Nikos

How good was he compared to PGs of the last 15 years? Could he be a top PG in todays game?

What are your opinions?

Thanks!

RebelSun

Yes, one of the best offensive PGs ever. He put up big point and assist numbers. Very smooth player.

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1 Penny

KJ averaged around 20 points and 9.5 assists.

He even averaged over 10 assists and over 20 points in a season once.

KJ was really good, he had hops too, he dunked on Hakeem during the 93 playoffs. He reminds me of a superior version of a PRIME Terrel Brandon.

Joe Johnson #2

This is why I hate being young...I can't remember the 1993 Championship. Is there any place you can get tapes?

Amareca

No PG in the league right now is close to KJ.

Midnight_Marauder

Damn Skippy.

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rlucas4257

He was a tremendous talent that was put into a system that allowed him to put up big numbers. He just did what he was told. But i cant tell you how many times the Suns would come up the court and he would just take guys off the dribble and never pass. He was kind of a ball hog that way. And when he did pass, you had to be wide open for a J. When Phoenix added Barkley, KJs game started to unravel. What I also remember about him was how badly he was abused when it counted. Pax and BJ made mince meat out of him and the Bulls used his tendency to over dribble to their advantage in the finals. I played KJ a couple of times in pickup games at ASU. I can tell you that there has never been a quickler or faster player in the NBA since him, but I can also tell you he was as smug a person as youll ever meet. He put up great stats but his team never reached greatness until Barkley came, and KJ couldnt mesh with him at all. And CB wasnt a huge KJ fan either

__________________
NBA CHAMP- Phoenix.

Its their year. If Amare comes back (a big if) then they will have it all.

NBA FINALS- Phoenix 4-2 Chicago (Since Tmac has gotten to Houston, I always take them, but not this year)

Yes, the Bulls are in the finals. They beat the Cavs in the eastern finals in 7 games. Might be the Bulls best chance before Lebron goes all Jordan on us. But with Detroit weaker, and Miami a year older, this leaves Chicago

MVP-Lebron James

I just cant even think of a guy who could be close. Bosh and Yao are 2 and 3.

Most Improved- I dont know.

It will come from the following 5 players. Mickael Pietrus, who should be perfect under Nellies weird system. Darko Millicic, really impressive in Orlando last year. Tyson Chandler, Just a feeling, might have that year we have been looking for. JR Smith. The only thing I didnt think Pax needed to do this summer. This guy has a real shot at stardom. Leandro Barbosa

Rookie of the Year. Mickael Gelabale Seattle. This kid is NBA ready, can play 2 spots, though spots that Seattle has good players and a real motor. Will beat out Chicago Bull Tyrus Thomas (2nd), Rudy Gay and Seattle teammate Mouhamed Sene.

Defensive Player of the Year. Mouhamed Sene. Reach, athleticism and desire means he will be the first rookie to win this award. Might have a problem with the fouls early this year, but his ability to cover ground and his length mean something special on the way.

6th man of the year. Leandro Barbosa. Second team all defense and scores in the mid digits. Could be the best point guard (if you can call him that) from his draft class, yes Hinrich and Ford, that includes you, if Nash wasnt the MVP.

Surprise Team
West-Seattle. They have two outstanding rookies and 2 more young bigs. I believe Petro and Sene make a great upfront combo, Swift will be dealt for the other things and Gelabale will be special.

East- Toronto. Bargnani will help, but Bosh will be the MVP runner up to Lebron. Orlando a close #2

Disappointing Team
East- Miami- Shaq is just getting older and Wade can only carry the team so far. They were pretty flawed last year and won the individual brilliance of Wade and Shaq. Take one out of the equation and they might not be the best team in Florida

West- LA Lakers. Unless Andrew Bynum makes the next big step this team might not make the playoffs. Kobe was hurt all summer and I just think they played over their head. I wasnt blown away by their offseason. LA Clippers are #2 here.

