You’re The GM: Bradley Beal Or Dion Waiters?

In last week’s “You’re The GM,” Kemba Walker narrowly beat out Brandon Jennings. This week, our attention shifts to the two guard spot, and two players who have been in the media recently as an old feud looks to have been reopened with comments made by both players and their teammates. The two players in question are Bradley Beal and Dion Waiters, and while both absolutely feel they are the better player, which one would you rather have in your team if you had to make the choice?

Dion Waiters

For all of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ struggles these last four years, Dion Waiters has been a solid addition for the team since being drafted by them with the fourth pick in 2012. Now entering his third year, there is plenty Waiters does on the court for the benefit of his team. He’s got great range to his shooting, and averaged 15.9 points per game last season. More crucially going forward, he shot just over 36 percent from beyond the three-point line as well. Offensively there is much to like, although his ball handling skills do need some work. Still though, he can create his own shot off the dribble, an attribute every team needs to create some offense.

It only gets better too. Waiters is a capable defender, and even though he is undersized in some of his matchups, he is still an in-your-face kind of guy. He stays in front of his man really well too. He has averaged 0.9 steals in his young career so far. With him being a two-way player, although he is clearly better offensively than defensively, the future should only look brighter for this guy.

At least that’s how it should go in theory, but Waiters is in a unique situation. With LeBron James and Kevin Love on the team, he will see a lot less touches. In fact, he’ll probably be asked to be a more athletic Ray Allen type, a guy who knocks down the countless open looks he gets consistently. Waiters can play well without the ball though, and that could be huge for this team. His attitude and comments he has made to the media before leave a lot to be desired though, and he’s probably not getting invited over to Kyrie Irving‘s house regularly to hang out if various reports are to be believed.

So while Waiters’ game has been mostly consistent and clearly grown in his time in the league, he may be about to become a specialist player whose role is so much more clearly defined. While that is great for the team, it could ultimately stunt his growth as a player.

Bradley Beal

Unlike Waiters, Bradley Beal is more key to the Washington Wizards and their future. Picked one spot ahead of Waiters in the 2012 draft with the third pick, his time in the league has had similarities to his opposing shooting guard. They’re not exactly mirror images, but Beal can defend well and create his own offense. His 17.1 points per game in year two of his career are higher than Waiters’, but Beal also started all 73 games he played in. For Waiters, he only started 24 of the 70 games he suited up for.

Beal is not the most athletic guy, and he too is often times overmatched by opponents, but he is crafty. His stroke is sweet, and he still gets to the cup with a solid array of moves. It may only be a small advantage, and one that will surely change after this year, but Beal has actually been to the playoffs and won a series as well. That little bit of postseason experience is sometimes all it takes to propel a guy onto bigger things.

It’s hard not to return back to the fact it is all change in Cleveland now though. Waiters’ role on that team will surely change, he may even lose some of his minutes. But the Wizards look like they are happy to have both Beal and his running mate John Wall in the backcourt for the next half decade at least. That is a responsibility that should ensure Beal grows into a more complete player, given the extra requirements expected of him. His 3.3 assists per game last year just shades Waiters’ 3.0 per game, and it’s a number that should grow a little more as well going forward.

Here’s the fact that could really seal the deal though. His first two years in the league, in which he was 19 and 20 years old, Beal made 229 three-point shots. Do you know who else has accomplished that feat? Nobody, and that’s pretty impressive. So what’s ironic is that while the Cavaliers may need Waiters to turn into a three-point specialist, Beal would be a better player to turn into a marksman if they had him.

Verdict

Before setting out to write this, Bradley Beal was the guy I was going to go with. It was kind of close, but that fact about three-pointers made sealed the deal for me. He’s better at the one thing Waiters could have going for him in Cleveland, and also shades it in scoring and assists as well. They have similarities, although they could end this year, as Beal goes on to form produce even more for his team. Which team has the better overall backcourt will be argued night and day, but in terms of just the shooting guards, Bradley Beal has the edge. What do you think? As usual leave your comments in the space provided below. Whichever player gets the most votes wins!