I would have to agree with you on this one. We all like Camby but this year is pretty much it for him in terms of major minutes. He has looked good the last two games, but I can't see him holding up all season. I would be surprised if he gets a full MLE next year.
Thats the gamble, when did you or the Blazers think his production and/or minutes will fall off???? And not that Im counting on it but if Oden did come back and cut down on those minutes I wonder how that would impact that decision.
Every free agent signing or trade acquisition is a gamble ... but IMO, Asik turning into a starting caliber center who can play next to LaMarcus is a lot more likely than Camby holding up for even another year.
I can Asik getting much better for sure but I would have to disagree that Camby will drastically fall off next year. Thats too much for me see happening. Decline yes, but not significant enough to be worse that Asik next year. And I wouldnt really want or expect Camby to give us more that 2 more years.
Camby had the highest TRB% of his career last season - one of the highest in NBA history, higher than Kevin Love's "historic" season. But, he didn't play enough during the regular season to qualify as the league leader. And, that's the problem with Camby. When he's on the court, he's one of the best rebounders in the league - STILL. The problem is keeping him on the court. And just a little trivia: the last four times Camby has played in the play-offs, he has been the post season leader in TRB%. The Blazers desparately NEED rebounding from the center position. Camby, even at his advanced age, is still one of the best rebounders in the league. BNM
What BNM points out is my main point with Camby, it's not his ability that I expect to see decline dramatically ... it's his availability
Ok, just out of curiosity would rather have say 2/3 or even 1/2 a season of Camby next year or a whole season of Asik?
The Bulls have taken away both of the Euro players I covet: Omer Asik and Mirotic (who just won Euroleague MVP for the month at the age of _20_).
I am really curious about this Freeland Cat. I've been reading on him from you posters for over 4 years. I haven't seen a minute of his action. I'm no stat geek, so I don't rate my love for a player on it. What makes this guy so special? I really don't know.
So I have not seen a ton, but I have watched a couple games. Here is my thought. High bball IQ. He has not been playing very long so I was not expecting much more than raw abilities, but he seemed to naturally place himself in good position for rebounds. Also, he goes back up quick. So for example, in one of the games he shot the ball, missed, rebounded his own shot and tossed it up again, and was jumping for the rebound again and was still in position to get the rebound, but the ball went through the hoop. I was not really impressed by him on offense, but on D and rebounding, he seemed to rotate very well, anticipate ball bounces, and body up well. He seems a little weak for Center, especially upper body, but hopefully that could still develop. I am not saying that he will be a top PF/C in the league, but I think he certainly has the ability to help an NBA squad and possibly be a starter one day. IQ and work ethic can pay big dividends in the NBA, especially with bigs.
According to Draft Express, Joel has a 6'10" wingspan and is 6'11" in shoes. So he's not a condor, but he's not Kevin Willis either...
If we can bring him over for cheap I'd love to have him on the end of the bench, he'd be a much better prospect then Chris Johnson. But I'm not giving him any sort of an MLE contract and I'm definetely not building the team around having him as our starting center or best big man off the bench. Those euro prospects are flops more often then studs, so I'd assume he doesn't contribute much more then a replacement player until he proves otherwise. Rudy accomplished 10x what Freeland has and he didn't amount to squat. Finding a Gasol who transfers their elite play over to the NBA is the exception not the norm.
Freeland gets in some highlights from today's Unicaja game--including getting pissed off at a guy (Hervelle - he gives off a real asshole vibe) to the extent that he pushes him to the floor: [video]http://acbtv.acb.com/video/4475-lacb-20112012-liga_regular-14-122-unicaja_compra_los_billetes_para_la_copa[/video]
I like the rout we took with Freeland. He's only 24 and has developed and improved every year he was in the ACB. He has fundamentals that Oden can only dream of.
Two working knees? I kid, I kid. I've watched four or five Unicaja games this season. I like Freeland but he doesn't strike me as an NBA center. What's Portland's cap situation look like next season? The Blazers aren't going to be able to sign Asik unless they can clear some space. I think Asik definitely can be had though because the Bulls aren't going to be able to match his contract without destroying their cap situation-- some team is going to offer Asik around 8-10 million per year.
Finding someone at center for next year will be the most pressing need this upcoming summer. Unless we can somehow find our way near the top of the draft to get Drummond, we have to look at some really old dudes like Camby, Duncan, KG, etc. Freakin Oden, ugh. Messing up our whole plan.
