Peak - Mitch Richmond, Latrell Sprewell or Eddie Jones?

[Quotatious]

Rank these shooting guards at their peaks.

1997 for Richmond and Sprewell, 2000 for Jones.

[Masigond]

Richmond for me. Best scorer out of those three (Sprewell came only close due to playing an absurd amount of time: 41.9 minutes per game to Richmond's 38.6), and while Jones was easily the best defender out of them (which makes him somewhat eligible to be named in that comparison), I'm not sold enough on his scoring efficiency. Solid but not great (.555 TS%). Richmond was good enough defensively that I'm quite certain that I'd prefer him.

Maybe most important of all for me: I know that we should compare just those single seasons when regarding a one-year peak but in the end I can't ignore that they were some kind of outliers for Spree and Jones. But it was just the best of some arguably comparable seasons that Richmond played. I can't ignore that Richmond's prime was way better than the other two players'.

[GYK]

Rock for me as well

[Biddy77]

Mitch was the worst defender of the three, which isn't actually a bad thing to say in light of the 3 players being discussed. He was clearly the best offensive player, whether we're talking about metrics or options. He was simply the most consistent and complete of the three.

Spree was an overrated defender who had no left hand at all and benefitted greatly from huge minutes early on. He was a very streaky shooter, turnover prone, largely ineffective from the right side of the court, and known for being disproportionately emotional (not just talking about the PJ thing). I was actually a fan, but I see him as the biggest gamble of the three.

Eddie Jones is interesting. He was known for his D, but even back in his college days (with Aaron McKie on Chaney's Temple squad), EJ was known for being a dynamic and disruptive defender. He was quick, had great anticipation on D, had long arms, and gambled a lot. His speed helped him recover reasonably quickly. As a result, he was a frustrating guy for people to play against. Offensively... Very streaky shooter, good slasher.

I'm going Mitch first, Jones second, Spree last. You could rely on Mitch's O and Eddie's D more than Spree's anything.

[ChokeFasncists]

Richmond, most consistent and better leadership.

[Vinsanity_GOAT]

mitch
eddie

latrell

Biddy77 already explained it pretty well so i'll just give him the and1 and save myself some time.

[SHAQ32]

I would go with Eddie Jones as the overall best player here. He was a super role player that was great in transition and could do a bit of everything on both ends of the floor and had no problem deferring. Sort of an upper-middle class man's Scottie Pippen at SG (although not nearly as great defensively but was a superior shooter and also moving without the ball)

[Quotatious]

Mitch was the most suited to be a #1 scoring option, but honestly I wouldn't want any of them as my #1 option.

I would go with Eddie Jones as the overall best player here. He was like a middle class man's Scottie Pippen, but as a SG. Although not as as great defensively, but a better shooter and better at moving without the ball.

I would probably agree. Conventional wisdom says Richmond (and he has 6 votes in the poll so far, to zero for both Jones and Sprewell), but honestly, I'd prefer Jones.

Mitch is the best scorer/shooter/#1 option of the three, great ability to take a shot off, create a good look for himself (also really good in the post - one of the strongest, and at the same time, craftiest, SGs I've ever seen), and he has clearly the highest PER (21.6, compared to 19.9 for Jones and 19.7 for Sprewell), but Jones beats him in WS/48 (slightly, 17.2 to 16.6), and BPM/VORP (by a pretty big margin), not to mention that he looks much better in RAPM (+4.87 in NPI, Richmond had just +2.25, Sprewell +1.22). Peak EJ was good at pretty much everything, he's like a late 90s/early 2000s version of Andre Iguodala (also because RAPM loves him).

As far as Sprewell, his 1996-97 season is almost like the 2002-03 season for T-Mac - it was clearly an outlier year (obviously McGrady was a way better player than Sprewell, there's no comparison whatosever, but the same thing happened for both guys - they were just much more efficient and productive during their respective peak seasons, than any other season of their careers).

SHAQ32 - oh, I see that you edited your post, sorry for quoting the former version. I'd say peak Jones was actually a legit All-Star (borderline All-Star at the very least), not a super role player (role players usually don't have such a complete skill-set as EJ had at his peak). Both his boxscore numbers, and non-boxscore, indicate that his impact was very high, and his usage was IMO high enough (23.4% USG, plus 20 PPG on good efficiency, and 4 APG) to call him a star.

[Hornet Mania]

Eddie Jones would be my choice, followed by Richmond and Sprewell.

Richmond's defense was just way too awful for me, though he did put up nice offensive stats in spite of being on bad teams. I think he'd be a really nice complementary player on a great team, but not a focal point if you want to be great. Richmond has the best offense of this group, but also by far the worst defense imo.

Eddie Jones was a 3x All-NBA 2nd team defender, 3x All-Star and in 2000 was All-NBA 3rd team along with being an All-Star starter (if I remember correctly) as the clear focal point of a 4th seeded Hornets team that won 49 games. That team also got swept by the Sixers though, in the interest of fairness that absolutely must be mentioned. In 2000 he ended up getting traded to the Heat, and in the season where Zo was diagnosed with the kidney disease that team still won 50 games. As a Hornets fan I never considered Jones a true number one guy, ideally he would be a really fantastic second or third scoring option with excellent defense. He was certainly a legitimate All-Star during his prime/peak years, and even though he was miscast as a lead player his teams still ended up performing very well. I was a little sad to see him go, but I also wasn't super excited to give him the max deal Miami offered. Pat Riley thought he was the missing piece to push the Zo/Hardaway Heat to championship contention, for what it's worth. That speaks highly of his value around the league after the 2000 season if nothing else.

