OT Minnesota progressing on contract buyout with former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett.

He's not, I like Alexander & want to see what he can do; Bennett= HUGE risk & Alexander= next to none

 

Unless they have reason to believe that Alexander will never develop, I agree. Alexander is cheaper, bigger and longer and a much better rebounder/shot blocker. Bennett's only real value is he is a decent 3pt shooter (potentially).

 

With the minimum team salary rule, Bennett would not be any risk at all money/cap wise.

Bennett has 2 years of development time completed. This season, his third, should tell if he is going to blossom or not. = no risk.

I also like Alexander, but he needs 3 years, or more, of development time, just like Leonard did.

I thought Bennett and Alexander are about the same size, or did I miss something?

Alexander is the better defender, Bennett is the better scorer.

Bennett’s potential is higher than Alexander’s, and with a shorter time frame to make an impact.

I am happy with either player. Guess it all boils down to what Triano sees in Bennett. Debating between too many good prospects is a good problem for us to have.

 

IF we somehow get Bennett... & he turns out great... awesome! However, IF Bennett turns out to be doo-doo... Triano should b fired for leading us astray

I agree w/ u that "debating between too many good prospects is a good problem for us to have."

 

Leonard, Vonleh, and Bennett, surely one of them would end up being a decent starting pf? Sure, bring him in, you can just decline his team option next summer if he sucks.

 

It seems like a no-lose situation. If he figures it out, we got him for cap room we had a ton of. He obviously has some relationship with Triano so low risk for potential high reward. If he doesn't work out, it cost nothing in a year of development anyhow. I agree with the 'Alexander needs 3 years and Bennett is going into his 3rd year' sentiment. His shot needs help but he can rebound an pass it a bit. Maybe getting waived turns the light on that this is a last chance.

Sometimes that works, often it doesn't but in this case, it costs basically nothing.

 

"Fascinating."

Sorry, I had to

I still like Alexander better BUT IF Bennett comes here for really next to nothing... I guess I'll welcome/support him; I don't like losing some of these guys that we've got assembled right now, the opportunity cost! This is like Sophies's Choice (well... sorta, probably not as dramatic/ impactful ).

 

I'd say if Bennett was replacing Mike Miller and cheap...you have to pick him up. Alexander is not problem free himself.

 

Like 42N8Bounce posted:

Bennett wouldn't just be replacing Miller, IF we bring him in... we lose 3 vs. bringing in no one, then we just lose 2 (I think it'll be Frazier & Miller); I don't want it to come down to losing Alexander or Montero (we really don't know what we have in Montero yet, too early to get rid of him); so that would leave losing Miller, Frazier, & Kaman. I don't want to lose Kaman but... IF we have to/Neil decides for us... then I'm w/ 42N8Bounce on, "I guess I'd prefer roll the dice on another young Big, than have Kaman mentoring on the bench."

True & we all know this but I'm much more willing to have Alexander here (IF it were a case of having to decide between he & Bennett; IF we must, I think we can have both bc they bring different strengths) & if ppl compare the 2 (@ least currently), I like Alexander over Bennett because of the defense/toughness he can bring vs. Bennett's scoring; Bennett doesn't feel like a guy to me that will ever be all that great on defense; our team needs scoring but the defense Alexander can give us I think outweighs the offensive benefit Bennett brings; from defense is how our guys will manufacture some offense (Dame of course, is a little different). IF Bennett was offensively good & defensively could bring it... it'd b a different story.

 

Several un-verified reports claim the TWolves have not given up on Bennett; it is Bennett’s agent that is pushing for the buyout.

If true, Bennett’s agent must have another team interested in signing him, but that team is not whiling to trade any assets.

The reports also state that the agent is trying to get Bennett on a team where he has a chance to play more minutes. That does not sound like the Blazers.

 

Well, I'm happy with the 3rd string bigs we have now anyway

 

I am/I'd also be unwilling to trade any assets for him.

You don't know how thrilled I am to see the 2nd set of words ^ in bold; man I hope this IS true!

 

Who knows? He might not see Leonard/Davis/Vonleh as being such grand competition.

 

I don't get all this Bennett interest. He wasn't that good in college and hasn't done anything in the pros to show he is more than a potential bench player. I went to a few games to specifically watch him play while at UNLV. I came away very un-impressed....

I don't care that it's his 3rd year. He doesn't have the requisite skills or physical attributes to become a "good" player.

This is in no way similar to Meyers. Meyers showed a lot of promise in his 1 & 2nd year (despite the public out lash on these forums).

 

• He's extremely athletic, at least in terms of jumping/dunking. Definitely an NBA level athlete.
• Neil had interest in him during his draft. You may not have been impressed with him at UNLV, but Neil obviously was.
• His suckage was historical his rookie year, but he showed a lot of improvement in his second year - that's the type of things intelligent teams look for.
• I don't know what games you've been watching, but Biebs made the worst decisions on the court I have ever seen his rookie year. We're not just talking Barton's patented jump-pass-turnover, we're talking double pump underhanded 3 pointer (not a joke, Biebs did this and many other stupid things). Biebs improved, and Bennett has improved.
• Interestingly, you don't bring up what is possibly his biggest question mark for the Blazers: what position does he play?

 

Shams Charania ‏@ShamsCharania 7m7 minutes ago
Bennett wanted and received buyout to control fate and success for next NBA team. Portland expected suitor, w/ Canada coaching connections.

 

http://www.hoopsrumors.com/2015/09/blazers-expected-to-pursue-anthony-bennett.html

 

Damn.