I know there would be a minutes / cash crunch at guard if they resign Beasley and Schroeder, but has Ivey shown enough to NOT throw a bag at Schroeder? This is an honest question. My sense is Ivey has yet to play NBA average ball and that Schroeder is better than him. Obviously you would like to imagine Ivey’s upside and he may still have some after a career that seems plagued with terrible teams and lots of weird stuff.
I guess the easiest way to formulate this question is: what is the likelihood that BJ is playing Ivey over Schroeder in the last five minutes of a Game 6 next year?
Schroder is a better defender and Ivey would get hunted more, but Ivey was VERY good this year and hit more clutch shots than anyone. This is what he looked like in his last game.
I said Duren probably doesn’t have a ton of growth left but I always forget just how young he is. I’m still skeptical if he can’t shoot or defend at a high level what more he can really do but the clay is still pretty moldable.
He doesn’t need to shoot threes, but he has the touch and footwork to extend his range on post moves and floaters. And he can better at facing up and driving. He’s only 21 so he still has five years of development.
In terms of who’d play in playoff crunch time next year I’d probably even say Ivey though that’s obviously possibly wrong
These graphs obviously aren’t the be/all end/all and I think the plus minus stuff for Ivey this year gets super awkward given he basically never played with Thompson and Schroder almost entirely did, so these could be duped into thinking Dennis is a superior defender
I posed a question to my “should they fire JB??” friend this morning. He is not an MSU fan, so that did not play into his response at all. I asked if he would want Jaren Jackson Jr on the Pistons next year, and if so what he would be willing to give up. His reply was yes, he’d want JJJ, and he’d be willing to give up Ivey, Duren, and a pick.
I’m told him I’m really glad he’s not Detroit’s GM.
Yeah it’s underrated just how much experience and touch make you a better player even if it’s subtle “dark arts” stuff. Lot of ways to get a little bit better.
He only missed last season and half of the year before. I don’t know how much that changes the graph you’re using. Adams has been coming off the bench for Houston (also had some DNP-CD’s) and it’s hard to say whether playing double the minutes he has been playing at this stage of his career would make him more or less effective.
I really don’t see how I could value a back-up over a good starter. Maybe if we’re comparing Adams to Stew but even that is debatable, considering how well Stew defends the rim. That said, I do love Adams so I would want him on the team but not as a starting option over Duren. He’ll be 32 next year and there are miles on those tires. He’s thriving against a really short Golden State team, which he should.
Even with a slowish start this season, I think Duren has gotten better every year. After the all-star break, he averaged just under 14 points, 11 rebounds, and had 3 assists and just over a block per game. And he really stepped up against the Knicks. Granted, we lost Game 6 but he kept the team afloat for the first half of that 4th quarter, making many key plays and FT’s. I think he’ll only build on that experience.
I don’t like that trade for either team. The fit aspect ruins things. Memphis has Bane and Ivey isn’t really a PG. They also have Edey. Duren may be PF-sized (at least he would’ve been there if he’d come to the NBA from '85 to around '15 but he’s not a stretch anything at the moment.
He’s their best asset, even if he still has some shortcomings (awful rebounder for an athletic 6’11" guy, still a little foul-prone) so I don’t see them shopping him, either. But he’d be a great pairing with Duren.
