LOL at using Deng's sample size of less than 100 3 pt attempts to make a case for him being a good 3pt shooter. Deng is a career 31% shooter from 3 and has three seasons where has has shot less than 27% from behind the arc. Including one season where he shot around 14%. The one season he has where he shot more than 100 threes he shot a pathetic 26.5%.
Regardless of your list from ESPN I don't think any sane person would argue that Deng is a better 3pt shooter than: Peja, Hedo, Pietrus, Webster, Gomes, Kopono, Durant, Delfino, Battier, Granger, even LBJ and Melo. All of whom are behind Deng on this list. Plus some of those listed ahead of him. Deng does not have the consistant range or accuracy from that area. He doesn't take many contested 3's as people don't expect him to shoot them to begin with and most of his threes are off fast break fades and missed assignments. Shooting 3's in those scenarios is much easier and different than the types of 3's these other guys take on a consistant basis.
Talk about taking skewed stats way to seriously without even understanding the game.
Well if Kirk is playing your off guard he's going to see those matchups more often than not.
Why would these guys need to take 3's if Dengs biggest issueon defense isn't defending the 3 ball.,...it's getting beaten on dribble pentration by more athletic wing players. I don't think I've ever heard the complaint that Deng "can't defend the three" mainly because it's not an issue has his man would be able to consistantly get by him into the lane. Deng is a decent defender. But he's not as good as Bulls fans make him out to be. He uses his length well at times but doesn't have great feet, is a little spastic, can be beaten on the dribble drive too easily, and seems to fade in and out effort/concentration wise.
Again, when I say no offense, I mean it. i didn't say it, like I say trying to put down what you know.
Of everything you just said. I would take Granger, Durant, and LBJ over Deng. But those guys aren't an option. Every player in the league gets burnt, crossed, and posterized, Deng still defends better than most SFs, and if you want to compare him, when he was playing on a sprained/sore knee to a lot of SF's, he still did a great job. Luol Deng is an exceptional shooter, and yes, I point to those stats, because again, this last Bulls team didn't play a scheme to shoot 3s, and you can't expect progression without repetition.
Melo and 3s? CA is good, but a 3pt shooter, he is not.
Peja is declining, and all he is really good for, as a starter, would be shooting 3s.
Hedo? You brought up Turkoglu? He's the human disappearing act.
Pietrus is good, but not better than Deng overall. He's like the Ben Gordon of SF's. He's go lights out one day, but let someone score 30 on him the next.
Webster has had health issues like Deng, again, nowhere near as good of a defender, and he played on a 3pt friendly scheme.
Gomes? Really. Delfino, Battier?? You would rather have those guys, than Luol Deng?
So you basically want a heat-checker to play SF for this team. When they start hitting shots, you'll feed them to boost their stats, and that would be an upgrade over Deng. Or are you salivating over players that come off the bench, to play against worn down starters, and you instantly think they = starter.
