JDebates

While there are several notable all time greats at this position, there are 2 players that have been pretty much neck and neck in terms of greatness, and that #1 all time spot. The 2 players I’m talking about are Magic Johnson and Stephen Curry. These 2 both transcended the game in their own unique ways, with magic being 1 of the 1st, if not the 1st ever point guard at the rare height of 6’9. This may not be rare in today’s game, but back then, it was unheard of, in fact, when magic 1st entered the league, the average height of a point guard was about 6’2, and the average height of a CENTER was 6’10. Steph Curry on the other hand LITERALLY CHANGED the way the game of basketball is played til this day with his unreal shooting ability. Before prime Steph, everything from the offensive focus, to the tempo, to scoring was at this point was otherworldly until he took the league by storm. Therefore magic at 6’9 was essentially a point guard in a center’s body. So, which 1 of these all time greats is THE ALL TIME GREAT in terms of point guards? Let’s look at each player’s case and decide. My decision will be based on offense, stats, defense, accolades, and winning ability.

19 year pro and future hall of famer, Chris Paul is typically brought up in the greatest point guards of all time conversation, and rightfully so. The man’s a 12 time all star, 11 time all-nba player, and 9 time all defensive player. He’s played a majority of his 19 seasons as a top guard in the league and is really just now starting to decline. CP3 has obviously achieved a lot of accolades as well as longevity throughout his career. Does his achievements and long run grant him a top 5 spot all time for point guards? Let’s look at the yes, and the no reasons and decide.

The defensive player of the year award is decided by 124 NBA media members, who vote on who they believe deserves it. This award is supposed to be given to the best defensive player of the regular season, and that is allegedly determined based on a players defensive rating, defensive impact on their team, and defensive stats such as blocks and steals. This same criteria is what I will be basing my decision on at the end. One of the issues people have with this award, however, is that it’s decided by OVER 100 people. This potentially does leave more room for bias, and downright senseless votes that aren’t based on the criteria we just discussed. The top 3 players in the 23-24 Dpoty race were: Rudy Gobert, Victor Wembanyama aka wemby, and Bam Adebayo. Gobert would be the guy to take home the award, blowing the other 2 contenders out the water. He beat 2nd place Wemby alone by 53 VOTES. Despite the fact Rudy won, and it wasn’t close, some people feel like Wemby deserved the award over him. Were the majority of media members correct in their choice of Gobert for the Dpoty award? Or was Wemby the more deserving player who was robbed? Let’s find out.

The 34 year old nba vet and 6 time all star has yet to sign with an NBA team as of 7/4. He’s coming off of a 24 point, 4 rebound, 5 assist, and 1 steal per game season. These are definitely productive numbers for the 3 time all-nba player and attractive numbers to any team on paper, yet Derozen has yet to land a team thus far, 5 days into free agency. Derozen is seeking a long term deal despite, being 34 and nearing the of his career, being under 30% from 3 for his career and just over 30% from 3 this season, and having an outdated offensive game centered around sizing up and utilizing the mid range area. To put it simply, he’s an expensive older player, who doesn’t fit a lot of teams. To make matters worse, the teams CAN afford to pay Derozen, probably are hesitant to do so, because they don’t want to give him a lot of money for 4 years which would result in him playing til almost age 40. Throughout these 5 days of free agency, the teams that have come up where landing Derozen are concerned are the La Lakers, La Clippers, and Miami Heat. So, which of these teams should Derozen sign to? Let’s look at the fit on each team and decide.

For the 2nd time in his career, Tobias Harris will join the Detroit Pistons. This past postseason, Harris has caught a lot of flak for his recent playoff performance, as well as his inability to compliment Joel Embiid on the 76ers despite probably being the highest paid role player ever, and the pistons have caught a lot of flak for their failure to bring talent to Detroit over the years and properly rebuild. Even in this offseason, the pistons had the highest amount of cap space in the league, and have yet to land a star. Looking at their roster, they have a very young group, the 4th youngest in the league last season, and they’re led by their 22 year old star, Cade Cunningham. After their franchise worst 14-68 record last season, it’s all but obvious they needed to improve their roster in a LOT of ways. Is Tobias Harris a piece that will be able to fit in and help the Pistons? Let’s look at why he will and why he won’t be able to.

On July 1st nba vet and 4-time champion, Klay Thompson agreed to sign to the Dallas mavericks on a 3 year, $50M deal. This signing made headlines around the nba media because it is the 1st time in his 11 year career playing with a new team. Thompson was part of the Golden State Warriors dynasty that won 4 championships in a span of 7 years, and recorded the best regular season record in NBA history at 73-9. In his last season with the warriors, Thompson was less than efficient and due to this, saw his 3rd lowest playing time on average in his 11 year career. His poor efficiency led to a running narrative of the 5 time all star and future hall of famer being labeled as “washed.” Needless to say he was ready for a change. Similarly, the Dallas Mavericks, fresh off of a finals loss vs Boston was ready for a change in their roster that involved adding more offense to support their stars Luka and Kyrie. Is Thompson a player that will fit the Mavericks? Let’s discuss why and why not.

JB Bickerstaff is set to become the new head coach of the Detroit pistons. The Pistons recently fired coach, Monty Williams after playing just 1 season under Williams and finishing with the worst record in the league and franchise history, 14-68. Detroit also fired general manager Troy Weaver around the same time period they got rid of Williams. Since the beginning of the Piston rebuild in 2010, the franchise has now had a total of 8 coaches in 14 years adding in Bickerstaff. This tied for the 3rd most head coaches in the league since the period. Will JB Bickerstaff be the coach to break this curse? Will he be a good fit for the head coaching job and likely have a longer stay in Detroit than the previous coaches? Let’s explore reasons as to why he will, and reasons as to why he won’t, then make a decision from there.

Through June 26th & 27th, the 2024 NBA draft took place in Brooklyn, New York. Despite the lack of talent present in this draft, a handful of players picked in the top 10 have impressive potential that could be capitalized on in the NBA. Join me, while I analyze, scout, grade and determine which of these 10 top picks has the best chance at being the best player from this draft.

Former all star and all-defensive player Dejounte Murray was traded from the hawks to the pelicans in exchange for Larry Nace Jr., Dyson Daniels, a 2025 1st round pick swap and a 2027 1st round pick swap. Thus far, the narrative is that the Hawks got robbed and that they traded their 2nd best player for a bag of chips, but of course not everybody feels this way. Some people are valuing the picks the hawks got in return as well as the players considering the hawks gave up 1 player for 2 players and 2 picks. So, with that being said, let’s look at both sides of the debate and decide which team won the trade.

Before the NBA draft kicked off, a near blockbuster trade took place involving the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets. The nets agreed to send Bridges to the Knicks in exchange for Bojan Bogdanovic, 4 unprotected 1st round picks, a protected 1st round pick, an unprotected pick swap and a second round pick. The general consensus has been that the Knicks were robbed, played etc., but on the other hand, some fans and analysts are seeing how dangerous the Knicks will potentially be next season with bridges on their roster. Through this trade, the Knicks obviously got better as a team now, while the nets will get better as a team in the future. Therefore, let’s look at each team’s advantages gained during this exchange and decide who won the trade.