Cleveland Cavaliers: Where Darius Garland ranks against other starting PGs
30. Ish Smith – Washington Wizards
The Washington Wizards could be in for a long season and they had some unfortunate luck last season when their franchise point guard John Wall ruptured his Achillies. He’s likely going to miss the entire season.
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While the Wizards signed Isaiah Thomas, who could be the opening night starter, with his recent play, Ish Smith will likely take over the starting point guard play sooner rather than later. Thomas, despite an incredible season with the Boston Celtics a few years ago, has been hit by the injury bug and hasn’t been himself since.
Smith has been a career backup but has started when the starting point guards have gone down with an injury. Per Basketball-Reference he has career per-game averages of 7.4 points and 3.8 assists.
29. Tomas Satoransky – Chicago Bulls
This is a tough one to call. The Bulls went out and signed Tomas Satoransky to a three-year, $30 million deal so he will get the starting point guard position because of the investment.
The Bulls do employ Kris Dunn, who was solid last season but isn’t likely in their future plans.
They also used the seventh pick in the 2019 NBA Draft on University of North Carolina point guard Coby White. White is the future of the point guard position in Chicago and could take over the starting duties after the all-star break if the Bulls are out of contention.
Satoransky has some experience as a starter with the Wizards due to a few injuries to John Wall. While he is a solid player, Satoransky may be better suited for coming off of the bench.
Per Basketball-Reference, Satoransky carries per game averages of 6.6 points, 3.7 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game for his career.
28. D.J. Augustin – Orlando Magic
D.J. Augustin had a career year last season in Orlando. Per Basketball-Reference he averaged 11.7 points, 5.3 assists, and hit 42.1% of his three-point attempts.
The fact that that was a career year for Augustin is exactly why he is ranked where he is. He is a 31-year old journeyman point guard who will likely not be able to duplicate those average numbers again.
The Magic employ Markelle Fultz still, while he should be their starting point guard, they are a fringe playoff team (eighth seed last year) and Augustin, at this point, is the better player.
For his career, per Basketball-Reference, Augustin has per-game averages of 9.8 points and 4.0 assists per game.