Delonte looked like he had money on the game.

[GuyClinch]

When you're a role player, you have to kinda be in the right role to make contributions. West would have been fine here with the superstars, adding to what they do, but if he's on a bad team with bad players,

It's one thing to be a roleplayer and it's another to be a guy who can only ride the coattails of a superstar. West has been doing OKAY with Lebron but what he really needs to do to prove his the former and not the later is to step up in playoff and big games.

The problem with players who are only okay with superstars - they just aren't really good enough. Jiri Welsch was OK with PP, too? Even good players get this knock. Was Kenyon Martin good - or was it JKidd? Was Shawn Marion good - or was it Steve Nash.

I remember how crappy D. West in his last summer league. We heard that argument too. Oh he needs to play with the starters. <g> Whereas your other "fringe" players like say Travis Outlaw would rip the crap out of SL. (Outlaw has since graduated to decent but I digress)

Quite honestly I thought Delonte would do a heck of alot better in Seattle. I was thinking at least Dan Dickau type 15ppg/4 rebounds/6assists or so and getting tons of minutes. Or at least Marcus Banks numbers in Minnesota while in Seattle.

I wasn't a D. West believer from the first time I was underwhelmed by his SL play. I am still not a believer. Seattle quickly became someone who didn't believe. they probably wish they asked for Tony Allen instead. Who will utimately be right - we are going to find out. That's the fun of sports.

Maybe I am wrong and this West is the next Eli Manning - but I am not feeling it yet. So let's put this on hold till we see how it shakes out.. This debate is old anyway.

Pete

[tlee324]

Well sometimes it happens with D.West, sometimes it happens with Rondo, but it often happens. That was my point. I did say exactly what I wanted to say earlier.

I guess I should stick with empty stat free arguments based on faulty memories eh? Examples please.. Wait you don't have any..

I feel you're relying on me to find threads. I can, but I'm not going to. It will occur again, I'm sure.

[tlee324]

In the summer league, I recall him trying to get used to playing the point, and really not concerned about the numbers. He didn't really shoot that much, if I recall. I felt then you were jumping on this opportunity because you were a Marcus fan.

"The problem with players who are only okay with superstars - they just aren't really good enough. Jiri Welsch was OK with PP, too? Even good players get this knock. Was Kenyon Martin good - or was it JKidd? Was Shawn Marion good - or was it Steve Nash. "

Jiri was one of the guys that just couldn't find his role on the team. In Boston, he wasn't good enough to handle the point, and found himself in no-man's land with Tony Allen stepping it up and Ricky and Pierce on the roster. He goes and has a few decent games elsewhere, but didn't get the consistent playing time playing behind guys like Larry Hughes, Bobby Simmons and Michael Redd. He just couldn't step it up above to really distinguish himself from them. It doesn't throw out that he played pretty well for Boston for that time, IMO. He was in the right role for him to be productive, IMO. If he could have handled time at the point, he'd likely still be in the league.

As far as Marion goes, I think Marion's an all star with or without Nash. Same with a healthy K-Mart and Kidd (although I think Marion is better than Martin). Nash has the ability to really bring the best out of an athletic beast like Marion just like Kidd did with Martin, but they were still players that can bring it when healthy. West and Welsch aren't like that, IMO. West is more talented than Welsch, IMO, but they both are talented enough to add to a superstar(s) as a role player, but not good enough to carry a team. West, as proven by Rondo/House is replaceable. Combo guards are always moving around the league, but they do have value to teams, which is why I think West will stick. Jiri couldn't handle the point very well, which is why I think he's in Europe.