I'm excited about Barton, I have a very good feeling about him. He could very well earn the backup SF position by the start of the season.
At 175 Will is a little thin for a SF. I see him as a SG all the way. Wes may be an inch shorter, but he is 45 lbs heavier. I think Wes would be a better option, with Elliot and Will at the 2. This of course is if Batum leaves and we get nothing in return.
Jeremy Lamb and Rip Hamilton are thin too, but they're not being asked to push a lineman forward in a goal line situation, this is the NBA. Why is Jeremy Lamb a lotto pick and Will Barton a 2nd rounder? They are similar in terms of size and athletisism, and I think Will is actually has a better all round offensive game.
I am not too worried about his weight as a shooting guard (Like Lamb and Rip) I am just saying he could not start at the SF position at his current size. They would go right at him to start every game just back him down. The guy is SG at this point.
I like Barton, but lamb is undoubtedly a better athlete and has better dimensions. Lamb has a better vert, sprint and a much better lane agility. He is longer and his body, even though just a tad heavier, looks like it will add more weight as time goes on, but that's just my opinion. Barton has strengths also, but they are not similar athletically.
Check those numbers again, because I'm not sure you were looking at the right player? Will Barton's standing reach is 2 inches higher, he weighs 5 less pounds, and is an inch taller. So they are very similar in size. Athletisism: Barton's vertical is one inch higher. He did 8 reps on bench as opposed to 2 for Lamb, he was 2 hundreths of a second faster in agility and 3 hundreths slower in the sprint. Again, pretty much identical. But Barton actually has a slight edge if anything. The big thing is skill and on court production, Barton seems to be every bit as good as Lamb, at least in looking at stats and highlight films. So I"m not sure what the big diff is.
JR Rider used to post up Eddie Jones a lot, and Jones had a hard time with him, but that didn't negate how good Jones was. I don't really see SGs posting up alot anymore. With the new defensive rules, your PF could pick him up down low easy enough.
I admit I do not mind a little "small ball". Especially when you have two bigs on the floor with three athletic players. But there is no reason we need to move Will Barton to the SF position when the SG position is also in need of some depth. Keep him as a SG.
Elliot is MUCH more athletic. But Barton is probably more skilled. I think a good comparison for Barton would be Josh Howard/Marquis Daniels. Elliot Williams is more like Gerald Green.
I'm hoping that both Elliot and Barton do well enough to both get playing time. We really need some scoring off the bench. I think one could play 2 the other 3. Could Babbit be a back up PF?
