I can say. Padrino pretty much nailed it. We just need the right role players now.
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Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I voted for the PG option, because of the fuzz in the SG option. Get the right PGy type guy next to him and the SG option is attractive...if you can sell Thornton on it. We ever so briefly had something like that last year actually. 10 games, and we threw it in the crapper.
But I don't think IT is that guy and consider Tyreke Evas/Marcus Thornton FAR more potent than Isaiah Thomas/Tyreke Evans as a backcourt.
But I don't think IT is that guy and consider Tyreke Evas/Marcus Thornton FAR more potent than Isaiah Thomas/Tyreke Evans as a backcourt.
Purple Reign
Starter
Do not trade Tyreke!!!! Period, end of sentence. Dude is way too young to give up on. I don't believe he will ever have the jump shot needed to be the superstar we all desire, but if Tyreke can play SG and develop a "Doug Christie" game - Defense, point guard lite, get to the rack, occasional jump shot, I am good wit that!!
PurpleHaze
All-Star
I voted trade bait. But only for a star level SF. I really think Reke has stalled in his NBA development - at least as 30-40 minute PG/lead guard. Too bad, because I'm not sure he fits all that well anywhere else - like SF expiriment. Meanwhile, count me as TOTALLY fed up with his nonsensical fade away NOT-jump shot. I bet Coachie is rolling over and over on his sofa back east everytime Evans pulls up with that absurd fade away - even when no one is near him out on the perimeter.
Section 101
All-Star
Hate to break it to people there are only 2 star SF out there. LBJ and Durant. You then have Pierces at the end of his career. Melo who I think is way overrated and coming back down to earth in NY. There are a few in the next tier in Gay, Iggy, Gallo, Granger and maybe Batum. Some may have Wallace in this group but his age is starting to get up there and his injuries are a concern. So in really there is no trade out there for Evans for a SF except maybe Gay or Granger.
ElRey
Starter
I'll cosign this. We need a legitimate SF instead of plugging REke in there as a stopgap.
I fully agree.
Actually, I don't know where and when Smart started to get confused when the most plausible solution to the problem is pretty obvious. I think his belief of "smallball wins games" had somewhat clouded his mind. Or maybe he is not that "smart" afterall?
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Kingster
Hall of Famer
Where do I want to see Reke played? If you're talking about this season, then by process of elimination, the three. He can't play point. It's problematic to be non-shooting shooting-guard. The other 3s aren't very good. Voila! Put him at the three.
As far as next year, I'll be very blunt: He either gets a semblance of an outside shot or I want him traded. Period. I just don't see it working otherwise. If he gets the outside shot, we have an All-Star. If he doesn't, we have a one-dimensional guard that will vanish if we ever get into the playoffs. Try playing in a 7 game series if the only thing you can do is shoot layups with the right hand. Good freaking luck. Teams will take away his one dimension and force him to do the other dimensions. Problem is, Tyreke doesn't have another dimension. One-trick ponies don't cut it at guard. They just don't. So he either gets an outside shot, or we trade him for somebody more versatile that does have an outside shot, somebody that would be very complementary to Cousins.
As far as next year, I'll be very blunt: He either gets a semblance of an outside shot or I want him traded. Period. I just don't see it working otherwise. If he gets the outside shot, we have an All-Star. If he doesn't, we have a one-dimensional guard that will vanish if we ever get into the playoffs. Try playing in a 7 game series if the only thing you can do is shoot layups with the right hand. Good freaking luck. Teams will take away his one dimension and force him to do the other dimensions. Problem is, Tyreke doesn't have another dimension. One-trick ponies don't cut it at guard. They just don't. So he either gets an outside shot, or we trade him for somebody more versatile that does have an outside shot, somebody that would be very complementary to Cousins.
Catalyst
G-League
Tyreke is going to command a hefty salary when he becomes a free agent or restricted free agent. Is this someone you want to sink max or near max money into when the time comes with the team playing at its current level?
