Please note I didn't say this is a good trade or anything. I was looking at the various posts in this thread and made one post that responded to them. Like the idea of renting Deng - I think he'd sign. Etc. As someone who watched him play for years, I gave my best and most honest evaluation of him as a player. I hope it helps you all consider what he'd bring if a deal were made.
Well, in his heart he said he wants to go back next season and he's played there many years...to a Bulls fan, he's familiar. He had enough value to be traded for Bynum's expiring deal and put the Bulls in better shape financially going forward. I think any player coached by Thibs becomes an above average defender but I still think Nico is a better defender than Deng.Good player. Stepped up when Rose went down.
He's going to consistently score more, or has in the past because he's consistently given more shots in his offense. His career high was 18.8 PPG, getting 15 shots a night. For his career, he's averaged 16PPG on 13.6 shots. NIc's career is about 4.5 PPG less, on about 4.5 FGA per game less. Knowing he's going to come here and consistently get us 15 a night is great. But realize it's only because he's taking those shots from someone else. Maybe it's shots that Nic normally assists on that would strictly go to Deng?
Does that take into account how shitty the level of competition is in the Eastern Conference? The Bulls are a 3 seed FFS!
Noticeably absent on this chart are Nicos stats when guarding pt guards such as Chris Paul. For the Blazers Nico always guards the toughest assignment, not sure Deng always did for the Bulls but I've not followed his career very closely
What a load of horseshit. Nico rotates the ball for 3s, or penetrates and gets a big a bucket on his assists. TOs are the one drawback to his game, because he still tries to force passes.
Go watch a sample of the passes they count as assists. You can do this on nba.com. Check out the last game, he had 4 assists, one of them was an entry pass to LA where he took a few dribbles then did a turn around in the post, then did a turn around jump shot.
How many times do I have post post PER/USG before people understand what that means on offense? Batum is the best 3rd/4th offensive option in the NBA right now, and he defends the opposing PG because nobody else on the Blazer roster can do so.
Your response is horseshit. Just because your passing the ball along the perimeter and occasionally make entry passes does not mean your "running the offense". He's not the lead ball handler on the vast majority of plays, only occasionally will he run a pick and roll when they're trying to change things up. Making an entry pass and passing along the perimeter are basic passes you expect a starting quality SF to be able to make, nothing to get enamored with. People that act like Batum is great ball handler/passer cannot be watching the games.
Good point. However, how many wide open looks does Nic pass up every game because of his passivity? The eye test suggests around 3-4 per night. I'd rather have someone on the team who's not afraid to take a tough shot, especially when the game's on the line.
There are no assists after a player takes a few dribbles in the post. It's a strict one-dribble rule for a fast break, and low post assists are even more difficult.
Nic's hit a few big threes this year. I can think of one specifically late in the game to force OT in a game the Blazers won. Do you watch the games?
OK, so Nic sucks according to you. Got it. I suppose you think Lance Stephenson and Kawhi Leonard suck, too?
He's our 4th option, though. Deng has always been 2 or 3. Nic SHOULD be looking to get better people the ball. Whether it's LA, Damian, Wes, whatever. I agree he can get passive at times, but I think, eye test, he doesn't pass them up close and late. So passing up shots in quarter 3 to get LA going, to me, is more important than swapping him out for Deng which in turn takes at least one, maybe 2 FGs away from Robin off the PnR, or, from better players/shooters in Damian, LA, and Wes. As papag said, our starting lineup isn't the problem. Swapping Nic for Deng isn't getting this team anything more than maybe an extra win if at all.
