Beno or Parker. Who do you keep

[SpursChampsIII]

Since the Spurs will be facing this dilema in the near future, lets try this out and see where it goes. Gun to your head. You have to pick one now. Who do you take and why?

I take Beno because he shows better court vision and is the better shooter. PG's who shoot well bring defenders to the perimiter which would give Duncan more one-on-one opportunities. Better defense will come with more practice and he rarely turns the ball over to the other team.

Discuss.

I can't believe I'm reading this. Beno will NEVER, I repeat NEVER be the basketball player TP is. There is nothing to discuss.

[SpursChampsIII]

Jason's kid > Parker

Number of years Parker has left > Kidd's years left.

The stupid idiot had his chance and chose to stay in New Jersey...he can rot there.

[bigzak25]

parkers speed is unmatched. when he is in attack mode he is one of the best PG in the nba.

i think we've all been pleasantly suprised with beno, but we still don't know if he can walk the walk with some quality minutes in the playoffs.

at the end of the day, TP goes nowhere unless some idiot GM is looking to unload a young superstar big...

i've been more than critical of TP's play in may/june as well but he's our PG now and for the forseeable future...embrace it man....he's the best we've had in a very long time, if not ever.

[FromWayDowntown]

The only way Beno stays (a happy Spur) for 4 years is if he starts, period. He's starting his rookie contract at 22, not at 18 as Tony did, which is a huge difference. Start as a Spur, or elsewhere, he will start, and get paid appropriately, inside those 4 years.

The Spurs will have to offer him a starter's contract well before those 4 years are up, because other teams will be waving $M's in his face. He won't be a happy player imprisoned in a rookie peanuts contract at age 24 or 25.

This has to be my favorite take in this thread -- I didn't realize that the NBA had done away with the cap and had unilaterally rendered every contract voidable at the whim of the player.

No team can offer Beno any money until he becomes a free agent. He doesn't become a free agent until his current contract expires (assuming the Spurs don't extend him). Since he's locked up for 4 more years, it will be at least that long before anyone will come after Beno with any money -- if a team made such a run, they'd violate the CBA, but more than that, such efforts would be completely fruitless since Beno would be powerless to accept any such offers. , even the Spurs can't offer Beno a new contract -- the best they could do would be to extend his current agreement by adding years and money onto the end. But only the Spurs can do that.

I don't see that Beno's age (22) is some big impediment to keeping him happy. 22 year old rookies are less and less common, but 22 is hardly old by NBA standards. There's nothing to suggest that Beno would be a malcontent. Who's to say that Beno wouldn't relish a Bobby Jackson-type role as the consummate 6th man, backing up a younger, more talented, all-star caliber PG? We don't know if Beno's down with that or not.

I would take Parker over Beno. I think Parker is easily the more complete player and substantially more talented. He's not the best pure PG on the Spurs roster, but Beno cannot penetrate like Tony can, and Beno hasn't shown the offensive explosiveness that Parker has. Beno might prove to be the better shooter, but you know, I'd generally take scorers over shooters (would you rather have Michael Finley or Fred Hoiberg?). I'd really take a scorer over a shooter when the scorer is the better defender of the two. Parker has shown leaps-and-bounds improvement on the defensive end as he learns to use his quickness and improves his strength. Beno will never have the same quickness and seems less inclined to become a stingy defender. Since Parker gets it done at both ends, and since his score-first mentality isn't really a problem in the Spurs offense, I'm sticking with Parker if I have to make a choice.

But I know I won't have to for several more years.

[myhc]

I think we're all overlooking 2 important qualitys Tony has over Beno: experience and team chemistry. Tony knows the guys better than Beno because obviously he's been playing with them for much longer. Knowing where guys want the ball, their tendencies, when to shoot, when to find the hot guy, knowing the team's plays and what Pop wants on the floor-Tony has that advantage over Beno and will have it years down the road. Tony also knows how to play the other guards in this league while Beno is still learning guys names-and again, Tony will still have that advantage years down the road.

[T Park]

Jouman < Eva


TAKE THAT USER!!! lol.

[angel_luv]

BENO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No question about it. Tony is a good guy, but I can't do without my Beno Boy!

[Extra Stout]

WGAF about this non-problem in 2005, except somebody with an irrational hatred of Tony Parker.

If Beno is so wonderful by 2008 that the Spurs decide it's not wise to pay big $$$ to two point guards, then they would be in the situation of having an excellent trade asset in whichever one they don't like as much.

Again, a non-problem.

[ducks]

beno in past is proven he can not stay healthy


lets see what he does in the playoffs and the second half of the season after players see him and adjust to him
before sayign he is a top 5 backup poitn guard

[Dario]

Rofl its fun to watch how you guys think. I'm a slovenian and i think beno sucked last few games, but still u guys compare him to tony, who is the best player in spurs lately right behind manu. Its funny how you pick on same guys constantly, but others can suck same or even worse and you still like them. I know most of you never played this game, but this lack of basketball knowledge is impressive.