Maggette is going to be Maggette; Dunleavy in LA with Brand and Kaman will become a Battier-type invaluable glue player (with less turnovers.)
<div class="quote_poster">philsmith75 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Maggette is going to be Maggette; Dunleavy in LA with Brand and Kaman will become a Battier-type invaluable glue player (with less turnovers.)</div>And I'll be overjoyed to see him thrive there.
I'd like to have another player with Dunleavy's skills that isn't quite so slow. But I understand why Dunleavy is an asset to a team that doesn't play like a team. When the guys start understanding what it takes to play playoff caliber ball, they'll really love a team guy like Dunleavy. It's like Grant Hill and all these other unselfish guys that know when to give up the rock. I know Jrich appreciates him and guys like him. Jrich is a team player too, but he is not blessed with much guard skills... but he's smart enough of a basketball player to understand how invaluable glue guys are. When there's no inside presence to begin with and no ball movement, it's obvious why we get killed. We don't swing the ball or run precise routes to make floor spacing and open looks at the basket. There's not very many setup guys who have people that can follow plays... It's tough to operate that way and especially if you can't shoot the outside shot when they leave you open. I don't blame Dunleavy for why we lose (maybe in '03 I did when he was absolutely pathetic on D and Clif Robinson cussed him out) and maybe again when he kept bricking shots that weren't even close and he had just signed a big contract. He wasn't even playing at Murphy's level, so many did not believe he could rebound like Murphy and Jrich did when they were in a slump after signing big contracts... It's a love/hate relationship with Dun. Great brains for the game, very coachable, good teammate, poor physical skills, and he's not very aggressive or consistent finesse wise. Plus, his good use of his off-hand is a waste when he can't finish inside with contact or get to the rim in traffic. His feet are too slow and his handle is not that great changing direction against fast lateral moving defenders. He only works well when running against a backpedalling defender or if defenders respect his jump shot (which nobody does right now).
Mags would be a better pickup than how some wanted Al Harrington for SF (IMO, if Maggette can stay healthy). But I see where Philsmith is getting at. It's like valuing Murphy for his shooting, rebounding, and occasional drive to the bucket, but there's not much instinctive or natural game regarding his passing, help defense, or ability to create his own shot or for others. Dunleavy's is and we've had some good wins with Dunleavy being a type of point forward on offense for halfcourt situations. For believers in Dun, he's bound to get back up to 45% shooting one of these days and fix his 3-point shooting. His defense is certainly a lot better than what it used to be. He was worse than Adam Morrison is right now IMO. All he could do was draw blocking fouls for the other team or allow Clif Robinson and Dampier to get smoked at the rim. If we got Mags, he might be something like a Murphy who can show results, but can affect the team chemistry in a bad way some nights. But Mags is athletic inside/outside player and Murphy is not. Another player I hope Mags doesn't become if he were traded to us is Pietrus. I like Pietrus, but only in small doses. That guy just doesn't get it at times. He is like Foyle when it comes to basketball sense and free throws.
