Best PG who could be bought

[THE HCP]

We don't need some big name superstar PG. I like what we have.

 

[Tortimer]

We don't need some big name superstar PG. I like what we have.

I agree about the PG position and if we were going to trade for a player with LaFrenz contract plus some players I would rather get a SF. I'm not even sure we even need that for sure with Batum and when Webster comes back.

 

[azsun67]

I agree about the PG position and if we were going to trade for a player with LaFrenz contract plus some players I would rather get a SF. I'm not even sure we even need that for sure with Batum and when Webster comes back.

I agree, I like where we are at PG, lets see how the young guys pan out at PG. I would like for us to go and get proven SF. But I am not even sure I want to do that because I believe Webster is very close to being the perfect fit for us at SF. I know I will get bashed for this but I would like Marion in Portland, if we can lowball the Heat (just RL and not much else)

 

[Tortimer]

I agree, I like where we are at PG, lets see how the young guys pan out at PG. I would like for us to go and get proven SF. But I am not even sure I want to do that because I believe Webster is very close to being the perfect fit for us at SF. I know I will get bashed for this but I would like Marion in Portland, if we can lowball the Heat (just RL and not much else)

I agree about Marion. If it doesn't seem like Webster is going to be our SF and Batum is a few years from being our starting SF I wouldn't mind going for Marion at the trade deadline. I know it might not work and he might not want to sign back anyway. We could trade LaFrenz and 1 or 2 players to make the salaries match. It is a no lose situation for the Blazers if he didn't work out he is a UFA next year and we can get the cap money for next year to sign someone else. I do think he can help the Blazers get in the playoffs with his defense, rebounding and scoring at the end of the season. I think there might be a chance if we did good Marion would put himself into the veteran leader on the team and maybe sign back with us. I know a lot of people don't like Marion but it sems like a possible perfect trade for us at the deadline IMO.

 

[azsun67]

I don't think Marion would be our leader, Roy is that, but Oden, LA and Marion is the best defensive front court in the League. Wow it is rare that someone agrees that Marion is a good fit on the Blazers, most people would not want him on the team.

 

[ucatchtrout]

Anyone know the status of Juan Carlos Navarro? Or if we could cut a deal and buy out his euro contract?

 

[Tortimer]

I don't think Marion would be our leader, Roy is that, but Oden, LA and Marion is the best defensive front court in the League. Wow it is rare that someone agrees that Marion is a good fit on the Blazers, most people would not want him on the team.

I didn't mean Marion would be our leader. I know Roy and maybe in the future Oden will be our leaders. I was just saying Marion might consider being the veteran leader that some people think we might need to win a championship. If we do well after trading for Marion and make the playoffs and do pretty good in the playoffs Marion will feel like he is the veteran that help us get over the hump and would possibly want to re-sign.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Anyone know the status of Juan Carlos Navarro? Or if we could cut a deal and buy out his euro contract?

barf ... I mean, wow, just "ugh" ...

 

[mook]

Well, the reason you would consider moving him is if you think you can an equal or better player at another position. I think Devin Harris is a superior talent, especially when one considers defense. He's also a highly talented prototypical point guard...something the team doesn't have.

If you don't think Harris is a better talent, then clearly we're not going to agree on the wisdom of moving Fernandez.

I'll concede that defensively, Harris is one of the better point guards in the game. And defense is a pretty big deal.

But what else about Harris really excites you? His 6 assists/game? His career .322 3pt%? That he shot .438/15ppg when he was made the focal point of the offense in New Jersey? That he led Dallas to so many titles, and constantly forced that team to over achieve? That he was so valuable that Dallas gave him away for a broken down Jason Kidd?

Don't get me wrong. I like Harris, and he would have been a nice fit here. But we're not talking about a guy who is anywhere close to a Chris Paul-level talent. He's a good up-and-coming PG, in the same way Damon Stoudamire or Nick Van Exel or Andre Miller once was. He may make a few All Star appearances, but I don't think anybody will ever mistake him for a franchise superstar.

The things I've seen Rudy do, though, in the Olympics against the US team, leading his Spanish team, and the passing he's displayed in preseason--man, I don't know if there is a better passing shooting guard in this league. And it's a given that he's a better perimeter shooter entering the NBA than Harris is after 4 seasons.

Is Fernandez better than Harris right now? Debatable. I have a hard time imagining Harris doing so well against the US Olympic team, but I also can't imagine Fernandez is nearly the defender Harris is. But Fernandez has superstar-level shooting, passing and swagger about him that I just don't see in Harris.

Either guy looks like he'll be making a few All Star appearances in his career, but only one of them has Ginobili-level (or better) upside.

I'd be all for trading Fernandez for a similarly talented/similar upside PG. But Harris just doesn't seem to be it.

 

[crowTrobot]

Mo Williams
Baron Davis
Kirk Hinrich
Steve Nash
Chauncy Billups
Raymond Felton
Jose Calderon
Jason Kidd
Lou Williams (sp?)
Rondo
Jameer Nelson
Derek Fisher
Tony Parker
Devin Harris?

Any takers from that list?

nope. everyone on that list is either not realistically available, not worth the $ and players it would take to get them, a shoot first ball dominator who would not be compatable with roy, or not a significant upgrade over what we have (and i would include conley in the last group).

anyway, i'm guessing roy and rudy will end up playing G together a lot and splitting PG duties, particularly when the game is on the line. don't see the point of bringing in a big name just to have one.

 

[Minstrel]

I'll concede that defensively, Harris is one of the better point guards in the game. And defense is a pretty big deal.

But what else about Harris really excites you?

His overall production for his age. If you take each thing as a component, no one thing looks standout, because he's not stellar at any single thing right now except defense. He simply does everything well and plays excellent defense.

Looking at PER, for an overall picture:

Last year, at age 24, he put up a 17.5 PER.

For reference, last year at age 23, Brandon Roy put up a 19.4 PER.

A 20.0+ PER generally denotes an All-Star caliber player. So, Harris is not quite at Roy's level (though it's closer when you consider defense, which PER doesn't outside of blocks and steals) but he's still really good. He's not far from All-Star-caliber and he's still young enough to improve and fit into this core, age-wise.

But we're not talking about a guy who is anywhere close to a Chris Paul-level talent.

I wasn't suggesting he was, or that he was a franchise superstar. Rudy Fernandez isn't worth half of a Chris Paul or "franchise superstar." I think Harris may well be the third-best young point guard after Chris Paul and Deron Williams, though.

As for Fernandez, I'm excited about him, but I think you may be overrating him based on his one excellent performance against Team USA (his other performance was pretty mediocre). Fernandez is clearly an intriguing talent and certainly has a chance to be as good or better than Harris, but I'd say the chances of him being superior aren't great. Harris I would say projects to a borderline All-Star in his prime. To be better, Fernandez would have to project to a perennial All-Star. He could be, but I'd say the odds are against it. Fernandez is only a year younger than Harris, so it's not like he has significantly more upside than Harris.

So, I see no reason to say that Harris isn't at least a comparable talent to Fernandez. I think that Harris is probably a superior talent/asset because he's proven at about the level people hope Fernandez will realistically reach. I don't think most believe Fernandez will be a superstar, so being a Devin Harris-level player is probably the most common, realistic expectation. Devin Harris is already proven to be a Devin Harris-level player.