my point is, if the price became too high on gay, we could NOT sign him.

I actually think Gay is a lot smoother athlete. I hated the way J-Rich would always go to the 2-foot plant for his explosive dunks. It always seemed like the best athletic basketball players (like Dr. J, Michael, Kobe, LeBron) would jump off one foot more often than not. It just seems quicker to the rim.

“Montay” I despise less as it’s at least a phonetic representation of a name that isn’t pronounced like it’s spelled. But “Monte” is a different name entirely that isn’t pronounced the same.

(It’s also an accepted 2 syllable nickname for Mike Montgomery and we should do as much as possible to forget him.)

To be the number one option and leader of playoff team contending for the championship, and maybe not even good enough to be the number one option on a consistent playoff team.

well it does carry some weight because it takes into consideration the assumption of many that Monta could end up being an effective starting PG on a winning team. In terms of being effective that means to look to pass as a first instinct and then if needed to score second. Monta thinks score, score, score, and then maybe create. Just because Nellie appointed Monta to the PG position doesn’t mean that he fits into that position. In fact Nellie changed his mind on that the moment Curry took it from Monta. Just watch the games and the way he plays, he’s looking to get his stats not improve the team. He doesn’t distribute with any consistency and overlooks guys like Morrow and Buike constantly. If he was a true point guard we wouldn’t even be talking about this. He’s had his opportunities and has shown that Curry is the PG and that he is not. Look around the league and the guys who are starting at that position and winning games distribute more often and clearly improve their teams, while Monta does not. He doesn’t find advantageous spots for sharpshooters like Curry and Morrow to shoot, which should be as easy as fishing with dynamite.
Most people aren’t leaders that’s why its very important to find a guy that is to be the face of the team. This team may not have leadership caliber guys on this team but thinking that Monta is one is just because he can score the most is stupid.

In terms of leadership its simple he’s not a leader. He hasn’t made anyone on this team better from last year, in fact some have gotten worse. When Nelly has to talk about him “becoming” more of a leader all summer, that’s not a glowing endorsement. Considering how bad the team was shouldn’t that have been something that would have happened when he came back from injury in the spring? Just look at his body language when he plays, on the bench and in the postgame interviews. He sounded totally defeated after the Clipper game. A leader would have been more positive and talk about what the team is going to do differently instead he just sat there and pouted. The guy is not vocal enough, does not have credibility to call out other players, does not sound intelligent when he speaks, and does not lead by example on the court. If we were 4-1 I still wouldnt consider Monta a leader because he’s not one and with the cupcake schedule they have had they should be 4-1 regardless. I still would have told that when things got tough he would crumble.

Black and White is what it is.

Monta should have realized that this guy is another shooting weapon to pass to and get easy points, not an imminent threat. Instead of bombing on the idea of Curry and him playing together he should have played it out a little bit before taking a negative stance. By taking that stance and going public the experiment was doomed before it was given a chance to succeed. If the harmony and chemistry was there that backcourt could be deadly.

Is it just me, or is his speed missing along with his jumper? He used to constantly blow by people for layups, but now he does that run-straight-into-defender-and-try-to-shoot-right-after-contact move that isn’t even really a move… And seems to get him called for offensive fouls as much as it gets blocks called.

My bad… computer screw-up. Although the emphasis is sort of apropos, I guess.

I think he could mask as a point guard if he was a better ball handler (which would decrease his turnovers). It’s amazing how many times he just seems to lose track of the ball while it’s in his hands…

So a year where he wasn’t playing then came back from a serious injury…and non-NBA games? That’s plenty of shots? Really? As opposed to someone like Tony Parker who slowly over 7 years improved his assist rate from 5.3/36 to 7.3/36? You really think, given the career paths of guys like Billups, Parker, Nash, that Monta has had “plenty of shots at it”?

Attitude is one thing, though I think if that’s your argument it needs a lot more than: Monta = Iverson, so he has a superstar mentality that hurts the team? If you want to present an attitude issue, you need to make an argument what his attitude is, how you know that’s his attitude, and then how that affects the team.

Tattoos as a concern is ****ing stupid though. It’s what my age group does (I’m Monta’s age). Get over it. It honestly doesn’t mean a thing.

Don’t discount his ability to create turnovers….

It’ll also be great if he can re-find his free-throw stroke from last year. For a slasher like Monta, the difference between a .71 FT% and a .81 FT% is pretty big.

(Speaking of which, the most amusing stat of the season so far has to be the fact that AR’s tied for 12th in the league in free-throw accuracy, given how spazzy he’s been everywhere else. If that somehow holds up, it’ll go from “amusing” to “awesome” pretty quick. For now, though, I think “amusing” is the safe bet.)