Of course. The Spurs 1999 Championship Team was loaded with former scrubs.but sometimes a "scrub" can find the right situation and prosper. Bruce Bowen, Ben Wallace, John Starks, Brad Miller, Marquis Daniels, Troy Hudson among others know all about it.
So, "scrubs" can turn into fine starters if given the chance.
Yeah, do this with McKie out there until Sasha can handle the minutes. Of course that begs the question whether McKie can handle the minutes, but it kind of makes more sense to start him and platoon the backups until someone emerges.Start no point guard and let Odom run the point.
Kori,
Be honest. Couldn't you say the same thing about Bruce Bowen after his first four years in the league? He barely had NBA talent. He would make a very good European player at best. Put in the right situation, given the opportunity, you may find a player to be better than you initially thought. Smush is obviously talented enough to get multiple chances in the NBA. He's obviously done enough to earn playing time, possibly a starting role with the Lakers over McKie, Conroy, Vujacic or another veteran point guard the Lakers could have brought in. With your thinking, the Spurs would not have Bruce Bowen and my Pistons would not have Ben Wallace.
He's the Lakers starting point guard by default. And Bowen, of course, was a scrub until he started to play D and found his niche, even though he scored 30 ppg in France. I just don't think Smush has a niche to find. Maybe somewhere in him (if he has enough drive) he can find a place in the league. But I don't think so. Hopefully for him (and the Lakers I guess) I'm wrong.
I just think some people don't like the word "scrub". I have a close friend who is trying to make the NBA right now (he's one of the Sonics training camp players) and I use the word scrub when I talk to him about the players who are trying to make it. He doesn't get offended, yet fans on the internet do.
Kori,
I'm not offended at all by the word "scrub." I'm not even a Lakers fan. I'm not even a Smush Parker fan. The reason I even posted on this topic was to give some perspective. I saw him play with the Pistons and he showed some real promise to me, and I thought if he kept working on his game, he could be a player in this league. I wouldn't count out any player who at least gets a look at multiple NBA teams. You have to have some talent in order to get those chances.
But, Kori, it was not only your use of the word "scrub" but the other things you stated in your assessment of Smush that made me question your opinion a little bit ...
I think he'll suck. Odom will play point forward, so they don't need a real PG, but Smush Parker is horrible. It's like a waste of a starting spot to me.
Now calling him a "scrub" by itself is fine. But, you also think he'll suck and that he's horrible. My argument is only that he can't be that bad to earn the position he's in now, and he can definitely improve to the point of becoming a legitimate NBA player just like others who walked a similar path as he is walking now. That's why I mentioned Bruce and Ben. Only to counter the notion that it's a guarantee he will suck and be horrible.
Disagree- Avery Johnson did all right
Shane Heal had to play PG for the Spurs in a pinch two years ago. Sometimes teams get desperate.
I don't think he'll last very long in the starting PG role for the Lakers. Like I said, anything can happen, but I haven't seen anything special in the guy that would show he will be able to hang in the league for very long.
Hopefully, he has worked hard and drastically improved so that he can find a place for himself though.
There is a lot of misinformation in this thread....The Lakers are trying to "not run a traditional PG as a ball handler."...That is why Magic & Pippen have been working with Walton & Odom on their ball handling abilities...(This is old news)...
The only reason they are doing that is because they don't have a decent point guard to play.
Didn't I read that Lloyd Daniels is making a comeback?
Last year, when the Suns had both Nash and Barbosa out, they got Smush in on a 10 day. When Nash came back they cut him. This is a team that had no true back-up PG, that is when they really started to use Joe Johnson at PG when Nash rested. Not really a stirring endorsement for Smush, that he wasn't at least kept on until Barbosa returned.
The Lakers really are not expecting a whole lot out of Smush Parker...Protect the ball, play a little defense, hit the open jumper when it presents itself....Smush won’t have to worry about double teams as long as Kobe & Lamar are on the court....(Stu Lantz)
Would Smush ever have to worry about double teams?
Are you sure Smush Parker's gonna be starting at CENTER? If so, then I don't really see how it makes a lot of sense. And, just when you think the Lakers already went on a downward spiral after losing Shaq to the Miami Heat last season, then if this whole thing about Parker starting at Center is true, then you can pretty much bet that no triangle offense Phil Jackson cooks up can save the Lakers from falling even further.Even more scary for Laker fans is that Parker will start AT CENTER...
And, if this whole thing about Smush Parker starting at center is true, then imagine what Charles Barkley would be saying about Phil Jackson. (and Spurs fans know damn well that when Sir Charles speaks, people LISTEN!)
I know right, it's almost too crazy to be true!
Thank God the Smush experiment is over.
Damn, the wife took fools to the woodshed in this thread, tbh.
Really, bb?
worst days ever
LOL Piston fans not coming out looking too good in this thread.
Smush Parker
This thread is a shining example of re ed Pistonfan opinions.
^ Truth Bomb right here. It amazes me to this day that the Lakers put a major scare in the heavily favored Suns with Smush at PG. We blew a 3-1 lead, but still. We also started Kwame Brown around that time. Lamar Odom was inconsistent at best back then too. And that's not to mention Luke Walton, and Brian Cook.
No wonder we either never made the playoffs or were one and done A.S. (after Shaq) until the Lakers brought in some competent players. We were a lucky Tim Thomas 3ptr away from making some noise that year (thanks to Lamar Odom taking a mental break and not blocking out). We would have had a good shot at knocking off the Clippers that year in rout to the WCF (I believe we split the season series that year despite our putrid roster IIRC). Speaks to Kobe's Legend tbh.
Last edited by LkrFan; 10-12-2012 at 08:42 AM.
Just read through this thread. One word: Jamst
Lkr with pitiful takes per par.... the Clippers would have swept the Lakers that year, it took a fluke Raja Bell three for the same Suns team that whooped your ass to beat us, tbh...
I'll never forgive Dumbleavy for putting in Daniel ing Ewing to guard Raja Bell, we were gonna ring that year until Dumbleavy ed it up tbh....
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