would we have been better with sarunas?

[G-MAN]

damon has come in a been a 50/50 player for us, imo. he has helped with team chemistry by lightening up the locker room but then comes back from his self imposed media black out and says nothing to help that chemistry.

sarunas has come off the bench and now is starting because of the injury to tinsley. all jeri is shooting is over .500 from the floor and three land while damon is .407 from two and .395 from three land.

i haven't seem much of sarunas but i would have to guess his d is just as good as damon's. my observation is damon's d is a smidgen above what jeff mcinnes gave us last year.

if we offered a 1/2 mill more per would we have gotten sarunas? or one more year?

 

[Karma]

Hindsight is a wonderful thing G-Man. We did persue Sarunas heavily before Jones, so I believe that shows that he was a priority. When I look at our squad I see a slow point guard rotation which Sarunas would not have helped. I look at a Duhon style point as a good fit right now.

 

[LyXo]

I had preferred Sarunas to Jones from the beginning. It didn't come down to the dollars, or the PT, or the starting job: it all was in the fact that the Pacers are "closer" to a championship than us. This season, I can agree, but in 2, 3 seasons, we'll see how things change.

Sarunas is a good shooter, maybe not "the best shooter in the world," but the looks he'll get here will make him as adequate as it gets. His playmaking skills would have far surpassed Jones' little drop kick. I would imagine him working a lot more, and a lot better, with his Lithuanian pal as well. And, his tenacity/competitive fire would be a good motivator for our team.

But we have what we got, so we gotta stick with it and hope D. Jones learns more defense. If he can accomplish that feat... then he'll be suitable enough for us, and Sarunas would be sulking in Indiana wishing he were a Cav.

 

[Maximus]

Bird was in early and often in the pursuit of Sarunas. I wish Ferry had been more aggressive but his first priority was Marshall....he didn't have much time to court him like Bird did. He should have flown over to Europe and met with him. I think Ferry felt his relationship with Sarunas and Z's relationship with Sarunas were strong enough to get him. Bird went and watched him play in Europe many times....had dinner with him....got drunk with him. Bird and Jordan were Sarunas's heroes too.....so Bird had that going for him. Bird had Oneal, Jackon, and Artest call him. Carlisle called him a few times a week. Dan Gilbert and Mike Brown called him.....should've had Lebron call him too.

I'm not so sure that Sarunas would make the same decision if he had to do it over again. It is a pretty volatile locker room in Indy....he's not used to that. Having Z(his best friend), Anderson(who he played on Barcelona with), Martynas(also from Kaunas), and Ferry here would have been a more comfortable situation for him....he admits that now. He also would be starting.....

Check out the awesome article on Sarunas in the USA Today today.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/pacers/20...6-jasikevicius_x.htm

 

[Maximus]

Sarunas has an option out after 06-07 season....

 

[LyXo]

Sarunas has an option out after 06-07 season....

By then I hope we have a PG for the future... someone in his early-mid twenties, because Snow will be short on gas by then and Damon Jones might not be in a Cavs uniform.

 

[Pioneer10]

So far I don't think there is much of a question that we would have been a better team with Sarunas. He shoot's just as well as amon. His defense ain't great but at least I've seen him be physical and use his fouls wisely when he is beaten. amon Jones just seems not to care once a hits a pick. In addition, Sarunas really brings a lot of energy on the court which has been a real problem with us on the road. Finally, Sarunas is a much better playmaker and is able to ignite the fast break in ways neither Jones nor Snow does.

If he was on the Cavs, my prediction would be he would be playing Hughes like numbers of around 35 minutes a game

 

[NarlCavs]

The Cavs probably would have been better off with Sarunas but neither he or Jones are the answer at PG. I think Sarunas probably brings other intangibles to a team that Jones doesn't with his leadership and fiery personality. He also might possess better PG skills. Neither are great defenders or have great quickness.

I don't think the Cavs or Ferry can be faulted for not signing Sarunas. He just chose the Pacers over the Cavs. The money was about the same but he felt Indiana was a better team and more of a contender right now. The Pacers also had been pursuing him longer, since last season, which could have been a minor factor. Ferry shouldn't be faulted for that since he became GM so late.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

I think you have something wrong with your capital "D" Pioneer. :chuckles: :chuckles: :chuckles:

 

[Pioneer10]

I think you have something wrong with your capital "D" Pioneer. :chuckles: :chuckles: :chuckles:

I can type capital D ok it just doesn't seem to work when I type amon Jones.

P.S. I got it from Windhorst's blog.

Anyways in no way am I blaming Ferry or the Cavs. I think it speaks highly of them they went after him hard. The question was though would we be better team with Sarunas and IMHO I don't think there is much question of it. By my eyes and statiscally the PG position right now is losing us games and Sarunas is helping the Pacers win more then they would have

 

[ootbttnlagitnbasf]

don't expect to pass the pacers in the next year or two. they've done a remarkable job of rebuilding without falling into the lottery. they added all that talent and stayed competitive, without getting any top draft picks. no darkos or boguts for them. instead, they acquired other team's lottery picks. players like artest and jermaine o'neal. and when they needed a point guard they drafted tinsley. there is no reason to expect that we will surpass them anytime soon. they are our biggest hurdle, because as long as they are ahead of us we will have to fight for the past spot with home court in the first round.

 

[highplainsdrifter]

I REALLY wanted Saras this offseason, he was my avatar for a while. Ive only see him play a little, but i love the FIRE he plays with. I thought hed be great with James. He chose Indy because he felt they have a better chance of winning than Cleveland. Thats why i want to stick it to the Pacers this year. They won the first battle, and i think Saras had likee 5 threes. The Cavaliers will show him who the real winners are!

I was happy when we got Damon, I thought hed reup with the Heat, and hes still a great pickup. Saras is playing better so far, and Damon doesnt seem to have the same competitive spirit. Seems more concerned with makin that three sign and sulking because hes not starting. I like DJones, but i question his team commitment and his overblown ego. Hopefully this will change, and hell talk to the media again.

It may be a good thing we got DJones. On the court Saras is better, but off the court DJones is tight with LeBron, they got that special handshake thing. Saras would not be tight with LBJ like DJones. You gotta like your teammates, and their friendship is good to keep LeBron happy in Cleveland.