Hard to see Tyreke not commanding a hefty salary. The guy averaged 20/5/5 in his rookie year and a lot of GMs will attribute his stat drops to our management and moving him around to various positions.
PG: Tyreke isn't playing PG on a team that is playing two rookie PGs and badly needs veteran leadership and play making ability from that position — that's a really bad sign.
SG: Thornton plays SG, which pretty much removes Tyreke from that spot.
SF: Considered undersized for this spot, it's probably the best position for him if you're going to start Thornton.
Teams with great big men have traditionally surrounded them with shooters to play an inside/out game. Duncan on the Spurs, Shaq on the Lakers, etc. This formula works well, cause it spaces the floor out.
Cousins is a terrific player, and getting better with each passing day. Thornton is a better shooter than Tyreke and is going to be a lot less expensive.
IMO, Tyreke's future with the franchise is in question simply because we can't find a suitable position for him. If he could shoot better, we could start him at SG.
Hard to see Tyreke not commanding a hefty salary. The guy averaged 20/5/5 in his rookie year and a lot of GMs will attribute his stat drops to our management and moving him around to various positions.
PG: Tyreke isn't playing PG on a team that is playing two rookie PGs and badly needs veteran leadership and play making ability from that position — that's a really bad sign.
SG: Thornton plays SG, which pretty much removes Tyreke from that spot.
SF: Considered undersized for this spot, it's probably the best position for him if you're going to start Thornton.
Teams with great big men have traditionally surrounded them with shooters to play an inside/out game. Duncan on the Spurs, Shaq on the Lakers, etc. This formula works well, cause it spaces the floor out.
Cousins is a terrific player, and getting better with each passing day. Thornton is a better shooter than Tyreke and is going to be a lot less expensive.
IMO, Tyreke's future with the franchise is in question simply because we can't find a suitable position for him. If he could shoot better, we could start him at SG.
Catalyst
G-League
So, I said what the problems are, and this is my solution:
I'd trade the guy and get better pieces that actually fit the team. Tyreke is an amazing talent and should command very good returning player(s). Address the PG situation, surround Cousins with better shooters and play makers.
Bottom line, Kings haven't been winning with Tyreke and they've tried him every reasonable way now. The lack of wins isn't solely on Evans' shoulders, but at some point, you have to admit this roster isn't working and try something else.
Basketball is a team sport, and your pieces all need to work together. How anyone is supposed to make these guys work together — as is — and get a reasonable amount of wins is beyond me. Time to shake this puppy up.
I'd trade the guy and get better pieces that actually fit the team. Tyreke is an amazing talent and should command very good returning player(s). Address the PG situation, surround Cousins with better shooters and play makers.
Bottom line, Kings haven't been winning with Tyreke and they've tried him every reasonable way now. The lack of wins isn't solely on Evans' shoulders, but at some point, you have to admit this roster isn't working and try something else.
Basketball is a team sport, and your pieces all need to work together. How anyone is supposed to make these guys work together — as is — and get a reasonable amount of wins is beyond me. Time to shake this puppy up.
Catalyst
G-League
The problem is, they tried it this year and it was horrible. Sac's offense stuttered big time, no ball movement, terrible shot selection, etc. As much as it would be nice if Tyreke could play PG full time and get his teammates going consistently, history has shown this isn't going to happen. Management who watches this guy all of the time and knows his strengths and weaknesses about as well as anyone calls him a "combo guard" and "point forward". Can he handle -some- PG duties? Definitely, but he's not a permanent solution to the PG position. Tried, failed MANY times.
kupman
Starter
I would go with SG, despite the fact that he can't shoot well. If he does not learn to shoot soon I would be happy to trade him (as long as we are getting a proven stud in return). He is too much of a one trick pony to be very successful in the league.
I have seen him enough at PG to have the opinion that it does not work that well because he is not that good of a passer and does not run an offense well. He is too short to be as successful as he could be at the SF.
I would like to see MT as the trade bait. I really do not like him and Tyreke on the court at the same time. It has many of the same problems as Reke and Kmart.
A question I have is where would Reke like to play? I would like to hear his honest opinion on where he feels most comfortable and build around it.
