[ChammesParticipant]

 who would you pick first to build a team around? Personally I would say Middleton, think he cracks the all star team and gets a big contract from someone this year

[CoachWyersParticipant]

 I would say Derozan even though neither player is worth building around both are better as the 2nd or 3rd best player on a team.

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Unbelievable.

[mowestenParticipant]

 I mean, obviously, you’re not building a team around either guy unless you’re trying to tank.

However, I think it would depend on what a team needs. If they need someone to put the ball in the basket, it’s DeRozan. If hey need a sidekick who can do a little more, it’s Middleton.

Middleton is bigger at 6’8, 234, but he is not a good rebounder. DeRozan averaged more assists last year, and for his career, has been as good a rebounder. For me, if a guy is 6’8, 234 and doesn’t put up good rebounding numbers I start asking myself why and there really aren’t ever any good answers to that question.

Personally, I think DeRozan is in a great situation in SA. They need a scorer and he will have a lot of freedom, but won’t have all the pressure of being a primary guy as they will still run a lot of their offense through LA. I think he’s a coachable guy who is highly motivated. I would be shocked if he didn’t have a huge season.

 

[BornaskulParticipant]

 No disrespect to Middleton who is a very good player  but I don’t think this is that close, Derozan was the best player on a 59 win team, and Middleton was the second best player on a 44 win team..

I know that is oversimplifyng things but still..

 

[CynthiaParticipant]

Middleton is very good, he’s probably in the top 5 most underrated players. But that’s the thing, he’s so underrated that even basketball junkies like us sometimes forget he even exists.

Nothing about him says star even if he has the skill to be one; he’s not a vocal leader and he’s been injured a lot. He’s just not someone you build a team around, however he IS the type of player that you use to compliment your star(s).

Middleton has the potential to be a taller Ray Allen, I just don’t think he will ever get there. He’s roughly in his prime now and again he’s good, very good, but he’s not Ray Allen. Their career stats are actually pretty close yet when you compare the two in your mind you know for certain Ray Allen is the better player. He’s a leader, he has passion, he’s clutch. When you think of Middleton you just think "oh yeah, he’s good, almost forgot about him".

So to the original question, I don’t think either player is someone you build around but at least Derozan has some star power, he’s more vocal and people actually know who he is. But at the end of the day both are well above average players, but they’re both complimentary players.

 

[kanuflengParticipant]

I think it depends on the team needs. If you need a scorer then go for Derozan. If you need a better all around player with better shooting and can guard the best player on another team then id choose Middleton. Plus, i think Middleton plays better under pressure than Derozan. Derozan time and again falters in the playoffs and he cannot guard the other teams best player. 

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

 Well. Obviously you aren’t going to really “build around” either of these guys, even though they are both very good players. Middleton has never really been a first option on offense the way derozan has, so it’s kind of difficult to tell how he would do in that role. He has shown the ability to be a big time scorer in stretches though. 

If you want someone to essentially run your offense through, I’d have to go with derozan just because he has more of a proven track record in that role. However, all things considered, if you were to ask me who I’d rather have right now it’s probably Middleton. He’s younger, a far superior defender and outside shooter and just has a game that’s more versatile. He can function both as a primary scorer and playmaker for stretches as well as a complementary player. Derozan, on the other hand, if you are not going to use him in a heavy usage offensive role, doesn’t really have much value.

Since I wouldn’t consider either to ultimately be good enough to build a true contender around as your primary player, I’ll take the guy who is more versatile and fits better as a complimentary player.

 

 

[sweaterflexParticipant]

I’m pretty loudly in the camp that DeMar is overrated but Middleton has had a strange development curve, and I would say DeMar was better last season and would say probably better next regular season, unless Bud schemes improve Middleton’s shot selection. Khris has become an elite mid-range shooter, but his defense has gotten a lot worse as his usage has ramped up. DeRozan is better at finishing at the rim and creating for others. Middleton provides a little more spacing and could feasibly defend 4s, but his defense has really dropped off.

