2018-19 Season | Point Guard Discussion

[JCSunsfan]

Man we have lots of great backup pg’s. It would be nice to have a solid starter.

 

[overseascardfan]

Brandon Jennings was cut. I know he's not the same Brandon Jennings from when he came into the league but he is a pass first PG who can be a stop gap until we find something better or Okobo develops.

 

[Hoop Head]

Brandon Jennings was cut. I know he's not the same Brandon Jennings from when he came into the league but he is a pass first PG who can be a stop gap until we find something better or Okobo develops.

Jennings has never been a pass first PG. The Suns just resigned Isaiah Canaan and he'll likely be the veteran backup PG for the team next season. He's on a non-guaranteed deal but if he can play like he did last season then he should be able to make good on that deal and earn a spot during training camp.

Jennings has been a shell of his former self since his achilles injury a few years ago. He's always been a score first PG who relied on his speed to be effective and he no longer has that to offer. Canaan is a better option than Jennings, IMO. He's a more willing passer.

 

[devilalum]

Canaan coming back is not exciting.

If the plan is to man the PG position with 4 guys that wouldn’t start or get significant minutes on any other team in the league the Suns are in big trouble. If this is the plan the season is gonna go south fast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Phrazbit]

Brandon Jennings was cut. I know he's not the same Brandon Jennings from when he came into the league but he is a pass first PG who can be a stop gap until we find something better or Okobo develops.

I doubt Jennings would be an improvement over any of our current options, Okobo included. You should take a look at his stats the last several years, he's been a disaster. I doubt he plays more than a handful of NBA games from here on out.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Brandon Jennings was cut. I know he's not the same Brandon Jennings from when he came into the league but he is a pass first PG who can be a stop gap until we find something better or Okobo develops.

I get the interest, but if we add a point guard, he needs to be better than the four we presently have or there is no point. Jennings is not. It would have made more sense to bring back Elf.

 

[Hoop Head]

Crazy to think that Jennings was traded by the Bucks to the Pistons for Knight, Middleton, and former Suns Center Viacheslav Kravtsov. Not long after that he fell apart completely. I think most teams would rather have Kravtsov over Jennings.

 

[Mainstreet]

It's been a long time since the Suns had a quality point guard, perhaps all the way back to Steve Nash.

After Nash, the Suns best point guards have been Dragic, Bledsoe, IT and Knight. No wonder the Suns have sputtered badly. It's been slim pickings after Dragic.

Canaan is not the answer but at least I know he can run the team if push comes to shove. I'm glad he is coming to camp.

 

[AzStevenCal]

It's been a long time since the Suns had a quality point guard, perhaps all the way back to Steve Nash.

After Nash, the Suns best point guards have been Dragic, Bledsoe, IT and Knight. No wonder the Suns have sputtered badly. It's been slim pickings after Dragic.

Canaan is not the answer but at least I know he can run the team if push comes to shove. I'm glad he is coming to camp.

It would be nice to have a dominant point guard but I really don't see that position as the big problem through the post-Nash years. Even when they've disappointed, they were easily outplaying most of their teammates. We've simply been horrible at most positions since Nash retired.

 

[JCSunsfan]

It's been a long time since the Suns had a quality point guard, perhaps all the way back to Steve Nash.

After Nash, the Suns best point guards have been Dragic, Bledsoe, IT and Knight. No wonder the Suns have sputtered badly. It's been slim pickings after Dragic.

Canaan is not the answer but at least I know he can run the team if push comes to shove. I'm glad he is coming to camp.

??? Dragic has been a quality pg almost his entire career. Bledsoe is at least above average. IT was in the running for MVP year before last (no comment of Knight coming). I would think all three of those qualify as quality pg's.

 

[Mainstreet]

It would be nice to have a dominant point guard but I really don't see that position as the big problem through the post-Nash years. Even when they've disappointed, they were easily outplaying most of their teammates. We've simply been horrible at most positions since Nash retired.

There is no doubt the Suns have not had much talent during the post-Nash years. The lack of a PG that is adept at running the team is one of them.

I would not be particularly happy with any of the post-Nash PGs running the current Suns team with the possible exception of Dragic. A PG does not have to be dominant to run the current team but he needs to have the required skills such as shooting, passing and leadership to be effective. A PG like Rubio would probably suffice.

 

[Mainstreet]

??? Dragic has been a quality pg almost his entire career. Bledsoe is at least above average. IT was in the running for MVP year before last (no comment of Knight coming). I would think all three of those qualify as quality pg's.

The Suns have had significant issues with all the PGs I mentioned with the exception of Nash.

Dragic wanted out, Bledsoe wanted out, a bit uncertain about IT (he didn't last a season) and Knight has not stepped up like I had hoped. For whatever reason, these guards have not worked out for the Suns.

Maybe "quality" is not the right word but I think you get the point when it comes to the Suns.

 

[BC867]

It would be nice to have a dominant point guard but I really don't see that position as the big problem through the post-Nash years. Even when they've disappointed, they were easily outplaying most of their teammates. We've simply been horrible at most positions since Nash retired.

Isn't that the problem? Point Guards outplaying most of their teammates. They're not supposed to be competing with them.

There is no doubt the Suns have not had much talent during the post-Nash years. The lack of a PG that is adept at running the team is one of them.

That's what they're supposed to be doing.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

??? Dragic has been a quality pg almost his entire career. Bledsoe is at least above average. IT was in the running for MVP year before last (no comment of Knight coming). I would think all three of those qualify as quality pg's.

