With the two contracts they were given, I think I would have gone with Reddick. He's not as athletic as Brewer or quite the individual defender, but I've always thought his non-shooting skills were underrated. Reddick and Korver would have been arguably the best shooting duo in the league. Plus I've always admired JJ's toughness and competitiveness. I don't think that team would have been good enough to win a championship, but since we don't seem intent on adding another big piece, I think it's the best we could have done.
We needed both. This is pure speculation but I think JJ gets a lot of credit for playing tough D against Ray Allen and that may not translate to good D against an average NBA 2-guard.
Like in Brewster's Millions, I urge you to pick none of the above. But if I have to choose one I choose Brewer because he's cheaper, could also plays three, and fits the defensive superteam mantra I think we need to adopt to maybe beat the Heat. At Brewers salary there are a few ways we might still be able to keep him around and upgrade in the future. Redick would largely foreclose that option, which is really our only option for success. Also, I agree with the proposition that Redicks D was overrated and won't be as good against the guys he'll be tasked with guarding down the road. Brewer obviously doesn't bring Reducks shooting but he's good at moving off the ball, running the floor and beating his man. Ideally we need both guys yes... Combined into one player. Call him Andee or Xavier or Trevor...
I like Brewer, but I can't see him and Deng on the floor together successfully. They overlap each other too much and neither one of them is good enough to make it work. We have exactly one player on our team whose three point shot other teams have to respect, and as a result we may have to play him more than we ought to. This creates two weakness I can see.....on defense' and the fact that Korver playing more means less of Deng, Boozer, and maybe Noah, all who are better players. Regarding JJ's defense, I was referring to the fact that he seems like a competent team defender, which for a perimeter player is more important than man defense, IMO. With a defense oriented coach, I didn't have too many worries about him holding the team back, even if he would be overmatched against a lot of starting SG's in the league.
I don't find myself disagreeing with anything you wrote. But I do think there's a reasonable chance things shake out much different that we both anticipate is most likely. I was never happy with VDN, even with his improvement, because of his use of Deng. Lou is a system player and if you don't implement the proper structures for him he's not going to be successful. I think he can expand the court, provided that you put him in the right spots -- spots that he hasn't been put in over the past two years. I kinda' think he has a reasonable chance of having a career year under Thibodeau. Secondly, we can't be sure how much having Boozer in pick and roll situations will expand the court. We also do not know if Rose will come back with more range, as has been floated. Rose's mid-range game certainly improved over the course of last season. Lastly, Gibson may come back with more range. I get the feeling that most people are viewing him as a finished product because of his age and experience over the course of last season. Even four year college players see the game quicker after an additional off season and training camp. He may be less rushed his second time around. I don't know how of these contingencies will actually occur. Perhaps none. But I wouldn't be all that surprised if the Bulls are strong enough offensively that the need for a shooting guard with range are decreased. I like your take on defense and how help is more important than man for perimeter players, as a general statement. We may need a player specifically to match up with Wade, if the Bulls do end up being strong enough to give the Heat a run.
Okay, a quick peruse over at basketball-reference.com has made me soften my stance somewhat. I didn't quite realize how good Brewer was his 2nd and 3rd years in the league. He had a PER over 18 and 16 while starting for a Jazz team that was better than any team we've had post-dynasty. I think those stats probably overestimate how good he is, but that's more success than JJ has ever had in the league. Should we start Brewer and Korver and bring Deng off the bench?
If some of Brewer rubs off on Rose, we will have an elite player. Brewer's PER in those years exactly measured his scoring efficiency. He got his points on just a few shots. Rose in the playoffs scored 25 points on 25 shots. Yikes!
Reddick, but Brewer is a better player than we think he is. Is Korver starting material? I would rather he come off the bench in a similar role that Gordon played. Deng has had some very good first quarters the last few years
No. I think even though Korver is a better pure shooter than Deng, folks are going nuts with the idea that have to have a roster full of three point shooters in order to have proper spacing. It'd certainly be nice, but we should consider that one of our complaints about Deng is that he's been the master of the long (just short of the 3 point line) 2 for the last couple of years. He's a guy who should be able to hit most shots when you kick it out to him. As is Boozer and potentially Gibson. Defensively, I think we've got a better chance of creating a good system defense with Brewer than we do with Korver. Ideally we'd want a player like Brewer but who had better handles and ability to hit the 3, but I think we can be fine in either direction. One think I am worried about is defending with a Deng and Korver on the wings. Deng is very good defending most 3s, and very good as a team defender, but let's face it, he's not the guy you want on the stronger offensive threat on our opponent's wings. Neither is Korver. In that sense, I sort of like Brewer/Korver as a lineup more than Deng Korver. Perhaps it'd be worth, in that situation, moving Deng down to the 4 and putting Boozer in the middle against smaller teams. That would actually be an entertaining form of small ball (Boozer, Deng, Korver, Brewer, Rose) when we want to score, and I think you could still have an effective lineup with either Boozer or Deng out and Noah or Gibson in.
