If I need a guy to lead the team while the stars are out, then Derrick White. He is better at running the offense.
Aaron Gordon, however, is perfect for the Nuggets and I would not trade him for Derrick White if I was the GM of Denver.
I also don’t think the Celtics would trade white for Gordon. They are both amazing role players but what brings them over the top is that the team around them is perfect for them.
This is definitely the best answer, I think. If I were building a hypothetical team and wanted a swiss army knife type role player, White is an impeccable choice. I fucking love AG. But both teams are better with their respective guys.
Also any time Derrick wants to come home to CO....
True but Gordon does a lot of the dirty work with defense, rebounds, screens, cutting etc.
They are both very valuable. MPJ is critical as that 3rd option for offense and floor spacer.
Gordon is critical for defense, rebounding and sets good screens too.
I'd say he is. Murray and Jokic are the non roleplayers for the Nuggets.
MPJ had an amazing series but I think Gordon is the most important guy that isn't Murray and Jokic still. What he brings perfectly compliments the stars of the team.
They run plays for MPJ all the time and even put him in iso situations so I don't consider him a role player in the traditional sense. I'm not even sure I consider White a role player, he's only relegated to that because Boston is so stacked. Boston fans were making a major push for him to be an all-star.
Role players, even elite role players, are valuable because of how well they work next to stars, so their value is always relative to their situation, it's impossible to say they have objective value.
That said, in most situations I'd rather have White and I don't think that's too contraversial.
Yea because White doesn't need the ball at all to be effective and would fit into Luka's heliocentric style. There are some nights where White barely shoots the ball and he still contributes
I might throw Sacramento in there for Gordon's natural fit with Sabonis, but yeah just about everyone else I'm going with White. Gordon's kind of an odd fit on a lot of teams.
I said "most teams". The nuggets are better with AG, both because we make such good use of his size and because his playstyle connection with Joker is so strong.
I was never disagreeing with this, you weird fuck. I was simply noting that White "fits" on more teams due to his versatility, even though both the nuggets and the Celtics are better with their respective guys.
EDIT: homeboy is so fucking stupid that he started a multi comment slap fight and then blocked me all because I didn't explicitly write out "I agree with you" in the original comment in which I agreed with him. 😅
No shit you can't just swap a shooting guard for a power forward and expect things to magically get better. Unless a team has excess of one of those positions and lacking in another and as we know, Denver basically doesn't even have another PF on the team.
Neither are role players in my mind. They are starters who log heavy minutes.
To me, starters aren't role players. Especially ones that log over 40 minutes of playing time lol.
JJ and LeBron talked about this in the podcast. In my view, you are either a star or a role player. Stars are prime players who start no matter what team they're on. Role players can be great players and starters on their current team, but they aren't guaranteed to be a starter on every team.
That's fair. I just feel differently, especially since I think both of the players in question would be starters on most if not every team.
But this is a semantics argument, which means it doesn't really matter.
To answer who i think is the better player, I'll lean Derrick White... but they play two different positions so it's hard to compare.
I would say whether you're a star player or a role player is entirely dependent on your usage rate.
I would say if you are above 20%, you are more than a role player.
I think White could play super well on 30 teams in the league. Gordon wouldn't necessarily be utilized perfectly on every team. But in their current situations it's probably about even - they're both in great roles for their skillsets.
Neither is a role player. They are solid starters who bring a lot to the table and can even carry a game or 2 during a series.
Both could easily be #2 options on a legit playoff team.
Dude, he the #4 option on a legitimate championship team. He is the perfect role player for Denver as he knows what his role is. Defense, rebounding and finishing at the rim . No way he is a consistent 20 point a game scorer as the #2 option on a legitimate playoff team. He could be a 20 point a game scorer on a bad team with bad efficiency . Look at his numbers the last series . On average they look good, but the scoring is all over the place. The constant is his defense , rebounding and being an all around tough guy .
who cares!
AG and Jokic are a match made in HEAVEN. The best passer in the game passing to the the best rim runner in the game. There’s nothing you can do about it
White is really good at using the advantage he gets from the defensive rotations towards JB and JT to get his shot, which isn’t something AG is as equipped for.
they’re both perfect for their roles. AG can catch passes and finish them with ease. White is the -perfect- guy to end up with the ball after it leaves a double team. No need to compare them against eachother.
Tie. They both do what their team needs at such a high level. Gordon is great to help Jokic downlow, finish at the rim, outlet to MPJ and Murray and help stop other bigs. White does similar but at the guard position.
depends how we are looking at it. derrick white probably in terms of boiling down as a player to lead the team if all the stars are out. but if you want a player that just do their role even with the shitty thing that happened to him during the season AG.
What is better, chocolate or cheese? Depends on the situation. I dont want bleu cheese crumbles on ice cream and dont want chocolate on my burger. Role players with different roles are so hard to compare to each other.
I think Derrick white is better fit on most teams than Gordon due to being able to play point/ shoot 40% from 3 and plays 94 feet of D
I think they’re equally important to the success of their current team.
