RealGM

If SVG is serious about developing the youth. I believe it's in the best interest of the team to see what we have in Dinwiddie. Jennings and Augustine are not going to be our starting PG's going forward if we want to be a good team anway. With doing this we see if PG is a position we still need to go after. We could have a gem in Dinwiddie. We'll never know if he's not given a shot. It also helps our tanking chances because 1st year PG's usually don't make a huge impact.

Thoughts?

Dinwiddie
Meeks
KCP
Monroe
Drummond

I think Jennings will remain the starter and Dinwiddie will see a bump in minutes. SVG may hope the Jennings from earlier in this year returns now Smith is gone. *shrug*

hes not the answer going forward either.

Start Dinwiddie. Youth movement begins now.

Jennings is not a starting calibre PG and DJ is just an undersized backup who bounces around the league. Neither hold any value for the team's future.

If Dinwiddie is now able to handle heavy minutes, let's see what he can do on the court with Drummond and KCP.

I would have no problem with this but I don't think its gonna happen I think he gets all the back up minutes tho.

Pugz wrote:hes not the answer going forward either.

How do you know that? He's never even started an NBA game? You may be right, but he may also be pretty good. He's 6'6 - that makes him at least worth the try at PG to see if he can run the offense.

I'm not sure it would be in his best interest to start, given his ACL injury and rookie status. However, I do hope to see him get more consistent run. I don't know what we have in him, but there's only one way to find out.

Pugz wrote:hes not the answer going forward either.

Neither is any other "PG" on the roster.

I do agree with this, just to give the guy some burn and to evaluate what we got. I'm sure SVG will do so.

I'd love to just get Mudiay though.

DBC10 wrote:I'd love to just get Mudiay though.

Mudiay, Winslow and Stan Johnson are at the top of my big board for the Pistons. If Monroe is adamant about leaving, Towns certainly shoots up.

As I've said in other threads I don't think this will happen... but it should. Answer or not we have nothing to lose. We know Jennings isn't the answer, so either Dinwiddie is able to improve and show us something... or he doesn't and we're really no worse off and with a better pick.

I've never been a fan of starting someone before they're deserving of it. If Dinwiddie is capable of beating out Jennings, and Augustin for minutes, then he absolutely should be starting, but if he's going to get starts and guaranteed minutes solely because he's the youngest PG on the roster, I have no interest.

It's one thing when players like Monroe and Drummond were kept on the bench, despite their clearly superior performances in comparison to the players starting in their place. But, it sets a bad precedent when players get preferential treatment, especially when it's a second round pick that has shown very little thus far.

I don't have a problem with Dinwiddie getting more minutes on a trial run, when somebody gets hurt, or has a bad game. But giving a player like this a starting job could give him a sense of entitlement.

So many people here are always complaining that so-and-so isn't a hard worker, and they'd rather have a hard worker, even if he wasn't as talented. I totally agree. But now you want to go ahead and gift a guy a starting job when he hasn't earned it yet? That's a solid reinforcement that hard work doesn't mean jack.

I like the idea of Dinwiddie needs a big jump in minutes, but I don't think it's good for him to start yet.
He's shown he's able to play in the league, but he needs more time to develop against second units. he doesn't look ready.

epheisey wrote:I've never been a fan of starting someone before they're deserving of it. If Dinwiddie is capable of beating out Jennings, and Augustin for minutes, then he absolutely should be starting, but if he's going to get starts and guaranteed minutes solely because he's the youngest PG on the roster, I have no interest.

It's one thing when players like Monroe and Drummond were kept on the bench, despite their clearly superior performances in comparison to the players starting in their place. But, it sets a bad precedent when players get preferential treatment, especially when it's a second round pick that has shown very little thus far.

I don't have a problem with Dinwiddie getting more minutes on a trial run, when somebody gets hurt, or has a bad game. But giving a player like this a starting job could give him a sense of entitlement.

So many people here are always complaining that so-and-so isn't a hard worker, and they'd rather have a hard worker, even if he wasn't as talented. I totally agree. But now you want to go ahead and gift a guy a starting job when he hasn't earned it yet? That's a solid reinforcement that hard work doesn't mean jack.

