Chris Sheridan: Lakers Could Pursue Ridnour With ML

[bogut6]

Only problem with Lowry or Foye is they're both looking for more minutes than they would get behind Jennings.

Foye could pick up a quite a few minutes at SG as well as playing backup PG.

[Nebula1]

Foye isn't getting minutes at 2 behind Salmons, Hobson and CDR. The 2 will be pretty well locked down by those three players.

That's why I like an Earl Watson. Seasoned vet and a steady hand. Probably a few things to teach Jennings as well.

[Turk Nowitzki]

Looking over that list, if Ridnour goes elsewhere or wants an obscene amount of money and we are forced to go in a different direction, I would go with Earl Watson as well. He's not very exciting but a veteran with experience is still necessary behind Jennings.

[xTitan]

Earl Watson shot 28% from beyond the three....that sucks, I don't think some of you realize how impotant it is to add some shooters to this bad shooting team.

[bogut6]

Foye isn't getting minutes at 2 behind Salmons, Hobson and CDR. The 2 will be pretty well locked down by those three players.

That's why I like an Earl Watson. Seasoned vet and a steady hand. Probably a few things to teach Jennings as well.

If we resign Salmons I think you are completely right...but if we don't someone like Foye could get ample minutes. I haven't seen much of Earl Watson, but judging from his stats he looks like a decent fit.

[xTitan]

Foye isn't getting minutes at 2 behind Salmons, Hobson and CDR. The 2 will be pretty well locked down by those three players.

That's why I like an Earl Watson. Seasoned vet and a steady hand. Probably a few things to teach Jennings as well.

If we resign Salmons I think you are completely right...but if we don't someone like Foye could get ample minutes. I haven't seen much of Earl Watson, but judging from his stats he looks like a decent fit.

If that is the case, my expectations for this team will drop considerably.

[BucksRUS]

The Wizards aren't going to tender Foye a QO, so he will be unrestricted.

[paul]

Yeah as others have said no surprise the Lakes want Ridnour but I'll be shocked if it's for the full MLE. I firmly believe Ridnour wants to come back here, but if he gets offered a lot more money by the reigning champs it's a no-brainer.

[Nebula1]

Earl Watson shot 28% from beyond the three....that sucks, I don't think some of you realize how impotant it is to add some shooters to this bad shooting team.

There is alot more to the game than the 3 ball. We aren't Orlando.

What we need at the backup 1 is a player who can give Jennings a break and keep a steady hand. Ridnour was good last season doing so, but his numbers were far higher than his career averages. Probability says they'll likely return and thus, Ridnour will lose quite a bit of effectiveness.

Watson is a guy who will get the second unit into their sets, run the offense and play smart. He looks to pass and keeps things organized. I'm more concerned about the team keeping their defensive composure, executing in transition and running an efficient offense. The 3 ball is a small schematic aspect of offense.

[Nebula1]

The Wizards aren't going to tender Foye a QO, so he will be unrestricted.

Problem with Foye is he's more a combo guard, which is fine, but not what this team needs with the depth at 2 (assuming Salmons returns). What a playoff team needs is a solid backup PG to come in and run the show. Don't forget we'll likely be dealing with some sophomore slump issues from Jennings in patches. I'd rather have a Watson in that case than a Ridnour or Foye.

[xTitan]

Earl Watson shot 28% from beyond the three....that sucks, I don't think some of you realize how impotant it is to add some shooters to this bad shooting team.

There is alot more to the game than the 3 ball. We aren't Orlando.

What we need at the backup 1 is a player who can give Jennings a break and keep a steady hand. Ridnour was good last season doing so, but his numbers were far higher than his career averages. Probability says they'll likely return and thus, Ridnour will lose quite a bit of effectiveness.

Watson is a guy who will get the second unit into their sets, run the offense and play smart. He looks to pass and keeps things organized. I'm more concerned about the team keeping their defensive composure, executing in transition and running an efficient offense. The 3 ball is a small schematic aspect of offense.

Go ask Minnesota what it is like when you can't space the floor....ridnour was a very good shooter last year, losing that will be a blow....if you can't space the floor the lane gets clogged and your low post game goes away....I don't have to tell you how impotant that was for the Bucks last year do I??

[Nebula1]

Ridnour was good last year, but the law of averages says he's likely to not stay at those levels. I remember specifically a couple games down the stretch when he started coming back in and he fought through it. He was good last year. But that's not likely to remain and then we've given Ridnour the Bell treatment. When he goes back to shooting 40-42% from the field, you'll be wishing you didn't give him an extension.

