Why Terry's still unsigned

[KB21]

http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/ha...03/27terry.html

Kenny Smith's comments are interesting

"[Terry] can score, but he's a point. . . . He does chicken. Let him do chicken. [The Hawks] never really let him run the show."

When asked to explain how Terry ranked seventh in the league in assists at 7.4 a game last season, Smith said, "There is a difference between getting assists . . . and running a show. I've played point guard in this league. I know. His assists are not from running the show, but from making plays."

Kenny basically says that Terry is a point, but the Hawks have to let him run the show. It seems like he doesn't think the Hawks let him run the show despite playing him at point guard. His assists are from making plays. Kenny basically calls him a playmaker, which is what I've said he is.

[Guest]

A playmaker isn't handing the ball to Dog on the fast

break for a contested 3.One thing that I think people

fail to mention is JT's friendship with Dog. How much

of a part did that play into JT stupidity stuffing the ball

to Dog all the time?

There was times when SAR would need the ball in the

post... But JT would continue to give the ball to a cold

Robinson.

JT is not a PG. PG's run an offense. Why can't JT run

plays correctly?

[Diesel]

You must rightly define what Kenny means when he says "Running the show" vs. "Playmaker".

His definition doesn't seem to be the same as yours.

When he says Running the show, I think he means all the aspects of what a PG is to do. Call Plays, read defenses, being a "Floor General". However the question was asked...

In reply to:

---

When asked to explain how Terry ranked seventh in the league in assists at 7.4 a game last season, Smith said, "There is a difference between getting assists . . . and running a show.

---

I think this speaks the volumes that you miss. He isn't saying that JT is a good PG. Just the opposite. He's saying that JT's numbers are high but it doesn't mean that he's been a floor general...

That's more inline with what I have said, that JT is more of a 2 than a 1 (in the true sense of what a PG does).

[Diesel]

If you really want to answer the question of why JT remains unsigned, I think that's why.

It's been 4 years.

JT has never been injured, never missed a significant amount of games and have played a lot.

YET...

JT can't run an offense AND He doesn't know if he's a 2 or a 1.

That's why there's no rush to give him a 6 or 7 year deal for a lot of money.

I'm sure Knight is trying to keep JT but only at 6.4 or below per.

Terry can forget Miller or Arenas Money until he elevates the team with his PGing ability.

[KB21]

That's if you want to pick and choose the parts of the article that fit the slant you are trying to put forth.

However, that isn't the case because in his chicken reference, he says Terry can do chicken.....let him do chicken.

Kenny Smith is saying that Terry is a point guard, and the Hawks should let him be a point guard. Kenny Smith is saying that Terry doesn't run the show because the Hawks don't let him run the show.

He's basically saying that if he were coaching the Hawks, Jason Terry would be running the show.

Basically, this says what I've been saying all along. There is no difference in the way Jason Terry plays the point guard position and the way points like Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, and Gary Payton play the position. The only difference is that those guys have coaches that let them run the show, where Jason Terry hasn't had that to date.

[Blunt91]

Okay if Jason Terry is a pointguard then how is it that Hawks coaching staff are not letting JT "Run the show". He was the only ball handler on the floor when he played last year. I agree with some things Kenny Smith said and then some other things I don't. I don't see Terry as a pointguard, No one is stopping Jason Terry from running the show but himself. He doesn't have the instincts to do so. Terry is a scorer. If Terry can score then let him score. I think what Kenny SMith meant by Terry get's assist off making plays and not running the show is defenses clasp on him when he is driving to the goal, he dishes the ball off to another player who makes the basket, hence JT gets an assits for the made field goal. If Jason Terry is to be a starting pointguard on a team they need to have some other players who can handle the ball well. If JT was paired with a guys like Brent Barry, Scottie Pippen, Doug Christie, and Alvin Williams he could make it as a starter,but we don't have any ball handlers like that on our team other than Diaw whom they say has a tendecy to "carry" the ball alot. JT will always be a decent pointguard but not good or great, however he could be a pretty good scorer who could average 23 or 24ppg.

[Diesel]

If he or you are of the opinion that the Hawks have not allowed Terry to be a PG (which is hard to understand of itself), then how do you know that he can be a PG. I'm not talking about a guy who dumps the ball off to Grob or Toni or JR or JJ and goes and set up for his shot like he has done for the last 4 years, I'm talking about a guy who reads defenses and can actually run the offense.

It's been 3 different coaches with Terry. You mean to tell me that NONE of them has tried to let JT be a PG?

Then there's this other concern...

Guys like Coles, Maloney, Knight, Vaughn, Wilkes have come in and have been playing PG.....

How is it that the offensive scheme automatically changes when JT hit the floor?

[Gray Mule]

Pure and simple, J.T. is a guard. Not a #1 or #2, just

a guard.

One of the key reasons that he hasn't shown more when

he is the point, Hawks have not had a ball handler at #2.

