Geez, the level of cynicism by some of you guys is incredible to me. Webster's on a cheap contract and he'll either prove to be a wise investment by KP or he'll be moved after he shows whether he's going to up his game. There's always going to be a place in the league for a guy like him who can shoot from distance. Whether he can get over the mental limitations he imposes on himself or not remains to be seen. As long as he wears a Blazers uniform, I'm going to be rooting for him to live up to his potential. Let what he brings next season determine where, and how much, he plays.
Webster's best shooting year from deep as a pro was .388. That would have landed him squarely in the 58th spot for qualified players this season. Blake .427 Rudy .399 Roy .377 Outlaw .377 Batum .369 Is Webster's skill set really that in demand? Hell, Channing Frye shot .333 this season. And in Webster's first two years in the league his 3pt% was worse than Batum's this season. He is on a cheap contract though.
I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder. If Webster had been our starting 3 this season, people would be as upset with him as they are at Blake....probably moreso, as Webster is even more one dimensional. On top of that, we wouldn't have discovered what a gem we have in Batum.
Really makes you wonder, doesn't it. Too bad Yega is no longer around - this is a conspiracy theory I would really like to unleash him on. It seems almost impossible to believe that anyone honestly thought Webster was a better player than *all* of those guys. He might have mis-evaluated 1 or even 2.....but all???
The way people react around here, Batum's one more poor scoring year away from many of you demanding that he be dumped as a one-dimensional defensive player.
I had to check because I didn't know Webster 317 Blake 328 Rudy 398 Travis 236 Roy 220 Batum 168 So I guess the answer is no. He shot more than Travis and Roy, but not "a lot" more...well almost 100 more than Roy I guess is a lot. He shot a lot more than Batum though. Both Blake and Rudy shot more than him, and Rudy maybe a lot more. I just don't see where his skill set is so special I guess. His shot sure is pretty though. I am also not saying he is a bad shooter by any means. But all the people we have that shoot well play his possition, and those players really aren't that much different, and in some cases they are better.
I think most of it is banking on him growing into a more complete player, not so one-dimensional. unfortuantely we didn't get to see that, but REPORTS were that his dribbles improved greatly which will translate to him putting the ball on the floor.
Instead of Paul or Williams and David Lee.....eek. We traded out of 3 because we had Telfair. That was the thought at the time. If I remember correctly there have been stories about KP screaming to anyone that would listen that we should take Paul, but was over ruled by PatterNash. I believe that is the reason he is GM today.
I think those stories were false as I remember the celebration in the "war room" when they got the Jack trade done. I believe that was more revisionist history than anything...but that is a point to be debated.
I wonder what makes Webster's contract so "cheap" - the average NBA salary is $5.3m - so he starts right there and will go up from there - but a USA Today article from last year showed that the average SF salary in the league is $3.7m - so Webster - who is a below-average SF - especially for a starter - will be paid more than that. I am certain they really thought he would have a breakout year or had a range for a specific trade target they coveted - but until proven otherwise - his salary does not seem "cheap".
Yes. I think his ceiling as a smarter player that can provide a scoring threat is there. I think he'll eventually be a pretty stable type of player that can draw out the d.
Keep in mind how Nate likes to hold back the young guys, generally. You saw it from Rudy this year, he never used his ability to create and/or to slash....he was one-dimensional. Outlaw only just this year was given more of a green light.....and not too impressed with how that went. If Webster proves this off season he has matured (mentally), proves to more coachable (big prob with his development the first 2 seasons) and comes out like he almost did this year (based on reports from training camp and pre-season)....Nate should give him the green light and we might finally get so see a more dynamic Webster. I think he has been fairly limited in the past and relageated to a 3 point specialist primarly because of Nate holding the reigns. Aside from Oden, I think Martell has the most room for improvement on the Blazers roster. And I do think he is prob the most athletic player on the team.....he has shown glimpses of it in the past that left me wondering "where did that come from and why dont we see more of it??".
Obviously, I'm not a huge supporter of Webster, but his value also includes upside. The majority of starting SF's are a lot older and near their peak. Webster at least has the potential of becoming average or above average. That makes him worth paying more. Also, I assume there are some SF's still on their rookie contracts, which further drag down the average salary. The rookie contracts are an artificial barrier to paying people their true value. Danny Granger is not being paid what he's worth if he were free to negotiate a contract. But yeah, you've got a pretty good point. Webster isn't a cut-rate bargain. Particularly if you factor in that Paul Allen paid him a year of that salary to not even suit up.