Yeah I think it’s been proven that Bledsoe is not “above average.” Everyone expected him to elevate his game when he moved to a better team. Didn’t happen. And if anything I’m pretty sure he was considered a disappointment.

 

[devilalum]

Yeah I think it’s been proven that Bledsoe is not “above average.” Everyone expected him to elevate his game when he moved to a better team. Didn’t happen. And if anything I’m pretty sure he was considered a disappointment.

Yep everybody was disappointed with what the Suns got for Bledsoe. At this point in time it seems like they got a pretty good deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Yep everybody was disappointed with what the Suns got for Bledsoe. At this point in time it seems like they got a pretty good deal.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’d have to agree.

 

[Hoop Head]

I think Bledsoe's value was largely based on his potential more than his recognized talent or skill. He was given free reign to be whoever he wanted on the Suns and the player he became was slightly above average depending on the game. His stats looked good on paper but he didn't seem to effect a game like a 20 ppg scorer should. As a PG, you shouldn't be the leading scorer night in and night out also. It would be a little different if he wasn't the guy taking the most shots each game and he was just really efficient like Nash would be during his final couple of seasons here but Bledsoe shot a lot and primarily looked to create for himself.

He did play up to his competition when we'd be play the Thunder or Blazers. I remember seeing a few good games where he seemed to trade shots with Westbrook and Lillard but when he played against good scoring PG's he didn't seem to exert himself much on defense. He was more content trying to outscore them instead of shutting them down. He had the ability to be a better defender, we saw that during his first year here, but he didn't seem motivated to play good defense nightly. He was never benched either. Not just with Watson but Hornacek also didn't seem to hold him accountable for poor play. All of our other PG's would get pulled or at least moved off the ball when they weren't playing well but Bledsoe never was. I always found that confusing. Especially in Hornacek's time here because you'd see him on the sidelines screaming for Bledsoe to push the pace but he would just walk the ball up the court more often than not. He only ran the break when it looked like he could take it to the basket himself.

 

[Mainstreet]

Yep everybody was disappointed with what the Suns got for Bledsoe. At this point in time it seems like they got a pretty good deal.

I totally agree.

Some of the best decisions in life are the ones we don't make. The Suns were wise not to pay him what he wanted. It was the right decision not to keep him. Paying him what he wanted would have hurt the Suns for a long time.

 

[devilalum]

I totally agree.

Some of the best decisions in life are the ones we don't make. If the Suns didn't get anything for Bledsoe, it was still the right decision not to keep him. Paying him what he wanted would have hurt the Suns for a long time.

Bledsoe would be marginally better than any of the PGs they have now but definitely not the long term solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Mainstreet]

Bledsoe would be better than any of the PGs they have now but definitely not the long term solution.

This may be true but it is debatable.

However, Bledsoe wanted the max from the Suns. With his history of injury... no thanks.

 

[devilalum]

This may be true but it is debatable.

However, Bledsoe wanted the max from the Suns. With his history of injury... no thanks.

Oh yeah, that’s part of what I meant by not the long term solution.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hoop Head]

This may be true but it is debatable.

However, Bledsoe wanted the max from the Suns. With his history of injury... no thanks.

His injury history is probably not in the top 3 reasons the Suns shouldn't have paid him that much. He's never been an All-Star and likely never will be. He has a history of mailing games in, primarily on defense. He's not a good playmaker. He's a SG in a PG's body that looks to score too much and doesn't set up his teammates enough. His scoring has never helped the team win either so he has a history of putting up empty stats.

 

[Phrazbit]

His injury history is probably not in the top 3 reasons the Suns shouldn't have paid him that much. He's never been an All-Star and likely never will be. He has a history of mailing games in, primarily on defense. He's not a good playmaker. He's a SG in a PG's body that looks to score too much and doesn't set up his teammates enough. His scoring has never helped the team win either so he has a history of putting up empty stats.

That last part is off base. Our record was waaay better when he played, including the Dragic season.

 

[AzStevenCal]

That last part is off base. Our record was waaay better when he played, including the Dragic season.

Yeah, I think there's some history being mildly re-written here about Bledsoe. He may not have become the player we hoped he would but he was still very effective. He lost out on assists regularly because his teammates were mostly useless, not just because he was occasionally reckless with the ball. Without him, IMO, we finish dead last each season. But after his last surgery he stopped playing defense and he wasn't quite the player he had been. He also stopped working on his game (or so it seemed). That doesn't make his stats empty or change the fact that it was him and Booker and a bunch of players that wouldn't start for most teams.

We had to move on from him and we made that move later than we should have. I was firmly in the Bledsoe camp but I started pushing for a trade a full year before we finally moved him. I think the team started trying to trade him around then too but he was a good not great guard with horrible knees and Rich Paul in his corner. What team wants to pay big bucks to deal with that? Apparently, not many.

 

[Mainstreet]

His injury history is probably not in the top 3 reasons the Suns shouldn't have paid him that much. He's never been an All-Star and likely never will be. He has a history of mailing games in, primarily on defense. He's not a good playmaker. He's a SG in a PG's body that looks to score too much and doesn't set up his teammates enough. His scoring has never helped the team win either so he has a history of putting up empty stats.

I think his injury, his pursuit of the max and questions about his attitude are in my top 3 reasons. Otherwise I could have lived with Bledsoe until the Suns found a suitable replacement.