RIP should have best year of his career...

[bstein14]

Ok, so some may laugh at me, but I really see Rip having a chance to move up into the 2nd tier of SG's in the NBA behind only Kobe, Roy, and Wade.


No more Billups, Sheed, or AI. He's the leader of this team. He's finally the goto guy IMO.

I can see 23-24 PPG at a high efficiency with 3.5 RPG and 5.0 APG.... leading Detroit to 45+ wins.

What are your thoughts?

[Master Shake]

23-24 I think is pretty high. But I think you will see this team become the Rip Hamilton/Ben Gordon show on offense, and so far it seems we have to have both guys in the lineup to be effective.

I see Rip and Gordon both average 20-21. Stuckey and Villanueva eventually being the 3rd and 4th options.

I do think the league will realize how good Rip is again this year, his value is low right now, but we forget that he's still our best player...

[thesack12]

Rip is highly under-rated and overlooked around the league, and surprisingly enough by a lot in Piston's nation. Dude plays well on both sides of the ball, and may be the best conditioned player in the entire league. Considering his style and fitness level, longevity is not a major concern. The only two things I can see as weaknesses in his game are 3pt shooting, and ball handling.

Rip is easily a top 7 SG in the game today, and one could certainly argue he is a top 5 SG.

As mentioned, Only Wade/Kobe/Roy are clearly above him. Personally, I would say that Joe Johnson is a better overall player than Rip.

I could see some people making arguments for these guys:

Redd: Personally I see him as basically just a shooter, and is highly injury prone
Ginobili: A great player indeed, but if he doesn't have all that talent around him, can he carry a team? He has always been their 3rd option.
Carter: Dude is way over-rated, and his game has never really equated to winning games
Kevin Martin: Dude puts up numbers on a terrible team, good player but not great IMO
Tmac: Like his cousin he is vastly over-rated, plus dude is just broken down

Some people may say they would rather have some young guys like Mayo/Eric Gordon/Iggy etc, but currently they are not better players than Rip.

So my list is:
1) Kobe
2) Wade
3) Roy
4) Johnson
5) Rip

[princeofpalace]

^
i think martin is being criminally underrated

yeah Sacramento sucks- but so do the players around him. Id love to have him on my team- I think he is better than Rip but I do agree that Rip isnt as bad a player that the majority of REALGM pretends his because REALGM tends to overvalue things wrong things IMO- like youth and athleticism.

Tier 1: Kobe, Wade
Tier Ia: Manu, Roy
Tier 3: Johnson, Carter, Martin, Rip

[Cowology]

I'd hope that Rip doesn't play anywhere near enough minutes to actually average 23-24 ppg...

[Bartender]

I'd hope that Rip doesn't play anywhere near enough minutes to actually average 23-24 ppg...

Why? You wand Rip to play low minutes and you want Big Ben to play low minutes? Those are 2 of our best players so why do you want them to ride the pine?

[Cowology]

Because 1) It wears them down and 2) it stunts our teams growth and 3) in th case of Rip we also have this dude named Ben Gordon on our roster who is more than capable of playing SG.

[HeroicKennedy]

Yeah, Rip shouldn't log more than 30-32 minutes. I think he'd have to regularly play 36+ to get that 23-24 PPG.

Although, Rip having a career year would be very beneficial to us.

[beau]

Why would anyone want rip to score 23-24 points a game?

For him to be able to do that he would have to: 1) jack up over 20 shots a game and 2) play more isolation basketball.

Rip is most effective playing within a system where he is the main weapon running of screens. If he does 1) or 2) from above, we would most likely see a huge drop in his fg%. I would rather have a season where rip would average 17 points a game on 15 shots and near 50 percent shooting. the alternative is likely sub 45 percent shooting and a ton more isolation plays called for rip; both of which will result in less wins for the pistons.

He isnt as good as Joe Johnson or Kevin Martin, but would be a great asset to any playoff team willing to make the next step.

boozer or milsap still seem to be the likely targets in a rip trade... although I would still prefer Kaman.

[Master Shake]

I personally think a Rip/Bynum package could net us a legit big man... not a superstar, but one who can protect the paint a little bit, and Kaman is a guy that comes to mind. But unless they can move B-diddy and move Gordon to the point, I don't see them making a play for Rip.

[effjay]

I personally think a Rip/Bynum package could net us a legit big man... not a superstar, but one who can protect the paint a little bit, and Kaman is a guy that comes to mind. But unless they can move B-diddy and move Gordon to the point, I don't see them making a play for Rip.

Kaman has been having a hell of a season so far without Griffin in the mix, logging minutes. He would be an interesting piece to add.