I said it last year, ill say it again

[StunnaStan]

Bench kcp, Start Stanley Johnson. Kcp will still be a inconsistent chucker with no ball handle or strength. If kcp isn't hitting 3s, hes useless in the halfcourt. Its time to give sj the starting sg position. during summerleague, you hear how rick kamla and steve smith rave about sj and how he should start. Even in the playoffs, sj was balling on both sides of the ball, shooting 55% but he coming off our bench????!!!!! This like some okc james harden ****.

Its not like kcp scores 20 a night, he doesn't get to the line, he not efficient. This guy sj is ready to break out.

All that said, i like kcp although I came across harsh. I just want kcp to be our 6man. Bring kcp off the bench with a green light to shoot and he'll be in 6th man of the yr contention. All kcp is capable of doing on offense is shooting which he isn't exactly a marksman at. Sj could score, shoot, pass/create, and rebound. Hes a sg averaging damn near 10rebounds in sl.

Justice Winslow not starting over a Dwayne wade(3x nba champion, finals mvp, multiple Allstar games) is/was understandable. We're not starting our 6'7 245lbs shooting guard who is a beast for some kcp???? The same kcp who aaron afflalo views as a walking mismatch. Come on mann

[dVs33]

KCP is our best defender by a huge margin. He has also improved his handles and all signs point to him continuing to develop. So no KCP is our starting SG. And that will be the case unless he is injured or we trade for Klay Thompson.

[MotownMadness]

Why not just bench one of Mook or Harris? They both basically bring a lot of the same things in hybrid forwards.

[Moses ShamMoses]

Bencing KCP would be a mistake.He was our best player in the playoffs last season putting up 15+ pts on great shooting numbers. If Stanley is replacing anybody in the starting lineup it will be Marcus Morris not KCP.

[Liqourish]

Stanley Johnson is a SF not a SG. We've played him at SG since Hilliard and Bullock haven't earned those minutes and Meeks was always injured, but it's not his position. I want no part of this projected move.

[Skinny Pete]

SJ can't guard elite PGs like KCP can. As long as Reggie is starting, that's something the starting SG will need to be able to do. Besides, I'd want him guarding forwards anyway with that crazy core strength.

I wish KCP was more consistent and efficient. But I think people have forgotten just how ineffective Stanley became late season. He was dropped from the rotation and he absolutely deserved it. He's got the confidence and attributes to one day demand a starting role, but based on last season, he needs to develop a lot to earn that right.

[dVs33]

More than anything Stanley isn't ready to start yet. Morris proved to be our best starting SF last year and Johnson, while impressive, still needs to develop. There's really no rush to push Johnson into the starting lineup

[aad]

Johnson was coming off a shoulder injury that's why he sucked late season but turn it on in the playoffs but kcp is our sg going forward I wouldn't trade or bench him

[Pharaoh]

Dre 33, Baynes/Boban 15
Harris 30, JL 18
Mook 28, SJ 20
KCP 28, SJ 10, Bullock 10
RJ 30, Ish 18

That's the rotation right there. Up to SVG how he makes it work but when you've got 6 guys capable of playing 30 minutes AND a strong bench there's no need to run guys into the ground (KCP, RJ & Mook) like last season.

We'll get more out of them if we reduce their minutes.

I wanna see nights where King Henry & Bullock log 20 minutes. Where Ish logs damn near 30. Where JL does too.

No need to ride or die here

[coordinator0]

SJ can't guard elite PGs like KCP can. As long as Reggie is starting, that's something the starting SG will need to be able to do. Besides, I'd want him guarding forwards anyway with that crazy core strength.

First of all, welcome to the board!

And I mostly agree. Johnson can't guard most point guards let alone elite ones. He projects as a very good (or elite) defensive wing, but obviously more skewed towards being a physical player and defending other physical payers. You're not going to find many guys like that in the backcourt these days and Stanley is going to struggle if most of his minutes come at shooting guard. A handful like he's projected to get as the guy getting most of the minutes Caldwell-Pope leaves is fine, but not 30+ a night.

I wish KCP was more consistent and efficient. But I think people have forgotten just how ineffective Stanley became late season. He was dropped from the rotation and he absolutely deserved it. He's got the confidence and attributes to one day demand a starting role, but based on last season, he needs to develop a lot to earn that right.

I'm not particularly worried about Johnson's decline late in the regular season though. Makes sense that a rookie coming off of an injury late in the season will struggle, and he played very well in the playoff series against Cleveland. I don't think Stanley starts out with a starting spot this season but I'm expecting him to take one from Morris or Harris at some point, maybe by early February.

[BIG BEN'S FRO]

Not sure the best use of Stanley's ability to defend strong players would be best served chasing SGs around picks.

[Snakebites]

Stanley Johnson was awful at the tail end of last season. He shouldn't be starting over anyone until he shows better consistency and overall play. No evidence to suggest he's ready yet.

[zeebneeb]

What's next? Andre at PF?

The whole premise is broken as Johnson is not a SG.

[DETermination]

First of all KCP will not be going to the bench anytime soon, the dude is too good of a defender and plays way too many minutes.2nd thing is Stanley still needs to prove that he can be a starter which he hasn't yet but when he does it wont be at the sg position.Also what is this the lets hate on kcp offseason or something? The dude just played 40 minutes a game in the playoffs and was our best player that series too, he would have to do a lot wrong to go to the bench and i just dont see it ever happening.

[MrBigShot]

If we listened to you we would've been a worse team last year. Also just for the sake of showing how subjective this post is:

Even in the playoffs, sj was balling on both sides of the ball, shooting 55% but he coming off our bench????!!!!! This like some okc james harden ****.

