Daequan Cook and Dorrel Wright

[HeatSince88]

Wright has gotten a lot better since his start in the league. He's only 22. Sorry for that excuse, but Wright has definite upside still.

Certainly, most of us agree with that. I stated as such in my post.

But many of us know not to rely on "upside" to win games. After all, the word "upside" just means you haven't done it yet. There's no harm in adding a guy to hit shots and defend off the bench. And if Dorell is indeed the better, more deserving player, he should beat that guy out right? Competition and depth never hurt anyone.

My point of view, Wright has a role on this team and without Riley choking the life out of him every time he makes a mistake then maybe he'll gain the all important confidence he needs.

Can you explain how Riley is supposed to coach someone without telling him what he did wrong? Is he just supposed to sit on the sideline in dead silence for 2-1/2 hours?

Or should he put his arm around a guy, and say "Dorell, when a shooter like Pierce is running the pick-and-roll, our defense goes over the screen, not under. Just like we practiced earlier today, OK?"

I mean, why even have a coach if he's not allowed to COACH you? And seriously, if statements like that destroy you, you're a wuss and don't deserve to make millions playing a game. Just go home already if you can't take a coach's critique, and stop wasting our time pretending to be a basketball player.

He has the tools to exceed. Wasn't Billups in a similar situation before he finally got his chance? Out of place and underappreciated before he got to Detroit and then things changed. Maybe a new coach and a facelift of the team will give him his opportunity.

Billups was an awesome college player. A very confident guy. Drafted #3 overall. Scored 11.1, 11.3, 13.9 his first three years.

Dorell was a project and was drafted where projects are drafted. He's always lacked confidence, well before Riley took over. And he averaged 2.9, 2.3, 6.0 his first three years.

He is nothing like Finals MVP, Top 3 pick Chauncey Billups.

[DayofMourning]

I'm not basing my opinion on speculation. Watching Riley jerk in disgust at a turnover from Wright at a non crucial point in a game when he had done nothing wrong prior accounts for something more than coaching.

How old was Chauncey when he was drafted? A year younger than Wright is now? He had the experience of being the man for his college team and had built his confidence in college. When was the last time Wright ever had a chance to be that?

And if you're going to use stats, then do it correctly. In Chauncey's second year he was the same age as Wright is now. He shot the ball 11 times a game at 39% in 33 minutes a game. Wright is far more efficient then Billups was at that point in time. Yet Billups became a much better player than he was then. He was given a chance and succeeded even after his confidence was shot after moving between four teams in his early years.

As far as being the 3rd pick in the draft. Does that really matter in this comparison? Would Billups have been the number 3 pick out of high school? Imagine the type of draft position Wright would have now if he just came out of college as his age suggests.

Don't rate Wright so harshly. He's not Kwame Brown by any means. He has a game that is coming together very well and will continue to do so. And as far as adding a guy to compete with him, I don't remember mentioning that or having an opinion on it. Must have been someone else.

[MartyConlonJr]

Just to clarify I still have faith in both, as bench players at the least, just saying it's conceivable eithe can be lost in the shuffle. Dorell defensively, Cook offensively I am confident in. Other side of the ball for both, not so much. If we scrap plans for cap space with an immediate move, I'm all for Pietrus with the MLE or part of. Stick him in the corner to give wade room to move. On defense he is pretty good, though GSW guys are saying his IQ is not that great, but the effort is there. Getting him allows us to move both Cook and Dorell as he can play both positions.

[HeatSince88]

DayofMourning, what about the 1,000+ players guys who were awful their first 4 years and never became anything? Do you want to list ALL players who struggled for 4 years, or just the one you think proves your opinion correct?

This always cracks me up when someone finds ONE case (and not even a good comparison) that bucks the trend of THOUSANDS of cases. Then they extrapolate it to mean that, for example, Dorell Wright is obviously a 20ppg scorer being held down by the man!

Bro ... Dorell has potential, but he doesn't need people making excuses for him. That does nothing for anybody. He just needs to work harder and produce consistently, bottom line.

And if it really bothers him that much when a coach winces at a key 4th quarter turnover, he should go do something else for goodness sake. There's 15,000 people in the stands wincing, and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) at home wincing as well. You think Cook cares if someone winces at a turnover? Nope. Billups? Of course not. This isn't daycare, it's the NBA.

[GameTime_3]

Here my take on D.Wright and Cook.

Dorell Wright

Pro's- The guy is a very good defender when given a chance, he has the length to defend almost every 3 in the league as well as the speed to keep up with them. He is a big time flyer, that plays best w/ wade on the floor. His game is closer to AK-47 then anyone else(Decent Shot but not one is scared of it)

Con's- Needs a play maker on the floor to flourish. Not consistent for the outside and tends to reach on defense. His energy is a question mark, Some games he is running all over the place, the next game he is lost.Needs to play in a up tempo style offense due to his lack of ball handing and jumpshot.

Overall, the guy will never be T-mac, but he is solid. The guy is young and still learning. With alittle more coaching, his defense should be one of the best on the heat. Realistic stats going forward are 12pts,6rbs,1 block. Never going to be a all-star but he can be a solid role player on a championship team.


Daequan Cook

Pro's- Has a nba shot. Few players coming into the league have that, which makes special. His energy is good. Has the potential to hit the big shot, something that is very underrated and a intangible that we should not take lightly. Good rebounder for a player with his size.