I have seen him enough at PG to have the opinion that it does not work that well because he is not that good of a passer and does not run an offense well. He is too short to be as successful as he could be at the SF.
I would like to see MT as the trade bait. I really do not like him and Tyreke on the court at the same time. It has many of the same problems as Reke and Kmart.
A question I have is where would Reke like to play? I would like to hear his honest opinion on where he feels most comfortable and build around it.
CruzDude
Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
Tyreke is a SG. But most if not all SG are good-great outside shooters.Tyreke is not, yet, Can he be? He is in his 3rd year and so far his outside shot has not improved. The technique hat seemed to work, jumping up not back, he did for a bit but quickly fell back to old ways.
Thornton is a true SG and has great outside shot and is fearless. Tyreke is the best on Kings going to bucket, when there is not 3 or 4 defenders clogging up the middle to make it impassable. If he can learn to kick out of those situstions one step before he gets into a mess and losses the ball, then great progress. But until then his BBIQ comes into question.
So he is a great slasher, defender and rebounder, for a guy 6-6. On a team with an excess of outside shooters he could be an excellent asset and get such a team to the next level. May not be so on current Kings.
Thornton is a true SG and has great outside shot and is fearless. Tyreke is the best on Kings going to bucket, when there is not 3 or 4 defenders clogging up the middle to make it impassable. If he can learn to kick out of those situstions one step before he gets into a mess and losses the ball, then great progress. But until then his BBIQ comes into question.
So he is a great slasher, defender and rebounder, for a guy 6-6. On a team with an excess of outside shooters he could be an excellent asset and get such a team to the next level. May not be so on current Kings.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
1) its a LOT easier to go find shooters to put around a Tyreke Evans than it is to find guys who can do what Evans does in the first place.
2) as always I wonder just how well people know the NBA. This was your starting "shooting" guard on the NBA Champions last year: DeShawn Stevensen. He matched up with Dwayne Wade. Who got past Ronnie Brewer in his Conference Finals. The Mavericks meanwhile had to get past Thabo Sefalosha who had to get by Tony Allen. Based on that little history you would practically say that the very least important thing SGs on top teams are doing is shooting.
Meanwhile noted outside shoters Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Russel Westbrook, Jason Kidd, Tony Parker etc. were in the top scrum at PG.
In a lot of ways people are inherently flawed when they analyze problems. They are all SactownKid's at some level. All or nothing. So and so does not have a jumper which will hold him back from being a superstar! THEREFORE so and so is worthless and holding us back! Foolish and lacking in perspective. Oh noes, we ONLY have a 17pt 6reb 5ast player on our team. Truly a catastrophe and probably why we are losing. With peoel again skipping right over the reasonable stance. The conclusion goes right from "he;'s not making us win" to "he's making us lose!".
Foolish.
2) as always I wonder just how well people know the NBA. This was your starting "shooting" guard on the NBA Champions last year: DeShawn Stevensen. He matched up with Dwayne Wade. Who got past Ronnie Brewer in his Conference Finals. The Mavericks meanwhile had to get past Thabo Sefalosha who had to get by Tony Allen. Based on that little history you would practically say that the very least important thing SGs on top teams are doing is shooting.
Meanwhile noted outside shoters Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Russel Westbrook, Jason Kidd, Tony Parker etc. were in the top scrum at PG.
In a lot of ways people are inherently flawed when they analyze problems. They are all SactownKid's at some level. All or nothing. So and so does not have a jumper which will hold him back from being a superstar! THEREFORE so and so is worthless and holding us back! Foolish and lacking in perspective. Oh noes, we ONLY have a 17pt 6reb 5ast player on our team. Truly a catastrophe and probably why we are losing. With peoel again skipping right over the reasonable stance. The conclusion goes right from "he;'s not making us win" to "he's making us lose!".
Foolish.
