Duhon's next uni

[CDu]

Fair enough.

Ever since he won the 3-pt shooting contest at the McDonald's All-American weekend, I had hopes for his outside shot. Never could hit it consistently, though.

Chris has done some nice things for people in Louisiana after the Katrina disaster. Wish him luck in his new gig in Orlando.

Agreed. The guy just couldn't ever get consistency in games.

And aside from his social life (just a little too much of a partier), there's not much other than positives to say about Duhon's character. He's a team-first guy on the court, and he does wonderful things for charity off the court. It is just too bad he could have just curtailed the drinking a bit.

And there's always time for him to improve that reputation. Hopefully as he's gotten older he's seen the importance of better judgement.

[Olympic Fan]

I would argue that Felton is a quality starting point guard, he just needs to lose weight...

think you seriously overrate Mr. Felton ...

last year, he averaged 33 minutes a game ... Duhon at 30 and Blake at 27

He did average 12,1 points and 6.7 assists, better than Duhon (7.4/5.6) or Blake (7.3/4.8). He also averaged significantly more turnovers (2.6) than Duhon or Blake (1.6). His defense is substandard and while his 3-point shooting was decent last year (385), he's still a career .327 3-point shooter (Blake is .393; Duhon is .362).

Based on career win shares/48 minutes, Felton is the WORST of the three guards we're talking about ... Duhon the best -- Duhon at .085; Blake at .071; Felton at .065.

yeah, I still say they are in the same class ... but if you think Felton is "a quality starting point guard" ... you are welcome to him.

I'm still curious to see what kind of free agent deal he gets.

[MisterRoddy]

think you seriously overrate Mr. Felton ...

last year, he averaged 33 minutes a game ... Duhon at 30 and Blake at 27

He did average 12,1 points and 6.7 assists, better than Duhon (7.4/5.6) or Blake (7.3/4.8). He also averaged significantly more turnovers (2.6) than Duhon or Blake (1.6). His defense is substandard and while his 3-point shooting was decent last year (385), he's still a career .327 3-point shooter (Blake is .393; Duhon is .362).

Based on career win shares/48 minutes, Felton is the WORST of the three guards we're talking about ... Duhon the best -- Duhon at .085; Blake at .071; Felton at .065.

yeah, I still say they are in the same class ... but if you think Felton is "a quality starting point guard" ... you are welcome to him.

I'm still curious to see what kind of free agent deal he gets.

You can throw out all these exotic stats that you want but the point is, he still was the starting point guard on a playoff squad, and while averaging 12.1/5.6/3.6 in 33 minutes, that qualifies as a quality starting point guard in my book.

[hedevil]

Congratulations to Chris. This move should provide Orlando with a solid backup point guard for the upcoming season. Duhon's pass first style of play should prove to be a nice change of pace for Orlando's offense when needed.

[Billy Dat]

As a Knick fan, I saw a lot of Chris these past 2 years. He played huge minutes in NY, probably too many as he seemed to hit the wall around Game 60 each year. He made between $5MM - $6MM per year in NY so he takes a bit of a per year pay cut but gets the 4 years pushing his career salary earnings to between $35MM - $40MM. Not bad for a second round pick, and further proof that the second round is not a death sentence. Nice work, CDu.

He'll be a solid back-up to Nelson in Orlando. I wouldn't count on he and JJ playing together, though. Once the big free agent dominoes fall, JJ is going to be a hot property and may be elsewhere.

[AZLA]

I hope this means JJ is one step closer to getting out of Orlando.

[MisterRoddy]

I hope this means JJ is one step closer to getting out of Orlando.

Why? It seems like the other possibility is Boston and he wouldn't start their either...

[mgtr]

BTW ... Does this mean that Duhon and Redick are now the Magic's backup backcourt?

Wow, what nifty point! OK, not meant as a pun. I hope that the Magic want JJ as much in dollars as they want him in words. This would probably be the best backup backcourt in the NBA.
If the Magic actually have a player who would rather pass the ball than shoot (Duhon), Orlando might turn out to be a great place for JJ. I agree that the Magic have not played JJ enough, have not run any plays for him. On the other hand, JJ started out with some minuses, but has dealt with those during his time with the Magic. He is now a much, much better player than he was at Duke. And, the Magic have treated him with great patience while he developed. Credit to both sides.

[AZLA]

Why? It seems like the other possibility is Boston and he wouldn't start their either...

(a) Until this year, IMO, I don't believe JJ received fair consideration for enough PT and I happen to think he's more talented and deserving.

(b) I'm not a SVG fan and the only two people that should be referred to by his own acronym which includes the letter "v" are Eddie Van Halen (EVH) and Stevie Ray Vaughan (SRV). Why? Because they rock.

(c) Jameer Nelson couldn't get an assist for helping an elderly woman cross the street, let alone pass the ball to JJ.

(d) Florida, the lightning capital of the United States has more deaths than all other states combined and is ranked #1 in spending for lightning awareness campaigns. Combine that with the certainty that lightning would first strike JJ before he's made the number 2 or 3 shooting option on Magic's offense, I fear a tragic end if he gets the "green light." Did you not see what happened to priest in Caddyshack when he missed the putt for the club record and cursed to the heavens?

(e) In all seriousness, I would like to see an opportunity out west for a fresh start for JJ -- plus, selfishly, I would get to see him play more. I wasn't aware Boston was his only hope. But, if you say he wouldn't get more PT in Boston, than I defer to you. I wouldn't know.

Sidebar

If JJ does stay in Orlando, I just hope Patrick Ewing can bestow his own wisdom on JJ and pull a few strings. Heck, if Patrick Ewing Sr. can, as an unbiased assistant coach, so fairly observe and eloquently say about Ewing Jr., "From being a coach in the NBA I see a lot of the talent in the league and I know what talent he has, there's no way in h*ll he should not be in the league;" then there's also no doubt in my mind Coach Ewing can make JJ a career All Star.

So, he's got that going for him.

[MisterRoddy]

(d) Florida, the lightning capital of the United States has more deaths than all other states combined and is ranked #1 in spending for lightning awareness campaigns. Combine that with the certainty that lightning would first strike JJ before he's made the number 2 or 3 shooting option on Magic's offense, I fear a tragic end if he gets the "green light." Did you not see what happened to priest in Caddyshack when he missed the putt for the club record and cursed to the heavens?

Lets be honest, at this point, JJ isn't likely to be the 2nd or 3rd option on a Championship-caliber team.

(e) In all seriousness, I would like to see an opportunity out west for a fresh start for JJ -- plus, selfishly, I would get to see him play more. I wasn't aware Boston was his only hope. But, if you say he wouldn't get more PT in Boston, than I defer to you. I wouldn't know.

Boston has a star point guard in Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen is likely coming back. I'm not sure about Tony Allen but if JJ were to go to Boston, he would most likely be relegated to the bench.