Re: My Final Word on Hedo ? For us waiting 2 years for our cap space, to blow it on Hedo doesn't really excite me.
Re: My Final Word on Hedo This knucklehead just wants you to back up your assertions, which apparently you don't want to do.
Re: My Final Word on Hedo my only concern is the money...thats all. otherwise hes a great player and a great add to the team.
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? That's the crux, I think. He was a role-player who had a nice playoffs in that context. Unfortunately, he's being characterized as a veteran star or near-star who had a dominant playoffs and he wants to be paid that way. Ultimately, if Turk is the best Portland can do with the cap space, then it's better to sign him (since he will help) then let the cap space evaporate unused. But I'm not at all convinced that he's a better buy than other role-players (who actually are characterized as role-players) who may cost less and are younger (thus able to contribute at prime level over their entire contract length), like Ariza or Childress.
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? Is Josh Smith a star? How about Emeka Okafor? Josh Howard? Nene? Ben Gordon? Biedrins? Chris Kaman? Andrew Bynum?, Andrew Bogut? Tyson Chandler? Eddy Curry? Rashard Lewis? Samuel Dalambert? Elton Brand? Jason Richardson? Richard Jefferson? Antwan Jefferson? All these guys make more than $10m per year. Each and every one of them. Turk is a super-efficient upper-level role-player who fits a need and presents a unique set of attributes. I wish we could limit the guaranteed years to him to 3 with 2 more years being a team option (or at least, partially guaranteed) - but it is not likely we get him without it. Like it or not - $10m/per is probably the going rate for upper-level role players with the ability to put the ball on the floor and run the offense. Is he perfect? No. LeBron James is perfect for this team, so is Chris Paul or Deron Williams - but these guys are not coming and he is the best we can do with the last time we will have cap space for quite some time. Add the fact that for a super-role player this seems to be the going rate - and overall - it is not a bad choice.
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? That's not how I think of him at all. I think of Hedo as a role player - a VERY good role player, but not as star. He's never been an all-star, and hasn't really deserved to be one. He does certain things very well (hence, the role player label) and it just so happens they thing he does best is a very important thing this team lacks. He runs the pick-and-roll better than any other small forward in the league, and WAY better than anyone we have on our roster. This will be his biggest contribution. His ability to run the pick-and-roll will make Greg Oden a MUCH more effective offensive player. And, it will help the rest of the team as well. While the pick and roll starts as a two man play, it also creates easy shots for other players. If it is run correctly, Oden will often end up with a smaller player (a small forward) on him if the defense jump switches. That means a second defender, usually the power forward, will often leave his man to double the center rolling to the basket. That will mean more open shots for LaMarcus, and if the other team rotates another player (usually a guard) to cover LaMarcus, that means we'll have a wide open 3-point shooter (Rudy, Hinrich, Blake???) camped out at the 3-point line (this is why I prefer Hinrich to Miller). When the pick-and roll is run properly, it creates multiple mismatches and leads to open shots. That's why it's still such a popular play after all these decades - when done rright, it works. Hedo does it right. Besides, having "stars" at all five positions doesn't work so well. You need guys to feed the ball to those stars. Hedo isn't a great, or even very good, 1-on-1 player. He is best in a team concept, which is eaxctly what we need as a complimentary player to go with Roy, Aldridge and Oden. BNM
Re: My Final Word on Hedo Does getting nothing excite you more? The goal isn't to excite you, it's to make the team better. If Hedo is the best available option, he's a good use of the cap space. He's certainly an upgrade over our existing small forwards. So, I don't really care if he costs $10 million a year, or $1 million. We will be over the cap forever starting next summer. Paul Allen has said he'll spend what it talkes to win. So, how far we're over the cap is pretty irrelevant. It's Paul Allen's money, not mine. So, I'd rather have him overpay to upgrade the team than to do nothing as save a few million of his dollars. BNM
Re: My Final Word on Hedo Well, there is something to be said about flexibility for future moves - so the smaller the contract is, even if we are going to be over the cap anyway, the better. But, as shown above - this seems to be the going rate for big impact role-players - so overall, it is not too bad.
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? All of those players were either significantly better or significantly younger than Hedo at the time they signed their deals. Many of them are centers, who receive a premium in terms of salary. The thing is the Hedo is inferior to most players on that list even ignoring those factors at the times of of their signings. Ed O.
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? Smith, Howard, Gordon, Biedrins, Nene, Lewis and Brand are all stars or near-stars. Bynum is debatably a near-star...his on-court production has been strong, but he's missed a lot of time to injuries. The others are examples of overpaid players. So, I agree...Turkoglu wouldn't be the only overpaid role-player. Of course, my contention was never that he would be. Just that over-paying for a role-player (I don't consider him a "super role-player," as you class him) is not the best choice. It's probably a superior choice to not using the cap space at all, which I've been consistent in saying. My hope is that Pritchard can spend the money more efficiently, by acquiring an impact player (which would probably require a lopsided trade, since the free agent market is weak this year). If not, spending it somewhat inefficiently is better than not spending it at all, since the opportunity is close to one-shot.
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? If he's a key contributor to our run in the Playoffs, isn't that sufficient?
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? Sure. The question always is, can Portland can an even better contributor for the money? If not, bring on Turk!
Re: Do We Even Need TurkeyBoy? If we could, wouldn't we? Artest would be fantastic, but could his personality rub others the wrong way. Would his style of game not fit as well as we think? Would Ariza hurt the development or not have the overall team impact that Hedo does? Was NJ's cost to land Carter (a young prospect: i.e. Rudy, Batum, Jerryd) too much? I don't know these answers, but I'm confident Pritchard does.
