Positional Battles: PG

ElectricMayhem · Post #1 » by **ElectricMayhem** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 2:17 pm

The Detroit Pistons have a number of potential positional battles this year. The main question I want to focus on is: Who do you think should be starting for the Detroit Pistons by midseason?

In this thread, we will be discussing Point Guards. Assuming our team is set, which PG would you like to see in the starting role by midseason?

Name: Brandon Jennings (Incumbent)
From: Straight outta Compton (via Italy and Milwaukee)
Averaged 16/8 last year. Broke most advanced stats metrics.
Hobby: Getting punched out or offering potentially illicit drugs to Swaggy P at clubs.

vs.

Name: DJ Augustin
Hometown: N'awlins
Shot 41% from 3 last year, modest assist numbers

vs.

Name: Will Bynum (aka BYNUMITE)
Has scored over 2800 points as a Piston....nearly a third of the way to being in the Pistons Top 10 All-Time Scorers list.

vs.

Name: Spencer Dinwiddie (aka THE 'STACHE)
Deserves a Hall-of-Fame spot for the mustache alone.

*Forwards' positional battles to come later.

Post #2 » by **theBigLip** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:02 pm

Jennings - he will be starter, and play much better with SVG
DJ Augustin - will get lots of minutes while SVG is having discussion with Jennings on the bench :-)

Bynum - will be included in a trade
Dinwiddie - I don't think he will be 100% soon enough to be in the discussion.

engelbert321 · Post #3 » by **engelbert321** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:32 pm

NBA star.... Will Bynum? But I'm okay with either DJ or Brandon

bballnmike · Post #4 » by **bballnmike** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:37 pm

Very hopeful that Jennings can flourish under SVG, and hold onto the starting spot. If not, I'd like to see him traded and start Augustin or whoever else we possibly could get back.

I'm excited for Dinwiddie, but I don't see him going from missing most of his last year in college to starting in the NBA as a rookie second round pick. I'll be happy just to see him progress and show that he's healed well this season, and look for a bigger role next season.

wallace72 · Post #5 » by **wallace72** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:38 pm

1-Jennings plays at all star level under SVG

2-Augustin, first of the bench, replaces Jennings when his knucklehead period begins
3-Dinwiddie preparing himself for 15-16
4-Bynum, traded, gone

RasheedTupac · Post #6 » by **RasheedTupac** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:43 pm

Jennings will be an All Star this year.

Kilo · Post #7 » by **Kilo** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 3:53 pm

Jennings hopefully, if not this season has gone to hell. Augustin gets all the back-up minutes. Dinwiddie starts and plays big minutes for GR Drive this season, while Bynum racks DNP-CD's the first half. Second half Bynum is traded/released and Dinwiddie is the 3rd stringer.

MotownMadness · Post #8 » by **MotownMadness** » Tue Aug 26, 2014 4:03 pm

RasheedTupac wrote:Jennings will be an All Star this year.

Not a chance but hopefully he can shoot over 37% for once and actually play even somewhat of something that resembles defense.

Minas · Post #9 » by **Minas** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:17 am

I'm confident that Jennings will get his sh*t together under SvG. I'd be happy with his early season form under Cheeks minus a few bad shots, something like 16/8-9 on 42% shooting.

Hopefully DJ will be a great backup though if he continues to play the way he did in Chicago.

Notanoob · Post #10 » by **Notanoob** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 12:54 pm

I have some tiny bit of hope for Jennings still.

DJ can't defend, he's a net neutral (going by RAPM). His shooting makes him a natural fit on this team however.

I haven't checked Will Bynum's RAPM, but I always felt that he was underrated by the folks on this board. As frustrating as he can be, I love me some Bynumite.

I really hope that Dinwiddie can get some burn, I really liked him as a prospect and I think that he has an NBA future.

joseph mamah · Post #11 » by **joseph mamah** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 3:28 pm

I think its Augustine, I dont see BJ and SVG meshing very well. I think theres a better chance of Jennings being out of the rotation by midseason than there is of him still being the starter.

Post #12 » by **dVs33** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 4:33 pm

I'm hopeful that Jennings takes a step up this season, but i can see Augustin taking his starting spot.
Augustin is smarter, more consistent and a harder worker.

Kilo · Post #13 » by **Kilo** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:30 pm

If Augustin beats out Jennings by mid-season, Jennings will have zero trade value and signed through next season. Now if we get Monroe for the QO of $5.5M, if SVG doesn't spend that $7M earmarked for Monroe ($5.5QO + $7M remaining = $12.5M ie long term contract numbers set aside for Moose), could he used that saved money to buy out Jennings after this season instead - Would Gores go for it? It's not lost money as you're getting Monroe for $5.5M for this season, when you pegged his value at $12.5M-ish. It would be one way to get Jennings off the team and nearly cost neutral.

jakebernat · Post #14 » by **jakebernat** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 6:42 pm

jennings has every reason to win the job out of camp. he's our most talented player at the position. it's up to him if he wants to tailor his game to fit with the roster. he'll need to drastically cut down on his shot attempts, but like i said, the talent is there. he could easily raise his FG% to the mid 40's and his assists by about 1-2 APG if he buys into SVG's system.

epheisey · Post #15 » by **epheisey** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:31 pm