On a side note, Kyle Lowry is chronically underappreciated and was far and away the best player on the Raptors. Look at all of the on/off numbers every year since he got there, look at the BPM, RPM, even block% Lowry has been better than DeMar, people really need to look beyond points per game.

http://bkref.com/tiny/kRtTx

  

[kobyzParticipant]

It’s pretty close, its like asking to choose between allan houston and jerry stackhouse if we are a decede ago…

[BeastMode716Participant]

 Middleton is an Excellent player & I believe he could be the steal of the summer 2019 Free Agent class right below the Super Star level 

But Derozan is a guy who for the last 5 years has Avg 24ppg 4.5 ast 4.5 reb shoots 45% fg% & gets to the Free Throw line 8X per game! While leading the Toronto Raptors to 48, 49, 56, 51 & 59 wins! that is 263 W’s in 5 years! And leading his team to top 4 seed finishes all 5 seasons – winning their Division 4 out of 5 years 

Middleton is a terrific player & really doesn’t get the credit he deserves but he is 2 years younger than Derozan (I like to check guys stats from the year they start 24 & turn 25 b/c this is the beginning of their Prime years) so Middleton who is 27 to start this season Avg 18.5 ppg 4.0 ast 4.5 reb shoots 46% fg% is a Much better 3pt shooter than Derozan 38% vs 31% but Derozan gets to the Free Throw line Double per game – Middleton Avg 4X per game in FTA

Middleton’s teams have not enjoyed as much success but he is early in his prime & will continue to improve as the Bucks #2 behind the Greek Freak. 

So Middleton is an Excellent NBA player but Derozan has proven he can be the #1 option & lead a team to the #1 seed in the Conference. I feel like Derozan gets unfairly punished b/c his Raptors teams can’t ever get past Lebron James but other than TWO Historically Great teams in San Antonio & Golden State No One has knocked off Lebron! Think about what it has taken to beat Lebron.

 Derozan is 29 years old & I am Very excited to see what Pop can do w/ Derozan & Lamarcus Aldridge as an inside / outside One Two Punch! W/ an All NBA Defense pg in Dejounte Murray the Spurs have a team built for the grind it out physical half court that the playoffs turn into – Spurs are going to be a good team & Derozan is a legit NBA All Star 

 

 

 

 

[HazelParticipant]

 I’ll take the better defender, cutter, three-point shooter, rebounder, passer (higher ast %) and playoff scorer. (scored 24ppg and shot 61% from three against arguably the best defense in the league during a highly competitive playoff series. ) While making less than half the $ of and two years younger than …

The guy who shoots 28% for his career from three, made ZERO threes shot 41% from two and  averaged 16 pts in his last five playoff games which included a sweep at the hands of in inferior team with only one great player.  

 

Silly…

 

 

 

 

 

[HeroescantdieParticipant]

Depends, Derozan is a franchise player for Toronto before, he and Lowry, but if you put him on another team with another star clearly he’ll be just be a 2nd option so for the sake of argument, i’ll pick derozan since middleton is a 2nd option with giannis, derozan also primarily hits tough contested shots and create his shot more than middleton if you want a team who you don’t have a bucket getter then derozan will do that, but he scarifices that with bad defense, on the other hand if you want 3pt shooting and defense you should go with middleton, as for marketing standpoint, derozan is more marketbale since he’s flashy and athletic, middleton justs plays basketball the right way and score buckets on simply playing right.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Do you know how good you would have to be to be the 1st option ahead of Derozan? Theres not many guys that would be doing that and if you do have Derozan playing 2nd option your team wouldin most scenerios be a contender.

[HeroescantdieParticipant]

 I know how good Demar is, but in the Playoffs he cannot carry a team by himself if he gonna face the likes of Boston and elite tiers in the east before and much in the west right now, the west is stacked, and with boston in the east, plus I need him to be more assertive on defense If I’m gonna build a tam around him

[OhCanada-Participant]

 Yeah I would agree with that. Although I dont agree that he would automatically be 2nd option to any star. You put him with a bunch of top 20 players he is still 1st option. Irving, Paul, Butler, George, Oladipo, Simmons, Towns are all considered stars to me and I’d rather hve Derozan as 1st scoring option.

[HazelParticipant]

 I would rather have my first option be the guy who scores more efficiently and makes plays for his teammates and he needs to be a two-way player.  I’d take everyone’s game you mentioned ahead of DeRozan. Towns and Irving aren’t two-way players but they are much more prolific offensively. Playoffs are always the real test. What can you do when teams are game planning for you. . 

