FanPost

Full Roster Comparison

I've been thinking lately about how differently our team would have fared if we had different players instead of our current offering. Therefore, in this post, I'm going to run through our roster (including training camp guys), and coming up with a rich man's comparison and a poor man's comparison. The rich man's comparison will essentially be a better/more expensive version of our current player, and the poor man's comparison will be a lesser version of the player, usually with one defined skill that the two players share.

Let's go.

D.J. Augustin

Rich man: Ty Lawson

Undersized point guard who excels on the offensive end? Sounds like Augustin to me. Lawson is the rich man's version because he is also a borderline elite distributor, although he needs to stay healthy to be considered amongst the top PG in the league. At the moment he's in the second tier, with guys like Eric Bledsoe and Kyle Lowry.

Poor man: Aaron Brooks

Also undersized, but really, all Brooks offers is isolation offense. He's a very average passer, and as we saw in the opening preseason game, he looks for his own shot most of the time, but he can get red-hot in no time.

Josh Bostic

Rich man: Well, pretty much any G/F with a guaranteed contract.

Poor man: Josh Bostic

Lorenzo Brown

Rich man: Tony Wroten

When Tony Wroten is your rich man comparison you know that you're among the bottom feeders in the league. Teammates in Philly last season, Brown, like Wroten, is very big for a PG at 6'5" (Wroten is 6'6"). I haven't seen Brown play so these comparisons are mostly physical, but Wroten does have a non-existent jumpshot and loves to attack the basket.

Poor man: Lorenzo Brown

Caron Butler

Rich man: Paul Pierce

In no way am I comparing Pierce to Butler, because let's be honest...Butler is HOF/GOAT/SFOTF and all the other cool acronyms being thrown around today. But in all seriousness, a veteran leader whose main on-court contributions are as a shooter, and Pierce is essentially a better version of Butler, but with less crappy tattoos.

Poor man: James Jones

Whilst James Jones is a better shooter than Butler, that's pretty much all he can do. Both are veteran leaders with championship experience, Jones will probably be looking for a good book to read on the Cleveland bench whilst Butler wrongly plays 25 minutes a night at the Pistons' weakest position.

Will Bynum

Rich man: D.J. Augustin

I didn't say that teammates couldn't be comparisons. Whilst Augustin is occasionally guilty of hero-ball, he at least can run an offense to a semi-respectable level and, like Bynum, is proficient in the pick and roll. He gets the nod here because of his extended shooting range.

Poor man: J.J. Barea

Anyone who finds themselves as the poor man's Will Bynum can feel a little insulted, but the fact is that Barea essentially offers up the same hero-ball trash being shown by "The Thrill." What makes Barea the poor man's version is, due to his unathletic style of play, he's an even bigger liability defensively. Shocking, I know.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

Rich man: Klay Thompson

Klay Thompson exploded last season, his 3rd in the league, and continued his hot form into the FIBA World Cup and now in NBA preseason. Klay not only is an excellent angelic shooter, but his means of getting his shots is mostly running off screens and spot-ups. However, he doesn't drive to the hoop as much as KCP. However, they are both excellent defenders for their position, and with KCP showing signs of a potential breakout campaign, a Warriors-Pistons matchup could intrigue in the season.

Poor man: Avery Bradley

I know that Avery Bradley got paid this offseason, but was it worth it? 4/32 million for a 3 and D guy is a bit inflated, even in the current market, and with the new TV deal coming in in the future. Bradley may be one of the best defenders in the league, but offensively, he is limited to spot up 3s and hard cuts to the basket. He doesn't have the tweener game of KCP.

Brian Cook

Rich man: Ryan Anderson

Stretch 4 men are hard to find, nevertheless one as good as his job than Ryan Anderson. Linked with the Pistons along with Eric Gordon in trade talk for Greg Monroe last season, he's missed a lot of time with a back injury. Cook is trying to resurrect his NBA career after taking time off to be with his sick (since recovered I believe) wife, but may have a hard time latching on to a roster with teams with open spots more likely to fill with younger guys with high ceilings.

Poor man: N/A

Having been away for 2 seasons, it's hard to gauge just exactly how good (or otherwise) Cook actually is. Luke Babbitt of the Pelicans springs to mind, but Cook's absence makes it hard to determine his standing.

Luigi Datome

Rich man: Mirza Teletovic

The comparisons I could make here are staggering. Whilst Teletovic is more of a PF than a SF like Datome, he too was a shooter who came over from the Euroleague who sslightly struggled with his shot in his first year. Now, however, he's developed into a reliable bench scorer for Brooklyn, and there's potential for Datome to do the same.

Poor man: N/A

It's really hard to give Datome a poor man's comparison after the limited minutes he saw in his rookie campaign. This isn't a reflection of his ability, more a by-product of limited opportunity.