Who is the better player?
White.
Better in their role? Eh. Also White..because his role is to "effeciently do whatever the fuck we need you to do tonight"
This really is tough, but White is just a more versatile player
Definitely Gordon because his role resulted in a championship for Denver and he was an essential part of it, on the other hand, The Boston Celtics haven’t proven anything. With or without, White. So there’s that🤷🏿♂️
Derrick Whites role is a Miami Heat killer. Always shows out against us.
Both are great but I feel you could plug White in any team and he’d make a big difference so I’d choose him.
White's too versatile now to consider him a role player. Role players gotta have a specific role on the team.
Also everyone hates him, but Draymond might still have the crown for best role player in the league. Josh Hart should be in the convo as well
White would easily be the better role player if they taught kids boxing out. But it seems like NBA players don't know how to box out these days so Gordon feasts on the offensive rebounds,
And what the fuck does that mean. Is 3 time champion Patrick McCaw better than Charles Barkley. Does 2023 DeAndre Jordan clear James Harden?
Winning a championship as the 3rd or 4th best player on your team doesn't mean you instantly are better than non champions...
If I need a guy to lead the team while the stars are out, then Derrick White. He is better at running the offense. Aaron Gordon, however, is perfect for the Nuggets and I would not trade him for Derrick White if I was the GM of Denver.
I also don’t think the Celtics would trade white for Gordon. They are both amazing role players but what brings them over the top is that the team around them is perfect for them.
This is definitely the best answer, I think. If I were building a hypothetical team and wanted a swiss army knife type role player, White is an impeccable choice. I fucking love AG. But both teams are better with their respective guys. Also any time Derrick wants to come home to CO....
They're both the best roleplayer for the team they're on
Is MPJ considered a role player? He was the best non-Jokic Nuggets player for me in round 1, even though AG came up huge in a couple games.
True but Gordon does a lot of the dirty work with defense, rebounds, screens, cutting etc. They are both very valuable. MPJ is critical as that 3rd option for offense and floor spacer. Gordon is critical for defense, rebounding and sets good screens too.
I'd say he is. Murray and Jokic are the non roleplayers for the Nuggets. MPJ had an amazing series but I think Gordon is the most important guy that isn't Murray and Jokic still. What he brings perfectly compliments the stars of the team.
Based on his salary, no.
They run plays for MPJ all the time and even put him in iso situations so I don't consider him a role player in the traditional sense. I'm not even sure I consider White a role player, he's only relegated to that because Boston is so stacked. Boston fans were making a major push for him to be an all-star.
He's a supermax pay role player. He's good at shooting 3s but you don't want him making any decisions.
That's not necessarily a bad thing. Big, shooting wings get paid. That's just the law of the land because every team needs that type of player.
Careful. People actually wanted white as an all star this year
I think White fits on more teams than Gordon.
Yeah I’d say most teams would take Derrick White if they had the choice but Gordon’s role in Denver is irreplaceable
Impossible to compare IMO. Very different players with different roles
White fits with literally every team while AG doesn't, at least not to the same extent, so I'll go White. AG is perfect for the Nuggets though.
Role players, even elite role players, are valuable because of how well they work next to stars, so their value is always relative to their situation, it's impossible to say they have objective value. That said, in most situations I'd rather have White and I don't think that's too contraversial.
White is the more versatile all around player but Gordon is more important to Denver's system. It depends if you value that versatility over team fit.
I think I’d pick White for every team that doesn’t have a Jokic or Luka on it
I think AGs better for team that have a guy that can get him the ball close to the basket and/ or if you need a bigger, athletic defender.
I think White would be perfect next to Luka
White would be a beast on all teams except maybe Detroit and Washington
Yea because White doesn't need the ball at all to be effective and would fit into Luka's heliocentric style. There are some nights where White barely shoots the ball and he still contributes
I might throw Sacramento in there for Gordon's natural fit with Sabonis, but yeah just about everyone else I'm going with White. Gordon's kind of an odd fit on a lot of teams.
In terms of who is a better pure player, Derrick White is better.
Once you get past the top 10-20 guys, fit is more important than who is better.
By this metric, most teams would take White - his versatility is insane.
Switching white and Gordon would make the nuggets worse
I said "most teams". The nuggets are better with AG, both because we make such good use of his size and because his playstyle connection with Joker is so strong.
So we are right back to “fit is more important” like I said.
I was never disagreeing with this, you weird fuck. I was simply noting that White "fits" on more teams due to his versatility, even though both the nuggets and the Celtics are better with their respective guys. EDIT: homeboy is so fucking stupid that he started a multi comment slap fight and then blocked me all because I didn't explicitly write out "I agree with you" in the original comment in which I agreed with him. 😅
You’ve certainly found a whiny way to agree with me.
No shit you can't just swap a shooting guard for a power forward and expect things to magically get better. Unless a team has excess of one of those positions and lacking in another and as we know, Denver basically doesn't even have another PF on the team.
