Mini-LeBron .... or Big-Nate ?

Frank Lee · Post #1 » by **Frank Lee** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 1:21 pm

Couldn't really find a thread to discuss this... so I made one

Great hype job coupled with a flattering nickname, but is he really a bigger stronger Nate Robinson ? Not to rag on him fresh off a lousy game (@GS), but is this guy really all that ?

I haven't seen the tenacious defense he was lauded for. He ranks around 20th for steals (1.5), with 13 guards ahead of him. His scoring is there pt wise 18.4, but I heard an interesting stat last night.... he leads the league in unassisted baskets, yet gets to the line only 6 times a game (4.2 times for the month of Dec)
6 assits, 3 turnovers, 4 boards... pretty average...

I think he excels when he gets the right mismatch... but is rendered a mere mortal when he runs up against another above average athlete. Don't have the numbers to back that, just a theory. A head to head comparison would be an interesting stat to see.

After a brief look, I'd put him on par with Kyle Lowery ... but he is 5 yrs younger.

If he gets a max deal offered, it will be based on potential.

nevetsov · Post #2 » by **nevetsov** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 1:57 pm

Good post Frank, perhaps he's still acclimating his body to the heavy minutes. As in he's expending much more energy on the offensive end, and consequently he's cheating a bit on the defensive end.

He certainly has the physical tools and the instincts to be a very good defender.

Post #3 » by **Qwigglez** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 2:34 pm

Good post Frank, I was rather skeptical on the initial trade for him and was pleasantly surprised as to how talented he really was. I noticed when he was in L.A he didn't really have a go-to move or crossover and because of that I thought his iso-game was gonna be kind of shaky. His mid-range jumper has improved, but I think still needs a little more consistency. Sometimes his focus doesn't look like it's all there also but I think that happens to a lot of players during the course of an 82 game season.
Having said all that, I don't think he's a max contract type player, and I hope we give him a more team friendly contract. I think Bledsoe is more of a Robin than a Batman...

Post #4 » by **rsavaj** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 4:04 pm

He's absolutely more Robin than Batman, and I do think Goran's the better player, which is what makes the prospect of paying Eric double Goran's salary a little unappealing.

But he's a dynamic, young guard with room to grow. I'm glad we have him. Won't be horribly sad if he's moved in a larger deal for a true "star", but if no such deal is available, then let's lock him up longterm and see what he turns into.

Cutter · Post #5 » by **Cutter** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 5:48 pm

I really like Bledsoe, but he isn't worth the max. He needs to push the pace a lot more. He is constantly walking the ball up instead of running like Goran does.

QuickLikeTheo · Post #6 » by **QuickLikeTheo** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 7:01 pm

Come on it was one game. He's been crucial to what we've done this season.

Revived · Post #7 » by **Revived** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:03 pm

He definitely isn't worth the max.

Btw, does anyone know how to check stats to see how many dunks a player has? I want to know how many dunks Bledsoe has had this season. I feel like I have seen more dunks from Dudley in the past and that's not a good thing.

Cutter · Post #8 » by **Cutter** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 8:23 pm

SF88 wrote:He definitely isn't worth the max.

Btw, does anyone know how to check stats to see how many dunks a player has? I want to know how many dunks Bledsoe has had this season. I feel like I have seen more dunks from Dudley in the past and that's not a good thing.

Are you implying you want to see Bledsoe dunk a lot more? Why?

After seeing the physical breakdown of super athletic PGs like Westbrook and Rose, I don't want to see Bledsoe dunk the ball. I would rather he just do lay ups and put backs rather than do highlight reel dunks. Saves wear and tear on the body and will extend his career.

Revived · Post #9 » by **Revived** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:25 pm

Cutter wrote:
SF88 wrote:He definitely isn't worth the max.

Btw, does anyone know how to check stats to see how many dunks a player has? I want to know how many dunks Bledsoe has had this season. I feel like I have seen more dunks from Dudley in the past and that's not a good thing.

Are you implying you want to see Bledsoe dunk a lot more? Why?

