FanPost

Who is the best point guard to put next to Booker?




I keep thinking about our PG woes and who we should go after. And should it be trade or free agency?

Lately we've been seeing Avery Bradley being named as a FA target of McD. And that might be a good choice.

I made a comparison of five possible acquisitions of their current seasons (plus Bledsoe for comparison). Avery Bradley (FA), Tyrek Evans (FA), Elfrid Payton (FA), and Kemba Walker (one more season under contract), and Spencer Dinwiddie (1 more season under contract).

The comparison tells us some things.

1. Avery Bradley is the lowest in assist%, lowest PER, worst ORtg, near worst DRtg, worst rebounder, VORP, WS, WS/48, and worst TS% out of the six players compared. That ain't good. Could be that his current season is an outlier. But he's never been a good rebounder or assist man, and his ORtg vs DRtg has never been great. And he's 27- so kind of at his peak. He is hitting 3's at 38%, which is good. His defense is not as good this season as in the past, though he's still considered good on-ball (like Bled). He's 27 years old and 6'-2".

2. Tyrek Evans is best on this list at TS%, PER, WS, WS/48, and rebounding. He's second best in VORP and TO%, and 3rd best in Ast%. He also has the 2nd highest ORtg and 2nd lowest DRtg. He is a capable defender, though never known as a lock-down defender. This season he shows a bit more promise on that end of the ball than in the past. He's 28 years old and 6'-6".

I created a comparison of Kemba and Dinwiddie (plus Payton and Schroeder) in the past. I still think of those four that Dinwiddie is intreguing but a gamble. Kemba is a more assured- though older (28)- choice. Either might be alright- but at this point I don't like the idea of gambling. you can see Dinwiddie scores well in the new comparison- but not overall, perhaps, next to Tyrek or Walker.

Thinking about Avery or Tyrek is interesting because they are more under the radar than Kemba- and both are free agents. Tyrek is especially under the radar in Memphis. Could Tyrek be gotten with far less money than Avery? I tend to think so. Would he be a good fit next to Booker? Again, I tend to think so. He's been a high usage player, but one that can clearly relegate authority to other players (Conley/Gasol). Plus he's fantastically tall and versatile- which is something James Jones said we are looking for.

Lets say Tyrek wants a change and would come over to the Suns for less than Avery would. And what if that let us also make a big offer to Capela, so we could get them both.

Evans, Booker, TJ/JJ, Chriss, Capela - that could be a pretty compelling line up. If we were able to draft Doncic- he could play wing along with Booker, potentially. Or, if we drafted JJJ, he could replace Chriss as a starter. If we somehow are able to draft Ayton, maybe that means we don't need Capela- or maybe we want to allow Ayton to develop behind Capela for a year or two. If he pans out, great- we have two good centers.