For more analysis of the Holland-Corn trade, we turn again to the expert, Barry Uhrman:
With Ukari Figgs married and living in Kentucky (and coaching high school boys' basketball), Van Chancellor needed to find someone to fill the void at the point...a position that has never been adequately filled to Van's satisfaction since the late Kim Perrot.
Kedra-Holland Corn wanted out of Detroit. While she had her best season in terms of her production and effectiveness, she was not happy with her 20 minutes per game backing up the point and shooting guard positions.
This is the problem. KHC is not the point guard that will work in Van's system. Chancellor likes his point guards to pass, pass, pass (to Swoopes, to Cooper, and to Thompson). The point guards can basically only shoot when WIDE open or if there is one second remaining on the shot clock. Kedra is a shooter. She was effective backing up Elaine Powell at the point, but in limited minutes...and she split her time pretty well between the point and shooting guard positions in Detroit. Van likes to ride his starters and play them for most of the game. Kedra's game is not suited to running an offense for 32+ minutes per game in Chancellor's system. To top it off, Houston gave up its first round draft choice and signed Kedra to a hefty three-year contract.
As for Detroit, it loses one of its core seven players (the five starters, plus KHC and Barbara Farris) from last season. But signing Merlakia Jones filled another need...getting a backup small forward. Lake Jones was an All-Star and her 2003 season was most likely an aberration. She can play the two and the three, so Bill Laimbeer now has backups for Deanna Nolan and Swin Cash. The backup point guard situation is still left to be determined. Sheila Lambert has never recovered from her injury in the 2002 WBCA All-Star game. She has the athleticism, but some question her abilities as a point guard, thinking of her as a 5-7 shooting guard. Lambert may be on the trading block anyway, as Laimbeer may end up keeping Jae Kingi as the backup point guard.
And now Detroit has the 11th and 13th picks in the 2004 draft, which make a nice package should the Shock want to move up.
With Ukari Figgs married and living in Kentucky (and coaching high school boys' basketball), Van Chancellor needed to find someone to fill the void at the point...a position that has never been adequately filled to Van's satisfaction since the late Kim Perrot.
Kedra-Holland Corn wanted out of Detroit. While she had her best season in terms of her production and effectiveness, she was not happy with her 20 minutes per game backing up the point and shooting guard positions.
This is the problem. KHC is not the point guard that will work in Van's system. Chancellor likes his point guards to pass, pass, pass (to Swoopes, to Cooper, and to Thompson). The point guards can basically only shoot when WIDE open or if there is one second remaining on the shot clock. Kedra is a shooter. She was effective backing up Elaine Powell at the point, but in limited minutes...and she split her time pretty well between the point and shooting guard positions in Detroit. Van likes to ride his starters and play them for most of the game. Kedra's game is not suited to running an offense for 32+ minutes per game in Chancellor's system. To top it off, Houston gave up its first round draft choice and signed Kedra to a hefty three-year contract.
As for Detroit, it loses one of its core seven players (the five starters, plus KHC and Barbara Farris) from last season. But signing Merlakia Jones filled another need...getting a backup small forward. Lake Jones was an All-Star and her 2003 season was most likely an aberration. She can play the two and the three, so Bill Laimbeer now has backups for Deanna Nolan and Swin Cash. The backup point guard situation is still left to be determined. Sheila Lambert has never recovered from her injury in the 2002 WBCA All-Star game. She has the athleticism, but some question her abilities as a point guard, thinking of her as a 5-7 shooting guard. Lambert may be on the trading block anyway, as Laimbeer may end up keeping Jae Kingi as the backup point guard.
And now Detroit has the 11th and 13th picks in the 2004 draft, which make a nice package should the Shock want to move up.
posted by Ted at 1:33 PM
