PJ Dozier to the wolves

[Monster]

I just looked him up again on BB reference. I still can't get excited about PJ Dozier. No idea why they jumped on him. But I will reserve final judgment until after I see how he looks in preseason.

On the surface, it just seems like a Shake Milton signing. Cheap, veteran guy. If he's bad, his salary slot can be more easily packaged out for something else. But I just don't see him getting any minutes on our team, so hopefully he looks good in street clothes.

Carlos it's pretty simple. The reason to get excited (ok that's too strong of a word lol) about Dozier is if his defense is as legit as it has been suggested from a few sources back when he played for Denver. If he is only just a little above average defensively instead of something nearing elite then yeah he really looks like a camp invite at best.

[Lipoli390]

I just looked him up again on BB reference. I still can't get excited about PJ Dozier. No idea why they jumped on him. But I will reserve final judgment until after I see how he looks in preseason.

On the surface, it just seems like a Shake Milton signing. Cheap, veteran guy. If he's bad, his salary slot can be more easily packaged out for something else. But I just don't see him getting any minutes on our team, so hopefully he looks good in street clothes.

Carlos it's pretty simple. The reason to get excited (ok that's too strong of a word lol) about Dozier is if his defense is as legit as it has been suggested from a few sources back when he played for Denver. If he is only just a little above average defensively instead of something nearing elite then yeah he really looks like a camp invite at best.

That’s a good way to look at it, Monster.

[Q-is-here]

I forget if I posted this previously...here are PJ Dozier's per 36 stats with the Iowa Wolves from the '22-23 G-league season.

Pts - 21.2
Rebs - 7.9
Assts - 4.0
Stls - 1.6
Blks - .9
TOV - 2.5
FG% - 45%
3PT % - 36.5%
FT% - 68.6%
TS% - 59%

In international play last year, his scoring and rebounding rate was lower than in Iowa, but his assists and steals rate were higher. He struggled from 3, hitting only 30%. His FG% was good at 49.6%.

He's a solid player. He's not great or terrible at anything. He's like what Wendell Moore Jr. would look like if he had actually worked out - a solid wing that can be a secondary ball handler, play good defense, and can get his own offense from time to time.

[Carlos Danger]

I just looked him up again on BB reference. I still can't get excited about PJ Dozier. No idea why they jumped on him. But I will reserve final judgment until after I see how he looks in preseason.

On the surface, it just seems like a Shake Milton signing. Cheap, veteran guy. If he's bad, his salary slot can be more easily packaged out for something else. But I just don't see him getting any minutes on our team, so hopefully he looks good in street clothes.

Carlos it's pretty simple. The reason to get excited (ok that's too strong of a word lol) about Dozier is if his defense is as legit as it has been suggested from a few sources back when he played for Denver. If he is only just a little above average defensively instead of something nearing elite then yeah he really looks like a camp invite at best.

Fair enough Monster. But my thought was we have enough defense first guys already - notably NAW, Rudy and McDaniels. Also, we are adding TSJ and Jaylen Clark to this year's squad - both of which are supposed to be defensive guys. I'm just of the opinion that if we added a cheap vet - grab a shooter. I liked the Ingles signing for that reason but still think we could use more shooters for the second unit (especially with what I'm seeing out of Dilly so far in SL).

[Lipoli390]

I just looked him up again on BB reference. I still can't get excited about PJ Dozier. No idea why they jumped on him. But I will reserve final judgment until after I see how he looks in preseason.

On the surface, it just seems like a Shake Milton signing. Cheap, veteran guy. If he's bad, his salary slot can be more easily packaged out for something else. But I just don't see him getting any minutes on our team, so hopefully he looks good in street clothes.

Carlos it's pretty simple. The reason to get excited (ok that's too strong of a word lol) about Dozier is if his defense is as legit as it has been suggested from a few sources back when he played for Denver. If he is only just a little above average defensively instead of something nearing elite then yeah he really looks like a camp invite at best.

Fair enough Monster. But my thought was we have enough defense first guys already - notably NAW, Rudy and McDaniels. Also, we are adding TSJ and Jaylen Clark to this year's squad - both of which are supposed to be defensive guys. I'm just of the opinion that if we added a cheap vet - grab a shooter. I liked the Ingles signing for that reason but still think we could use more shooters for the second unit (especially with what I'm seeing out of Dilly so far in SL).

