Finding a long-term PG

[Fez Hammersticks]

Looking for a PG two things always pop up:

*Should be a scorer who can play off the ball and defend the likes of Parker, Paul, etc.
*Brandon Roy needs the ball in his hands.

One would think this would describe Bayless, which it does to some extent, but he really can only slash at this point - something Roy primarily does.

So, who fits the bill? Miller will give the team a new look and will allow Roy to play off the ball more. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Looking at the young PG's a lot of them can't shoot: Conley, Sessions, Rubio, etc.

One wild idea is playing Rudy at the point in stretches alongside Roy. Jason Quick said KP and McMillan want to get Rudy more playing time and will play him at the point for stretches.

If I could pick a PG in the long-term, I'd look at either Conley or Monta Ellis. With Stephen Curry being groomed as the PG of the future, maybe Monta could be attainable.

 

[Eastoff]

3 words

batum
shaka
laka

more seriously though, I would look forward to seeing Rudy in some pg minutes. But that won't happen imo

 

[RoyIsClutch07]

Looking for a PG two things always pop up:

*Should be a scorer who can play off the ball and defend the likes of Parker, Paul, etc.
*Brandon Roy needs the ball in his hands.

One would think this would describe Bayless, which it does to some extent, but he really can only slash at this point - something Roy primarily does.

So, who fits the bill? Miller will give the team a new look and will allow Roy to play off the ball more. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

Looking at the young PG's a lot of them can't shoot: Conley, Sessions, Rubio, etc.

One wild idea is playing Rudy at the point in stretches alongside Roy. Jason Quick said KP and McMillan want to get Rudy more playing time and will play him at the point for stretches.

If I could pick a PG in the long-term, I'd look at either Conley or Monta Ellis. With Stephen Curry being groomed as the PG of the future, maybe Monta could be attainable.

Andre Miller is the immediate answer and a fairly good one. But you're right, this team lacks a long term answer here. Jerryd Bayless could be it. Patty Mills could be it. But I think that this team needs to identify who it is and then either start or continue the process of grooming that person.

Bringing in a guard like Ellis or Conley doesn't make sense right now because they are ready to start and take the large amount of minutes at point. Something that Andre Miller and Steve Blake both already take. I just think if that was your intent, bringing in a guard like Conley or Ellis. I would have had that figured out before signing MIller to a contract. Now what I would do, is find out if Jerryd is going to cut it. If he won't, then I would find out if Mills is going to cut it. Then either continue or start the grooming process.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Andre Miller is the immediate answer and a fairly good one. But you're right, this team lacks a long term answer here. Jerryd Bayless could be it. Patty Mills could be it. But I think that this team needs to identify who it is and then either start or continue the process of grooming that person.

Bringing in a guard like Ellis or Conley doesn't make sense right now because they are ready to start and take the large amount of minutes at point. Something that Andre Miller and Steve Blake both already take. I just think if that was your intent, bringing in a guard like Conley or Ellis. I would have had that figured out before signing MIller to a contract. Now what I would do, is find out if Jerryd is going to cut it. If he won't, then I would find out if Mills is going to cut it. Then either continue or start the grooming process.

I don't think we need to worry about finding a long term answer for pg. If it happens, great! If it doesn't, not a big deal. Bringing in an experienced/savvy NBA vet for a few years who is hungry for a ring is a nice way to go. If Bayless, Mills or Kopo turn out to be our pg of the future great but it's not a big loss if it doesn't turn out that way.

 

[Shooter]

This whole point is moot. We have Andre Miller, a very good point guard, and we'll have him for at least the next 2 years. We can worry about filling his shoes after he's gone, or just before he leaves. In the meantime, enjoy what we have.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Looking at the young PG's a lot of them can't shoot: Conley, Sessions, Rubio, etc.

Disagree on Conley. His shot really came around last season - especially in the second half. For the year, he shot .406 3FG% and post all-star break he was 0.464 FG%, 0.435 3FG% and .840 FT%. Not bad at all.

He's really developing into a nice, young PG.

BNM

 

[BenDavis503]

I am not worried about it for now.

 

[mgb]

Ya, I'm not worried about it for a couple years. I hope, but don't think, Bayless will be the long term answer. Maybe Koop.

 

[blue32]

This whole point is moot. We have Andre Miller, a very good point guard, and we'll have him for at least the next 2 years. We can worry about filling his shoes after he's gone, or just before he leaves. In the meantime, enjoy what we have.

for the post, and for the Avatar.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Bayless is an enigma wrapped in a riddle surrounded by mystery at this point. Will he be satisfied with garbage time minutes two years in a row? Will his head explode if he can't beat out Steve Blake? Will he be able to demonstrate an ability to shoot the ball and distribute without turning it over constantly in practice and in what little (I assume) PT he gets in real games? Frankly I fear he's too intense to let another year go by without touching the court, but he probably couldn't have a better guy to learn under than Miller -- if he's ever going to be a competent point guard then a big, physical post up guy like AM who has made a career off of the drive and finish or drive and dish probably suits him better than Steve "spot up" Blake.

In short, I have no idea who the long term solution at point should be and what style of game that player should play. If Brandon (and the rest of the team) flourishes alongside a "pure point" like Miller, then I think you can expand the list of qualifications beyond the "plays defense and can score" list. If Brandon can't adjust or the two can't seem to get out of each other's way and Miller doesn't gel with the team because of the style of ball he plays then you start narrowing that list of qualifications down to a guy who needs to be able to play off-ball well and can guard guys on the perimeter.

Depending on how things go with Bayless, and the pending free agency of Steve Blake there seems to be some potential shakeups behind Andre Miller for the backup role at some point in the next 9+ months, it couldn't hurt to begin searching for an heir apparent sooner rather than later. When it comes to actual players it's hard to say, but I think there are some youngish guys like Kyle Lowry or Mario Chalmers I wouldn't mind seeing in a Blazers uniform -- I'm not saying either of those guys is available, but if they were I'd consider trading some assets to acquire them.