Its easy to say we should get “a good young wing” or get a such and such type of player that could be an allstar one day. But actually coming up with a name that makes sense for both teams is the problem. The teams Aldridge wants to go to don’t have young studs to trade us and the teams with young studs don’t want to give them away even if they are getting a stud all-star because he’s approaching 30. We might get the most value by just giving Aldridge the chance to walk for cap space like Miami did with Dwayne Wade. Danny Granger is probably available. He is a bit older so doesn’t make sense if you are trading away vets but if we want to win now he could be a great piece. The reason he is available is his knee injury. It’ll probably be best to wait until the trade deadline, if the Blazers are far above .500 look at acquiring a vet from a disappointing team as when we brought Gerald Wallace to town. If the Blazers are far below .500 look at trading away our vets to a surprise team that is unexpectedly on the door to contending; their previous untouchable youth might suddenly be available.
I am not advocating trading Wes, but I do think if he got hurt this season we would be OK with Batum starting at SG and Wright and Claver at SF.
I understand that, but I suspect him being a 4th quarter finisher at 2. In the meantime, you could have Batum start at SF, start Wright at SF; then have Batum move to SF for the 4th quarter.
I think OKC would love to give us a good PF (Ibaka), Indiana would give us a good wing (Grainger) and probably get a couple first rounders too for Matthews, Freeland and Aldridge. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kqrju8e
OKC makes out like bandits in that trade, and we take a huge risk on Granger. I don't think you want Granger unless you're adding him to a team WITH Aldridge. He's pretty old Mags, and injury prone.
He had a bad injury that put him down for all of last season. But looking at him before that; he was pretty solid (averaging around 72 per season). He's a great shot blocker for a SF, gets to the line, rebounds well, and defends really well. Ibaka is one of the best defensive PFs in the game right now. Both those players would immediately make us a big time defensive unit, with Batum playing 2. The length of our team would be pretty exciting. And if we were able to get 2 first rounders (one from OKC and the other from Indiana) we would be in a good position. Yes, both Indiana and OKC's first rounders will be late, but they are still first rounders.
But you make OKC damn near unstoppable with Aldridge/Durant/Westbrook. Not worth it to bring back an old and broken down Granger and Ibaka. I'd explore a trade with Toronto. DeRozan and Valanciunas plus a draft pick for Aldridge. Could try to turn around and deal Matthews and Leonard for another forward at that point.
I would hate to help Clay Bennet win a ring; but the transaction would make us fun to watch and give us enough time to develop T. Rob and Leonard. It's not like we are going to contend anytime soon. And I seriously doubt Lillard will allow us to lose many games to go into the lotto. In 2-3 years, we should be able to contend, and have a fully developed Leonard and T. Rob. Batum would be at the late 20's and eventually CJ should be enough to be that Jason Terry off the bench. It's a good move!
I agree with Nate. Granger seems broken down. And even if he is healthy I am not a fan of his shot selections.
There is no reason why Robinson can not give us the same production as what Faried gives Denver. I think they are very similar in terms of size, athletic ability, and offensive skills. If TRob brings the energy on a consistent basis, then I see no problem with the comparison.
Robinson is 2" taller, has 3" more wingspan and weights 20 lbs more. But, yes the style could be similar.
In 2-3 years, Granger will be walking with a cane - and still jacking up ill-advised jumpers. And, Ibaka is a great shot blocker, but a horrible man-to-man defender. Aldridge absolutely KILLS him and they are forced to put Perkins on him. Honestly Mags, I think this may be your worst trade idea ever. We would suck and we would hand OKC, a division rival, multiple trips to the finals and likely multiple rings. BNM
I think any moves that are mainly designed to give T-Rob enough time to develop into the starting PF would be a big mistake, IMO.
I am not convinced that Robinson is 6'10 so I was being conservative. But the bottom line is Faried's game is desired by many on this board. Even if his offensive skills are some what limited. Robinson also has limited offensive skills. But like you say his size/length is even better. I would say having Robinson turn out like Faried is not a bad worst case scenario.
Correct, and Faried was 6'6.75" and 7'0" wing. Interesting to note that neither one wore "combine" shoes--their shoes only gave them 1" of height increase, unlike some who seem to gain 1.5"-2" in their shoes on combine day.
When evaluating a player, wouldn't it be better to calculate standing reach rather than height? For example, Z-Bo is only 6'9", but he has no neck and really long arms. Of course, he doesn't use them for defense, but it allows him to get his shot off.