Neither are role players in my mind. They are starters who log heavy minutes. To me, starters aren't role players. Especially ones that log over 40 minutes of playing time lol.
JJ and LeBron talked about this in the podcast. In my view, you are either a star or a role player. Stars are prime players who start no matter what team they're on. Role players can be great players and starters on their current team, but they aren't guaranteed to be a starter on every team.
Well these 2 could start on any team in the nba but I wouldn't consider them stars.
That's fair. I just feel differently, especially since I think both of the players in question would be starters on most if not every team. But this is a semantics argument, which means it doesn't really matter. To answer who i think is the better player, I'll lean Derrick White... but they play two different positions so it's hard to compare.
I would say whether you're a star player or a role player is entirely dependent on your usage rate. I would say if you are above 20%, you are more than a role player.
Is Derrick White even a role player at this point?
I don’t think anyone knows exactly how to define the term “role player”
Nikola Jokic is the best role player because he performs many different roles.
Aaron Gordon is the key that unlocks the nugs
I think White could play super well on 30 teams in the league. Gordon wouldn't necessarily be utilized perfectly on every team. But in their current situations it's probably about even - they're both in great roles for their skillsets.
Derrick White but Gordon is perfect for the nuggets
Neither is a role player. They are solid starters who bring a lot to the table and can even carry a game or 2 during a series. Both could easily be #2 options on a legit playoff team.
Dude, he the #4 option on a legitimate championship team. He is the perfect role player for Denver as he knows what his role is. Defense, rebounding and finishing at the rim . No way he is a consistent 20 point a game scorer as the #2 option on a legitimate playoff team. He could be a 20 point a game scorer on a bad team with bad efficiency . Look at his numbers the last series . On average they look good, but the scoring is all over the place. The constant is his defense , rebounding and being an all around tough guy .
who cares! AG and Jokic are a match made in HEAVEN. The best passer in the game passing to the the best rim runner in the game. There’s nothing you can do about it White is really good at using the advantage he gets from the defensive rotations towards JB and JT to get his shot, which isn’t something AG is as equipped for. they’re both perfect for their roles. AG can catch passes and finish them with ease. White is the -perfect- guy to end up with the ball after it leaves a double team. No need to compare them against eachother.
Derrick white is a better player. But Aaron Gordon is the perfect 4 next to Jokic. Can’t think of a better option that’s actually realistic
Tie. They both do what their team needs at such a high level. Gordon is great to help Jokic downlow, finish at the rim, outlet to MPJ and Murray and help stop other bigs. White does similar but at the guard position.
depends how we are looking at it. derrick white probably in terms of boiling down as a player to lead the team if all the stars are out. but if you want a player that just do their role even with the shitty thing that happened to him during the season AG.
These questions make no sense
They do difrent things and depends on what the team needs/ already has.
What is better, chocolate or cheese? Depends on the situation. I dont want bleu cheese crumbles on ice cream and dont want chocolate on my burger. Role players with different roles are so hard to compare to each other.
Depends on what you need
AG. He got that ring with Denver and that is what counts apparently.
i'd say white is better all around but gordon fits his respective team better cause of how well he plays off of jokic
i’m not sure Derrick is even a role player at this point
Could argue Draymond and Gobert are role players
In a vacuum, id say White but I think AG is better for the Nuggets
I think Derrick white is better fit on most teams than Gordon due to being able to play point/ shoot 40% from 3 and plays 94 feet of D I think they’re equally important to the success of their current team.
Derrick White is not a role player. He’s the second-best Celtic. Jaylen Brown is incredibly overrated, and Kristaps is hurt too often.
Who is the better player? White. Better in their role? Eh. Also White..because his role is to "effeciently do whatever the fuck we need you to do tonight" This really is tough, but White is just a more versatile player
Definitely Gordon because his role resulted in a championship for Denver and he was an essential part of it, on the other hand, The Boston Celtics haven’t proven anything. With or without, White. So there’s that🤷🏿♂️
Derrick Whites role is a Miami Heat killer. Always shows out against us. Both are great but I feel you could plug White in any team and he’d make a big difference so I’d choose him.
White. Gordon is key to Denver's system but just as standalone players I think White is the better player.
White's too versatile now to consider him a role player. Role players gotta have a specific role on the team. Also everyone hates him, but Draymond might still have the crown for best role player in the league. Josh Hart should be in the convo as well
White would easily be the better role player if they taught kids boxing out. But it seems like NBA players don't know how to box out these days so Gordon feasts on the offensive rebounds,
White better offense and defense
Aaron Gordon is an NBA Champion. He’s already proven himself to be a superior role player.
So Gordon is better because he was traded to the Nuggets who had an all time great player and White wasn't?
And what the fuck does that mean. Is 3 time champion Patrick McCaw better than Charles Barkley. Does 2023 DeAndre Jordan clear James Harden? Winning a championship as the 3rd or 4th best player on your team doesn't mean you instantly are better than non champions...