Spencer Dinwiddie

Rich man: Michael Carter-Williams

Whilst MCW largely put up empty numbers on a rubbish team (even though we somehow lost to them), there was no denying that he was a veritable steal at #11 for Philly considering how crap last year's class has panned out so far. Most redrafts have him in the top 3 along with Oladipo and Greek Freak. Both MCW and "The Mayor" share a 6'6" frame, but the reason MCW is the rich man's player is because, simply, Dinwiddie is a rookie. The ACL tear doesn't help, but his shooting stroke eclipses Carter-Williams.

Poor man: Greivis Vasquez

This is based largely on potential and should be taken with a grain of salt. Dinwiddie was widely considered a first round pick before the injury, but, once recovered, should begin to show his talent. Vasquez has developed into a steady role player at Toronto after stops in Memphis, New Orleans and Sacramento, but his growth has largely plateaued, and the chances of him having a breakout year, at 27, are unlikely.

Andre Drummond

Rich man: Dwight Howard

The analysis is self-explanatory. A monster rebounder whose offence largely comes on alley-oops and putback dunks, if Drummond can develop the post game he's been working on in preseason, and lift his FT to a pass mark (above 50%) as Howard has done throughout his career, then we may have the best two way center since, well, Dwight Howard. Having Stan Van Gundy doesn't hurt either. You couldn't script this stuff, seriously.

Poor man: DeAndre Jordan

I am well aware that Jordan is an absolute beast, but he is already 26, 5 years older than Drummond. Add to that the fact that his offense is also limited to the above means, but, at his age, improvement is far more unlikely. If Drummond can reach his potential, he'll easily eclipse the 35th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Aaron Gray

Rich man: Jason Smith

I think Jason Smith is one of the more underrated players in the league. He's an elite shotblocker, and has quite a good midrange game for a 7-footer. He's also a good foul shooter. Obviously, Gray doesn't have the touch of Smith offensively, but defensively, he is also a decent bench big option. For a closer comparison in terms of skill both offensively and defensively, go with Omer Asik, but I wanted someone closer to the payscale.

Poor man: Meyers Leonard

I was just trying to think of rubbish centers in the league who are white, and Leonard of the Blazers came to mind. I nearly went with one of the Plumlee brothers, but they're quite athletic and I actually like their game, plus they actually get court time. I also nearly went with Jeff Withey, but I used Pelicans players enough in the rich man's comparison (funnily enough, Gray is also a former Pelican [well, Hornet anyway]). So I went with Leonard. Picked 11th in 2012, his career has really gone to the dogs. He's not quite in the level of Hasheem Thabeet in terms of draft bustiness, but he's getting close.

Brandon Jennings

Rich man: Chris Paul

OK, before you throw your computer out of the nearest window, hear me out. Jennings showed great improvement as a passer last year (7.6 assists per game, 7th in the league, CP3 had 10.7, a league best). Add to that, Jennings has two athletic targets to throw lobs to in Andre Drummond and Josh Smith, like Paul with Griffin and Jordan. What's stopping Jennings from making the leap to the next level is his shooting percentages. He's a good shooter, even though his mechanics are a little bit wonky (especially his running midrange pull up where he leans forward instead of going straight up), but his shot selection is borderline criminal at times.

Poor man: Isaiah Thomas

What makes Jennings better than Thomas is distribution. Thomas has shown a tendency to look for his own shot more than others, which is puzzling considering he was on a Sacramento team with numerous offensive threats in Rudy Gay, DeMarcus Cousins and Ben McLemore. Thomas doesn't make his teammates better as much as Jennings does, but they both equally suck on defense.

Jonas Jerebko

Rich man: Pau Gasol

OK, this one is REALLY out there. Jerebko, offensively, is very good, like Pau Gasol. They both have good shooting range and are very good in the post. What really separates Gasol from most PF in the game is the fact that he is an immaculate facilitator from the high post and really doesn't need to score to make an impact. Also, Pau is slightly better defensively as he at least offers a shot blocking presence.

Poor man: Mirza Teletovic

Wow. second time we've seen ol' Mirza today. What makes Jerebko better is his offense is a little more varied than Teletovic, and he can do more than just spot up from three. He can post up pretty well and is a good finisher at the basket.

Cartier Martin

Rich man: Rudy Gay

From what we saw in the game vs Milwaukee, Martin isn't afraid to launch a few shots. Sound like Rudy Gay, anyone? Whilst Gay is horribly inefficient, he at least is varied enough offensively to make defenders wonder whether he'll drive or pull up. Martin doesn't quite offer the same fear factor. Also, Gay is a better athlete, although Martin is a better defender.