He was required to do too much, trying to set up plays

for his team mates and for himself too. He is a scorer,

knows that the Hawks must depend on his scoring and

his ball handling.

Last season, late in the year, Dion Glover took a lot of

pressure off J.T. when he started to handle the ball

more from the #2 spot. J.T.'s play improved because

of this.

I think the main reason J.T. hasn't done better is the

players he has had to work with and the coaching

changes that have taken place in his career. With

someone to assume part of the load of handling the ball

and working with the same coach, I expect him to

now start to mature into the point guard we all want

him to be.

Another thing that may make a difference to J.T. is,

who will be the assistant coaches for the Hawks?

Right now, we don't know. Could one of them be

a quarterback {Point Guard} coach that could help

J.T. become all that he can be this season?

Give the man his $50 Mil. contract and let's get on with

the other problems of filling out the roster and hiring

assistant coaches. Oh yeah, and completing the sale

wouldn't hurt either.

[dj_me]

In reply to:

---

Guys like Coles, Maloney, Knight, Vaughn, Wilkes have come in and have been playing PG.....

---

And out of those four, only Wilkes actually did anything. I think that Wilkes was a closer fit to what JT is, that's why he worked for us.

[KB21]

Wilks also played shooting guard, not point guard.

Again. The question is asked, how is the way JT plays point guard any different from the way Marbury plays point guard?

Francis? Payton?

All three are guys who score and get their teammates involved off that scoring.

[Boondocks]

I agree with the Marbury and Francis comparison, however Payton is in a different category.

[Blunt91]

How is it that Wilks was a shooting guard at 5'10 and couldn't really shoot the ball.

[Blunt91]

"And out of those four, only Wilkes actually did anything." That's a bunch of crock Brevin Knight and Jacque Vaughn did an admirable job in running the team.

[Diesel]

There's no such thing as "Guard" with no designation of 1 or 2. That's what JT has tried to sell people on about him being an undersized 2 but throughout the History of Basketball, there has not been a position.

Pippen - Point Forward.

Magic - 6'9 Point Gaurd.

However, if you're in the 1, you are the PG.

There must be somebody who is responsible for "Running the offense".

Here's the analogy...

What you are saying is the same if I was to say:

Terry Stotts is not the Head Coach... He's just a coach. At any given time, anybody can step up and give the team direction. It can be Him or Dominique that steps up, calls the timeout and draw up the next play. It can be him or Dominique who is responsible for overseeing the management of On court personnel.

The problem If No one is designated as HC, then no one or everyone is trying to do the job.

For JT the same is true. IF he doesn't take the label of PG and wear it with conviction, we see moments where Grob, Toni, JJ, JR, Glover, Even Ham is trying to run the offense.

Part of the reason I like Wilkes is because when he was on the floor, it was no doubt who was running the offense. Even if he didn't score a point, he was trying to create situations for his teammates. We should have signed him.

[Diesel]

The Problem is that these guys believe that if a player comes in and puts up 20 and maybe 6 assists and the team scores 89 points that that guy has run the offense. I would say more likely is that that guy has ruined the offense.

Knight especially, Vaughn, Wilks, Coles, and Maloney were not scorers. But these guys could run the offense. They could make the pass. They could CONTROL TEMPO. They could do all the little things that a PG is supposed to do. Their failings... They wasn't the best shooters in the world. ON a team that lacks good shooting from the shooting gaurd position, it's key to have good shooters at the PG. That's JT's main plus. He shoots well and he can hit the clutch shot. However, throughout the course of the game, he's not creating an offensive flow that we can build on. That's why we play teams like the Heat and lose. Because if you don't control the tempo against the heat, they will grind out a win. Talentwise, we were supposed to walk all over Miami.

But what good is talent if you can't get the ball to the talented player at the right time.

That's what it should come down to. Can he get the ball to the right man at the right time. IN JT's case, I don't know if he ever will be able to.

[Blunt91]

Well then we need to trade JT,but send him to a team where he can utlilize his talents like Dallas. JT could be Nash's backup, or jason Terry to the lakers for Devean George.

[Traceman]

Devean George? What has he EVER done other than prove that he's not good enough to help Kobe make the Lakers competitive when Shaq is out? Devean George MIGHT be a step up over Ira but he's not much of a step up in my opinion.

[Traceman]

players and coaches trying to specialize players over the years has changed the terminology but back in the day, a guard was a guard and a forward was a forward.

[Diesel]

Since the invention of the Scoring Clock and the 3 point line.... There has been Point gaurds. I'm talking about well after Naismith.

[Diesel]

However, there are many good points about JT for Harrington/Tinsley.

Or JT for Harpring/1st rounder.

Actually...

If we traded JT for Harpring/1st, I would quickly add either Anderson or Coles as our starting PG until Dickau was ready to take over.

Anderson/Diaw/Harpring/SAR/Theo.

It's not a pretty team, but I believe it would be competitive.