I think you’re both right. If Dozier turns out to be an elite defender, the signing will be a plus by providing defensive depth. We still don’t know how good TSJ or Clark will be. It looks like they might be good or even elite defenders eventually and even as early as this coming season. But they’re both untested against NBA caliber competition. So right now, NAW is our sure only defensive stalwart off the bench. That’s Monster’s right that the Dozier signing is good if Dozier turns out to be a really good defender. The fact that his contract isn’t guaranteed until Jan. 20 aligns well with the potential development of our two young potentially elite defenders in TSJ and Clark. If either or both comes through, the Wolves can let Dozier walk without future financial consequences.

[Monster]

Carlos it's pretty simple. The reason to get excited (ok that's too strong of a word lol) about Dozier is if his defense is as legit as it has been suggested from a few sources back when he played for Denver. If he is only just a little above average defensively instead of something nearing elite then yeah he really looks like a camp invite at best.

Fair enough Monster. But my thought was we have enough defense first guys already - notably NAW, Rudy and McDaniels. Also, we are adding TSJ and Jaylen Clark to this year's squad - both of which are supposed to be defensive guys. I'm just of the opinion that if we added a cheap vet - grab a shooter. I liked the Ingles signing for that reason but still think we could use more shooters for the second unit (especially with what I'm seeing out of Dilly so far in SL).

I think you’re both right. If Dozier turns out to be an elite defender, the signing will be a plus by providing defensive depth. We still don’t know how good TSJ or Clark will be. It looks like they might be good or even elite defenders eventually and even as early as this coming season. But they’re both untested against NBA caliber competition. So right now, NAW is our sure only defensive stalwart off the bench. That’s Monster’s right that the Dozier signing is good if Dozier turns out to be a really good defender. The fact that his contract isn’t guaranteed until Jan. 20 aligns well with the potential development of our two young potentially elite defenders in TSJ and Clark. If either or both comes through, the Wolves can let Dozier walk without future financial consequences.

The Wolves lost defense this off-season losing one of their best defenders in Kyle Anderson. It's worth saying that most people on this board including myself didn't know how good his defense was till after he signed. I dug into his defense after the Anderson signing and found out he was actually pretty good. I feel pretty confident from what I have read in the past Dozier can play D as well. The Wolves likely downgraded their defense with a rookie lightweight in Dilly although it's not like Milton was very good on that end when he played. McLaughlin and Morris were at least solid though. The Wolves drafted and are planning to give Dilly minutes because he can shoot and score. Are we going to trust the 45% he shot from 3 in college more than 3 summer league games? I think that's a reasonable thing to do. Dozier gives them a guy that can backup at least 3 spots and IF he can give NAW like backup PG duties you have a massive PG defender like NAW and that's pretty valuable.

Let's revisit the depth of this year's roster compared to last. The player who will not be named going into last season should have been some sort of deep depth option MAYBE even as a NAW like PG. It seemed to me at some point last year Nix was ahead of him. Now he is gone. Clark was unavailable to play. Dozier is a more likely guy to help the Wolves at any spot than either of those 2 guys last season.

Again is Dozier some sort of awesome signing? No but there have been times over the years where guys like Dozier end up being pretty valuable. Last year one of the things the Wolves could have used later in the season was another wing defender since they didn't have Brown anymore. Sure the Wolves may have Clark and TSJ but they are still rookies. Dozier has played in the playoffs. It would be nice to have a guy like that where you say go defend for 2 minutes or 5 minutes or 10 or 15 minutes a game and he can probably at least do that. If you are worried about Dilly's shooting I'm not sure why you are so willing to believe in the defense of TSJ or Clark as rookies and one coming off a major injury and hasn't played any games for a year.

As for 3 point shooting I'll add that let's remember that Jordan McLaughlin's previous 2 seasons before last year he shot just over 30% from 3. J-Mac takes more of his 3's from the corners where he has been good and Dozier takes fewer from that area of the court and doesn't shoot well from there. That means he shoots the ball better above the break. I tend to think that's more valuable than a guy that can shoot in the corners especially if they are playing as a guard and Dozier is probably a guy you would want back in transition defense.

The bottom line is that if you are signing guys for vet min or in this case a partially guaranteed deal...you aren't getting a guy that can do everything unless you are really lucky. I'm basically saying he is a low ceiling high floor guy (kinda like Troy Brown Jr last year but less certain) but that's not always a bad thing. He can do one thing (defense) well and chip in with some other solid skills but yeah he probably won't shoot that well from 3 or be a scorer. That's fine because we all agree hopefully he simply isn't playing much.