Image via WikipediaThe obvious issue for the Lakers heading into the offseason was how they would improve the point guard position. Keeping Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown was an instant priority, while both sides acknowledged Jordan Farmar's tenure would be all but over.Blake is a role player point guard; he came into the NBA as such and that's what he's always been even when he's been a starter. He works hard and generally is a good decision-maker, as evidenced by his assist/turnover ratio.
He's been used a lot in pick-and-roll situations, even though he isn't the kind of player who you really want to use as an offensive playmaker.
With the Lakers, he will initiate the offense and generally be a low turnover passer. His job is to feed the ball to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the post, allow Kobe Bryant to dominate the ball and to make his man stay with him when he's spotting up on the perimeter.
Since no team in the NBA has enough interior defense to withstand both Gasol and Bynum and nobody leaves Kobe open, the small forward and point guard defenders have to sag into the paint to help. The reason why Fisher has been so successful despite his advanced age is because he gets so many open spot-up looks and of course has the capacity to hit them at an efficient clip. When Ron Artest is unable to hit his open three-pointers, the offense falls apart.
Blake is a career 39.93% shooter from distance and is coming off seasons of 40.8%, 42.8% and 41.6% over his last three. In his previous stints, more than half of his shot attempts have come from beyond the arc and that ratio will increase with the Lakers.
On the defensive end, Blake is the classic gritty overachiever. He does a good job on-ball and generally stays in front of his man. Blake never takes a possession off, as is typically the case of players that have outperformed their natural gifts. He can defend shooting guards a little bit as well, which gives the Lakers the same flexability they had when they put Famar and Brown on the floor at the same time.
There are three primary concerns with the signing from the Lakers' perspective:
- The money, particularly the length of seasons, is borderline excessive.
- He is already 30-years-old, which is primary focus of concern No. 1.
- In pressure spots, he has sometimes frozen up mentally.
Grade for Lakers: A-
I was expecting Blake to get a similar deal from the Magic, which would be a return home to Flordia. Orlando would offer a similar opportunity in terms of being a perennial title contender with a need for the point guard position. But there is absolutely no argument against the money and contract length Joel Bell secured and he will play more minutes in a rotation with Fisher than he would backing up Jameer Nelson.
Grade for Steve Blake: A
http://lakers.realgm.com/articles/158/20100703/grading_the_deal_lakers_add_steve_blake_in_moment_sobriety/
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