RealGM

I know that there's a "focus on the positives" thread but I feel that this deserves it's own thread:

Can we talk about how great Jeff Teague has been through these first 7 games, he's averaging 17.1 ppg and is 2nd in the league in assists (1st in the East) with 10.1 apg (Only Chris Paul has a better average). I might be overreacting as a result of this very small sample size but Jeff has gotten better every year. My question is: if he can finally develop that consistency which has eluded him in his career do we stick with the original plan of developing Schroder and trading Teague in a couple years, or do we change our route a bit and see what we can get for Schroder while hanging on to Teague?

[Oh, great, another positive thread. You'd think we were fans or something.] Hey, never apologize for being positive.

Teague's been great, hasn't he? Whether it's natural growth or Budenholzer's offense or competition with the kid he had to hear about all summer long, Teague has made a solid improvement to his game.

I think we need to be very careful about choosing our future PG, so careful that I think we shouldn't be in a hurry. We have both under contract for this year and the next 3 - and reasonably paid at that. Let's just see what happens. Maybe Schröder grows up to be a star; maybe HIS growth forces Teague into MORE growth; maybe both become superstars.

One thing I know is that the Clippers would still have Bledsoe (under Paul) if they hadn't had to worry about him leaving. It's a great thing to have 48 minutes of talented PGs each game.

ATL Boy wrote:I know that there's a "focus on the positives" thread but I feel that this deserves it's own thread

I started that thread so that more threads like these would pop up - not hinder them. I was feeling that this place was getting too negative and I wanted to put something positive out there in the hopes that people would start dwelling on the positives we're seeing - and posting about them. From the creator of that thread, thank you for starting this one!


As far as Schröder versus Teague, I'm really split here. A big part of me is firmly behind parsons' comments - having 2 potential AS PGs is better than having 1 especially when the 2 combined have a salary of $39.5M over 4 seasons. We're in a position of strength with those 2 and the PG position is critically important to Coach Bud's system. This is a much easier pill to swallow since I think those 2 complement each other very well when they're on the court together. Teague takes the O; Schröder the D. Schröder has enough off-ball skills to still be a threat while Teague has more than enough length to guard other positions (Teague actually has a wider widespan than Schröder if you can believe it...). Don't think I'd think they should be closing games together, but I have no problem getting Schröder extra minutes in a 2 PG set throughout the game.

Even so, I'm still fully on the Schröder band wagon as of right now. He has that "it" factor and once the game comes to him, his upside is simply though the roof. Also, I am truly a sucker for D - especially on the ball D - and Schröder seems to take special pride in this area. Now, I don't think Schröder will be ready this year, but depending on his development, I'm not so sure that I wouldn't be opposed to opening things up for him next off-season and simply handing over the reins.

So... assuming Teague progress in the early going is real and he gets his efficiency back toward career norms (TS/eFG %s closer to 55/50 over the 50/43 we're seeing now), then I'd guess he'd finish the season with a per game line somewhere around 17 p/9 a/3 to/2.5 r/1.5 s - very, very good numbers to say the least. For comparison, that would be 1 r, 1 s, and 1 a behind CP3's numbers from last season albeit with considerably less efficiency. Assuming this line or thereabouts, what could we realistically expect for Teague? Jrue Holiday alone commanded two top 10 picks (probably) and I wouldn't mind adding in a young C (Nogueira or Muscala) and/or extra incentive in terms of future 1sts and/or 2nds. That should bring a Grade-A return...

Everything has already been touched on, it's a win-win situation all around:
Let him keep rocking till Dennis is ready,

the two can work the court together given their length and the average SG is closer to 6'4" than 6'6" these days,

create a major trade chip.



He still doesn't strike me as a natural passer but he understands the offense and, most importantly, his bigs. It's not a case like say an Iverson where he is just pounding the rock and getting the assists by virtue of him having the ball in his hands all of the time. He's picking up the assists organically and within the flow of the offense which he's comfortable in given the time he spent in LD's similar format. Replacing Josh with Sap aint exactly going to hurt your assist numbers either.

He needs to pick up his own scoring efficiency though. I think it's mostly a result of him operating as more of a focal point rather than picking his spots like he did in the past. He is being aggressive though which makes it hard to want to criticize but perhaps his efficiency will rise again if he throttles it down just a tad.

It's not a "hot start", he's becoming the player he is to be.....I'm a Bobcat's fan by the way.....