Executive of the Year. John Paxson. Just a super offseason. Gets Ben Wallace, which no one thought he could do. Drafts a guy in Tyrus Thomas who is outstanding and promising rookie Thabo Sefolosha. Gets rid of Chandlers contract. Only mistake was giving JR Smith away.

2007 Draft- Oden is the guy but Thabeet will make it far closer than most thought was possible.

Coach of the year. Don Nelson. GS goes back to the playoffs for the first time in about a century (or since he was the coach). Sure they make it as a 7th seed but thats good enough for him to get the award.

Most likely big name to be dealt. Chris Webber, Rashard Lewis, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson/Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Emeka Okafor, Lamar Odom, Jermaine Oneal.

Superbowl- Bears this year
SI Sports Man of the Year 2007- The city of Chicago
Champs League Final Chelsea vs Arsenal. Arsenal are the winners.

And one final prediction. Jay Williams, whom I predicted a few years ago would play in the NBA again (too alot of ridicule, Songcycle, are you reading that?) will be good enough, along with Marcus Williams, that the Jason Kidd trade rumors will pick up some steam.

ballstorm

I remember a huge barkley's block on KJ when barkley was (i think) in Houston. KJ clearly attempted to posterize Charles who made a great jump to save his honor . This action symbolises pretty well the antagonism between the two men.

MightyReds2020

Think Starbury.

I have to admit Starbury is at least as good as what KJ was during his prime, eventhough I don't like Starbury and KJ was one of my favorite players.

Arclite

Well that's a pretty spot on analysis, but the Suns were very, very good with KJ before Barkley came over and they had Horny, but obviously having a guy like Chuck vs. Jeff is going to improve your team. Barkely put them over the top. If they had had Barkley when Chambers was in his prime they would have won championships. Johnson also turned a 28-54 into a 55-27 team his first season in Phoenix, and that's when Phoenix LOST their two best players in Larry Nance and Walter Davis, but added Kevin Johnson and Tom Chambers. (Chambers was awesome, but Nance was nearly as good at the time)

I've seen some of KJ's games on ESPN Classic from the late 80's during the Suns playoff runs with Chambers, KJ, Eddie Johnson, Hornacek, and Armen Gilliam and also watched him a lot during the mid 90's.. He had some injuries that slowed him down (even though in his twilight he was still very fast), but he adapted his game and turned into a good outside shooter the last 2-3 years of his career..

If he was playing today in his prime, imagine Steve Francis on speed, but smaller.. He had those kind of moves but was much faster than Francis and was almost as good of a leaper, on top of being a much, much more efficient/better scorer.

I agree with BigAmare.. from what I've seen of him during his prime he looks way better than any point guard I watch today.. but then again that's not saying much since there are really only 3 or 4 respectable points in the league today..

PhatDaddy3100

KJ is the best PG in suns history. YEs even better than kidd. From what i remember he was a Jason Kidd that could score. he could push the pall and played ok defense. SO think Starbury but a person that passed more. He was a great player and was the second best player on our team in the finals year. And I dont think KJ was a ball hog seeing how Barkley led our team in scoring...

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nfldraftking

KJ played that whole 93 playoffs with a torn hammy, so let's not get carried away with Paxson and BJ Armstrong schooled him talk.

As far as him today, he'd be one of the top PG's in the league. The way defenses are now, he'd very difficult to stop. He could pull up and knock down the open jumper, he could blow defender's and when defender's would collapse down on him he'd hit an open teammate. Very tough to guard.

KJ was more of an AI kind of player in the sense that his first choice was to take it to the hole. He didn't have AI's toughness or his strength, but he was an awsome offensive player. As mentioned before, he did average 20-10 (3 times).

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rlucas4257

In games 1 and 2, he had MORE TURNOVERS then POINTS. He was schooled. This isnt trolling, this is a fact.

