Chandler wrote:

meloshouldgo wrote:Only posting because no one compared Barrett to Pippen? To me it's the most obvious comp because Pippen would use his body and his brains the same way to pick his spots. Barrett can't shoot like Pippen but that's still something he can add.

The multidimensional Pippen ran the court like a point guard, attacked the boards like a power forward, and swished the nets like a shooting guard.

Barrett - needs to add that third part to his game.

In Barret and Mitch Robinson we have two-fifths of a really good starting 5.
We desperately need an upgrade at coach, because we haven't had an NBA caliber coach since Mike D'Antoni.

pippin couldn't shoot a lick early in his career and later in his career only when wide open

he was very effective with the ball and all around, especially on D

not buying the pippen comp

Marv wrote:the phone just rang in the old age home and of course i couldn't get to it in time. i'm assuming it was for me?

i'd love to see this comparison play out more. walt was unique. he just always had control out there. controlled his man, the ball, his team's offense. indeed always found the open man. took it to the hole when needed and always got there. his essence was calmly, gradually bend the game to his will. couldn't rattle him. he was going to use each possession the way he wanted. each 24 seconds. ultimately the whole 48 minutes.

who would i compare him to that i've ever seen play? believe it or not magic johnson. of course there were a lot of differences in their games but think of magic's control, smarts, physical and mental control of what happened on the floor. that same element of imposing his will on the game in a team-first manner.

does rj belong in this conversation? sure why not. i love his presence on the floor. he has a calm and focus and awareness and fearlessness about him. he seems very open to learning and improving, and a physical confidence to get where he wants to and do what he wants to out there. that combined with good judgment is called impacting and controlling the game the way you want to.

so let's roll with this. like to hear some other old farts chime in.

If old means remebering watching Clyde play then I just qualify. I think you are spot on with what Clyde was. Rj shows similar character on the floor for sure. Talents may be different but the keys to Chamioonship era knicks were clearly in Clyde's hands.

I think that the keys should be handed over to RJ NOW. He may not be a true PG but he is the key to good things happening on the court for NY. The players that play should compliment him and his game. Yes he is 19, so there may be some low moments but this kid has already shown that he can bounce back (summer league reults to now). He needs to KNOW NOW that he is the franchise and should be treated as such. Free Agents are coming in to play with RJ, not to be the center piece. That job is already taken.