I'm still on the Cory Joseph train. He would be a great addition as a backup PG, and he would even be a good fit alongside Collison.
He's 6'3" with a standing reach of 8'3" (McLemore's standing reach is 8'4.5" as a benchmark), so he's not completely hopeless when tasked to guard SGs. And the fact that he is an exceptional & relentless defender with great lateral quickness helps him compensate.
Not only will his great defense be welcomed, but he does a lot of the little things it takes to win. He's a scrapper & a gamer. He's like McCallum in that he'll give you everything he's got the entire time he's out on the floor.
Watching him this year, he really impressed me on the offensive side of the ball. He's good at getting his team into their sets and is not a score-first PG. He actually doesn't take many shots, but when he does, they are within the flow of the offense and high percentage looks (50% shooting on 10.2 FGAs per36). His handle is also very good and he does remind me a lot of Parker on some of his drives. He's very crafty and uses his quickness and screens well to get into the paint. Not to mention he's pretty good at scoring in traffic.
His set 3pt shot was also very good this year (41%) which would mean players can't sag off of him to help. The sample size this year was small, but he came into this league as a good shooter (shot 42% from three on 3.5 attempts per game), so I tend to believe that his 3pt shooting isn't a fluke. If he's able to continue to solidify that shot from three, he would only be more of a weapon for us. Having 3pt shooters around your big is nice, but having 3pt shooters who also have the ability to take you off the dribble is even better. It discourages a defender to close out on you as quickly giving you more time to hit the three. This is one of the big differences when compared to McLemore.
I'm not too in favor of running a two PG lineup, but if we have to, I would rather us sign a guy like Joseph. With San Antonio looking more and more like the frontrunners to sign Aldridge, they are going to have to cut ties with some of their existing players. Joseph's cap hold makes it hard on them for signing a guy like Aldridge, and when they already have a solid backup PG on a very affordable deal (Mills) it just makes too much sense to let Joseph walk.
I think the opportunity to start for Joseph would be very appealing, but also just the idea of getting substantial minutes at both PG and SG night in and night out would be valuable to him as well. We should have more than enough money to make him an attractive offer while still having some left over to fill other needs.
Again, Joseph's defense, shooting, ball handling, passing, decision making, scoring, and work hard attitude is exactly what we need. He started 14 games last year for the Spurs and played very well. Granted I'm sure playing with a team like the Spurs will boost performance/stats a bit, but this is what he produced during that stretch:
35 MPG / .562 FG% / .444 3PT% / .750 FT% / 13.2 PPG / 4.5 RPG / 3.6 APG / 0.6 SPG / 0.4 BPG / 1.6 TOPG
If we do indeed start him, his low usage, roleplayer's mentality, and team first approach should fit in well with the core of Cousins, Gay, & Collison without disrupting chemistry or touches.
There's a lot to like about him. I think in a couple years we're going to realize how much of a steal his contract will be, and having not just one PG but two PGs on contracts that are considered steals will be even more valuable as we look to improve other areas of the team.
I'm telling you. I think this guy is due for a breakout season, and I much rather sign him than acquire Rondo, Lawson, Ellis, Holiday, or Lin.