Good post. I agree that Evans is a SG and a good one despite his lack of an outside shot. In my view, much better SG than Thornton. IF Thornton has a current trade value of a number 5,6 or 7 as I think he might, trade him now. Play Evans where he belongs, put an outside shooter next to him at the 3, and ask him to everything but shoot from the outside, very often. We don't have the guy at the 3 to do it, we have the outside shooter at the 2. Do something about it.
On Tyreke, he is good right now. I believe he would be a starter on any team. If a team would acquire him, they would start him and let someone else take the out side shots.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
I think you're flawed in your analysis. If all those pgs you mentioned could only drive for layups with their right hand, how good do you think they would be? You're comparing an orange to a bunch of apples. As far as all or nothing, Tyreke is an all or nothing ballplayer on offense. He either gets his right handed layups or he gets nothing. So maybe all or nothing is appropriate for Evans. At least at the three he's adding something to his game. He's moving without the ball. If he never develops that outside shot then he's definitely going to have to do that to make himself more valuable. That, and play consistently good D. He could be a valuable piece if that is the case. I just wouldn't call him a cornerstone, someone to build the team around. If he develops the outside shot, on the other hand, then he's a cornerstone.
Padrino
All-Star
foolish, indeed. it amazes me how often people overvalue outside shooting in the modern nba, as if it isn't a lower percentage opportunity. outside shooting is the province of role players. even the great ones aren't often in contention. how long, exactly, did it take ray allen to win his first championship? oh yeah, that's right, twelve years!! and he had to team up with paul pierce and kevin garnett to do it...
and how long did it take dwayne wade, one of the premiere slashers in the nba, to win his first championship? all of three years, and he shot exactly 17% from three that season. you know who handled the majority of the heat's outside shooting back then? brand names like jason kapono, james posey, and antoine walker. granted, the heat also had a past-his-prime shaquille o'neal in the middle to help them get that ring, but that's what makes the kings' prospects so appealing to me with a cousins/evans freight train of a combination...
you don't trade tyreke because he's not a good shooter. you bring in shooters to supplement 'reke's lack of an outside shot. role players should be getting their fair share of jump shots off of the kings' inside/outside play. that's how evans already gets the majority of his assists, and with more consistent shooters, i'd expect those numbers to increase. cousins/evans inside, role players outside. simple. traditional. winning. ****, cousins is proving to have the most polished mid-range game of any king. he and evans should be able to play inside/out all day long, with a head coach who doesn't smallball his way out of matchup advantages, that is...
rhythmless
Starter
1. Name some shooters that we could plausibly get around Evans at the PG, as you would prefer.
2. I wonder how much you know the NBA with this last post. Teams are built differently. They had Stevenson starting, but Terry was the "real" shooting guard at the end of games, and the PG on defense, as they stuck Kidd on larger guards (and did an alright job for a 37 year old PG).
Ronnie Brewer at Chicago was always the weak point, and everyone knew it. Also, there was Derrick Rose, the MVP next to Brewer. If Tyreke turns into an MVP, then by all means, go out and get Ronnie Brewer. Otherwise, your argument has zero legs. Thabo Sefalosha was flanked by the most explosive guard this side of Rose and the best pure scorer in the NBA. In end game situations, Harden, one of the smoothest and best fit scorers actually played SG. So based on a real analysis of teams, if you have an all star PG/SG, then yes, you only need a replacement level defensive guard. One small issue; Tyreke is not an all star.
Meanwhile Rajon Rondo runs the team perfectly for 48 minutes, Derrick Rose (ditto), while shooting 2pt and 3pt percentages of 50/31, Russel Westbrook (50/32) and Tony Parker shooting 49/28. Jason Kidd is about done, yet still understands his role, shooting 32% from 3, and shooting only one 2pt fg every game. Yes, we are at top scrum (save Kidd), and they not only shoot better, shoot more efficiently, but understand their weaknesses and play to their strengths.
Does Tyreke need a jump shot? Not if he can run a team full time. But he needs at least one of these qualities in order to work within a team. Otherwise, you're the next Larry Hughes.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
As kind of a summary, he is just too darn good and will make too much money so we have to get rid of him because he isn't good enough to play for the Kings. Curious, eh?
