Can TJ turn it around?

[Wizop]

TJ has at least two problems getting PT: 1) he wants to have the ball in his hands more than the coaching staff wants, and 2) he has trouble keeping his head in the game now that he's "just a guy" and no longer the great TJ.

but he has a third problem. it is the last year of his contract and unless he finds a way to be much more productive he's looking at a huge pay cut next year. his trade value is negligible. no one is going to take him to be the centerpiece of their team. so is there a slim chance that coach can sit him down and make him understand that we need a point guard and this is his last chance to show he can be one?

[Crossova21]

I honestly don't think TJ is that bad...he's just not a starter. In answer to your question...no he can't turn it around because he isn't a pass first point guard and not a good fit for Obie's system. I think it's time to look elsewhere for a point guard.

[greenway84]

I agree somewhat. I think TJ is a servicable starter in the right system. But in Indiana he's nothing more than a body to give our starting PG a rest. If he was cheap and I mean 2 million cheap and learned to pass more I would be happy with him as a spark off the bench. Too be fair not too many PG flourish iin Indiana. We are kinda hard on them.

[glasket]

TJ is not a bad player. Is he a starter in the right system on a mediocre/average team. Yes.
Is he a starter on our mediocre/average team considering our system. No
He is simply the wrong fit for our system and will never fit in as long as Obie is our Jedi Master and we are a perimiter orientated 3 point shooting team.
TJ needs the ball in his hands and is a below average shooter

[fienX420]

tj's problem (besides failing to develop his skills so he had nothing to fall back on when he inevitably got repeatedly hurt and lost some speed which was his only advantage) is that he gave up on our team. he didn't even try to fill the role we needed him to. he just did his own thing. but...

his trade value is negligible. no one is going to take him to be the centerpiece of their team

this is crazy. tj ford is so far outside of the realm of being a centerpiece to a team that, of course, no team would take him for that purpose. but in a different environment, in a contract year, for another team, he could provide a spark off the bench. or something. regardless, he actually has significant trade value because he has an expiring contract. expiring contracts = significant value. pretty much without exception. i don't get how not everybody gets this.

[Indy2thaWindy]

^
I agree 100%, If we can get our future PG, I wouldn't mind Bird resigning Ford for about 2.5 to 4 million tho. He can still play, he isn't a starter anymore, and he isn't as good as he used to be, but he can come off the bench and take over a game. O'brien tried to do that lasy year, but it doesn't work when he is your best PG. Watson isn't close to being a starter, and TJ isn't close to being player worth making 8.5 million, but is worth half that.

[Wizop]

resigning Ford? I wasn't thinking that far ahead. I was just raising the question whether since this is a contract year there might be a possibility of TJ actually earning some PT this fall. the last two years he's been handed the starter's minutes only to give them up with lackluster play. you accurately state that he isn't an 8 million dollar player, but in his head he's still the max contract guy that he was expected to be when he came out of Texas.

[Indy2thaWindy]

We'll see next year when he is blown away with a 2.5 million dollar deal for probly 2 or 3 years.