How well do you guys think he will do in his rookie season? I'm sure most of you has read that he balled it up in the Summer Pro League - Some of us are even luckier to be able to see him in person playing in Long Beach . But anyways, do you guys think he'd be a starter by the end of the season? What kind of numbers do you expect from him?
Finally he got his own thread, i was going to make one because he is going to be great, another European white boy to Laker collection
yea i read his bio and it seemed pretty impressive... i cant wait to see the Lakers play this season... with soo many question surrounding this new team
Theres a possibility that he could beet out Atkins for the starting job, but I doubt it. But he should be a great player, he was very impressive in the Summer League.
I've never seen him play so I can't really comment on his abilities... However, unlike Phil Jackson, Rudy T doesn't have a problem starting rookies (i.e. francis, mobley, dickerson, etc..) so I think Vujacic has an outside chance of starting, especially with the Lakers lack of depth at the position. I would still like the Lakers to go out and sign a "small" guard to matchup against the Parkers and Bibbys. ..
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting notMuchgame:</div><div class="quote_post">I've never seen him play so I can't really comment on his abilities... However, unlike Phil Jackson, Rudy T doesn't have a problem starting rookies (i.e. francis, mobley, dickerson, etc..) so I think Vujacic has an outside chance of starting, especially with the Lakers lack of depth at the position. I would still like the Lakers to go out and sign a "small" guard to matchup against the Parkers and Bibbys. ..</div> Unfortunately we had a player capable of playing the role with Marcus Banks, but with Gary Payton's anger in being traded we lost a young quick guard. I'm hoping Tyrone Lue gets cut or traded to us by the Rockets since they just acquired Sura and Ward. They now have 5 point guards on the roster, and there is no need for the Rockets to keep all 5. I'd like to see the Lakers deal George and for Pike & Lue and then cut Bobbitt. As for Sasha, this kid is the real deal. He can do all the passes, bounce pass, off the dribble, behind the back ... his court vision and anticipation is top notch. I think he will struggle defensively at his size, because of the quick guards he will have to face, but his offensively he's perfect for the Lakers. One of the reasons I wanted Payton to play one more year was for him to groom Sasha. Payton could have shown him a lot of defensive techniques and how to position your body to keep guards off-balance. I give it two seasons, with a max of three before he becomes the starter at PG for us.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Zoltar:</div><div class="quote_post">Vujacic could be the next Magic Johnson for the Lakers or maybe close</div> That would be nice, but I don't think anyone will live up to those expectations. What made Magic great was his passion and charisma for the game of basketball, along with his talents. If Sasha had the ability to be the next Magic, he would have been a top 3 pick in the draft. I'll just be happy if he can play alongside Kobe for the next 8 years and provide the Lakers with some entertaining fast breaks and more championships.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">They now have 5 point guards on the roster, and there is no need for the Rockets to keep all 5. </div>Even though we'll most likely enter the season with a maximum of 4 point guards, don't expect Lue to be the odd man out. Out of the 5 we have right now, Gaines and Sura are not just point guards, they can also play shooting guard and even small forward, so I don't expect them to play their primary roles as point guards. Out of the three left in Lue, Ward and Wilks, I expect Wilks to be the one released, although he has done well with the time he has gotten. So if you Lakers want him, feel free to take a chance on the 5-10 point guard.
It would be great to have Lue back, he plays some pretty good defense. Most notabaly agaisnt Allen Iverson in the Finals a few years back.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trip:</div><div class="quote_post">Even though we'll most likely enter the season with a maximum of 4 point guards, don't expect Lue to be the odd man out. Out of the 5 we have right now, Gaines and Sura are not just point guards, they can also play shooting guard and even small forward, so I don't expect them to play their primary roles as point guards. Out of the three left in Lue, Ward and Wilks, I expect Wilks to be the one released, although he has done well with the time he has gotten. So if you Lakers want him, feel free to take a chance on the 5-10 point guard. </div> Sorry to get off topic. Gaines and Sura at shooting guards is a possibility, but T-Mac is going to play the lion's share of minutes at the position, so it doesn't make much sense to me to start the season with 4 or 5 PGs. As for either Gaines or Sura playing SF, that's a stretch, considering both are undersized and I don't either has ever played the position in their life. On top of that the Rockets have JJ, Spoon, Juwan Howard, Pike & Nachbar at the 3 spot. No thanks on Wilks. The reason I see Lue being the odd man out is his selfish attitude like he demonstrated with the Magic. Van Gundy is not going to allow for it and Lue will likely end up in his doghouse. He did a lot of complaining when he wasn't the starter, he's also 2 years older than Wilks, and makes a lot more money than him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Originally posted by Cody 7k I've never seen this guy play, how good is he?</div> check his stats out here.... http://www.nba.com/draft2004/profiles/SashaVujacic.html
Well, he idolizes Drazen Petrovic...and he was awesome IMO. Also, do you guys think he'll be a better point guard than a shooting guard? I mean...for him to develop, maybe it's best to have him coming in for Kobe at times because that is his natural position, although I know he's a combo guard. Then again, Kobe plays the whole game so I don't know. I feel like the Lakers are in a tough spot right now, and they'll have to put a guy on the IR that they really don't want to, so hopefully they'll get one more trade out (for Kidd, pleasssse) and then they'll put Vujacic as a backup PG. That would be sweet.
Based on what I saw at the SPL, Sasha is definitely suited better at PG because of his natural lead guard instincts. There were some times when he was playing SG and it looked like he was completely out of rhythm. With a new offense and some new teammates that can actually create their own shots, there's no need for Kobe to be the designated playmaker AND scorer...instead, expect a lot more off-ball movement, ala Rip Hamilton.
I'm surprised some of you "Laker fans" don't know much about him... He's been praised by many as another big draft steal by the Lakers. Anyways, I'll start with his stats prediction, how's 10ppg and 5apg? A stat-line close to J-mac's. What do you guys think?
