Context matters. I was talking about other than what AB brings. I already said he was good but he isn't elite at anything no matter how you spin it.
AB started last season with two messed up shoulders so...
I'm not arguing that AB is better but that Hous took a chance on Lin who is older, as injury prone, and who had less of a great stretch than AB (AB was always great on defense)... but I am to believe that GMs would be scared off from acquiring AB? There are many other guys I could use in place of Lin.
I'll say it again, what more credit should I give him? Lin isn't being paid backup PG money! He is a good player but hasn't shown anything I would want to pay attention to (I watch Rockets games to see Harden so I do see Lin). Lin is a dime a dozen right now. If Lin was black (or white for that matter), other than that little stretch of games, no one would be paying much attention to him... now why is that? Because, he is a good player but there are plenty others just as good.
Oh and I am not going to argue JG's contract b/c I don't even want to discuss how JG is hurting my feelings right now... hopes are almost completely dashed.
I feel like you think I'm disagreeing with you, but I'm not. I disagreed with "The only thing Lin brings to the table is Chinese fans, that doesn't help with wins or losses!"
Jeremy Lin is (was? I don't know what to make of him right now) a young point guard who showed flashes of being an elite scorer and adequate floor general. He doesn't look especially like either of those things right now, but he's only 24, on a new team, and a team that replaced 4 of 5 starters in the past year.
So, I dunno what to make of Lin right now. I think he's a starting caliber player with low-end all-star potential.
Avery Bradley I see a very similar projection, with a higher possible (but not necessarily probable) ceiling.
As I said before, I don't mean that he brings only that but as to comparing him to AB, he doesn't bring anything "different"/more except for those fans.
Meh, if I had to choose between the two prospects, I'd choose Bradley, but that's because frankly..we gots the Rondo. If you were choosing a guy to be a future cornerstone of your team, I could see why you'd choose Lin. I can see why you'd choose Bradley too. I'd probably choose Lin because he can lead the offense, Bradley needs a lot of help. But there are lots of guys out there who can lead an offense adequately.
I really don't know who I'd choose if I had to pick one to start from scratch with. Either way it would likely be a terrible team. Lin is the safer choice, Bradley is the bolder.
But when you're talking about value, also recognize that Lin's 'value' was monetary, not one of assets. The Rockets didn't trade picks or pieces for him. They traded 7 million a year in cap space.
If you're talking about another team sidling up and giving AB a deal, well maybe they would. Maybe someone would be willing to offer him a max deal. Who knows.
But that's in 2 years. I'm talking today. And today, Bradley is a huge injury risk with a small sample size of success.
That's why I'm saying he won't be traded. Aside from wanting to see what he can bring to the Celtics with more time, I'd want to pump up his value a bit if I were Ainge.