Quick says look for a trade on draft night for a center

This thread got depressing really quick

 

(that was my quick reply)

 

DeAndre Jordan would be nice but my first choice would be Marcin Gortat.

 

Just cant see anything worthwhile going after this off-season.
No to Jordan, No to Gortat, No to R Lopez, No to Varajeo.

As unexciting as it is - I feel the best move for Olshey is to not tie up money long term on a so-so player/signing.

By signing some stop gap measures (Dalembert/Mozgov type player or Rookie big), and letting the young guys develop some more we'll have more $'s to commit to a roll of the dice on the 2014-15 free agent crop.
Only other option is to shop Aldridge?

 

With the Kobe injury what C's may be available just got more interesting IMO. I'm most interested in the ramifications this opens for C's being available as IMO Dwight is now 90% gone from Laker Land and teams like HOU especially and LA Clips as well could be in the hunt, making C's like Asik and Jordan available for capspace and maybe Leonard or pick.

 

Asik IS one guy I'd like to see in a Blazer uni.
The guys a tough player.

 

What about Josh Smith? He'd be pretty expensive and it would be another year of playing a guy out of position, but he brings the defense and shot blocking we're after, is big and strong enough to play most centers, and would qualify as a "big splash" kind of acquisition. Plus, he and LMA are both versatile enough to create a lot of combinations. S&T with Atlanta for our pick (and something else?), since it sounds like they may lose Smith for nothing?

 

Dude your saying no to good centers when it's been a chore that the Blazers find a good center in the past. Not to mention there really aren't that many great centers anyway in the league.

 

I really like Gorgui Dieng and believe he's ready to play now, his D and shot blocking are already NBA starting level IMO, offense is raw but he has some tools and is a very good passer. IMO he's way beyond Leonard in being able to step in and contribute right away. He's smart, not a knucklehood like some of these other Nba C's we are talking about, and he's cheap and will be on a rookie contract.

 

Perhaps the Blazers could petition the NBA to allow Dieng to play on the defensive half of the court, and then he tags Leonard, who plays on the offensive half. Kind of like the old Iowa Girls' Basketball rules.

 

Here are the NBA centers that would help the Blazers (irrespective of any chance of acquiring them):

Marc Gasol (Best Center in the League)
Joakim Noah (I would LOVE Noah, even if he seems a bit fragile. I still believe that we would have drafted him if we hadn't "won" the lottery the Oden draft)
Dwight Howard (duh. Although I would be opposed even if there was a chance of getting him, because he's a dick. And there isn't. Did you know he was only 14th in PER for Cs?)
Roy Hibbert (sigh. So close but so far.)
Tyson Chandler (but - old)
Anderson Verajao (keeps getting better [4th in PER for Cs] - but then gets injured for the season. But not as brittle as...)
Andrew Bogut (makes Bynum look like an iron man, but when healthy is good on O and D)
Larry Sanders (undersized, but a Ben Wallace type. No way Milwaukee lets him go.)
Al Horford (doesn't excite me but he is a good player.)
Andre Drummond (the one player we might regret taking Lillard over. Believe it or not, he's second in the league for PER for Cs, behind only
Brook Lopez (has improved beyond measure. Still not great on D, but has the highest PER for Cs in the league)
Omer Asik (have lobbied for him before - inept on O, amazing on D)
Derrick Favors (about to blow up - or not, as Amir Johnson never did)
Tiago Splitter

Of all of those, most are unavailable because (duh) it's hard to get good Cs, so teams hang on to them. Very faint possibilities:
Joakim Noah (if Rose retires. But only if the team also takes Boozer)
Hibbert (if Indy's owner gets scared by the luxury tax and only looks at boxscores and doesn't listen to his coach)
Verajao (because his legs have finally fallen off)
Bogut (ditto)
Horford (Atlanta loses Josh Smith and realizes that since nobody goes to the games they might as well be like the old Clippers)
Asik (see here)

Gambles/Reaches/stopgaps
Ian Mahinmi
Timofey Mozgov
Amir Johnson

 

Forgot Brandan Wright. I actually think he would be good and available. But he's not really a C.

 

LOL

 

I like Robin Lopez. I can't stand certain aspects of DeAndre Jordan's game. Whoever it is, it needs to be for a short contract until Leonard is ready.

 

His FT shooting is bad enough to make his contract ridiculously overpriced. It's not like he's Dwight Howard...

 

Who's to say he will ever be ready?

The front office doesn't seem particularly convinced he will be ready anytime soon since they re talking about dealing for an impact center (see not a 1-2 ear rental)

 

If Pat Riley ain't tried at least something similar, then it's not plausible/possible.

 

Maybe the Blazers could go after a stop gap player, like Dalembert. Pay him 5 mil, Maynor 3, and have enough money to get another bench player.

 

Robin Lopez is meh. No thanks. He's a bad rebounder just like his brother, but he doesn't have near the same offensive game. That would be a pointless acquisition.

Neil needs to get creative as this team desperately needs an answer at center going forward.

 

Dalembert is a good choice if we want a stop gap.