rosenthall wrote:RSP83 wrote:They have the potential to exceed Gordon, Deng, Hinrich. But still way too early to call it.
They might end up being better, but I'd say they have a long way to go. Those three guys got a team to the playoffs while they were all on their rookie contracts and went into the second round by defeating the defending champs, and this team looks a long ways away from being able to do that.RSP83 wrote:Only Coby who I am confidence to say I'd rather have him than Ben Gordon right now. Gordon was an explosive scorer, super clutch, drew comparison to Andrew Toney. But we shouldn't forgot that he has so many holes in other parts of his game. Hence why he's best used as a sixth man. Coby is a lot more balanced, he's bigger, and probably as talented as a volume scorer.
I'd rather have the Coby of the last 5 games over Gordon, but Coby wasn't as consistently good on his rookie contract as Ben was. Ben won 6MOY his rookie year. That said, I think they're pretty different players. Like you said, Coby's turned into a little bit of a BG / Kirk hybrid. Gordon also flamed out after leaving the Bulls, and Coby seems to have a good mindset. I expect Coby to end up having the better career than Ben, but he hasn't peaked as high as BG did for a whole season. This season is young though.RSP83 wrote:Pat is sold as Deng with higher ceiling. But he still needs to show he's able to play Deng's floor consistently. If we switch Pat and Luol today, we'd be closer to a top 5 team in the East. The only thing Pat have over Luol today is 3-point shooting.
I'd say Luol's floor has proven to be a lot higher than Pat's, and the big difference is that Luol had an elite motor the day he came into the league, while Pat's is subpar. It's extremely unusual for a low-motor guy to turn into a high motor one, much less eclipse a guy who was one of the best in the league at it.
When it comes to role players, I'd say having a good motor is a really strong advantage, about as big as being more athletic, or being a deadeye shooter, so that makes a pretty big gap between them IMO.RSP83 wrote:Kirk pre-extension (and marriage) was borderline All-Star point guard. Of all the comparison this is the one I'm least confident. I still don't see the ability to control tempo from Ayo to be a full-time ball handler. Ayo's game is about speed, getting into the lane, always pressuring by attacking defense off the dribble. Very different from Kirk. I look at Ayo as a guy who can be a better version of Ronnie Brewer, a high level role player on this team.
I've always thought early career Kirk was underrated. All-NBA calibre defense at both backcourt positions, and able to run an offense competently, if not spectacularly. He was the original Jrue Holiday.
Defensively they have some similarities, although I think Ayo has the benefit of more physical ability. Kirk got by with a lot of grit, and it caused him to break down later in his career. On offense, Ayo is like a sprinter who plays basketball -- he seems much better in open spaces than closed spaces, which I think limits his upside a bit.
Overall, I'm glad our three young guys are playing well, but I think the trio of Lu/BG/Kirk is underrated for how good they were.
They were an exciting trio in their time. Add Noc and Duhon and da bulls had a nice young core. How Pax lost his way with his drafting strategy is baffling.
