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ShelC wrote:Love Valentine and would play him at the 3 also, though I wish he were a big bigger. But he's that do-everything swing with a high BBall IQ and would be a perfect fit next to Booker IMO.

We just have to move both our PGs and get a high IQ passing/shooting PG.

I'm actually thinking Booker is our PG of the future. Why have someone else running the pick and roll when Booker can already get you 11 assists and 0 turnovers? That opens up the possibility of putting a guy next to Book who is a 2 on offense and a 1 on defense - and we have one of those in B-Knight. Some didn't think the two of them looked so good next to each other in the back court against the Warriors; I thought they looked great, but it was only one game.

Ben Simmons signed with Klutch & Rich Paul. Not that it matters for rookie deals, but ugh.

carey wrote:Ben Simmons signed with Klutch & Rich Paul. Not that it matters for rookie deals, but ugh.

Eww.

OE32 wrote:I'm actually thinking Booker is our PG of the future. Why have someone else running the pick and roll when Booker can already get you 11 assists and 0 turnovers?

Dude, that was one game. Hardly typical numbers for the kid.

Cap wrote:

OE32 wrote:I'm actually thinking Booker is our PG of the future. Why have someone else running the pick and roll when Booker can already get you 11 assists and 0 turnovers?

Dude, that was one game. Hardly typical numbers for the kid.

Seriously, Booker is a true SG, he's not a PG. He has a great bball iq and feel for the game, he makes better decisions than our PGs, but he's not a PG. Could he be in a pinch? Sure, but that diminishes what he's even better at.

It shows you how much the broken thinking of this front office has infected the fans. The FO doesn't know how to find a real PG, so they keep trying to squeeze a square peg into a round hole. "This guy's a combo guard; let's make him a PG!" "That guy's a great scorer, great at slashing to the basket. Let's make him a PG!" "Let's play two or three mediocre PGs at the same time! That will solve our PG problem!"

Now even *we* are trying to turn SGs into PGs. Sigh.

It's not like these high-assist games are abnormal. I would rather Booker run the P&R than any other guard on our roster, and most of the point guards on other teams. I'd rather have him running it than Rubio, that's for sure. I don't get it.

He shouldn't play PG because... he can shoot? Because he's 6'6"? Explain it to me.

Edit: Furthermore - the reason we complain about Bled and Knight is that neither of them are good at creating shots for others and they have turnover problems. Booker sees the floor, is unselfish, can handle the ball, and doesn't turn the ball over. You can't go under his screen, but he also won't jack it up every time he sees daylight. What more do you want??

Maybe not making Booker a real PG, but the unexpected fact that he has handling and passing skills makes you able to put next to him a mere 3D PG. Supposedly those are more frequently found, and cheaper. We have two combo guards, though.

OE32 wrote:It's not like these high-assist games are abnormal.

The 11 assists at GS were a new career high, and coupling it with zero assists make it all the more abnormal. He has surpassed six assists four times: one game of 11 assists and 0 turnovers, one of 10 and 7, one of 9 and 3, and one of 7 and 5. So the 11&0 is a clear outlier.

Love Booker. There are 3 things he doesn't do well right now. 1. Defend. 2. Rebound. 3. Beat his man off the dribble. It is the 3rd thing that will keep him from being an every day PG. Yes, he gets by his man sometimes. Yes, he is good at absorbing contact and finishing at the rim. The problem is his first step. It isn't as quick as either Eric's or Brandon's. There is more to being a PG than having a quick first step or a killer crossover of course but I think it is a necessity to break your man down off the dribble in today's NBA. It isn't a skill Devin has at the moment. He is a much better shooter off the dribble than I ever thought coming out of UK though.

Cap wrote:

OE32 wrote:It's not like these high-assist games are abnormal.

The 11 assists at GS were a new career high, and coupling it with zero assists make it all the more abnormal. He has surpassed six assists four times: one game of 11 assists and 0 turnovers, one of 10 and 7, one of 9 and 3, and one of 7 and 5. So the 11&0 is a clear outlier.

Fair enough. But I'm interested in continuing to look at it. I like what I saw out of Booker/Knight. It allows Brandon to space the floor - which he's very good at - and instead of jacking it up the whole game because that's all he knows how to do, waiting until he feels hot. I'm not talking about having Booker bring the ball up the court every possession, just running the P&R with Len in the half-court. So far, he's proven to be - by far - the most effective at it.

I don't really know if the PG v. SG categorization is too useful anyway. We're mostly talking about who runs the P&R and who makes the majority of the passes into the post. Booker is the best candidate for both, and I don't see us picking anyone up who will be better at it. I also like that it would mean that we don't have to continue our PG search. It makes Bledsoe as expendable as Knight. I like all of it.

carey wrote:Love Booker. There are 3 things he doesn't do well right now. 1. Defend. 2. Rebound. 3. Beat his man off the dribble. It is the 3rd thing that will keep him from being an every day PG. Yes, he gets by his man sometimes. Yes, he is good at absorbing contact and finishing at the rim. The problem is his first step. It isn't as quick as either Eric's or Brandon's. There is more to being a PG than having a quick first step or a killer crossover of course but I think it is a necessity to break your man down off the dribble in today's NBA. It isn't a skill Devin has at the moment. He is a much better shooter off the dribble than I ever thought coming out of UK though.

