Point Guard by Committee?

If the Celtics do sign Dan Dickau, they will have 5 point guards under contract. Apparently this is the veteran point guard that we were looking for all summer. Of course he's only slightly more veteran than Marcus Banks and has been tossed around the league like a hot potato. Still, Dickau had some great success running the point for New Orleans last year. The Hornets, however, drafted Chris Paul and even with a rookie point guard, didn't feel the need to keep Dan around.

Dickau can score and he can pass, as evidenced by his 12.5 points and 4.9 assists averages from last year. His PER was 14.87 for those scoring at home. He became a fan favorite down in Mardi Gras Land and gave that team a spark when it didn't have much to play for. Still, from everything that I've read, the floor slants very much towards the offensive side for him. I think it was Kenny Smith on draft night that said "he couldn't guard this chair!" He's also not much of an athlete and lacks quickness (might be why he struggles defensively).

If this were football, we'd be all set with an offensive PG in Dickau and a defensive one in Banks. However, with the exception of late game substitutions, it doesn't really work that way in basketball. We'll see if Delonte West can take the best of both worlds and beat them both out in camp. However, he is still young himself and has virtually no experience running a team. Even the best young point guards take a year or two just to get accustomed to the position.

Throw in the two rookies Greene and Bynum, and you've got yourself a deep position. Or is the word "crowded?" Its difficult to know why we signed both of these guys unless Danny has something else up his sleeve.

For one thing, the roster is getting very crowded now. The max you can have on the roster is 15. You can put 2 players in the D-League, but they still count against your roster number. If you count Borchardt and Woods on the roster and add in the recently signed Gomes, Bynum, and (potentially) Dickau. That balloons the roster to 18. It sounds more and more like there is going to be a trade of multiple players going out of town.

If there are no trades, you would have to cut three players just to get to the roster minimum. I'm not sure when you have to do that, and it could all play out in training camp. If that was the case, the most likely candidates are Woods, Borchardt, and Bynum. But why sign Bynum just to cut him? I'd prefer to keep Borchardt too.

GMs around the league say that Ainge is willing to part with Banks to dump a contract like Blount's. If that were the case, and he can't get a point guard back in the deal, then it would make sense to sign Greene and Bynum and let them shore up the position behind Dickau and West. It seems less likely, but there is the chance that Ainge has something even bigger up his sleeve too. We'll just have to wait and see.

In case you were wondering, here is how the lineup looks to me as of now:

1 - Dickau, West, Banks, Greene, Bynum
2 - Davis, Allen, Green
3 - Pierce, Reed, Gomes, (Woods)
4 - Jefferson, Scalabrine
5 - LaFrentz, Perkins, Blount, Borchardt

Also, here is an old article on Dickau that I found on a Google search.