Brown is a crazy number of times better than Sabonis.
It like someone suggested PG13 for Kanter trade, stating that PG is a burden for cap space more than Kanter is.
While true it has no anchorage in team building sanity.
Lol, what? This hyperbole is especially funny because Sabonis is better than Kanter, while Brown is worse than PG by a massive amount. Brown has higher potential, but Sabonis is probably better right now and is at our most shallow position
I don't even know if Brown has higher potential. I think he at best caps out as a Paul Pierce like career and player, while I think Sabonis can at best cap out as a Chris Webber like career and player. In other words, pretty darn similar at their peak. I do know that unlike Brown, Sabonis has continued to progress in all facets of the game in all 3 seasons and he out performed Brown last year in very similar roles for their teams.
As I've said many times, I'd trade Brown for Sabonis straight up as I do think that is just overall a better fit for the team with Sabonis playing a position of need and Brown being very redundant with Hayward, Tatum, and Smart. Perhaps Brown ends up with a better career, but I can't see it so much better that I wouldn't make the trade to improve the team in the near term.
Without a doubt the fit is better. People hesitate here because of local bias, plus the feeling that Sabonis has about reached his peak, whereas Brown is just tapping into his potential. And that last year for Brown should be discounted due to the wing surplus, team chemistry issues, etc.
Plus the comparison to Chris Webber seems a bit far fetched to me, even as his limit.
I don't see how anyone can say that Sabonis reached his peak given he made significant strides not only from year 1 to year 2 but also year 2 to year 3. And it isn't just total numbers increasing, it is rates, efficiency, and advanced metrics. Last year in about 25 mpg, he averaged 14.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg, and 2.9 apg with a TS% of 63. Even his defense has improved as he had a DRTG of 104 last year (to go along with his ORTG of 118).
BTW, per 36 those stats equate to 20.4/13.5/4.9 which are significantly better than Chris Webber's career per 36 numbers (and are on par with Webber's prime seasons - a bit less scoring, but a better rebounder and passer).
They can say it because of the limits of his athleticism. He is an average athlete by NBA standards; actually probably a below average athlete in terms of speed, quickness, length relative to height, etc. Brown, on the other hand, is the opposite; he is an athletic freak, especially in his quickness and speed, and has very good length relative to height.
Your arguments from a statistical POV are interesting and, to some, persuasive. But when you take stat models to conclude that Sabonis is significantly better than Chris Webber, a Hall of Fame Finalist (who will probably eventually get in), I think something is missing in your analysis. It falls short. Some would say it is absurd.
Topic: Brown for Sabonis and a 1st? who says no (Read 7613 times)