A question for the Spurs community.
What would this team be like if last season's "nearly-completed" trade of Brent Barry for J.R. Smith had gone down?
Obviously we would have missed Barry's timely 3-pt shooting and "basketball intelligence". But I want to know from others how you think this would have altered the effectiveness of the squad? Would the Spurs been better or worse for it?
Last edited by SenorSpur; 12-17-2006 at 01:13 PM.
Uh, it's not like JR can't shoot. He's shooting .397 from outside the arc. Barry is just En Fuego right now.
Smith would probably be the first wing off the bench, with Finley's shooting woes, and I don't think SA would have picked up White, with the role of Flying Young Balla already filled.
if we just wanted a 3pt shooter only, i would trade barry right now for korver since his stock is up.......both are same time of player, korver is younger sort of a chucker, right system and coachin he could be wiser in his shot selection....
JR Smith
right now we would be a better team.
not because of the question, if Smith is better than Barry, just because of the fact, that Smith would take Barry's minutes AND many of Finley's minutes, something the 35 years old Barry is no longer able to do.
Smith would likely be the fist option from the bench, playing 30 minutes. assuming he produces at the same lavel like he does in Denver, the Spurs would clearly be a better team.
we wouldn't miss the shooting of Brent that much, because the shooting ability of Smith isn't that bad either and considering that Brent gets more open looks at the Spurs than Smith with the Nuggets, it might be even equal.
the fact that neither Brebt, nor Finley play defense that is worth talking about, the weak defense of Smith would not mean a significant downgrade in this area.
all we would lose is the "smartness" factor of Brent, but smartness is something our hyper veteran roster should still be able to provide on a league leading level.
If we got Smith there would be a brawl and we'd be back to Finley being first off the bench.With that being said, Smith is an excellent tallent and I'd love to have him.
I like the team as it is now. But I also understand that the is probably needs to be Barry and possibly Finley's last runs with the Spurs. I think the Spurs have exactly what it takes, barring health issues come playoff times, to win another championship. But 2007-08 will really need some youth injection. Maybe James White will be a solid contributor by then.
the question is will james white fill in the missin offense contribution from barry+finley?....
you can like the team, but still think that there is room for improvement.
I like the team as it is now, but would like it even more, if there was a bit more energy on the bench.
Korver is nothing like Barry. All KK can do is shoot the rock. Barry can handle and create. He's just not asked to do that much, but I've noticed that he's definitely penetrating more, going all the way into the lane off a simple ball fake. Korver is exactly what we don't need: a standstill jumpshooter.
basketball wise it's a legit question...
but don't you think bb is somewhat filling an important role in the chemistry of the locker room?
No question Stephe. BB definitely adds to the already fine chemistry of this team. However, I think the Spurs have more than enough leadership to make up the difference.
Also keep in mind, Barry wasn't playing this well nor was he this aggressive this time last year. That failed trade did a lot to energize BB and make him play more relaxed. If nothing else, that failed trade gave him a new lease and perspective on his role with the Spurs. He even he admitted that himself.
We would be worse off. JR Smith does not address any needs as we have plenty of shooters. We have Manu and Tony as slashers. JR Smith can score, but the Spurs have plenty of scoring options. He is not a good decision maker, whereas Brent Barry is a great decision maker, and cannot hit the three as well as Barry.
JR can also create some.JR Smith does not address any needs as we have plenty of shooters.
Plus, it'd be nice to actually have a wing player under the age of 34.
I think we would be better with JR. He's young and Barry's not.
If that trade went down we would have the best record in the league right now.
Pop wouldn't let him leave the bench
That's another thing I was wondering when I posed the question.
The Spurs only win les in odd years, so 2007-08 is a good opportunity to work in some new guys.
He'd have been in the rotation immediately. Don't think in terms of White. White is a rook. Smith is now in his 3rd year, and would have been replacing a rotation player moved in that trade, Barry.
People seemed surprised that Barry is shooting as well as he is...its not like he hasn't led the league in 3pt shooting before...and its not like he hasn't shot close to 50% from the 3pt line before. I think the year he led the league he shot 48%.
He'd only start playing larger minutes around now. Barry knows the system already and that's been vital for him. Smith would be long to learn it, like most anyone else, and so we'd be seeing lots of Michael Finley instead.
We'd wind up losing games in alterna-universe we won this year, with Smith having little impact so far.
smith isn't a long three and wouldn't help us defend players like lebron. he would be nice to have, but still not what we have been looking for.
I don't want that thug in SA.
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