rock digger wrote:Q00 wrote:Fischella wrote:there is no way in hell that KCP become a playmaker like Stephenson is.
Caldwell-Pope ceiling is Danny Green.
Why is everyone in here caught up on playmaking defining how good a player can be?
Its like you've never heard of a player being better than another unless he averages more assists.
You say KCP's peak is Danny Green, but how is Stephenson any better than Green himself? They are pretty much the same caliber player in my opinion, which is why I think its crazy to talk about giving this guy big money.
I think you guys are basing too much of your opinion on this 30 game sample and believing that is who he is, whereas I'm looking at his whole career and never seeing anything special worth a big contract.
I wasn't going to respond to you since it appears clear that you are not willing to change your mind about this topic, but I honestly cannot understand how you see this way.
How is Stephenson better than Green? You have to be incredibly bias to think he isn't better than Green. He does nearly every aspect of the game better than Green other than defense (which Stephenson is no slouch at himself) and is younger. Neither Stephenson or Green are primary options on their offense so don't go about saying that Stephenson is only producing more because of his role on the team. They are not the same caliber.
We're basing our opinion off a 30 game sample size? At least that sample size is a good one. KCP has been literally HORRIBLE in his 30 game sample size, but I'm sure you will just write it off as "being a rookie" and whatnot. Stephenson also showed his potential primarily in the playoffs last year and we have seen other playoff stars (Stephen Curry) blossom into great players. Besides, last year's numbers for Stephenson hardly scream mediocre.
I do not think one player is better than another if he doesn't provide more assists if all the other aspects of his game are equal or below the opposition, no. I don't get why you find that hard to believe. There is literally no aspect of KCP's game that is better than Stephenson's, and to say that KCP will become better than Stephenson is a shot in the dark. It's not like Stephenson is 30 and not going to improve any more.
Again, I believe that if Stephenson fits into the Pistons' budget next year then he should be one of the main options to add. If not, no harm no foul. However, being a homer and saying that KCP can and will become better than Stephenson is downright silly in my opinion.
And last time I checked playmaking is a pretty important aspect of basketball.
First of all, get one thing clear here. I never said KCP was as good as Stephenson right now. So I don't know what you are talking about by comparing their 30 game starts to this year. But how can you be so certain that he won't ever be as good as him? Unless you are psychic, you're right, nothing you can say will change my mind that KCP could turn out just as good one day. Because for one, KCPs career is only 30 games in, and two Stephenson is just not as talented as you are making him out to be, so I don't see his level as being unattainable for ANY rookie. We're talking about Lance Stephenson level here, not freaking LeBron James.
When Stephenson was a 20 yr old rookie avg 3 pts, 2 asts, and 1 reb, did you say the same thing about him then, that he could never avg 13/6/5?
I mean, c'mon, you can't totally write off a rookie after 30 games, and then go giving out big contracts to another player just because he has a good start to a season one time in his career.
As for the Green comparison, you can put Stephenson up on a pedestal for 30 games of good play and forget the rest of his career, but that doesn't mean I forgot it too/ Which has been no better than Green's overall. Look at the stats if you don't believe me. And you can't say Green hasn't played big in the playoffs either, because he's done it on stages even bigger than Stephenson. Sorry, I just don't see a big difference there overall. Two role playing SGs, 4th/5th option types on a championship team, in my opinion.
Like I said from the start, he would be an upgrade over KCP right now, and if we really wanted to accelerate our growth even more, then it could be a signing to look at. But I personally don't think Lance Stephenson is the missing piece to a championship here, so if you want to spend all our remaining money for the next few years on him, that's your opinion, but I wouldn't do it. I'd rather go after someone much better than him with that money and wait to see what happens with KCP. If he doesn't pan out, oh well, at least we didn't overpay a role player just to make us into the Pacers part two, capped out and losing in the ECF at best every year for the forseeable future.