While I appreciate the sentiment, it's not like we're discussing the displacement of a guy who's "earned" those minutes. We have a deficit at the PG position and somebody has to get minutes. Does it send a better message to continue playing the guy who sucks at defense and takes bad shots?

Starting Dinwiddie doesn't guarantee him anything moving forward and that is a conversation that can easily be had. You sit the guy down, explain you are giving him an opportunity and that its up to him to work hard and capitalize on the situation. You only set a bad precedent in the absence of transparency, communication and true leadership.

I think dVs33 hit on the other thing that I was thinking but failed to mention. Putting Dinwiddie up against opposing team's starting talent could really hurt his confidence. Worst case scenario he starts a few games, and gets completely wrecked by a quality opponent, and never recovers.

You're talking about taking a guy with 87 total minutes of NBA game time, and thrusting him into the starting lineup. This isn't a veteran guy who's been around a while and knows what to expect, this is a rookie, who was a second round pick, missed most of training camp, and hasn't played much basketball in the past 12 months.

I don't think Dinwiddie is the answer for us at PG, but if that's what we're working towards finding out, let's give this guy an actual chance at panning out and not throw him in front of the bus.

And Cowology, that's a good point. Didn't think of that aspect.

why destroy his confidence now? He is still learning the NBA game and he is still getting healthy. If you want him to develop then playing him against other teams bench/scrubs seems to be the best way.

I may be in the minority, but I've always struggled with that "destroy their confidence" argument. Rookies get thrown out there on bad teams all the time. How they react is very much up to the individual and frankly I want a guy who's more inclined to fight through adversity and learn from the challenge rather than somebody who's gonna go cry in a corner and never recover. Either way I'd rather be able to make an early evaluation of the type of guy we've got.

Just outa curiosity, who would you guys consider to be good examples of promising rookies who never recovered after being thrust into a starting role? And how much of that do you really attribute to their role, as opposed to their character?

Cowology wrote:Just outa curiosity, who would you guys consider to be good examples of promising rookies who never recovered after being thrust into a starting role?

Kwame Brown.

Joking aside, though, I also want Dinwiddie to play but would hesitate to throw him into the starting lineup. Obviously his minutes should be increased (20+ a game) but I'd play him that for 5-10 games off the bench before starting him.

Cowology wrote:I may be in the minority, but I've always struggled with that "destroy their confidence" argument. Rookies get thrown out there on bad teams all the time. How they react is very much up to the individual and frankly I want a guy who's more inclined to fight through adversity and learn from the challenge rather than somebody who's gonna go cry in a corner and never recover. Either way I'd rather be able to make an early evaluation of the type of guy we've got.

Just outa curiosity, who would you guys consider to be good examples of promising rookies who never recovered after being thrust into a starting role? And how much of that do you really attribute to their role, as opposed to their character?

Exactly. I don't understand it either. It's not like there are high expectations on Dinwiddie or this team at this point. It's going to be a learning process for everyone on the team. If he can physically handle the minutes, he should get them and if he is playing well enough, then he should over Jennings/DJ (hopefully, sooner than later).

Cowology wrote:I may be in the minority, but I've always struggled with that "destroy their confidence" argument. Rookies get thrown out there on bad teams all the time. How they react is very much up to the individual and frankly I want a guy who's more inclined to fight through adversity and learn from the challenge rather than somebody who's gonna go cry in a corner and never recover. Either way I'd rather be able to make an early evaluation of the type of guy we've got.

Just outa curiosity, who would you guys consider to be good examples of promising rookies who never recovered after being thrust into a starting role? And how much of that do you really attribute to their role, as opposed to their character?

I don't buy into the destroying confidence thing either, but i do believe in the old "game slowing down" thing.

For a rookie so early in the season, I'm assuming, he's still learning the systems and it probably isn't instinctual for him.
I think playing against mainly second units initially, it would allow dinwiddie to be more comfortable with all the things he's learned and it would come to him naturally quicker.

But who knows?? I haven't seen him in practice and he's only received limited minutes. Maybe SVG thinks he's up to it?? That would be pretty great for us fans.