Maybe people didn't realize how good Jennings was at picking up assists last season, but he was 6th in the league in assists per game. Adding 1-2 more apg is a huge bump when you're already at the top end. Another 2 apg would be good enough for second best in the league. Not that it's not possible. But lets not get too greedy here. Jennings did a great job getting teammates some easy buckets, and he shouldn't have a problem doing that again. What he needs to improve upon is his shooting percentage. Whether that means better shot selection, less shots, I don't really care. But he needs to be at the least hitting in the low 40s.

jakebernat · Post #16 » by **jakebernat** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 8:10 pm

epheisey wrote:Maybe people didn't realize how good Jennings was at picking up assists last season, but he was 6th in the league in assists per game. Adding 1-2 more apg is a huge bump when you're already at the top end. Another 2 apg would be good enough for second best in the league. Not that it's not possible. But lets not get too greedy here. Jennings did a great job getting teammates some easy buckets, and he shouldn't have a problem doing that again. What he needs to improve upon is his shooting percentage. Whether that means better shot selection, less shots, I don't really care. But he needs to be at the least hitting in the low 40s.

Did you see the way he played? If he played with any discipline, his efficiency would skyrocket. That's the frustration with jennings. He really is one of the best passers in the league, but I'm not sure he realizes it.

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He Filled it Up · Post #17 » by **He Filled it Up** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 8:42 pm

Kilo wrote:If Augustin beats out Jennings by mid-season, Jennings will have zero trade value and signed through next season. Now if we get Monroe for the QO of $5.5M, if SVG doesn't spend that $7M earmarked for Monroe ($5.5QO + $7M remaining = $12.5M ie long term contract numbers set aside for Moose), could he used that saved money to buy out Jennings after this season instead - Would Gores go for it? It's not lost money as you're getting Monroe for $5.5M for this season, when you pegged his value at $12.5M-ish. It would be one way to get Jennings off the team and nearly cost neutral.

What's the point of a sunk cost? Just keep him on the bench and hope that someone is looking for a $7 million expiring contract. It isn't a neutral cost, it would be setting $7 million worth of cap room on fire. And we'll need that space if Greg walks.

epheisey · Post #18 » by **epheisey** » Wed Aug 27, 2014 9:08 pm

jakebernat wrote:
epheisey wrote:Maybe people didn't realize how good Jennings was at picking up assists last season, but he was 6th in the league in assists per game. Adding 1-2 more apg is a huge bump when you're already at the top end. Another 2 apg would be good enough for second best in the league. Not that it's not possible. But lets not get too greedy here. Jennings did a great job getting teammates some easy buckets, and he shouldn't have a problem doing that again. What he needs to improve upon is his shooting percentage. Whether that means better shot selection, less shots, I don't really care. But he needs to be at the least hitting in the low 40s.

Did you see the way he played? If he played with any discipline, his efficiency would skyrocket. That's the frustration with jennings. He really is one of the best passers in the league, but I'm not sure he realizes it.

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I agree with you that he's a great passer. I'm just pointing out that even the best passers in the league don't typically get the opportunity to collect 10 assists a game. With an offensive system in place to move the ball around effectively, his numbers could remain the same in the assist column, simply by the ball being out of his hands more, which could be the display of more discipline :wink:

RSCD3_ · Post #19 » by **RSCD3_** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 12:27 am

jakebernat wrote:
epheisey wrote:Maybe people didn't realize how good Jennings was at picking up assists last season, but he was 6th in the league in assists per game. Adding 1-2 more apg is a huge bump when you're already at the top end. Another 2 apg would be good enough for second best in the league. Not that it's not possible. But lets not get too greedy here. Jennings did a great job getting teammates some easy buckets, and he shouldn't have a problem doing that again. What he needs to improve upon is his shooting percentage. Whether that means better shot selection, less shots, I don't really care. But he needs to be at the least hitting in the low 40s.

Did you see the way he played? If he played with any discipline, his efficiency would skyrocket. That's the frustration with jennings. He really is one of the best passers in the league, but I'm not sure he realizes it.

Sent from my SPH-L720 using RealGM Forums mobile app

He was not that much better than Rubio at scoring last year

He couldn't score off penetration and his jumper was more erratic than
usual

Hopefully he'll take less " fancy " jumpers and the weight gain will help him finish when attacking the hole

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Redeemed · Post #20 » by **Redeemed** » Fri Aug 29, 2014 2:16 pm

I voted for DJ Augustin because he reminds me of Jameer Nelson with more bounce. Also, Augustin is already proficient in running the pick and roll and has benefitted tremendously by playing under some truly impressive coaches (Larry Brown, Thibs, and Vogel). I'm sure that exposure has benefitted his development greatly.

Augustin plays within himself with balance and composure, that should allow him to pilot SVG's offense with excellence. He gives effort, but usually gets housed on defense...still he gives credible effort to stay in front of his man.

Jennings is more talented with the higher ceiling and the greater possibility of exploding on any team in the league. He's also dumber than a head band. If Jennings comes to camp and learns the system and buys in he wins the pg battle easily. I have a hard time seeing him do that.

Dinwiddie is my hope for the future. I'm hoping this kid is as go as advertised. If he is, he's going to be the next big thing at this position in two years.

Who do you think should be the starting PG for Detroit by midseason?