Con's- His energy is there but at times gets the best of him. He can get over aggressive and it causes him to reach or just pickup dumb fouls(Which is why his minutes could never be consistent last year)
Cook's dribble needs work, at times he brings the ball to high, which helps his defender stay in front of him.Shot Selection was decent for a rookie but not something to brag about.

Overall- Cook has the potential to be a star. Do i think he will reach it? i would say no because of his handle but he does have the potential to be in the conversation. His jump shot is elite for a young player and his defense could be worked on but he has all the tools to be a very good one.What sets cook apart form most young players is that no matter the style we play, cook has a job. Cook to me is going to be a Great 6th man, with the potential to a starter on another team. Realistic stats for cook in the coming years are, 10ppg,42% 3pt, 88% free throw, 1 stl, All while coming off the bench.

[DayofMourning]

DayofMourning, what about the 1,000+ players guys who were awful their first 4 years and never became anything? Do you want to list ALL players who struggled for 4 years, or just the one you think proves your opinion correct?

This always cracks me up when someone finds ONE case (and not even a good comparison) that bucks the trend of THOUSANDS of cases. Then they extrapolate it to mean that, for example, Dorell Wright is obviously a 20ppg scorer being held down by the man!

Bro ... Dorell has potential, but he doesn't need people making excuses for him. That does nothing for anybody. He just needs to work harder and produce consistently, bottom line.

And if it really bothers him that much when a coach winces at a key 4th quarter turnover, he should go do something else for goodness sake. There's 15,000 people in the stands wincing, and hundreds of thousands (if not millions) at home wincing as well. You think Cook cares if someone winces at a turnover? Nope. Billups? Of course not. This isn't daycare, it's the NBA.

Yes please list those players now. Thanks you.

I'm sorry I used Billups. I apologize. I'll look for someone else. Must have been the first player that came to mind.

Bro, Dorell has potential, but he doesn't need to be criticized to the upteenth degree for the things he does wrong. I'm not saying he's going to be a superstar, but I definitely am cool keeping him as I think he'll turn into a heckuva role player on this talented team.

I also liked how you turned around my Riley jerking (convulsing really) at an inconsequential turnover into "Riley calmly winces as Dorell Wright commits the most crucial 4th quarter turnover of any player in the NBA". Don't look at my opinion of Wright as a young, inexpensive, talented commodity and think that it's time for another episode of "let's kick DW while he's down".

[CB4MiamiHeat]

We gave Dorrel his shot..and unfortunately he didnt take advantage...i never understood where this Riley holding him back came from.

He was given the starting job in November over Kapono and Posey..had some nice 10 pts 15rebs games that he followed up with three straight bad games and so on..... Kapono took the job, was the best 3pt shooter, and Posey was great off the bench. By the next month he was the 3rd string SF..And thats when we started winning.

We let Kapono and Posey walk..and again Dorrel Wright was given the starting job..he was so mediocre that Riley was just forced to start Penny over him cause he provided spacing, and he was a good entry passer for Shaq.

Now we have an All-Star SF..and Michael Beasley who can play some SF....his time is up to prove he can be a "star" or even a "starter" as a Heat player..lets just hope hes a solid bench player and ill be really happy...though i believe a 3pt specialist who provides this team some spacing would fit this team better.

[CoolD]

At this moment, i have more confidence in Wright over Cook. Wright has shown, that he has defensive ability. I wish he would gain some muscle though, he can't match up vs some guys do to that. What scares me about Cook. He can't play point, can't play SF, pretty bad playing D, and its a streaky shooter. So if his shot is not going in, then you are serious trouble.

Wright has improved his midrange, he just needs to just improve this three. And get some size too.

I think some people sometimes don't take into account role players should be judged differently. I remember how Posey many times was critiqued, when he had an off game. When you have less shots, less time to dribble, your game is very dependant on other players.

What am trying to get at, many times last year. I thought Wade was as much at fault as some of the role players, by hogging the ball, and taking bad shots, taking everyone out of their game. Superstars have to set the agenda, that is a team game . Hope Beasley doesn't try to be rookie of the year,(Kevin durant, takes 20 shots to get 20 points, but because he scored, he got rookie of the year, while his team didn't improve jack-squat)

But I do agree, we could make improvements in those positions. But most important, is trying to get a descent Center. And please Haslem is no center, and Zo, might be in his last legs, and we can't force him to play to many minutes anyway.

[heat4life]

Dorrell Wright is going to be the next TMac and Dequan Cook is going to be the next Ray Allen. Together with the next Karl Malone (Beasley), the next Stockton (Quinn), the next Chris Paul (Chalmers) and the next Ben Wallace (JO-EL), we have a dynasty in the making people.

The "Nexts" starters:

Next Stockton
Next Ray Allen
Next TMac
Next Malone
Next Ben Wallace

Bench

Wade and everybody else who is not a "next"

CHAMPIONSHIP IN 2020 BABY!!!

[Heatmagic84]

I see a lot of AK47 in Wright also. Obviously he is not as good defensively, but they both have that same awkwardness on offense where you just don't know what they are going to do. And you're not sure they know either.

He just needs to find what he likes (other than the baseline jumper) and continue to play hard on the defensive end. Still has that rookie mentality where he makes silly mistakes then plays with his head down.

[Carolina Heat]

As it all comes down to money, I like Wright at 2.5 million per season, but I would not like him at 4 or 5 per yr.


Assuming we get him at or near the tender offer, I'd say he has 1 more year to show something other than athleticism. Basketball is a game of skill, not just who can run fast and jump high (someone should have explained this to guys like Darius Miles)...