batsmasher wrote:Seeing as we're approaching the end of the season and the tank is out, how have people's rankings changed?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Tier 1 (keep at all costs) ---
Bender (-) - Still think unicorn potential
TJ (-) - Still extremely good at what he does and not appreciated enough league wide
--- Tier 2 (would prefer them here but would send em packing for the right price) ---
Booker (-) - Elite scorer.. but staying in this tier because I don't think he's our way to a championship and his value is sky high
Chriss (↑ 1) - Massive way to go... but the growth he's showing is promising. Rebounding/ BBIQ still anchoring him.
Derrick Jones Jr. (-) - Still athletic af. Plenty to work with.
Sauce Williams (↑ 2) - Going to be a high energy backup... hopefully on a nice contract
Ulis (↓ 1) - Shown he's no more than a serviceable/good backup
I agree that Booker is not going to score the Suns to a championship (or even a playoff berth) by himself, but the same is true of Warren, only he cannot create his own offense like Booker and cannot nearly pass as well as Booker, either. Plus, he is three years older.
I believe that Booker should be untouchable; the only way that he would be worth trading would be for a player that will not be available, anyway. Granted, I suppose that one could look back at the Suns trading a twenty-three-year old, second-year Michael Finley to Dallas twenty seasons ago as part of a package that netted a twenty-three-year old Jason Kidd. Finley was not nearly the pure shooter that Booker happens to be, but he was much more athletic, far better defensively, and a better all-around player. However, I do not see the equivalent to a twenty-three-year old Kidd in today's game. Today's rising point guards are much better shooters and scorers than Kidd, but they do not pass like him. The closest analogy among a relatively young point guard would be John Wall, but he turns twenty-seven before next season, and even Wall attempts a lot of field goals by traditional standards. (For instance, his career average for FGA per game is higher than Kevin Johnson's single-season high—despite not being remotely as good of a shooter.)
Now that Warren has mercifully reduced his three-point volume, he is indeed "extremely good at what he does," but whether "what he does" can make a major impact on winning games remains uncertain.
As for Bender, I would go with Booker over him in large part because Booker is a known quantity. Bender's upside could be greater, but he also could be a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none complementary type. Truth be told, we may not know for about four more years, at least.
