Goran Dragic and his Buyout.........

[Bigdez22]

Does anyone else think that moving Diaw to the starting sf might produce an improvement in his game?

I think its the only way he can be good.

 

[Irish]

Does anyone else think that moving Diaw to the starting sf might produce an improvement in his game?

It had better.

Seriously, he can shoot career 49.6% from the field and handle the ball career 4.0 assists per game to only 1.88 turnovers. He doesn't shoot a lot, but he showed what he could do in 2005-06 when had the ball in hads a lot: 13.3 ppg, 6.2 assists per game, 52.6% shooting, and 6.9 rpg.

But using him as if was KT didn't work on offense and certainly didn't work on defense. His career 4.7 rpg is OK for a wing, but pretty crappy for PF.

He's only 6'8", but he has arms which meant he could actually defend his position MOST of the time, but at under 230 pounds was very limited. But that length on the wing could help a lot.

IMHO, most rading steal happen when a guy is playing out of position and/or in the wrong system. I'd sure like to know if that's all that is happening with Diaw before making a really bad mistake.

 

[Mainstreet]

Does anyone else think that moving Diaw to the starting sf might produce an improvement in his game?

It gives the Suns frontline some nice size and finally gives Diaw (hopefully) a permanent home. I've always thought Diaw played better as a starter. He just never seemed to have a position. I don't think he could adapt to rotating on the frontline like TT.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I agree with your point, but not about Nash being known mostly for his shooting in Dallas. His last year in Dallas he had 8.8 apg and was over 7 during the previous four years. He played for Don Nelson and they pushed the ball a lot. He did not run pick and roll much because that was not their personnel, but he did a LOT of pick and pop with Dirk.

In any case, having a great teacher of point guards as head coach makes me a lot more comfortable with the Suns plans for Dragic.

I don't remember saying anything about Dallas, I was referring to his first 3 years in the league.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Hopefully our commitment to start GH was fulfilled last year. He will be great as a vet presence coming off the bench. I think Boris has a great opportunity to flourish at the 3 and his game should complement Amare's--especially when Nash is off the floor.

 

[mojorizen7]

Hopefully our commitment to start GH was fulfilled last year. He will be great as a vet presence coming off the bench. I think Boris has a great opportunity to flourish at the 3 and his game should complement Amare's--especially when Nash is off the floor.

Agreed. I hope Hill comes off the bench this year. I would even consider starting Barbosa over Bell>(who i think would flourish coming off the bench) but the lack of defense w/Nash may be a problem there. It's too bad DJ can't shoot(yet).
A 10-11 man rotation might look like this.....barring Mr. Eurofire PG comes over this year.
NASH/DRAGIC/DJ
BARBOSA/BELL
DIAW/HILL/GIRICEK
STAT/DIAW/SKINNER
SHAQ/LOPEZ
I like the 2nd unit here because it puts pressure on Bell & Hill to produce offensively in a reserve role.

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

I dont see why everyone is content with Hill on the bench. He did everything right last season until his boss decided to put him on full throttle for the last lap while running on fumes the last 10 laps

 

[mojorizen7]

I dont see why everyone is content with Hill on the bench. He did everything right last season until his boss decided to put him on full throttle for the last lap while running on fumes the last 10 laps

Don't misunderstand, i know Hill's paid his dues & is effective enough to start & would do well there(and has).....it's just that IMO we need some savvy veteran leadership off the bench. The type that can score as well as distribute and defend. I like Hill there. Plus it'll be easier to manage his minutes as a 6th man-type.
Just sayin.
In the past our bench has been **** with the whole Barbosa/Diaw combo, i'd like to see a better mix of veterans like Hill & Bell there along w/our younger guys.It's time for Barbosa to man up with his decision making & defense & become a solid 2 guard.

 

[Irish]

I don't remember saying anything about Dallas, I was referring to his first 3 years in the league.

I minunderstood your phrase "first came to the Suns" rather than saying "after he was drafted".

 

[HooverDam]

Does anyone else think that moving Diaw to the starting sf might produce an improvement in his game?

It'll really depend on Porters offense, but I kind of don't think so. Diaw isn't the type of guy who's going to start out the 3 point line and be a threat from deep, or to cut quickly to the basket. So he's not that sort of SF. He'll be losing a lot his advantages that he has against bigs (quickness, ball handling, post moves, passing) when being guarded by quicker SFs. Diaw is a really unique player and I think he's at his best when he's playing either PF or Center (as long as the opposing center isn't completely gigantic compared to him), or Point Guard. Either inside or at the point allows him to use various unique skills to put his defender at a disadvantage.

 

[Mainstreet]

It'll really depend on Porters offense, but I kind of don't think so. Diaw isn't the type of guy who's going to start out the 3 point line and be a threat from deep, or to cut quickly to the basket. So he's not that sort of SF. He'll be losing a lot his advantages that he has against bigs (quickness, ball handling, post moves, passing) when being guarded by quicker SFs. Diaw is a really unique player and I think he's at his best when he's playing either PF or Center (as long as the opposing center isn't completely gigantic compared to him), or Point Guard. Either inside or at the point allows him to use various unique skills to put his defender at a disadvantage.

I just want to put Diaw somewhere and let him get regular minutes as a starter. SF seems to be the only vacancy. I think if Diaw could go to a young team that would start him at center and say you're the man, he would finally thrive. In so many ways Diaw is an enigma. I liken him to Alvan Adams in his era.

 

[Irish]

It'll really depend on Porters offense, but I kind of don't think so. Diaw isn't the type of guy who's going to start out the 3 point line and be a threat from deep, or to cut quickly to the basket. So he's not that sort of SF. He'll be losing a lot his advantages that he has against bigs (quickness, ball handling, post moves, passing) when being guarded by quicker SFs. Diaw is a really unique player and I think he's at his best when he's playing either PF or Center (as long as the opposing center isn't completely gigantic compared to him), or Point Guard. Either inside or at the point allows him to use various unique skills to put his defender at a disadvantage.

I don't know how Diaw will play at SF. Obviously the matchups will be different. We've seen the kind of matchup problems he creates against smaller guys when he posts them up. He has great moves and passes well out of the double team. The Spurs had no answer and at the end of the 2005-06 season he exploited the Mav's smalls every time there was a swtch.

In theory he should have been equally effective against bigs, since he could beat them to the basket off the dribble. But somehow that wasn't happening very much. In any case, he was not nearly as effective in posting up bigs which made his reluctance to dunk a real problem.

At SF, the real key for Boris will be his size and passing. He's tall enough to make entry passes to Shaq and Amare as well as shoot over smaller defenders. He is a good enough shooter that opponents have to defend him, but then have to stop his interior passing on the drive and kick.

There is enough similariity in his style to that of Hill that they would not have to make major adjustments depending on which is playing.

None the less, if he could somehow learn to shoot the three effectively...