Two articles on Raptor Point Guards

[BasX]

From Doug Smith's Blog regarded Marcus Banks

 

There is no doubt that Marcus Banks, an admirable fill-in at point guard in the absence of Jose Calderon, has opened a few eyes of late.

 

And in the cold, cruel world of professional sports, he might be just playing well enough to be traded.

 

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/2009/12/of-developing-assets-and-dangerous-days.html

 

Chishom's Point of View

 

However, the Raptors recent mild success has come at a time when starting point guard Jose Calderon has been nursing an injured hip and their record in his absence (4-3) is noteworthy for several reasons.

 

The first and most important is that his injury did coincide with an easier schedule, which benefited the Raptors. No matter what interpretations follow this fact, this fact must nonetheless be highlighted. It isn't likely that Calderon's presence would have derailed Toronto's chances against Minnesota or New Jersey and his being healthy and available may (or may not) have made a difference in Milwaukee, Miami and Orlando.

 

http://www.tsn.ca/blogs/tim_chisholm/?id=303208

 

Marcus Banks in no where near the offensive threat Jose is but he is a much better defender and takes pride in his defense, just ask CP3. That being said, what do you think the Raptors should do? Explore trading Jose, nothing, or trade Jack.

 

Obviously now is tough to say because Jose is still out, however, consider all three are healthy. This is for fun, but Banks seems to be getting more acclimated to the team, also having Jose out gives Hedo more time with the ball, something not is not a bad thing.

[Check my Stats]

Considering we have 20 million tied into average PG's this year ALONE I think Jose needs to go. He is making near max money and is basically the same level PG as our backup (Jack) is. I think Jose can still be a useful player but BC gave him too much money and now that is gonna bite us in the [expletive]. Losing Jose doesn't make us better but I would rather take the hit and have his contract go bye bye. Even someone on a 2 year deal would be better to me.

 

On a side note I have always thought Banks was a competent player, obviously not a star but he got that contract for a reason. It is a shame his contract is the reason he is overlooked as a decent player. He isn't an ideal backup PG but he can provide some solid effort. With Hedo out there he is better because Hedo can run the offense and Banks can defend the PG's.

[Built Ford Tough]

When Calderon comes back I would rather see the Raptors start Jack and bring Calderon off of the bench, just like I wanted to see Calderon come off the bench back when Ford was here.

 

I just don't like Calderon as a starting point guard in the NBA and have ever really liked him in that role. His game is so much more suited to come off the bench as far as I am concerned. Jack fits in better with the starting lineup as he is better at working off of the ball than Jose is, which enables the Raptors to utilize Turkoglu more and let him run the offense more often. Jack is the better defender as well (although Jack is nothing special defensively either), which fits in a lot better with the offensive oriented starting lineup.

 

By bringing Calderon off of the bench you have a great change of pace for the Raptors from Jack's more offensive/slashing oriented game and that key element that they had with the Ford/Calderon duo back. His defensive problems won't be as magnified because he won't be playing all of his minutes against the opposing teams starting point guard. His game won't be nearly as redundant either, because he won't be on the floor with Turkoglu all of the time.

 

I have absolutely no problems with Calderon coming off of the bench. Yeah, he is making $9M this season but Jack is only making around $4.5M or so, which amounts to around $13.5M or so this season, and eventually it gets up to around $16M. That isn't absurd to have locked into one position in my opinion. It isn't ideal considering the talent level of these two players, but it is something that I can deal with. Banks' contract is the problem as far as I am concerned.

 

Obviously if there is a trade out there that makes the team better, then by all means move Calderon, but I have no problems seeing them bring him off of the bench at first and see how the team plays with him in that role. He could have a large impact on the game if he were to come off of the bench, in my opinion. If a trade surfaces though, by all means make it.

Edited December 24, 2009 by Built Ford Tough