...any idea who the likely candidates might be? I was listening to Jaynes/Maxey this afternoon and they indicated that the MLE might be the direction the Blazers go in regards to acquiring, either, a starting or backup a PG. Thoughts?
My thoughts are who is out there as a free agent that is actually worth the MLE? Miller and Sessions would certainly be "worth" that kind of money, but I get the feeling KP has very little interest in signing either player. My guess is we'll see him throw a veteran's minimum type contract at Brevin Knight or Bobby Jackson (just as examples) as a third point guard/emergency insurance player to play behind Blake and Bayless. Besides, we don't really have a mid-level exception per se; if KP wants to retain his cap space going into the trade deadline he'll have to renounce all of his exceptions. Spending 5.8 million per year on a player would just cut into our cap figure leaving us with about 2+ million to spare.
Good points. I've always loved Bobby Jackson since his hay-day years in Sacto. Although, he's probably a bit long in the tooth for my tastes these days.
I actually wouldn't mind getting Bobby Jackson as a third-string PG. He's obviously not the same player but I think he'd be a nice addition to that role that we need, and he can shoot the 3 ball.
"If the Blazers decide to go on the cheap regarding a PG, who might the front-runners be?" (Note: I also read the Blazers are discussing a potential sign & trade involving Andre Miller and the Sixers.)
Blake and Bayless. I think that if the Blazers decide not to invest much money/talent-via-trade in the position, they'll stick with Blake as the starter and Bayless as the backup. They may sign some fringe NBA player just to fill out point guard depth, but that will be a Pooh Jeter type who won't get significant minutes.
I like the idea of a veteran such as Brevin Knight as our 3rd PG. Mostly just insurance in case of injury or if Bayless has a funk. I don't see an MLE level signing helping at all, that would be a very bad use of our cap space. We should be grabbing a PG vet around the minimum or using cap room to target an asset(s) with more value. I'd rather just hold out for draft picks at the trade deadline.
I'd throw the vet minimum at an old veteran like Andre Miller in a few weeks and see what happens. Why pay MLE money when you don't have it or don't need to spend it?
I agree with the posters above. At this junction in the off-season, the big money is on a vet minimum contract to an old point guard who can provide spot minutes and maybe even mentor Bayless a little bit (I shudder thinking about the possibility of Blake's game rubbing off on Jerryd). Sign a vet backup PF, extend LMA & Roy, sign Pendergraph and Cunningham, and call it an offseason. After this wild emotional ride, I'd be happy to get to next season with our stars intact and some vets for insurance.
Like his ability to shoot, take care of the ball, not commit stupid fouls, and being effective without having the ball in his hands?
LMAO. Dude, Andre Miller isn't going to sign anywhere for the vet minimum. You're crazy to even suggest it. At the lowest, he'll get the MLE.
Ha. As soon as I wrote that I knew someone would inevitably step in and defend Blake's strengths. Yes, I understand that Blake does some things better than average (shooting, being passive and not messing up, standing in the corner after dumping the ball off to LMA or Roy), but it was a semi-sarcastic yet sort-of truthful sentiment. I appreciate the fact that Blake knows his limitations and doesn't try and do too much, but he's not exactly someone you come away with impressed by his feel for the game, playmaking or creating skills, or any sort of offensive or defensive prowess.
There is something very funny to me about discussing Brevin Knight as our off season target now. What a total failure of an off season so far. Sorry, but as an organization you can't point to this summer for two tears to your fans and say this is the summer we are targeting, and then add Brevin Knight and expect any love at all. I apprecate that Hedo and Millsap both didn't work, but Brevin Knight is the best we can do?
Barring a lopsided trade between now and the start of the season? Yeah it might be the best we can expect. KP doesn't appear to have much interest in Andre Miller or Ramon Sessions, both of whom might be decent acquisitions for an MLE level deal, but Milwaukee would probably match and Dre seems to think he's worth 10 million per year. As much as it galls me to think about it, I actually would settle for Brevin Knight at the vet's minimum, just so we have at least a little bit of depth at the point guard spot in case Blake or Jerryd gets hurt. I'm not looking for home runs at this point, I'll settle for a sacrifice fly or a bunt at this point.