That's funny. He beats his man off of the dribble alot IMO. I was actually quite impressed with his first step and foot speed. I really don't care much about his rebounding as a pg. I do care about his defense.

I would say this. If you are going to go with a two pg system, or a combo guard system, its really nice when one of those guys is 6-6 and shoots lights out from three.

JCSunsfan wrote:

carey wrote:Love Booker. There are 3 things he doesn't do well right now. 1. Defend. 2. Rebound. 3. Beat his man off the dribble. It is the 3rd thing that will keep him from being an every day PG. Yes, he gets by his man sometimes. Yes, he is good at absorbing contact and finishing at the rim. The problem is his first step. It isn't as quick as either Eric's or Brandon's. There is more to being a PG than having a quick first step or a killer crossover of course but I think it is a necessity to break your man down off the dribble in today's NBA. It isn't a skill Devin has at the moment. He is a much better shooter off the dribble than I ever thought coming out of UK though.

That's funny. He beats his man off of the dribble alot IMO. I was actually quite impressed with his first step and foot speed. I really don't care much about his rebounding as a pg. I do care about his defense.

I would say this. If you are going to go with a two pg system, or a combo guard system, its really nice when one of those guys is 6-6 and shoots lights out from three.

I think he puts the ball on the floor well coming off of screens but I don't see him bringing the ball up with a defender right up on him and taking him right off the dribble.

carey wrote:

JCSunsfan wrote:

carey wrote:Love Booker. There are 3 things he doesn't do well right now. 1. Defend. 2. Rebound. 3. Beat his man off the dribble. It is the 3rd thing that will keep him from being an every day PG. Yes, he gets by his man sometimes. Yes, he is good at absorbing contact and finishing at the rim. The problem is his first step. It isn't as quick as either Eric's or Brandon's. There is more to being a PG than having a quick first step or a killer crossover of course but I think it is a necessity to break your man down off the dribble in today's NBA. It isn't a skill Devin has at the moment. He is a much better shooter off the dribble than I ever thought coming out of UK though.

That's funny. He beats his man off of the dribble alot IMO. I was actually quite impressed with his first step and foot speed. I really don't care much about his rebounding as a pg. I do care about his defense.

I would say this. If you are going to go with a two pg system, or a combo guard system, its really nice when one of those guys is 6-6 and shoots lights out from three.

I think he puts the ball on the floor well coming off of screens but I don't see him bringing the ball up with a defender right up on him and taking him right off the dribble.

I would agree with that. He doesn't seem fast. I mean, he doesn't seem quick. He seems fast enough during a break, but I don't see him staring down his opponent from a stand still, and beating him at the 3pt line and getting to the hoop.

I would say this. If you are going to go with a two pg system, or a combo guard system, its really nice when one of those guys is 6-6 and shoots lights out from three.

I agree with this too. I just hope we are not stupid enough to try a 2 PG system without any PGs. Again.

I think that the traditional notions of positions, other than the center, has largely been blurred, to the point where new positions like combo guards and tweener forwards have become more of the norm. I think that it's not all that important to specifically categorize someone as a particular position. In a pinch, I would argue that Harden is a pg, and Greek Freak (why did he get the alphabet nickname?) has also become more of a pg. So I'm okay if Booker is the guy that directs plays half the time as we settle into our offense. Whether we call him a pg isn't that interesting to me.

I'm with Carey though that Booker hasn't consistently demonstrated an ability to get into the lane at will. He's smart enough to recognize advantages and gets into the lane fairly frequently, but he can't do it any time he wants to, which will limit his ability to create plays for other guys. But in set plays, his decision making has been very good, especially for such a young player.

I'd love to see some more defense out of him for sure.

I think the defense will come if it is expected and coached. Keep in mind this is the first time in his life that he is getting consistent minutes against guys that are bigger and faster and stronger and more experienced than he is.

I could totally be mis-remembering 1995-2000, but does Booker remind anyone else of Grant Hill in his early days?

In2ition wrote:

Cap wrote:

OE32 wrote:I'm actually thinking Booker is our PG of the future. Why have someone else running the pick and roll when Booker can already get you 11 assists and 0 turnovers?

Dude, that was one game. Hardly typical numbers for the kid.

Seriously, Booker is a true SG, he's not a PG. He has a great bball iq and feel for the game, he makes better decisions than our PGs, but he's not a PG. Could he be in a pinch? Sure, but that diminishes what he's even better at.

+1

Indy wrote:I could totally be mis-remembering 1995-2000, but does Booker remind anyone else of Grant Hill in his early days?

Maybe a little? Hill was a good facilitator in his early days. He didn't shoot the 3 early on though. Here's a classic Jordan/Hill game. I had forgot that Alan Houston was on the Pistons before NY. I guess I didn't know anything about the CBA back then because in 96 when his rookie deal was up (after only 3 seasons) he signed in NY as a FA.

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