09-06-2020, 07:41 PM
(09-05-2020, 11:13 PM)DanSchwartzman Wrote: On a different topic, on the Bobby Karalla and Skin Podcast today Skin identified a playmaker who can play D and hit an open shot as the team’s biggest need. This came out of a discussion of Burke. He was basically saying we need a better version of Burke, especially in late game situations. He said Brunson, who he likes, doesn’t have the speed to be that.
He identified Marcus Smart (more as an archetype than a realistic option).
Here's another name. Not flashy, but moves the needle some defensively. We've all said we need someone with a little "dog" in him defensively, but that player has to be able to hit an open shot. Yes, we need to be able to cover star wings, but we are not good at covering star guards right now either. A 3 & D PG isn't a thing most places, but most places don't have Luka. So how about a guy who is very disruptive defensively, hits 40% of his 3's and is a passable play-maker (recall we don't want to take the ball out of Luka's hands completely).
Jevon Carter probably can't run an NBA offence as a lead guard. He might not be able to run a bench squad as a lead guard (we have Brunson for that). But he can make life miserable for other guards and hits over 40% of his 3's. He's RFA on a cheap Phoenix team with all sorts of other mouths to feed and other PG's on the roster. Maybe you make an offer with part of the MLE thinking Phoenix won't match. Maybe you offer Jackson and a future second (kind of like the Wright deal). The funny thing is he's struggling to get minutes in Phoenix, but I think he might be able to start here. Not so much because of any greatness on his part, but because of fitting better with Luka than with Rubio.