[JayMKE]

I like Ridnour but I wouldn't overpay to keep him. If Hobson has any PG ability I wouldn't mind getting just giving a cheap guy at PG for the min just to fill the roster.

[Nebula1]

Hobson isn't playing any 1. Cmon now. Perhaps if he turns into Roy or Wade, then sure, we'll see him bring the up the floor. That's definitely not happening in his rookie year, at least.

[El Duderino]

Earl Watson shot 28% from beyond the three....that sucks, I don't think some of you realize how impotant it is to add some shooters to this bad shooting team.

Hey, we'd all prefer Ridnour to Watson, but Ridnour may sign elsewhere.

As for shooting the three and jumpers overall, last year for Ridnour very well could have been an outlier.

Ridnour had never shot above 43 percent from the floor prior to last season and he has shot 34.7 from three for his career. Watson is a career 33.1 percent career three point shooter.

Except for guys who are consistently really good three point shooters, many of the rest are kinda like relief pitchers in baseball. One year or two up, a year or two down percentage wise.

Ridnour by year from three

33.8/37.6/28.9/35.3/29.6/35.0/38.1

Watson

36.4/34.1/24.5/31.9/39.5/42.0/32.9/37.1/23.5/28.8

Ridnour shoots 42.4 from the field over his career, Watson 41.7

Ridnour is probably a bit better shooter, but certainly not by some wide margin unless you expect him to duplicate what he did last year which was way above anything he's ever shot before. Odds are Watson will shoot better than he did last year and Ridnour won't shoot as well, but when it comes to shooting for guys like them, their histories have shown them both to be consistently inconsistent from year to year.

[bogut6]

El Dude, that is an awesome post. I never realised how up and down these sort of players can be. After seeing that, I would be far more willing to pickup Watson if he is going to be a considerably cheaper option than Ridnour. Each of them seem to be pretty similar passers too:

Ridnour career APG = 4.8
Watson career APG = 4.7

Very similar players indeed

[nikip43]

A lot of Earl Watson talk…what about CJ Watson?

He sounds like a poor mans Ridnour minus the table setting ability. He pushes the ball up and down the court and has grown up as a defender since coming into the League. His main offense is his jumper, much like Luke.

Found this tidbit on Watson in an article about a couple of former Bucks...

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_15397547

Team sources confirmed guards Anthony Morrow and C.J. Watson were both extended qualifying offers by the Warriors, making them restricted free agents-to-be. The Warriors will have the right to match any offer sheet they sign with another team, even if it means going over the salary cap.
Morrow's qualifying offer was for $1.03 million, which means that would be his salary for the 2010-11 season if he doesn't land a new contract with Warriors or another team. Watson's qualifying offer was for $1.25 million.
The Warriors may not be as adamant about retaining Watson as they were last season. The emergence of Curry and the addition of Bell leave little need for Watson, especially considering guard Monta Ellis' expected minutes at point guard.

If those who man crush over Morrow’s 46% three point percentage can ignore the part in the article about him and consider Watson for a second, I’m curious if he is a legitimate option for the Bucks.

ESPN Insider had a write up on Watson all season long in Hollinger’s PER breakdown discussing Watson’s free agency situation. Subject matter was him signing a 1.03 million dollar qualifying offer last off season. Insider says he had better offers last off season than accepting the tender, but decided to ride it out and become a free agent sooner rather than later and getting tied into Golden State on a long term deal.

If the Hollinger piece from last year and the Mercury News article from tonight are any indication, Watson is available this off season.

[Rockmaninoff]

CJ Watson is probably the player I like most out of those listed.

I think Ridnour's primary value last season was as a shot-maker, rather than as a distributor/floor general. He was a valuable example of veteran preparedness, but I'm not sure Jennings needs that anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Ridnour back. But, if he gets an offer for more than $3 mil per, I think it would be best to let him go.

I'm not sure if the Bucks need a true point guard behind Jennings. I'd consider someone like Eddie House. He has considerable playoff experience, played for a team that had very similar philosophies, and has proven that he can hit shots with regularity.

[europa]

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have Ridnour back. But, if he gets an offer for more than $3 mil per, I think it would be best to let him go.

That's where I'm at too. I'd be OK with $3.5M because I know Hammond and Skiles really like him but if it was me, I'd offer him 2/$6M and if he said no I'd thank him for the two good years and wish him the best with his new team.

[emunney]

I'd be fine going 3/12. That would take us through the end of BJ's rookie deal and Maggette's contract, and I think he's worth it. I highly doubt he'd want to sign something like that, though. It doesn't look like we're going to have many minutes for him, and he has to see that. If a team like the Lakers threw the full MLE at him, I'd have to be happy for him.