Gordon wants as much as Deng

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (thedude9990 @ Jul 31 2008, 02:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Like idk what I've seen he is worth as much maybe a tad more than Ellis.</div>
IMO Gordon is definitely worth less than Ellis. Gordon is 25, Ellis is 22. Gordon is a career 42% shooter, Ellis is a career 50% shooter. Ellis is unstoppable getting to the rim and one of the top finishers in the league, hes got a mid-range game second only to Rip Hamilton, and he actually does have the potential to be able to play PG full time one day. Monta Ellis is a legit starter while Gordon has been a fringe starter/6th man his whole career.

 

Gordon's a career 41.6% shooter from 3pt, and 43.2% overall. Won 6th man of the year as a rookie. He's had numerous 10+ point quarters and several 20 point quarters; two seasons ago, I think only Arenas had more.

Last season was the first Gordon was with the team where it didn't make the playoffs. The team has a 170-158 record since he joined the team; the team won 23 games the season before he joined the team. (Interesting aside: Skiles had a losing record with the Bulls, and Paxson and Hinrich had losing records in their tenure with the team, too). The season he played the most MPG, the Bulls won 49.

Ellis is a career 15.7 PPG scorer in 31 MPG. Gordon a career 18.6 PPG scorer in 30. Last season, Ellis scored 20.2 PPG in 38 MPG, Gordon 18.0 in 30 MPG.

Most importantly, the Bulls' enforced culture is team-oriented, and has dampened the players' ability to become real stars in the league.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Denny Crane @ Jul 31 2008, 08:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Gordon's a career 41.6% shooter from 3pt, and 43.2% overall. Won 6th man of the year as a rookie. He's had numerous 10+ point quarters and several 20 point quarters; two seasons ago, I think only Arenas had more.

Last season was the first Gordon was with the team where it didn't make the playoffs. The team has a 170-158 record since he joined the team; the team won 23 games the season before he joined the team. (Interesting aside: Skiles had a losing record with the Bulls, and Paxson and Hinrich had losing records in their tenure with the team, too). The season he played the most MPG, the Bulls won 49.

Ellis is a career 15.7 PPG scorer in 31 MPG. Gordon a career 18.6 PPG scorer in 30. Last season, Ellis scored 20.2 PPG in 38 MPG, Gordon 18.0 in 30 MPG.

Most importantly, the Bulls' enforced culture is team-oriented, and has dampened the players' ability to become real stars in the league.</div>
No doubt Ben Gordon is a great scorer and certainly a better 3 point shooter but I can't see why he'd be more expensive than Monta. Hes got a major deficiency in that hes not a legit starter because of his size and he only has one position. In Chicago hes been a 6th man much more than hes been a starter. I think giving a bench player more than 11 million a year is just flat out absurd. If you want to throw out various accomplishments Monta won the MIP in 06-07 and was a candidate again last year. He became one of 9 guards in NBA history to average 60% FGs for an entire month

Career ppg average is irrelevant because Ben Gordon came in at 21 years of age while Monta came in out of HS and rode the pine for the first of his three seasons. Monta is only 22 and his ppg averages jumped from 6.8 to 16.5 to 20.2 and next year he'll move up from 3rd option to #1 option next season. Monta is going to be transitioning over to PG which could lead to some growing pains in the immediate future but down the line a combo guard is going to be more valuable than a 6'3 SG who can't start full time, which is exactly what Gordon is.

And, again, I'd take the guy who is a dominating finisher and can penetrate at will. Gordon is a great 3 point shooter but Monta blows him out of the water in efficiency. In addition, Monta was getting a ton of attention from opposing defenses from about January/February on last season. Monta is still improving every month; after the all-star break last year he averaged 22.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.9 spg and he increased his FGAs by almost 4 per game and still managed to retain his 53% mark from the field. I would agree that Monta's system definitely gives him some boosted stats but IMO its undeniable that Monta is the better penetrator, finisher, and while Gordon's 3 point shooting is vastly better than Monta's, Monta has become one of the most efficient scorers in the league with his tremendous finishing ability and elite mid-range game. Monta was also already showing PG skills last season as Baron and Stephen Jackson were fading hard in the last month or two of the season.

Gordon is a tremendous scorer but I can't get beyond the fact that he is stuck at SG and I don't think hes got much more room to improve. The 3 pt and FT%'s are great but low 40's FG% is a big knock on him. Maybe I'm just a homer but I think the guy who is one of the best penetrators and finishers in the league is more valuable than a guy who shoots 45% on 2 pt FGs (Monta shoots 55% on 2 pt FGs). When we're talking how much each player is being paid- Monta is 22, can and will play PG, hes an elite finisher and mid-range shooter, one of the most efficient scorers in the league and perhaps the most efficient among guards. Gordon is stuck at SG and therefore isn't a full time starter, doesn't have much more room for improvement IMO, has a mediocre FG%.