Shaun Livingston is gonna get paid...

[ProfessorMurder]

Next to Joe, Shaun has been our most consistent player. He's our best driver to the hope, best wing defender, and he's been better at initiating the offense than Deron has all season.

Since becoming a permanent starter, Shaun has blossomed and is very much a reason for our recent success. I hope he stays a Net, but he's worked hard and earned his payday. I hope to see him succeed.

Joe is a very consistent 8 point per game scorer.

[wang4three]

Joe is a very consistent 8 point per game scorer.

It's relative. If you look at Livingston's box scores you'll see the same amount of inconsistency as well. They're on more than they are off, but by no means am I saying that every night we can expect the same production. But relative the rest of our guys? Yeah, they're the most consistent.

Consistency is something we will continue to struggle with through the playoffs. It's why I don't think we'll go that far.

[jbryan1984]

I loved him when he played for us. Can defend, can score, plus he towers over the other PG's.

[It's A VC3!!!]

It's relative. If you look at Livingston's box scores you'll see the same amount of inconsistency as well. They're on more than they are off, but by no means am I saying that every night we can expect the same production. But relative the rest of our guys? Yeah, they're the most consistent.

Consistency is something we will continue to struggle with through the playoffs. It's why I don't think we'll go that far.

Joe has been atrocious in the second half of the season. I'm too scared to look at the numbers. He was spectacular in January and great in the first half of the season, particularly first quarters. He has been very passive as of late. He needs to have a similar mindset as Pierce. When the game was going back and fourth in the fourth quarter vs. the Heat Pierce willingly took the reins and drove to the basket or shot a good looking shot. It's not playoff time but when it is we cannot have Joe have any 8 point games whatsoever. He needs to be at 15+ at all times. Deron too. No way that Mario should keep him from scoring double digits.

[ZHAKIDD532]

I don't mean to be a naysayer or a hater, because I'm a huge fan of Shaun (and have been since he entered the league), but the major difference between his stats this season and season's past is simply playing time.

He's a low turnover, 12, 5 and 5 guy in 36 minutes and has been his whole career. He either a) couldn't get on the floor or b) didn't get the opportunity from his team in years gone by, hence his low minutes and poor numbers. What the Nets have given him is an opportunity - I'm not sure he's really improved all that much.

Fact is, not too many teams are going to pay good money for a guy who's not an elite* defender and can't shoot 3's. He's like Tony Allen only without the lockdown defense or George Hill if George Hill's range was 13 feet.

He also has way too many games where he plays 22 minutes and has 2 points and 3 boards. He balances them out with "big" nights of 20 and 8 but he's hit and miss. Some games he looks like a spectator - chills in the corner with no one guarding him, being ignored by the other 9 players.

He's a backup PG or a spot starter, IMHO. 13-25 minutes a night. Mistake free basketball. Occasional big game. To be honest, I'm not sure the Nets are much better off with Shaun than they would have been if they'd just kept CJ Watson, who's making $2 mil with Indiana as a backup this year.

* Shaun's good but he's not All-NBA level

If you're such a big fan of his, you'd know how amazing he's been defensively this year. You'd know that the Nets are 8 points better per 100 possessions on defense when he is on the floor compared to off.

In this league where you NEED a guy who can guard quick guards, Livingston is going to be in huge demand.

[32MJ32]

Maybe if Tony Allen and George Hill were a long 6'7 instead of 6'3, and had elite passing playmaking skills and an effective post/midrange game. Thats a terrible comparison

Elite passing? Effective post/midrange? He averages like 4 assists and scores 11 points per 36 on 45% shooting. I'm not sure he's anything better than average at either of those things.

Anyway, i's not a terrible comparison - you just misinterpreted it. All 3 guys are 4th or 5th bananas who get minutes for good teams because of how good they are defensively. Those are the sort of guys Shaun will be up against on the free agent market - Hill/Allen/Sefolosha types.

Is he "gonna get paid" more than those guys given he can't shoot 3's like Hill or Sefolosha or really clamp guys like Tony Allen? That's my point. At best, he's a poor man's Iguodala - a wing guy who can defend, handle the rock and make plays, but even Iggy can hit 3's at a league average rate.

I'm not sure the market for Shaun is going to be as hot as this thread claims it will be.

[32MJ32]

If you're such a big fan of his, you'd know how amazing he's been defensively this year. You'd know that the Nets are 8 points better per 100 possessions on defense when he is on the floor compared to off.

In this league where you NEED a guy who can guard quick guards, Livingston is going to be in huge demand.

1. That says as much about the other wings/guards on Brooklyn as it does Shaun. I don't think anyone would accuse Joe Johnson or Deron of being defensive specialists

2.You also need to account for the fact that he plays most of his minutes with the starters, including KG, who's far-and-away Brooklyn's leader in defensive rating this season and historically one of the best of all-time in defensive +-

I didn't say Shaun was a bad defender, I just said he's not All-NBA level. Can you honestly see him making an All-NBA team?

And again, why would I want Shaun's good-to-great defense and zero outside shooting over a guy like Patrick Beverley's good-to-great defense and decent outside shooting?

Shaun will get another job but I'm not sure he's going to be in "huge demand" and field "$30m over 5 years" type offers.

[wang4three]

Joe has been atrocious in the second half of the season. I'm too scared to look at the numbers. He was spectacular in January and great in the first half of the season, particularly first quarters. He has been very passive as of late. He needs to have a similar mindset as Pierce. When the game was going back and fourth in the fourth quarter vs. the Heat Pierce willingly took the reins and drove to the basket or shot a good looking shot. It's not playoff time but when it is we cannot have Joe have any 8 point games whatsoever. He needs to be at 15+ at all times. Deron too. No way that Mario should keep him from scoring double digits.

He had a bad February but his March has been on par, if not better than his January numbers. In the end, this is the way the team will be, even in the playoffs. We just have to hope that one of the three: Deron, Paul, or Joe can have alternating hot quarters and streaks. We're not built for all of them to be on at the same time. It's not their game and it's not the way they play. While Joe and Deron have been playing more cohesively after almost two seasons together, they still are working on it. Add Pierce to the fold who also requires the ball to be effective, it's going to be a patient process.

In the end, we're going to have games where we struggle to score despite having good scorers. We need to just hope our defense covers up that hole like Shaun did last night.

[RedBlackAttack]

I loved him when he played for us. Can defend, can score, plus he towers over the other PG's.

Have to say, I didn't like the decision to let him go. The team made a drastic turnaround last year immediately after they picked him up. He almost single-handedly turned the bench from one of the worst in the league to above average.

I'm not surprised in the least that he has been a success with Brooklyn.