After seeing the physical breakdown of super athletic PGs like Westbrook and Rose, I don't want to see Bledsoe dunk the ball. I would rather he just do lay ups and put backs rather than do highlight reel dunks. Saves wear and tear on the body and will extend his career.

I surely hope you aren't saying that dunks are the reason that Westbrook and Rose are injured. Westbrook is dealing with injuries that come directly from Patrick Beverely landing on him during a hustle play. Rose isn't from dunking either. Anyone could have had those injuries, regardless of how often you dunk.

I only ask about Bledsoe because I had heard from LAC fans that he's a very exciting player and that he has major hops and that he throws down pretty nice dunks. Haven't seen much this season. I have actually seen Bledsoe turn down the opportunity for wide open dunks and take the layup instead.

After years of seeing Nash put up layups instead of dunks, I wanted to see more dunks from our new PG. Since Bledsoe doesn't have anywhere close to the shooting ability or play making ability of Nash, least he can do is at least throw down some monstrous dunks.

Purely for my entertainment of course. I would never say Bledsoe is a bad player because he doesn't dunk that often.

WeekapaugGroove · Post #10 » by **WeekapaugGroove** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:41 pm

Ups and downs with Bledsoe are to be expected. He might not be worth it but I do think some team like the bucks or magic will throw the Eric Gordon like deal at him. If he continues to grow as a player (and he def has areas of his game to work on) then I'd be fine matching. Sure he might not live up to that contract but a 4 yr deal at less than 15 per really isn't crippling. Your getting him in the prime of his career during those 4 yrs and even the current version is a good player.

On a side note you can't use the current dragic contract as a comparison. He's clearly outplaying it but that doesn't mean Bledsoe should or will take less than market value.

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

DirtyDez · Post #11 » by **DirtyDez** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:42 pm

sunsfan1313 wrote:Come on it was one game. He's been crucial to what we've done this season.

Exactly. Other than a high TO-rate he's blown away my expectations. He's the most efficient guard on the team and has a higher TS% than guys like Paul, Curry & Lillard and just turned 24. He's a keeper.

DirtyDez · Post #12 » by **DirtyDez** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:45 pm

WeekapaugGroove wrote:Ups and downs with Bledsoe are to be expected. He might not be worth it but I do think some team like the bucks or magic will throw the Eric Gordon like deal at him. If he continues to grow as a player (and he def has areas of his game to work on) then I'd be fine matching. Sure he might not live up to that contract but a 4 yr deal at less than 15 per really isn't crippling.

On a side note you can't use the current dragic contract as a comparison. He's clearly outplaying it but that doesn't mean Bledsoe should or will take less than market value.

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Neither of them are "outplaying" the other. In fact Bledsoe is superior now to when Dragic was 23-24. Goran has always been the golden boy to fans so they kinda overrate him IMO.

His contract has nothing to do with Dragic so I dunno why people keep bringing that up. Dragic controls his contract situation and Bledsoe does not.

WeekapaugGroove · Post #13 » by **WeekapaugGroove** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 9:47 pm

DirtyDez wrote:
WeekapaugGroove wrote:Ups and downs with Bledsoe are to be expected. He might not be worth it but I do think some team like the bucks or magic will throw the Eric Gordon like deal at him. If he continues to grow as a player (and he def has areas of his game to work on) then I'd be fine matching. Sure he might not live up to that contract but a 4 yr deal at less than 15 per really isn't crippling.

On a side note you can't use the current dragic contract as a comparison. He's clearly outplaying it but that doesn't mean Bledsoe should or will take less than market value.

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Neither of them are "outplaying" the other. In fact Bledsoe is superior now to when Dragic was 23-24. Goran has always been the golden boy to fans so they kinda overrate him IMO.

His contract has nothing to do with Dragic so I dunno why people keep bringing that up. Dragic controls his contract situation and Bledsoe does not.

What I was saying is that Gorans outplaying his current contract not Bledsoe (although that's a valid argument both ways).

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Frank Lee · Post #14 » by **Frank Lee** » Sat Dec 28, 2013 10:04 pm

sunsfan1313 wrote:Come on it was one game. He's been crucial to what we've done this season.

