Yousaid we have had lots of shitty PG's over the years. You didnt specify starting or not. Further more. Mo wasnt a starter. Just saying, he deserves some cred. he was good for us.
I said we had a lot of shitty point guards over the years, and then I proceeded to name many of them. You said that Mo wasn't shitty, so are you saying he should have been on that list? It wasn't a comprehensive list.
Mo definitely wasn't shitty. Steve Blake 3.0 probably qualifies though, but he's such a good dude, I feel bad for saying so. BNM
Napier could be a good option if we shed Turners contract. Napier plays good D and can score. He could get 15 minutes off the bench as the bench-shot-creator with Crabbe playing backup 2 or 3. If we could shed Turner and Meyers (Hey Sacramento, do you want a draft pick), and then trade Davis and Aminu, we'd have about $10M in cap space to go after an underrated PF like James Johnson. Dame/CJ/Moe/Johnson/Nurkic backed up by Napier/Crabbe/Vonleh/whoever we draft That'd be pretty good. We could resign Nurk the following year without exceeding salary cap. Basically, Napier is as good as Turner, and is cheaper and younger. While it would've been smart to try to shed Turner before, it makes even more sense to me with Napier as a capable replacement.
The problem I see is we're losing out two best defenders in Turner and Aminu. Napier doesn't have the size or strength to guard anyone other than other midget PGs. Johnson if we could get him could replace Aminu, but I think our perimeter defense would suffer of we gave Napier 15 MPG, especially if he's paired with Crabbe. Draft day is going to be really interesting. Will we keep all three picks, and if so, who will we get that can replace some of our overpriced bench players? Or will be bundle picks to try to get a proven player that's an upgrade, but cheaper, than what we already have? BNM
Napier is the better perimeter shooter. But after that is he really "as good as Turner". I find that to be very questionable.
Napier would only play PG so I don't understand the problem. He does a great job on PGs. Therefore, I don't see how its a problem, especially when we're saving $15M. If we draft Anunoby, it would give us a scoring PG, Sniper SG, and Defending SF. I think a combination of Napier/Anunoby is just as effective as Turner, and would save us a ton of money
I was specifically responding to your suggestion of pairing him with Crabbe. Neither is capable of defending anyone over 6'3" nearly as well as Turner can. Not saying Napier can't work as a back up PG, it's the Napier/Crabbe combination that gives me pause on the defensive end. And, if your goal is to save money... BNM
Napier does a better job of guarding his position (PG) than any of Turner, Crabbe, Lillard, or McCollum. So while we may have a lesser defender guarding the wing (Crabbe would have to guard the bigger perimeter options), we'll have a better defending option guarding the point. We'd need to spend time trying to develop Crabbe defensively to be the same level of defender as Turner. Crabbe has room to grow (which Turner doesn't), and has the tools to at least become the defender Turner has (while Turner has no chance to develop into the shooter Crabbe is). Therefore, you get rid of Turner first and foremost, especially since I don't think we'd suffer offensively with Napier being a better shooter and creator.
Napier is someone who can get his own shot. But in no way is he a creator for others. Especially to the extent Turner has shown to be. Simply because Napier has yet to see a shot he doesn't like. The last two games showed nothing about Napier that wasn't shown in pre-season. He can score. His creating is for himself, and not others. Turner is more consistent guarding 1-3 than anyone else on the team. I'd keep(unless there was an obvious replacement) Napier but I thought this from the pre-season, when I was saying on this forum. "It's going to be hard to keep Napier on the bench".
I disagree. Turner has effectively guarded the 1-3 at different times during the season. There have been times when Stotts specifically put him on the other team's PG. I don't recall Stotts ever inserting Napier into the line up when we needed a defensive stop. I do not share your optimism about Crabbe ever becoming even average as a defender. He just doesn't have the mindset or the motor. Watch how Turner gets up to guard LeBron. I can't see Crabbe ever getting excited to take on that kind of defensive challenge. I also don't understand why you think Crabbe can improve defensively, but Turner can't improve his shot. There are plenty of examples of players who greatly improved their 3-point shooting in their late 20s or early 30s. Here's just a few off the top of my head: Magic Johnson, Kevin Johnson, Jason Kidd, Rip Hamilton, John Stockton, Ricky Pierce, Mark Jackson, Boris Diaw, Cliff Robinson, Channing Frye, etc. I'm sure there are a lot more I can't think of. Those a few Hall of Famers, a few ex-Blazers and and anyone else that randomly popped into my head. I think I'd be hard pressed to come up with a similar list of guys who greatly improved their defense later in their careers. I'm sure there are several, but most of the ones I can think of are big men who learned how to defend without fouling. In any case, I don't think Turner needs to become an elite 3-point shooter to be more valuable to the team than Crabbe. I think if he can improve similar to what Aminu and Harkless did the last two years, it would make him a more valuable player, and others can pick up the 3-point shooting slack (Napier, Connaughton and anyone we happen to draft) for losing Crabbe. BNM
Do you really think Turner has a better chance at becoming an good shooter than Crabbe has of becoming a good defender? Turner would have to completely change his form to get better, while Harkless and Aminu had to make minor tweaks. Turner won't just improve like those 2, and its likely he'll never change his form. If he does, it probably won't be an improvement for a couple years. Turners been in the league for years. Hell never become a good shooter. Meanwhile Crabbe has shown flashes defensively. Crabbe has the physical tools to be a good defender. There's no denying that. Its not possible to change someone's physical tools, but it is possible to change a mentality.
Huh?? How the hell did you get "Napier needs to go" from the last two games? He was as scoring machine.
I just want E Turner off this team. Really thought this guy was going to be that 3rd option on this team. He has stunk and stunk and still stinks. Can we trade him to Dallas for Wesley Matthews and Toni Romo?
