Quote:
Originally Posted by BGriffBuckeye
I don't know, Deron Williams, Chris Paul and Ray Felton have all been very succeccful in their short careers (Felton just needs to get some help in Charlotte). But, I do agree Conley should enter this group a short time after he begins his NBA career.
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I don't necessarily think Felton needs too much help in Charlotte. He's the type of point guard who makes players better. What he does need though, to realize that potential and utilize his pure point guard skills; is for his bonehead coach to not play him at the off guard position. He's never played without the ball in his hands at any level, but now is doing so in the pros. Byron Scott would never ask for Chris Paul to play shooting guard with the Hornets, and Felton is more of a pure point than even Paul is. I think there's a distinct possibility that Felton might be the best point guard of that great class, but he's just been given the worst situation of the 3. I think when Brevin Knight has been out of the lineup, and Felton has been allowed to play exclusively at the 1 by Bickerstaff, the Bobcats aren't far from .500 the last two years. They had the best month in their history with Knight out. If Bickerstaff wises up and starts to utilize Felton's talents correctly, and the Bobcats finally stave off injury problems; I think Ray-Ray will finally get the respect that Paul and Williams are getting. Felton is one of my favorite players in the NBA (not a Tarheel or Bobcat fan). Williams is getting the stage that the other 2 aren't getting, because his supporting cast is so good; and thus is perceived to be the best. And I'm not sure about the logic of the contention that Felton is a volume shooter or that somehow causes your percentage to increase. That's counter intuitive. The more you shoot, the less likely it is a high percentage of those are wide open quality shots. Your percentage should go down rather. Therefore, Conley should have shot a higher percentage than Felton or Paul. However, I'd still kill for my Bucks to draft Conley, and put him next to his fellow Buckeye (Redd) in the backcourt. He has good vision, plays a pass first style, and exhibits strong on ball defensive skills to prevent penetration. Those are the 3 main things I want from my point guard. As I said, I love Felton, and he's been compared to him and a better version of T.J. Ford. I don't think it's any coincidence that the Bucks did so much better than expected in 03-04 with Ford (made playoffs but were predicted to be about the worst team in the NBA), but struggled once he left. Nor do I think it's a coincidence that the Raptors thrived immediately upon Ford's acquisition. Bosh was in Toronto for 3 years, and they didn't do spit. Who cares if guys like Ford, Kidd, and Felton; shoot low percentages from the field. They make up for it by their ability to improve other player's percentages. And that's what type of player I think Michael Conley Jr. is. The Bucks should draft him and sign and trade Mo Williams. Mo is just too much of a defensive liability and doesn't make other players better. We could use a shot in the arm in those areas.