He was a top PG but lets not include him among the alltime greats. He was far too Me First to be considered a great player, at any position

__________________
NBA CHAMP- Phoenix.

Its their year. If Amare comes back (a big if) then they will have it all.

NBA FINALS- Phoenix 4-2 Chicago (Since Tmac has gotten to Houston, I always take them, but not this year)

Yes, the Bulls are in the finals. They beat the Cavs in the eastern finals in 7 games. Might be the Bulls best chance before Lebron goes all Jordan on us. But with Detroit weaker, and Miami a year older, this leaves Chicago

MVP-Lebron James

I just cant even think of a guy who could be close. Bosh and Yao are 2 and 3.

Most Improved- I dont know.

It will come from the following 5 players. Mickael Pietrus, who should be perfect under Nellies weird system. Darko Millicic, really impressive in Orlando last year. Tyson Chandler, Just a feeling, might have that year we have been looking for. JR Smith. The only thing I didnt think Pax needed to do this summer. This guy has a real shot at stardom. Leandro Barbosa

Rookie of the Year. Mickael Gelabale Seattle. This kid is NBA ready, can play 2 spots, though spots that Seattle has good players and a real motor. Will beat out Chicago Bull Tyrus Thomas (2nd), Rudy Gay and Seattle teammate Mouhamed Sene.

Defensive Player of the Year. Mouhamed Sene. Reach, athleticism and desire means he will be the first rookie to win this award. Might have a problem with the fouls early this year, but his ability to cover ground and his length mean something special on the way.

6th man of the year. Leandro Barbosa. Second team all defense and scores in the mid digits. Could be the best point guard (if you can call him that) from his draft class, yes Hinrich and Ford, that includes you, if Nash wasnt the MVP.

Surprise Team
West-Seattle. They have two outstanding rookies and 2 more young bigs. I believe Petro and Sene make a great upfront combo, Swift will be dealt for the other things and Gelabale will be special.

East- Toronto. Bargnani will help, but Bosh will be the MVP runner up to Lebron. Orlando a close #2

Disappointing Team
East- Miami- Shaq is just getting older and Wade can only carry the team so far. They were pretty flawed last year and won the individual brilliance of Wade and Shaq. Take one out of the equation and they might not be the best team in Florida

West- LA Lakers. Unless Andrew Bynum makes the next big step this team might not make the playoffs. Kobe was hurt all summer and I just think they played over their head. I wasnt blown away by their offseason. LA Clippers are #2 here.

Executive of the Year. John Paxson. Just a super offseason. Gets Ben Wallace, which no one thought he could do. Drafts a guy in Tyrus Thomas who is outstanding and promising rookie Thabo Sefolosha. Gets rid of Chandlers contract. Only mistake was giving JR Smith away.

2007 Draft- Oden is the guy but Thabeet will make it far closer than most thought was possible.

Coach of the year. Don Nelson. GS goes back to the playoffs for the first time in about a century (or since he was the coach). Sure they make it as a 7th seed but thats good enough for him to get the award.

Most likely big name to be dealt. Chris Webber, Rashard Lewis, Kenyon Martin, Richard Jefferson/Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, Emeka Okafor, Lamar Odom, Jermaine Oneal.

Superbowl- Bears this year
SI Sports Man of the Year 2007- The city of Chicago
Champs League Final Chelsea vs Arsenal. Arsenal are the winners.

And one final prediction. Jay Williams, whom I predicted a few years ago would play in the NBA again (too alot of ridicule, Songcycle, are you reading that?) will be good enough, along with Marcus Williams, that the Jason Kidd trade rumors will pick up some steam.

Amareca

KJ wasn't me first, get a clue.

Charles was much much more of a ball hog. And KJ was it who turned around this franchise in the late 80s.

Not an alltime great? The only PGs who could have matched KJ in his prime would be Stockton, Magic and Big O probably. What did KJ average 20+ppg 12+apg 50%+FG? And his best day were ahead of him if he hadn't been injured.

shazha