CP vs. Deron: Who’s Your Pick?
Photo. Monte Isom
Photo. Jonathan MannionIn the summer of ’06, Chris Paul was the NBA’s Golden Boy: when he wasn’t being compared to Isiah Thomas on the court at every turn, he was being hailed off the court as the League’s next marketing superstar. One year later, the man with whom CP will always be linked, Deron Williams has seemingly taken the throne as the NBA’s hottest young point guard after taking the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals. So who’s better? We’ve gotten into the discussion before, and got into it again at the office yesterday:
If you were building your franchise around one point guard, who would it be, Chris Paul or Deron Williams?
Give us your pick and why, and we’ll print some of the best answers in an upcoming issue. Tell us what you think in the comments section, or e-mail us at smack@dimemag.com.
**Dime reserves the right to edit submissions for length and clarity.**
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September 11th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Captain America says:
Marketing versus on-court performance? CP, marketing. Deron, on court performance (higher upside).
September 11th, 2007 at 9:43 am
DOC says:
I’m going with CP3. His team was hurt and he still killed it. He’ll be back next year.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:11 am
djKianoosh says:
While they’re both incredibly gifted, I’d go with Deron cause he’s bigger and uses that to his advantage more than CP3 uses his quickness, if all that can even be measured. Add to that the fact that Deron single-handedly kept Utah in contention against the Champion Spurs and their vaunted defense. Deron gets the nod, for now.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:23 am
chrisGO says:
im gonna have to go with Deron as well…marketing/on-court argument aside, what really impressed me was his off-season training. If you compare both these guys coming from college up until now- who has made leaps and bounds in regards to adding more to their game? CP was an already established, NBA ready, player coming out. Deron on the other hand has added so much to his game between then and now. I know im only looking at improvement/off-season workout regime, but thats the one thing that separates superstars from all-stars.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:25 am
YupYup says:
I love CP, but right now I’d rather have Deron Williams. He’s a little more atheltic, has a better shot, and is more of a true pg.
I think Paul has a better feel for the game and a stronger court presence.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:51 am
Andrew says:
Not to take the easy way out but “it depends”.
If your teams has lots of scoring and needs speed and playmaking to get the ball to the scorers then Chris is the man.
If you need scoring but can sacrifice some playmaking at the PG position then take Deron…who does lean more towards a scoring PG than pure playmaker.
The interesting question in this debate is will Raymond Felton ever catch up to these guys? He could be more athletic than both and is a great playmaker. OR – would you trade any of the above for Monta Ellis (drafted a round and a half later)?
September 11th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Bron42 says:
I love how people jump all over deron like he doesn’t naturally have the better team. CP is playin with a bunch of second string guys and injured old vets. I mean did peja even play a game last year? when bobby jackson and david west are your teams STAR players, yet he almost made the playoffs in the west? come on. Deron is a big body who uses it but his team was legit. I mean a few years ago AK was supposedly a taller shawn marion and boozer was the next big thing..they had a off year and got deron so its not like he had to carry bums or anything. Not to mention guys like milsap. deron is good but hes not on a team where coaches can just key to stop him either. CAn’t say the same for paul, i mean who else are they gonna triple team? hilton armstrong?
September 11th, 2007 at 11:54 am
Bron42 says:
I love how people jump all over deron like he doesn’t naturally have the better team. CP is playin with a bunch of second string guys and injured old vets. I mean did peja even play a game last year? when bobby jackson and david west are your teams STAR players, yet he almost made the playoffs in the west? come on. Deron is a big body who uses it but his team was legit. I mean a few years ago AK was supposedly a taller shawn marion and boozer was the next big thing..they had a off year and got deron so its not like he had to carry bums or anything. Not to mention guys like milsap. deron is good but hes not on a team where coaches can just key to stop him either. CAn’t say the same for paul, i mean who else are they gonna triple team? hilton armstrong?