Can't speak much for Sprewell, although I enjoyed his run in the 99 playoffs. I would rank him 3rd not necessarily due to ability (because, again, I don't have a solid grasp on how great he actually was) but because I feel like I can depend on Jones/Richmond and they'd fit much better as the complementary players they should be in the best-case scenario.

[picc]

Eddie Jones once made a layup from the 3 point line.

No relevance to the discussion, just want to know if anyone else remembers that.

[SHAQ32]

SHAQ32 - oh, I see that you edited your post, sorry for quoting the former version. I'd say peak Jones was actually a legit All-Star (borderline All-Star at the very least), not a super role player (role players usually don't have such a complete skill-set as EJ had at his peak). Both his boxscore numbers, and non-boxscore, indicate that his impact was very high, and his usage was IMO high enough (23.4% USG, plus 20 PPG on good efficiency, and 4 APG) to call him a star.

When I say super role player, i'm not referring to his impact, because I know Eddie Jones was a high impact SG in his prime. I'm talking about the way he made his impact -- in transition, the catch and quick slash, making hard cuts to the basket, or his corner 3. He wasn't a guy who needed to dominate the ball, and I love that portability.

@Hornet Mania
Great post man. I remember the summer of '00, Eddie Jones was one of the big FAs that year, after Duncan, Hill and T-Mac, and after him you had Derek Anderson and Maurice Taylor (lol). Fans of the Bulls, Heat, Magic, Spurs were looking at him as the consolation prize on whoever missed out on the first three, but hell if we got Duncan I would've been more than happy to take Jones. Although he did start declining just a few years after signing that contract so idk lol.

[penbeast0]

I like Eddie Jones's game the best; the 3 and D combination has proved incredibly valuable over the last decade BUT . . .

When I think of someone who just plain disappeared in the clutch, Eddie Jones is the first name that comes to mind. I don't know the actual numbers and would love for someone to check them because impressions, particularly those based on small sample sizes, are frequently inaccurate, but he had that rep and when I used to watch him (mainly the Miami and LA years), I would notice it.

Between the other two it is Mitch Richmond so he's my vote at #1.

[Louie_Ruckuz]

I've been a Lakers fan since the early 90's and Mitch Richmond would always ball up Eddie Jones. During that time Jones was my favorite player, I still got his jersey by the way.

1. Mitch
2. Sprewell
3. Jones

[Witzig-Okashi]

My first thought is Eddie Jones. Two way players generally should get the nod, especially as good as E. Jones was at his best. I'm giving thought to Richmond, but my preference/bias towards defense may lead me towards Jones. I

I don't feel that Spree is in the same class, and isn't as reliable as the other two (though Jones has had his moments as penbeast alluded to)....

[ronnymac2]

This is a cool comparison. Eddie Jones is an awesome 2-way beast because of his off-ball offense (3-point shooting, cutting without the ball, fast break demon) and excellent d. Mitch Richmond is certainly a much better scorer than even the stats suggest. His ability to manufacture points far exceeds Eddie's. He's also at least as good a 3-point shooter.

It comes down to what you need. You need a 3rd option next to 2 superstars, Eddie Jones is your guy. If you need a secondary scorer/shooter with solid defense next to a Shaq or LeBron or Dirk, take Mitch.

Also, respect to Sprewell. He basically played with Westbrook's heart/fearlessness and Jimmy Butler's endurance/motor. Very good defensive player, too. He's just too inefficient and doesn't have the playmaking ability to make up for it, so I'd put him behind Eddie and Mitch.

[Clyde Frazier]

I've been a Lakers fan since the early 90's and Mitch Richmond would always ball up Eddie Jones. During that time Jones was my favorite player, I still got his jersey by the way.

1. Mitch
2. Sprewell
3. Jones

97 lakers were one of my favorite teams of all time to watch play… then they got boring and started winning championships.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1997.html

[Louie_Ruckuz]

I've been a Lakers fan since the early 90's and Mitch Richmond would always ball up Eddie Jones. During that time Jones was my favorite player, I still got his jersey by the way.

1. Mitch
2. Sprewell
3. Jones

97 lakers were one of my favorite teams of all time to watch play… then they got boring and started winning championships.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1997.html

Yes indeed! Nick the Quick, Eddie Jones, Bald Kobe and a skinnier version of Shaq. I hated it when they traded away Eddie Jones.

[snoopdogg88]

I remember the summer of 2000 when Eddie Jones was a free agent and was very highly sought after.

As a relatively young kid, I remember thinking he was a star. And I guess looking back he wasn't as impressive as I thought he was. His teams never really accomplished much, and he wasn't able to be "the guy"

[Winsome Gerbil]

Back in the day I might have given Latrell credit for at least being close. Looking back, his athletic wildman routine wasn't actually that efficient and may have been inflated, of course the personality was lethal.

Anyway, Mitch pretty easily. He was almost a franchise player. Right on the fringe. And he played both ends, so its not just that he was the best scorer.

Mitch (a 1st option) > Latrell (a 2nd option) > Jones (a 3rd option)

[chrismikayla]

1. Mitch
2. Spree
3. Jones

Also, this got me thinking. What player does Sprewell compare to today as far as playing style? I think of him as a poor man's Russell Westbrook being a sometimes streaky shooter and great in transition/slashing.