I believe I prefaced my comments disclaiming ' a one game thing'

And then displayed some seasonal stats.

Are you prepared to match any offer for him ?? There are quite a few teams with cap space and need. For my money, Goran (and yes there is some bias) is a far better value and quite worth the future investment to keep HIM.

slowly, under the cover of consistent play, The Dragon is becoming the face of this franchise...media be damned.

BurningHeart · Post #15 » by **BurningHeart** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 12:38 am

A good player but he must improve on taking care of the ball and his shot selection. He's still young and figuring things out, so hopefully it comes with time. If he doesn't, he's not worth as much as he'll command.

QuickLikeTheo · Post #16 » by **QuickLikeTheo** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:06 am

Frank Lee wrote:
sunsfan1313 wrote:Come on it was one game. He's been crucial to what we've done this season.

I believe I prefaced my comments disclaiming ' a one game thing'

And then displayed some seasonal stats.

Are you prepared to match any offer for him ?? There are quite a few teams with cap space and need. For my money, Goran (and yes there is some bias) is a far better value and quite worth the future investment to keep HIM.

slowly, under the cover of consistent play, The Dragon is becoming the face of this franchise...media be damned.

yes, whose gonna play Ag if he leaves? Goodwin, as much as I love him, is not ready and green is very streaky. Bledsoe will be a star

QuickLikeTheo · Post #17 » by **QuickLikeTheo** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 4:07 am

SunsFanSSOL · Post #18 » by **SunsFanSSOL** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 5:13 am

Bledsoe is 3 years younger than Dragic. This is his first year to have a real chance at running a team, while Dragic had all of last season, part of the time he was in Houston, and his time with the Slovenian national team. With Bledsoe, in college it was John Wall's team, with the Clippers it was Baron Davis's team, and later Chris Paul's. Bledsoe is only going to improve from here. Dragic has also had the opportunity to have good coaches like Gentry and Adelman, all Bledsoe had was the terrible Vinny Del Negro, who often refused to play him. Look how poorly Dragic played at 24 and then compare the two. I know a lot of Suns fans are Dragic fanboys but that doesn't mean Bledsoe should be undermined. He's been producing more than Dragic the last 5 games and in less minutes too, even with the inclusion of the Golden State game.

And I don't know how you can compare Bledsoe to a chucker like Nate. Bledsoe may have questionable shot selection at times yet he's still shooting an efficient 49 % from the field and 36 % from 3, both of which are better than Dragic. His BBIQ is only going to improve as he matures and learns from Jeff, and his control of the offense will improve with it. I also find it hilarious how some of you want to trade the best young talent we've had probably since Amar'e in favor of a guy who's already hit his ceiling.

Frank Lee · Post #19 » by **Frank Lee** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 6:18 am

you guys are sensitive...

Nobody is saying trade Bledsoe, at least I am not.

I am just posing questions, promoting discussion. Nice bio of his BBall coaching history btw. .

Us Dragic 'FanBoys' ? hahaha Careful not to turn it into a Dragic or Bledsoe contest, as I prefer an 'and'. BTW, If you want to bring up trades, look at all the chatter about anointing Bledsoe the PG of the future and trading Dragic before he walks. (I guess there are some crystal ballers here too)

I think its clear we will try to keep them both. But at what cost ? It will be a dangerous free agent landscape this off season.

And I'll grant you Bledsoe is much more than Nate, so don't take it so literally. To me, he'll be ball parking with Ty Lawson, Jru Holiday, Kyle Lowery and such. Not bad company.... and at what I would consider suitable/similar contracts.

RunDogGun · Post #20 » by **RunDogGun** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 6:33 am

Ha, I stopped reading after I saw "good coach like Gentry". :lol:

As for Bledsoe, I like him, but to me he doesn't really run a team. He can get to the basket almost at will, but often he seems out of control while doing it. He doesn't seem to set up a play, or another player. He reminds me of Marbury a bit, although Marbury lead the league in assists while with the Suns.

I like having them both ( Goran and Bled) and would rather we don't trade either. Hopefully they can be resigned for a responsible price, so we can still get guys around them.