Obviously my conclusion is that I think they will be worse, not better. Did it occur to you that the correct logic is to play players at their natural position to get the best production. Maybe playing Fes or Okur with AJ, so AJ can play PF makes more sense than taking Deron out of his natural position. Maybe playing Hayward ahead of Bell is better as Hayward is naturally a SG and Bell...well Bell sucks. So far Sloan has insisted on playing certain players in spots other than their natural position. Almost every time AK plays at PF he excels. That is his most natural position. As it is we are already playing people out of their natural spot so taking another out of his won't make us better. It is making a bad move to fix other bad moves and that is bad logic to begin with.
That isn't to say that, depending on matchups, injury, and even to show a different look at times, it isn't a good idea to play Deron at the 2 or AK at SF or play AJ and Sap together, but so far playing them there EVERY GAME hasn't worked very well.
What has occurred to me is that if you want about 50 wins and a first/second round playoff exit,playing Deron at PG and Raja 30 minutes will almost certainly get you that outcome in some fashion. Maybe.
Have you given the thought that Williams might be just as good a two guard as a point guard? I believe he is a better basketball player than a point guard. Your argument fails the logic test because a player can play out of position, be somewhat less than stellar in playing out of position and still be the best alternative for the team. The coaching staff clearly thinks that playing AK at the 3 over the last few years with Boozer being the better alternative. Likewise with Jefferson. An out of position Jefferson is much better than 48 minutes of Fess and Elson.
A few things should be crystal clear to the casual observer.
1. Any adjustment made should immediately address the Raja Bell debacle. Playing 4 of 5 at this point is an option.
2. The team is much more explosive, given its current make up with a high tempo, fast break, semi fast break, half court last resort progression. Despite the stereotype, this the way Jerry would like to play and is much closer to the Early, Stockton/Malone days:
AK is a legit, top tier 3 in the league playing this way
CJ is much more comfortable and effective
Milsap is much more effective using his speed and quickness over 94 feet.
ALL THREE ABOVE struggle in a stagnant half-court situation watching Williams trot the ball up the court. Millsap struggles with size when playing in the half-court. CJ gets stuck with the ball and forces bad shots. AK, well we know the story of him hanging out on the perimeter as an after thought.
Watson is a starting PG in the league, not super great, but he does two things very well..defend and push the ball up the court. He is a natural, born to be pg in the open court with excellent transition passing skills. Williams in the open court that doesn't result in his own shot is mediocre. Furthermore, he hates to do it. It is not in his nature. Watson is being horrifically under utilized.
Williams at the two is no different than Joe Dumars, Ainge, Hornacek, Andrew Toney, etc. There are tons of examples from history. He has all the skills as those players. Perhaps not quite the shooter, but with screens being set, shots in secondary transition, and with his ability to penetrate from the perimeter, finish, and/or drive and dish, he would be lethal as the primary half-court option. His shots and touches would not go down significantly if at all. Watson does not dominate the ball. He is a real pg. He pushes the ball, sets it up quickly if not in transition, and get the hell out of the way. He doesn't have to make every single play.
Up until the not always great evolution of the primary pg, the league and the game was dominated by two guard sets. This is not new.
