The hardest part of this for me is that I'm going to have to stop calling him JoAnne now that he's in a Blazers uniform.
I think he will. He is going to help LMA develop so much. That is the most value to me. Between he and Miller, watch LMA be an All-Star this year.
I can't understand why we didn't (i'm guessing) go after a serviceable player like Joe Smith, instead. Howard is done. I doubt he'll even get the minutes Ruffin or ShavBo did last year.
I'm starting to think that may be the EXACT reason we didn't go for Joe Smith. Smith probably wouldn't be happy with that limited of minutes. While Howard may be called upon in case of injury, foul trouble or garbage minutes, I really think he has been brought in as mentor/coach for the younger guys rather than his on-court abilities.
Outlaw in my opinion is the lone man out except if Martell stinks it up and outlaw plays more with the flow of the offense.
I think Howard was the cheaper of the two (Smith), and that's probably what sealed the deal. Neither one is particularly a strong rebounder, but Howard is definitely physically the tougher player. Even at his advanced age. I like this move for Portland. He's going to contribute more than Frye did.
Does Juwan have mad blogging skillz too? Then again that was just about all Frye contributed to the team last year (ouch!)
or not. In Atlanta he'll be a part of their rotation almost for sure and might end up a starter. I'd suspect that someone as thorough as KP made inquiries about Joe, but in the end it's the player who decides to sign a contract. the couple times I watched him last season showed Juwan has lost what quickness he had. He really struggled defensively, but he's got 6 fouls a big body and he could still hit an open jumper. So like with LA and Travis they'll be able to keep the court spread with their PF outside the paint. I hope he likes clapping and doesn't complain about his minutes. One thing I do like about Portland acquiring him is that he gives the national audience another face they recognize. The Blazers should be on the cable broadcasts quite a bit this year and it helps to give the casual fan some familiarity... I bet they have him do lots of media. STOMP
For an end of the bench player, I am perfectly happy with this signing. I just hope we look to fill the last roster spot with someone with future potential. I just enjoy watching youngsters progress.
This team has plenty of those. I say fuck potential, I wanna see playoff series wins and banners being raised.
Yay. I guess. It's hard to get excited about someone that is as spent as Juwan. But who knows, maybe he has a suprise or two for us.