KCP averaged 15/4/3 on 44/44/70. There's a good reason Stanley came off the bench; KCP played better.

[Todd3]

More than anything Stanley isn't ready to start yet. Morris proved to be our best starting SF last year and Johnson, while impressive, still needs to develop.

This is why he should start at SG, not SF, because Marcus is still better than him, but KCP isn't.

The primary responsibilities of a SG are shooting, ball-handling, and guarding your own man. KCP really doesn't do any of them. His shooting/ball-handling issues need no explanation, and for all the praise he gets for guarding the best PGs, he deserves equal criticism for his inability to guard the best players at his own position (Derozan, Wade, Butler, Redick, Afflalo). And being able to guard your own man first is more important.

So this logic that KCP should start at SG because he can guard PGs, but Stanley shouldn't because he can't makes no sense. We're talking about SG not PG.

That's like saying Morris should start at C, even though he can't guard Cousins/Jordan/Whiteside, but when he gets switched on SFs we'll be set!

Stanley wouldn't improve our shooting (wouldn't be any worse either), but he would improve our ball-handling/playmaking/rebounding and give us a better matchup defensively against the best SGs imo.

[coordinator0]

This is why he should start at SG, not SF, because Marcus is still better than him, but KCP isn't.

The primary responsibilities of a SG are shooting, ball-handling, and guarding your own man. KCP really doesn't do any of them. His shooting/ball-handling issues need no explanation, and for all the praise he gets for guarding the best PGs, he deserves equal criticism for his inability to guard the best players at his own position (Derozan, Wade, Butler, Redick, Afflalo). And being able to guard your own man first is more important.

So this logic that KCP should start at SG because he can guard PGs, but Stanley shouldn't because he can't makes no sense. We're talking about SG not PG.

Caldwell-Pope does defend shooting guards though. He takes the hardest matchup in the backcourt at either position since Jackson is really bad on defense. Not just guarding point guards exclusively, and you know that. It works because Reggie has enough length and size to masquerade as a shooting guard defensively when the opposing point guard is the better offensive player and Kentavious has to guard him. "Your own man" doesn't exist when a team has other guys that can legitimately be switched onto a different position.

Switches happen regardless of how hard a team might to try (but they don't) to have their guys focus solely on one opposing player. Being able to do that seamlessly is one of the biggest factors in being able to play effective team defense these days. That's why Morris and/or Harris at the four works since both can move their feet on the perimeter or match up well enough with today's power forwards down low. Tobias isn't a good defender, but next to either Johnson or Morris the entire team defense shouldn't break down.

And for what it's worth only Afflalo and Redick (who only played one game against Detroit) shot better against the Pistons than their season averages last season. Butler, DeRozan, and Wade didn't and they're clearly the best of that group. It wasn't Jackson slowing those guys down. No player is shutting them down but making players like that less efficient is how you beat their teams.

[theBigLip]

I guess we are all entitled to our opinions.

Mine happens to be that this is going to be a breakout year for KCP. Not only will he play D at an elite level, he is going to get 18-20ppg this year and probably an AllStar spot.

[Cowology]

I am 100% on board with expanding Stanleys role. He's putting in the work and we need to continue our investment in his development. But he has not yet earned a starting position.

Others are also correct in identifying his role as a SF and not a SG. I'm not the biggest KCP homer on the board, but there is no question that his defense is currently needed.

[Todd3]

This is why he should start at SG, not SF, because Marcus is still better than him, but KCP isn't.

The primary responsibilities of a SG are shooting, ball-handling, and guarding your own man. KCP really doesn't do any of them. His shooting/ball-handling issues need no explanation, and for all the praise he gets for guarding the best PGs, he deserves equal criticism for his inability to guard the best players at his own position (Derozan, Wade, Butler, Redick, Afflalo). And being able to guard your own man first is more important.

So this logic that KCP should start at SG because he can guard PGs, but Stanley shouldn't because he can't makes no sense. We're talking about SG not PG.

Caldwell-Pope does defend shooting guards though. He takes the hardest matchup in the backcourt at either position since Jackson is really bad on defense. Not just guarding point guards exclusively, and you know that. It works because Reggie has enough length and size to masquerade as a shooting guard defensively when the opposing point guard is the better offensive player and Kentavious has to guard him. "Your own man" doesn't exist when a team has other guys that can legitimately be switched onto a different position.

Switches happen regardless of how hard a team might to try (but they don't) to have their guys focus solely on one opposing player. Being able to do that seamlessly is one of the biggest factors in being able to play effective team defense these days. That's why Morris and/or Harris at the four works since both can move their feet on the perimeter or match up well enough with today's power forwards down low. Tobias isn't a good defender, but next to either Johnson or Morris the entire team defense shouldn't break down.

And for what it's worth only Afflalo and Redick (who only played one game against Detroit) shot better against the Pistons than their season averages last season. Butler, DeRozan, and Wade didn't and they're clearly the best of that group. It wasn't Jackson slowing those guys down. No player is shutting them down but making players like that less efficient is how you beat their teams.

Switches happen, but you still have to be able to stop the best players at YOUR position to be an elite defender.

Those guys routinely abuse him. Can't just go by FG%. FTs, rebounds, and assists count too.

Butler avg 12 FTs and 10 rpg vs us this year. Derozan dominated KCP until we switched Marcus on him. That's why his FG% was less, not from KCP.

His defense on PGs is overrated too. Other than the 2 games vs Westbrook and 1 game vs Curry, what PGs did he stop?

I recall more games vs Wall, Kemba, Thomas, Irving, Parker, Rondo, and Jamal Crawford that he was useless against, than games that he actually stopped the other teams PG for us.