 

I’d put Derozen in the group of players that aren’t worth their salary.  For 28 million you better be a two-way player.  For 28 million you  better be able to make a three if you are a guard unless you  can do EVERYTHING else better than everyone else  (see LeBron, Prime Wade, Simmons)  what really is the difference in impact on the court between DeRozan and Anthony three years ago?

 

 

[The Scare Crow RisesParticipant]

For the money I’m paying DD I just expect more bang for my buck, Middleton is a solid Defender and Shoot Maker, why not take him at 15-20 as opposed to the 25-30 you’re paying DD

[OhCanada-Participant]

So Giannis is a top 10 player and Middleton is better than Derozan yet Derozans team eliminated them in the playoffs and won 24 more regular season games and 3 more playoff rounds in the last 2 seasons.

  Probably because of  Lowry and Derozan’s supporting cast right? Other than Ibaka and Valanciunas this team was replaced by raw young players and improved. Carroll, Patterson, Ross, Joseph and Tuckers roles got filled by Van Vleet, Wright, Poeltl, Siakam and Anunoby and the team wins 8 more games. Shouldnt Derozan get some credit for making his teammates better?

People always talk about how certain players make their teammates better and assume that means passing the ball to them in the right places. Derozan would be at every summer league, he would take the young guys to California every year to work with his trainers, he would have them play in Drew league and improve, he would work with them before games and after games in the gym during the regular season because there is not much time to work on your game in an NBA schedule.

 He never gets that "great leader" or "sacrafices stats for wins" label because he kept choking against Lebron. Thats what he has become now in the publics opinion but Derozan is a true leader that sets an example which allowed his teammates particularly the young guys to form winning professional habits which kept them discipline in close games. Thats the difference and Giannis and Middleton have yet to form those habits.

Not to mention Derozan scored a career high 52 points against the Bucks. Middleton the "lockdown defender" wasnt even given the assignment of gaurding him Snell and Brogdon were and when they decided to go to Middleton he got lit up. Derozan averaged 24 points in the 6 game playoffs series against the Bucks where he supposedly struggled. He averaged 35-ppg against them last season. Middleton averaged 16-ppg in the playoffs and 16-ppg last season. Derozan also gaurded Middleton last year and Toronto had the 5th best defensive rating last year Milwaukee was 17th. https://www.raptorsrepublic.com/2018/02/27/derozans-defence-study-eight-parts/

 So whats going on guys you just let ESPN control your minds and run a narrative on how terrible a perrenial Allstar, All NBA, Team USA guy is I mean Khris Middleton is a great player and I think he could win MIP or make the Allstar team this year but these guys are just at different levels at this point.

 

 

 

 

[cominup7Participant]

 A lot of you are oversimplifying it, you cant just look at team records or individual stats and say one or the other would be better to start a team around

 the original question is who would be the better building block, and the answer is Middleton. He’s a player that can fit on virtually EVERY team right now, he’s the prototype 2/3 rangy wing for this era. He can create, shoot and defend at nearly elite levels. This is the year that he really breaks out, being in Budenholzer’s free flowing offense. Kyle Korver (!!!) was an All-Star in this very offense, just think what Middleton will be able to do in that role.

DD is of course a great player, and in a vacuum more talented than Middleton, but he’s much harder to build a successful team around

 

[dmo21Participant]

 That wasn’t really the question though. It was worded, who you would build a team around. I take that as this would be your best player. Yes, Middleton fits better on most teams but will your team succeed if he’s your best player? DeRozan is a decent first option while Middleton is a good second or third option, which makes them hard to compare. 

[OhCanada-Participant]

 So when deciding who to build a team around you cant use winning or stats into account? Isnt the point winning? I mean if Demar Derozan was on a .500 team he would probably average 30 points per game. If he was a second option and told to lock in defensively he would end up a lockdown one on one defender and likely still struggle with help and transition defence. Hes a better player than Middleton plain and simple, better peice to build around as well, better supporting piece. If Derozan was swapped with Middleton last year Bucks would have won more games.

[Author]

Posts