Superstar vs. Role Players, Point Guard Edition

Wammy Giveaway · Post #1 » by **Wammy Giveaway** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 7:34 pm

Damian Lillard
- 6x NBA All Star, gives Clippers a True Big 3
- Career APG 6.6
- Can make Sudden Death Shots (down 1 or 2 PTS less than 5 sec. in 4th or overtime, no ties, last shot ends game): Clippers need a clutch shooter outside of Leonard and George

John Wall
- 5x NBA All Star, gives Clippers a True Big 3
- Career APG 9.1, best true passer and point guard since Chris Paul
- Reclamation project: has had down years due to injury - Clippers are great at resurrecting damaged goods
- Vouched for George to join Wizards while he was a Pacer

Ben Simmons
- 3x NBA All Star, gives Clippers a True Big 3 due to Three C's Rule (Consistent, consecutive, current)
- Career APG 7.7, plays both point guard and center, solving BOTH position problems
- Too young to be called a reclamation project, but fits bill due to bad playoff performance, would be seen as re-development prospect
- Connection with former Clipper coach Doc Rivers, who is swayed by players and teams he coached for in the past, might play a role in trade talks

...or, you could just screw the Big 3 idea completely and maintain the Dynamic Duo ideology and role player as point guard concept. Take it further, no true point guards, let's fake the point guard position and have shooting guards, forwards and centers all pretend to be a point guard. Both George and Leonard had a career high in assists last season, 5.2 APG each. Jackson became a run stopper, making shots to end scoring droughts as means of bringing his team back into games. Mann is an All-Star in the making, his career high 39-point outing in playoffs versus Jazz to cement their back to back 2-0 comeback (first in NBA history before Bucks did it with a championship on the line) and first ever conference finals berth - in addition to being a natural born All-Star candidate, which Clippers have none (George and Leonard's All-Star debuts were with Pacers and Spurs respectively).

Also keep in mind Clippers have become Spursian in a yearly pace. They are looking for Good Samaritan-type players, high in character who won't be a distraction and public relations problem, or cause chaos and division within the locker room. It's all about unity, togetherness and chemistry, and the Big 3 concept goes against the spirit of basketball. Both Suns and Bucks are case studies of teams not needing Big 3s, Fantastic 4s or Fabulous 5s to make an NBA Finals: Suns had Booker and Paul, Bucks had a one-man band in Antetokounmpo. Clippers are aspiring to be more like those humble teams, not the power-hungry teams that radiate dominance and evil.

So yeah: would you rather have a Big 3, or be a Dynamic Duo and let anyone be a point guard?

esqtvd · Post #2 » by **esqtvd** » Tue Sep 21, 2021 8:36 pm

this is how Philly fans feel about Simmons

Brad Gunther
Dear Daryl Morey,
Please do the opposite of whatever Simmons wants. Please do not trade him. Please retain his rights for as long as possible and never play him. Please do whatever you can to ruin the rest of his career. That is all. Thank you.
· Reply · 4h 124 likes

BenchOnaQUEST · Post #3 » by **BenchOnaQUEST** » Thu Sep 23, 2021 11:53 pm

Damian Lillard FTW!!

madmaxmedia · Post #4 » by **madmaxmedia** » Mon Oct 4, 2021 8:02 pm

Is this a trick poll? Guess we'll find out...

Wammy Giveaway · Post #5 » by **Wammy Giveaway** » Mon Oct 4, 2021 8:13 pm

madmaxmedia wrote:Is this a trick poll? Guess we'll find out...

Not a trick poll. My prediction is Clippers get no superstar (trade or buyout), and progress through the season with role player point guard(s) and/or having shooting guards, forwards and centers pretend to be a point guard.

madmaxmedia · Post #6 » by **madmaxmedia** » Mon Oct 4, 2021 8:25 pm

Wammy Giveaway wrote:
madmaxmedia wrote:Is this a trick poll? Guess we'll find out...

Not a trick poll. My prediction is Clippers get no superstar (trade or buyout), and progress through the season with role player point guard(s) and/or having shooting guards, forwards and centers pretend to be a point guard.

I agree with your prediction, the reason I joked about it being a trick poll is, who would not choose Lillard over the others (all else being equal)?

I can maybe see someone voting for Ben I guess if they are a real believer. But there are way too many question marks with him, Dame is a sure thing.

MartinToVaught · Post #7 » by **MartinToVaught** » Mon Oct 4, 2021 10:50 pm

Simmons and Wall aren't superstars. They also wouldn't make our team better.

The Lillard trade drama seems to have completely vanished. I think he just remembered that his entire brand is built on being "too loyal for this era" and "not running from the grind," and forcing his way out of Portland would tarnish that. Even if he did start wanting a trade again, other teams have better assets than we do.