Post#184 » by finestrg » Tue Jan 26, 2016 5:15 pm
Honestly, I'd trade in every guard we have except AA. Afflalo needs shots. Dude is a very good offensive player that just needs to get off early. I personally think we don't go to him enough. Look at the loss to the Clippers the other night -- dude took 5 shots. How do we only get him 5 shots in that game??? Other than AA, our backcourt is the pits. Galloway's OK, serviceable, but he's not nearly as good as they think he is. Doesn't possess true PG skills, not a great offensive player by any stretch, average defensively and he's well undersized for the 2 spot at 6'2". Decent player, a keeper provided we upgrade accordingly, but just an average combo guard at best imo. Then there's Jose and Sasha V--both are well below average. We need more firepower in the backcourt, plain and simple.
Can't understand why this hasn't been addressed. Can't understand why, with an open roster spot all along, we haven't at least tried to address the problem. I mean 10-day contracts began a good 2 weeks ago...There's way too much loyalty being shown to certain players, specifically Calderon, Vujacic and Galloway. Vujacic should've been waived awhile ago. I know there's the prior relationship with Phil/Fisher but they're living in the past with this guy. They could even do it respectfully: waive him and hire him back as a coach. Why not? He gets his money, we open up the roster spot for a talent upgrade and we keep him around as a coach to continue mentoring KP or whatever it is they deem so important with him. WHY can't we do that?!? I wouldn't even go that far -- just waive the guy. Period. Any other GM would've already. Any other GM never would've added him to the roster over Alexey Shved to begin with...Calderon needs to be reduced to 3rd string PG eventually (or traded if possible) with Galloway remaining as a backup (unless we could trade him too).
A few 10-day contract-types I'd love for us to consider:
Elliot Williams - 6'5", very athletic and skilled. Injuries are behind him--he's been healthy for 2 years now. Available again--Memphis didn't renew his contract after the callup. Nothing left to prove in the DL--two monster games since going back to Santa Cruz. When I compare him to Tony Wroten I see a similar albeit far superior talent in every area--much better shooter and an even better playmaker. This guy just needs PT at the NBA level, that's it.
Erick Green - 6'3", not the quickest, not a true PG, but this kid knows how to score the ball. Someone said it early on in this thread or in another one---all these shots that Galloway and Grant are missing or refusing to take, Green would take and make. We need more offensive threats in the backcourt. Gotta put the ball in the hole to win and this kid can do that. Had some good moments with Denver at the pro level so the proof is already in the pudding.
Russ Smith - 6'1", lighting up the DL. I've always liked him. Yeah, he's not a pure PG but I've always thought he was an underrated playmaker. Made great progress his senior yr at Louisville in many areas..He's a shot taker/shot maker first and foremost but he can also make plays for others. Quick and exciting. Not your typical "triangle guard" but so what? They really need to expand their search for talent imo. Phil needs to broaden his outlook on talent--can't simply eliminate the possibility of adding good, exciting talent because they may not be able to "fit" in some dated system. I'd go after sheer, standout talent every time, but that's me... Anyone can learn a system. Plus, we don't run 100% triangle anyway. It seems to be a little of everything out there--Fish even said so at one point. I dunno -- wouldn't it be good to have a few talented freelancers around to balance out the predictability of the triangle a little bit? I think the Garden would LOVE this kid Smith.
Bryce Cotton -- 6'0", very quick, good shooter/good offensive player. Enough PG skills, more than Galloway. He'd give us more speed and up the firepower and excitement. Killed it in the DL over the past 2 years, had a cup of coffee with PHX and I believe he's now in China. I'm sure he's got an out in his contract to get back in the NBA. I would've added this dude as soon as PHX cut him.
Jimmer Fredette or Travis Trice - I like the above 4 guys more but these two could help us. I know unlike Fredette, the gaudy numbers aren't there with Trice but he's very underrated. Kinda reminds me of a poor man's Mike Bibby. Dude can make shots (I thought I saw a graphic the other day on NBA TV saying Trice had the best FG % from mid range in the entire DL among guards) and he's an underrated passer.
Honorable mention - Sean Kilpatrick but I think Denver already called him up.
-----------------------------------
Guards with promise I'd look into trading for:
Joe Young (might be hard--he's starting to play now and I think he's related to Paul George)
Spencer Dinwiddie (a do-it-all combo guard with good skill/size, kind of like Alexey Shved)
Pat Connaughton (would be an upgrade over Sasha V as a pure 2G off the bench)
Isaiah Canaan
I'd like to see Phil be proactive and address the backcourt already. I honestly think that if we can tweak the backcourt even a little bit, it could mean the difference between .500/sub .500 and not making the playoffs and ending up +5 over and making it in.
