We always wanted a bonafied SF to replace Korver thus we could Korver come off the bench because as we know he is not necessarily you?re everyday starting material. But what about John Salmons, the guy that?s right under our nose? While John Salmons could only play the 3 pending on the opposition SF he could play SG for the most part and Iggy would move to the SF spot which I?m sure would be no problem for him. John Salmons is by far more versatile than Korver, he can create his own shot, he could handle the ball and plays much better defense. His biggest impact on the starting five would be his versatility. Being that he is big enough to play the SG but at the same time possesses great ball handling skills to play the PG thus he could switch up every now and then with Iverson and have the defense guessing whether he is the one or two. Similar to how a Brent Barry would impact this team. Korver on the other hand could shoot. I'm not saying he is just a shooter because I see him as more than a shooter but there is not much of a comparison to John Salmons when comparing their other skills. But the fact that Korver can shoot the lights out is a major plus. Without him we wouldn't have that consistent outside shooter that will open up the court. So while he might only really bring one thing to the table, that one thing changes the whole dimensions of the team. I'll save my opinion for later because really I think it?s a coin toss on whether he should start or not. But what do you guys think? Would this team benefit more with him starting?
After really watching those preseason games I think eventually during the season we will have John Salmons as our starter. Korver will start the opener though. I actually think it will be better for John Salmons to start. A backcourt of John Salmons, Andre IGoudala, and Iverson will confuse the defenses I think. Korver woudl also be more suited to coming off the bench. He could be our scoring threat off the bench. However I think Korver plays better with Iverson. I know Iverson can play a lot ofm inutes, but I think having Korver with AI will being out the best of him. Korver is a good player to compliment AI. I am kinda heads or tails on this idea also. I would start off by starting Korver. I mean Salmons was preseason stats.
I stated that I expected Salmons to be the starter before preseason started. I just felt like he would have a break out season, and I still feel like he should start. Like you said he is more versatile than Korver. When you are bringing a player off the bench you are really only expecting them to excel in one area for guards it’s points for big men it’s more defense, and rebounding. Look at Ben Gordon last season he had a great scoring average, and was great at getting to the line, but his assists, and rebounds where not that great. By bringing Korver off the bench all we really want from him is scoring which he can provide. We will not rely on him to shut anyone down on defense, or create shots for others. Salmons in my opinion should have started last season, but Jim O’Brien fell in love with Korver, because of his three point shot. Whenever Salmons was given the opportunity to play he produced. One thing Salmons must show though is the ability to leave a bad shot behind him, and worry about the next one. If he gets off to a slow start he will be down on himself the whole game.
Tough decision here, but the only real response anyone can give has to wait until Salmons has played a couple of games as a starter or bench player. With the disclaimer aside, I'll take Salmons as the starter. Unlike Korver, he has a bigger offensive arsenal employed with some driving, some jump shooting, and better passing skills as well. He'll add some variety to the starting lineup while Korver would be energy from the bench with his three point shooting. Plus, even though Korver plays much better with Iverson around, our main man plays around forty two minutes anyway so there's no doubt that Korver will be seeing some time in the rotation with Iverson. Like Avery said, versatility plays a big factor in Salmons going to the starting lineup. Overall, Salmons is a more solid player all around compared to Korver who still makes you want more from him with his defense and other offensive skills besides being a shooter. Plus, Salmons being a more athletic player, will probably complement the running game of Iverson, Iguodala, and Dalembert. And, if we play a half court set, Salmons, who has developed a better attack to the basket ala Green, would undoubtly work well with cuts to the basket with Webber at the helm.
I'm not sure on this, while Korver is indeed not your everyday starter material I also think Salmons is very suitable off the bench. Salmons is one of those guys whose needs a good amount of minutes to make an impact, he needs time to warm up throughout the game. On the other hand do we need a guy handling the ball with all the ball handlers we already have on the floor, it is nice to have that guy you can just swing the ball to and you don't have to worry about him holding the ball and wasting the shot clock. I' m not saying Salmons is that kind of player but when you pass him the ball he is going to try to do something with it rather then spot up and shoot. My question would be, do the 76ers really need that type of player in the small forward role? What I would try doing is to switch the game plans up, start Korver sometimes and start Salmons other times all depending on what the oppnent is expecting you to do. Imgine your oppenent studying film of a spot up shooter, than come game time they've got to play a playmaker intstead. As long as both get their consistent minutes, than its not like neithers game will fade mentally like last year like under O'Brien.