Would he be a problem on the Webber/Divac team? I doubt it. That team didn't need a great point guard and didn't have one. It had a mini shooting combo guard and a SG who couldn't shoot. I'm just making a point that guards with perceived weaknesses can fit on some teams.
You don't casually give up great athletes as great athletes in basketball are gold to be acquired and cherished.
Let's wait until after the draft.
I look ahead and I see a possibility of Tyreke soon becoming the third best player on this team. Let us say we got Harrison Barnes. He does what Tyreke doesn't do and is an outside presence at the least. Barnes changes our team as, along with a relativel predictable maturation of Jimmer, will give this team another outside presence. At some point, Tyreke's lack of a reliable jump shot will not seem so crucial as the other things he does are very, very good - unstoppable.
Let's go through the next draft and then make a move of some kind at the guard spot. The next draft will give us a starter which may clarify what we need to do. As I have already mentioned, getting Harrison Barnes may change how we look at Tyreke. We also could get one of several PF/Cs. This kind of pick might baffle Smart as they would dictate a change in the style of ball we play. We could get a PG starter which would make for major changes among the guards we have.
Let's be patient. We won't know what our team will look like next year until after the draft.
Would he be a problem on the Webber/Divac team? I doubt it. That team didn't need a great point guard and didn't have one. It had a mini shooting combo guard and a SG who couldn't shoot. I'm just making a point that guards with perceived weaknesses can fit on some teams.
You don't casually give up great athletes as great athletes in basketball are gold to be acquired and cherished.
Let's wait until after the draft.
I look ahead and I see a possibility of Tyreke soon becoming the third best player on this team. Let us say we got Harrison Barnes. He does what Tyreke doesn't do and is an outside presence at the least. Barnes changes our team as, along with a relativel predictable maturation of Jimmer, will give this team another outside presence. At some point, Tyreke's lack of a reliable jump shot will not seem so crucial as the other things he does are very, very good - unstoppable.
Let's go through the next draft and then make a move of some kind at the guard spot. The next draft will give us a starter which may clarify what we need to do. As I have already mentioned, getting Harrison Barnes may change how we look at Tyreke. We also could get one of several PF/Cs. This kind of pick might baffle Smart as they would dictate a change in the style of ball we play. We could get a PG starter which would make for major changes among the guards we have.
Let's be patient. We won't know what our team will look like next year until after the draft.
macadocious
Starter
In a vacuum Brick is correct, but the thing that won't show up in the box score is how defenses play vs. Tyreke. Nobody is guarding him past 15 feet. A lot of his points recently have come of cuts and in the open court. He is still able to break the defense down, but to really open up the whole offense he needs to at least be a 40% jump shooter. I don't have any stats on his jump shooting, but I would guess it's below 25%. Tony Parker is a good comparison, although he is more of a true PG, he already had a little floater, but he learned to consistently hit the open J. Defense can no longer sag on him. You have to make the D pay if they are going to pick you up at the free throw line, unless you are big lumbering center.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
You seem fascinated by an irrelevant trait. You know what, Shaq was a pure post player and rarely took any shot outside of myabe 6-8 feet of the hoop. IRRELEVANT. Because he was dominant with what he did do.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
You may have missed my little list of all the great teams with players whom the defense can offically ignore. And they cannot and do not remotely ignroe Tyreke, Some sag. And then when he comes toward the hoop he still EASILY draws the msot attention on the Kings. Two guys, sometiems three. And you know what? At that point Tyreke Evans has officially won that possession, and so have we. All that is left is to find the guys who are suddenly open because of the presence of a player on our team that other teams are scared of. That we don't do well enough, but it is there. When the defense bends itself, shifts itself to stop Reke, he's broken the defense. Its exactly whet you are looking for as an offensive player or offensive coach. If guys are shading toward Reke, if shotblockers come to help and the defense collpases, then you've won. Your other guys just got open.
And that is something that no amount of weenie shooters or mediocre players can ever do for you. We just have to get more efficient at using it.