September 11th, 2007 at 11:57 am
Tega says:
CP3
Yes, Deron has the jumpshot and he’s bigger which draws comparison to J-Kidd, but that’s about it. CP3 has the speed, the courtvision, and that nasty streak that draws comparison to Isiah. If not for his injuries this spot Deron might not have been on the USA squad. Lets not forget that Deron is playing in the Stockton system, if not for that he would never touch CP3 in assists. CP3 is just as schizophrenic as Magic, Kid and Nash they all see things that no one else does until it turns into an assist. CP3 is a future PointGod Deron isn’t.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
MC Welk says:
The argument that CP3 plays on a worse team is weak: weaker teammates give him better stats, which everybody uses to claim he is better, because he has to do more. Plus did you see all the dimes Deron was getting with the national team on alley oops to Tyson C.? Both are great players and both are playing in systems that are suited to their abilities. For that we as fans should be grateful. Perhaps Felton is next to make the leap. We shall see.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:46 pm
Kudabeen says:
deron is killing right now. I gained a lot of respect for him when he started taking his conditioning serious and it has been showing these last couple of years. Paul, doesn’t seem to have that same commitment to conditioning, but injuries have slowed him down considerably.
With that if I had to start a team with both of them being healthy, I would have to go with CP. I think Deron has the size and scoring advantage, but Paul has the advantage in all other categories. The biggest thing for me is the Fire. In that Spurs serious Deron was quietly killing the Spurs and keeping his team in it, but he never really challenged his teammates. Paul seems to will victories when the Hornets shouldn’t be in a lot of games.
They are both still young and developing and Deron has a chance to be a top five (Kidd, Nash, Baron, Arenas 28ppg and 6apg? Iverson 27ppg and 7apg? both are better than Tony parker and Billups) PG over Paul in the league sooner, but that depends on how Paul fairs health wise and steps up his conditioning.
September 11th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
DOC says:
CP3 is the next Zeke yall better stop sleeping.
September 11th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Chinglish says:
CP3. People don’t really know about him yet. He is good at everything. Obviously he’s one of the best at taking care of the basketball low TO’s since he started playing college ball. 35% 3pt FG is not bad, his rookie year was just a blip, in college he shot 47% from the arc. He has great lateral quickness on D as well as some of the fastest hands in the league.
The Hornets have had terrible spacing and no shooters from outside the lane since he’s been there yet he still finds ways to give people wide open looks from short range. If Mo Pete and Peja provide some spacing he’s gonna eat defenses up. Also he gets into periods of intense anger and starts dominating very reminiscent of Isaiah Thomas.
September 11th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Amar says:
doc — you’re an idiot . . . who is sleeping on Paul? he was the ROY, and got fellatio from the media (and refs) from the get-go as a rookie. look at the types of calls he gets? look at how deron gets hosed on the calls, while going to the WEST finals?
the aura of chris paul (who likes to reggie evans guys’ packages) > the play of chris paul.
September 11th, 2007 at 5:18 pm
adnan says:
CP3 cause he plays for a terrible team that somehow wins, he’s quicker than deron, and he either comes back from injuries really quick, or he guts it and plays injured, you gotta love a player who will play hurt during the regular season on a rookie contract, and i think hes the type of guy who when he gets his extension will still play hurt
September 11th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Amar says:
let’s not forget for all of the individual accolades that CP3 will get in his life, he’s not a winner. deron has taken his team on his back and won games when it counted — see the NCAA tournament (‘zona game) and the nba playoffs (game 1 vs. baron, for example, or getting like 30 ppg for the series vs. the spurs). if it is all deron’s better team mates and you guys are ready to put CP3 on the cross like he’s marquice johnson or something (great player who never had good team mates) go ahead — but ask yourself why is it that deron is the one scoring the buckets when it counts, if it’s all about his supporting cast?
(what clutch shots has boozer made?)
September 11th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
The Jed says:
Very different players who happen to play the same position and come from the same draft class. It’s just too early to tell who’d you rather have. I think CP has a chance to be one of those special type players. One of those guys that you want to have the ball in his hands, down 2, with 10 ticks on the shot clock, in game 7 of the NBA Finals. I’m not sure if I’d say the same for Deron. That being said, Williams may have the better all around game right now.
The USA squad may actually have to make this call next summer so we’ll see who they’d rather have.