Poor man: Jae Crowder

Crowder and Martin are actually fairly similar players, right down to the dreadlocks. Crowder is suffering from a Dallas system that makes him the 5th option on offense, but given an opportunity, I feel he can be a really good 10ppg scorer off the bench as a 3 and D guy, much like Martin.

Jodie Meeks

Rich man: Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal is twice the player Meeks will ever be, let's get that clear now. But the way they play their game is very similar. Beal absolutely loves to run off screens, a la Jodie Meeks. Beal is deadly spotting up, a la Jodie Meeks. Beal can create his offense, and this is where Meeks falls down. While Meeks may be underrated in this department, he's still not great, as he just doesn't have the quickness or ball-handling of Beal in order to break down his man.

Poor man: J.J. Redick

This is no indictment on the skill of J.J. Redick, merely highlighting that, while he's a deadly shooter, that's really it. He creates his offense much the same way as Meeks, off screens and spot-ups, but he falls down in athleticism and defense. While Meeks isn't a great defender, he at least can stay in front of men with his decent size and athleticism, whereas Redick's famous T-Rex arms let him down.

Tony Mitchell

Rich man: Brandan Wright

Wright is a freakishly athletic, highly talented big man who never got his chance. His career high in minutes per game was last season with Dallas (18.6). He's an excellent shot blocker and rebounder, who can finish hard on the offensive end. Mitchell has the potential to be all of these things, but may never develop these skills if he doesn't get his chance.

Poor man: N/A

Like Datome, it's really hard to say that Mitchell is better than someone, because he only played a grand total of 80 minutes all season. He showed his potential in Fort Wayne, but due to his limited opportunity, I can;t give a comparison here.

Greg Monroe

Rich man: Al Jefferson

This neanderthal plays the old man game like no other. His post moves and footwork are impeccable, and he has a good shooting touch. Conversely, he's a very average defender, but can use his massive body to work people out of the way for easy rebounds. Greg Monroe is very similar in his game, just less refined. He has great post play, and is an amazing passer of the basketball. If he can really learn to dominate smaller opponents, much like Jefferson did to Andre Drummond, he can really be a force.

Poor man: Tiago Splitter

Splitter is a good player and an NBA champion, and he doesn't have the elite athleticism to play the above-the-rim game. However, his offense can look clunky and awkward at times in the post, and he doesn't really have a go to move. However, due to the Spurs system, he's also an excellent passer who can thread balls through from the high post.

Kyle Singler

Rich man: Kyle Korver

Singler will never be the knockdown shooter that Korver is, but their games are similar in that spot-up 3s account for most of their points. Korver is a master at running off screens, and if he's wide open, you can count the points before he even shoots, something which Singler needs to work on because he has a good knack of finding himself wide open, but he just isn't the lethal marksman that Korver is.

Poor man: Steve Novak

Novak is an elite shooter, but if there ever was the 1 dimensional award in the NBA, you'd be hard pressed to find a more deserving winner. He's a terrible passer and a shambolic defender, but the only reason he finds himself on NBA benches is his magical right arm. Singler isn't a great passer or defender, but nowhere near as disastrous as Novak.

Josh Smith

Rich man: Serge Ibaka

Just to start, thanks to Joe Dumars, Josh Smith is rich man himself (haha...). Ibaka is a brutal shotblocker and rebounder and a good defender. Smith can block and rebound with the best of them, but his defense waned last season because of his misuse at SF. However, where Ibaka is clearly better is as a shooter. He has a solid midrange game and has somewhat developed a 3 point shot, something which Smith should have banned from his vocabulary.

Poor man: Brandan Wright

Hi again Brandan. He possesses much the same attributes as Smith in terms of athleticism and shotblocking, but isn't quite as deadly in the post as our old friend J-Smoove. Smith is also a better finisher whenever he listens to his coaches and takes it to the basket, but Wright has more potential as a result of never really being used properly.

Hasheem Thabeet

Rich man: Most centers in the league, but I'll pinpoint former teammate Steven Adams.

Thabeet has slightly disappointed in his career since being drafted #2 by Memphis in 2009, but has shown some positives. At 7'3", shotblocking isn't exactly hard for him, and he's a decent rebounder. Steven Adams, the Thunder #12 pick from last year, has shown a great grit mentality in his first season. Like Thabeet, he's limited offensively, but he is also an excellent defender and rebounder, and isn't afraid to mix it with the veterans.

Poor man: ...

Thabeet has played so little basketball over the last couple of seasons that I'm struggling to find a comparison. If he does end up making the roster due to Gray's heart issues, we can only hope Van Gundy develops a once promising young African into a serviceable backup for COTF Andre Drummond. Also, his style is pretty cool, and he can use his long arms to take whole team selfies.

Who are your comparisons? Argue below.

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