Well, stretch 4s and 5s are part of the "efficiency revolution." I'm talking about big men who can shoot three-pointers. When NBA types say that "shots in the paint" are efficient, they generally don't mean low-post opportunities, more driving to the hoop, backdoor cuts, etc. But very few GMs take that to the extreme. If you have an elite midrange shooter, almost any NBA team will have him shoot midrange jumpers...because that's efficient for him. Even Daryl Morrey, the poster boy for NBA efficiency theory, has said that.
Yeah, but I think that only strengthens the argument that the Blazers have to overpay to nab a free agent.
You really think? The contract was a MLE contract. Are you saying Hawes is a better player than Matthews?
Seemed like an overpay at the time. These days, he'd command a lot more. Three-and-D guys are the new hotness along with stretch bigs. It's why Klay Thompson is being mentioned in the same breath as Kevin Love.
He isn't worth an MLE contract now. He's worth probably in the 8 million range, but when we signed him he was an undrafted free agent coming off his rookie season. I remember a lot of Blazer fans had no idea who he was, and a lot of people thought it was an overpay.
At the time we did overpay. He showed flashes but even Utah thought a full MLE was too much. It was one of the few gambles that actually worked out. His stats with Utah: 9.4 PPG | 38 3PT% | 24.7 MPG | 12.3 PER |
. But isn't every pro athlete, entertainer, etc grossly overpaid? These guys get what the market dictates and sure, old guys at the end of their careers play for a fraction of there usual salaries to get a ring, doesn't always work. Given the market, Wes was a steal and turned out to be part of what I see as a success story in modern Blazer lore. Bottom line is and always has been, it's Paul Allen's money and he can spend it however he sees fit I'd say major markets have suffered more for overpaying...Knicks for example and they are not contenders
I bet Matthews has to rank at near the top of the best paid undrafted NBA players of all time. This next contract should put him over the top.
Interesting take, Wes just may be. I'm a big fan and I knew Sloan loved him which said a lot coming from a guy who didn't praise players much. To me Wes brings much more to the team than just his game. Wes is the voice of reason and that guy who keeps the team hungry. To me he's the people's champ.
I'm not talking about his current contract on the current market. I'm saying he was overpaid AT THE TIME, which strengthens that argument that we have to overpay to convince free agents to come to Portland. The fact that we were smart enough to give a contract to a guy that would eventually earn it, and did a great job predicting how he would grow as a player, has no bearing on the fact that we still gave him more than his market value at the time of his signing.
Somtimes you role the dice and get lucky. That's why I've never been a huge lottery fan. It's a crapshoot.
Ml I still say the Kaman signing is terrible. The Hawes stuff had and still has nothing to do with how bad that Kaman deal is. The one thing that I am glad to hear is that Niel was at least willing to do a multi year deal and eat into that precious "2015 cap sapce"
He was interested in the Blazers. Not committed. Turns out he was MORE interested in the opportunities presented to him in LA. He'll probably make more in endorsements for one thing. Maybe he also had a very fulfilling political meeting of the minds with the Clips owner as well.
I would throw a couple more teams in there. Gasol is thinking OKC, Chicago attracts some FAs But the majority of teams, including the Blazers, have to be the highest bidder and hope one of the attractive teams don't make an offer. I was silly to think Blazers would attract players with their roster. Not that players don't want to play for the Blazers, but they are rarely, if ever, on a players top 5 list. Likely Hawes was going to go the Phx because they could offer more money than MLE, until the Clippers jumped into the picture. Blazers weren't going to get Hawes because they only have the MLE to offer and if anyone should be pissed it should be the Suns.
No. I just was going too fast.. I meant that I was glad that Neil was willing to offer a free agent (in this case Hawes) a deal that went beyond 2015. There have been so many saying that there is this cap space plan & we can't eat into it. The truth is Portland's FA will be some of the better ones on the market and Portland will not have space to sign new players after they resign their own.