September 11th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Can says:
I agree with CP3 over Deron Williams. I haven’t watched Williams play in person, but I did see lots of him in the playoffs and was very impressed. But watching CP3 play was something else. This was last year when he was on the US squad with Lebron and Melo and all those other “superstars”. Even though they were only playing against Lithuania (without Sar.. Jas.. dont know the spelling) CP3 ripped it up on both ends of the floor. He hounded the other point guard (like a 1 man full court press.. u remember Scottie Pippen on Marc Jackson when Phil Jackson unleased him) into turnovers, and controlled everything on the offensive end. Passes, drives, shots, and anything else you could ask for from a 1. I’m also sure you all remember when he crammed one on Dwight Howard (which shows his crazy atheleticism). All in all its close, but CP3 is better on both ends of the floor.
September 11th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Bron42 says:
so deron is a better pg cuz he scores more? isn’t that what shooting guards are for? And you said because the hornets suck is why chris paul has better stats? do you even think? first off, last i checked paul swas averagin 40 so its not like his shine is scoring. and gettin 12 dimes a game toa bunch of bums isn’t easy to do. its not like hes doin a steve nash and throwin it off to other all stars.come on now. If your lookin for a legit pg is easly cp3. if your looking for a scoring combo guard is deron.
September 12th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Girlybballluver says:
Did Kudabeen really just say they’re
both better than TONY PARKER? I’m confused…
Did YupYup say Williams is more of a true point guard than Paul?…I think you’re mistaken.
Oh yea, to answer the question, I’d build my team around Chris Paul. If I’m building my team around him, I’d naturally choose players that would mesh best with his style of play.
September 12th, 2007 at 5:58 am
Jamal says:
some interesting facts bout Deron and Paul:
http://www.squidoo.com/DeronWilliams
September 13th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
Yuichi Totani says:
Chris Paul has blazing speed and quickness, and he’s a natural. But Deron Williams runs the half-court set better than most PGs in the league right now. Not to mention, he plays D, isn’t afraid of contact, and can attack in various ways on offense. I’d build a contender around Deron Williams.
September 14th, 2007 at 6:01 am
Mo says:
PAUL.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Veezie says:
C’mon while both gifted, Its Chris Paul…I echo what Bron42 said. Deron has the better teammates. Paul basically played on a team that really shares two cities as a home team not to mention CP3′s rookie season, the team was coming off a Katrina tragedy in their home city. Lots of distractions. Look at the Jazz starting 5 vs the Hornets starting 5. Deron has Carlos Boozer and AK47. Paul has no one but David West and Boozer is a way better player than West.
September 14th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Mo says:
That’s right Veezie. Deron has the better teammates but Paul is the better player.
September 15th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Tega says:
CP3
Yes, Deron has the jumpshot and he’s bigger which draws comparison to J-Kidd, but that’s about it. CP3 has the speed, the courtvision, and that nasty streak that draws comparison to Isiah. If not for his injuries this summer Deron might not have been on the USA squad. Lets not forget that Deron is playing in the Stockton system, if not for that he would never touch CP3 in assists. CP3 is just as schizophrenic as Magic, Kidd and Nash they all see things that no one else does until it turns into an assist. CP3 is a future PointGod Deron isn’t.
September 16th, 2007 at 4:24 am
Amar says:
the “stockton” system is bullcrap. when stock was racking up assists they would run isolations and then pick and roll with karl. now they run (as of last season) a 2 PG set (deron and derek fisher) and had guys like Andrei handling the ball and making slick passes to boozer for dunks. they run the flex offense right now, which isn’t as singularly dominating as NO ‘give paul the ball’ system.
deron has better team mates than paul, and isn’t credited for making them better? deron was the last piece of that boozer/memo/ak starting line, before him they never went to the playoffs, but with him they have.
paul gets credit for racking up stats with shiitty team mates, but deron doesn’t get points for racking up similar stats with better ones, in a more restraining system?
all things being equal, everyone is going to still love paul, until his next injury, and next one, and so on. terrell brandon with a more media friendly face.