Mixum's take on "rebuilding"

Its too long for a single post so I thought id share my thoughts on this topic. Some seem for it and some against it. Rebuilding takes 5-6 years in the NBA with luck. This fan base will not wait that long. Lets be real here. Heres how i break it down.

The problem with us rebuilding is even if we were winning, we would still need to replace guys like Camby, Pryz Miller and build around Roy, LA, Wes, Batum. Those guys like Camby, Pryz, and miller are just rentals. However, assuming there is at least a little of a season next year... you can still use miller and camby if you cant find better in the meantime. Not to mention, should we resign Greg. Then judgements can be made if in fact he can start. Then you need a backup center.

"Blowing it up" typically means trading your BEST players in order to start over everywhere. Look at Denver. They are about to trade Carmelo, Billups and Harrington. Thats blowing it up. In our case we really cant just blow it up because of the contacts with Roy, WES, and LA. All you can do is put players around them and hope roy plays even decently. That judgement will also be on hold till roy returns and we get a look to answer that question. If they can trade for a PG... our roster sets up nicely assuming Greg comes back and Roy is even half way decent. The other option is m0ving LA to center and finding a PF while Greg goes bye bye. Then theres the issue of not being able to sign a big free agent. With not much cap, we couldnt even bring in garbage players like Tolliver!

The situation here is unique. Its a roster that could win games with the right moves yet not good enough to win it all. Even if you make the lottery, its a likely 9-12 pick which wont help in this god awful draft. Unless you win the lotto it doesnt really help. It reminds me of how the bulls were years ago before rose. Everyone loved that young team with Gordon, Dang, Heinrich. They signed Wallace and they started to suck. They got lucky to win the draft and get Rose. Thats really our only hope at this point of winning a title anytime soon is if we do miss the playoffs (and im assuming thats a given with camby hurt) then thats our only hope. The talent in college isnt there anymore like it was when you could draft a Noah at 10. Now its top 3 or 5 picks that matter.

So in closing i really cant see how this team gets blown up when you have those 4 guys DEF coming back and in need of a center, pg, and reserve players. The blazers almost have to stay the course of this team as is while trying to make moves when they arise for Camby, Miller, Pryz. But again you have to somehow replace them and thats the tricky part. Chos job is insane right now. I think the only way he can do it is a 3 for 2 type deal or 2-1. Hes gonna have to use those draft picks and include an expiring contract. Find a way to bring a Devin Harris type player without giving up Batum. IDeally and i always go back to this... the blazers should have found a way to to trade for Collison. I dont think hes elite but hes exactly what we need, a guard who can shoot and score easily. That was a monster mistake. At this point I dont see how they cant trade for randolph. It almost makes too much sense.

 

OK.

 

so you would rather have 6 patty mills, aarmon johnsons in your lineup and bench rather then make adjustments around guys who are gonna be here regardless?

nice job mod.

 

You need to read between the lines ... or line.

 

Don't be stupid. We all wish for Luther Head or two.

 

Listen if we can get some youth like mayo... That's fine. But realistically nobody is giving us good young talent for miller, pryz, and camby. Our draft picks will get us more.

 

And nik... You have no plan or real solution. So u run and hide with sarcasm. That all of us know well.

 

And your plan is to say we should stay the course, until we do, and something bad happens, at which time you will say it was obvious we should have done the opposite all along, and flip flop again.

 

My plan would be go after guys like Harris, Mayo, Wallace, Felton, Blatche and whoever else could fill holes. But I also wouldnt trade for garbage or Luther heads

 

I think the goal at this point has to be just to improve the team. The step after that, is to be among the 4-5 teams with a legit shot at a ring.

Let's face it, the odds-on favorites to win the title the next three years, maybe longer, is the Miami Heat. Everyone else is fighting to be the next best team.

So how much better do the Blazers have to get?

The main thing is that the Blazers aren't on the cusp of a championship thanks to injuries to Oden and Roy, so they don't need three veterans like Miller, Camby and Przybilla, for that. But the team shouldn't get rid of all of them, because the team would lack leaders, otherwise, and a young team without leadership is the Sacramento Kings. No thanks.

 

That's like Green Eggs and Hamlet, the story of a young prince of Denmark who goes mad, drowns his girlfriend, and in his remorse, forces spoiled breakfast on all whom he meets

 

For the love of God, only Ricky Henderson is allowed to refer to himself in the third person - "Ricky is happy that Ricky stole three bases today. Ricky also got an RBI. Ricky's damned happy 'bout dat too!"

Don't even try to put yourself in the same league as Ricky. Mix in a "My" or "I" or some other first person verbage now and again.

 

So you're in the add talent while giving up nothing group? No shit. We'd all like to add talent and trade nobody. Great plan.

 

I hated that story.

Man its amazing how some don't get it! Rebuilding is trading la and batum! Like Chad ford mocked... you can't rebuild yet keep your best players! Doesnt work. It's called retooling the roster. The rebuilders want to get rid of vets for nothing not realizing how bad we will be for years!

 

Thanks for the compliment. I try.

as for having 6 armons or 6 Mills, why is that you assume we will only draft second round scrubs? I mean there's a risk we get scrubs in the draft, but I think it's a little disingenious to suggest that ANY player we acquire via the draft is destined to be a bust or a marginal player at best.

Are the Blazers going to trade for a superstar? I would say the odds are against it given their current trade assets. Are they likely to draft a superstar in the draft if they somehow acquire multiple firsts and then move up to the top ten of the draft? Maybe, maybe not, but the odds are better than trying to trade for Devin Harris, Mayo or some other slightly above average current NBA player and hoping that they will carry you to the promised land.

To say it can only be one way or another misses the point that roster building usually requires a mix of trades and draft day luck and there's no magical forumla; facts are, this team needs an overhaul and/or an infusion of talent at a number of spots and that's going to be easier (and cheaper) to do via the draft versus trading for higher salaried players while we're capped out with Roy on the books.

If your goal is to be merely "respectable" and gut it out for the 8th seed for the next 3 or 4 years but constantly draft at around 17th-20th then this is going to probably turn into a treadmill team with little or no prospects for acquiring a true star or two, which any team with championship dreams needs.

 

Paul Gasol trade? Um Jefferson trade? Happens a lot! It's having a clever gm. With the new CBA coming owners will love expiring deals.

 

Jesus you get caught up in semantics sometimes. Who care what you call it. Most people are talking about trading Camby, Miller and Pryzbilla and trying to get younger assets ... whether those are players or picks. No one is saying jettison Aldridge or Batum.