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

I always thought it wa 48 hours

 

Denny is correct. Bennett went from atrocious to just bad. A big improvement.

I just don't see the upside. He has a rep for very poor defense, he doesn't shoot the three well, but likes the long two, he has never been a good rebounder for a PF.

 

So essentially we will know in 5 hours.

I wonder if Neil is feeling a little pressure to hit a homerun with the extra cap space created by NOT trading LMA. Not saying he should, nor am I saying that Bennett would be a home run, but I can't help but wonder if
he thinks about it. Right now he has approximately one season of power where only the Blazers, along with Philly, has the flexibility to "absorb" contracts. He needs to use it wisely. Of course he can pick up Bennett's contract and still have flexibility left.

 

Bennett's lack of defense and passing is worrisome. But people called Randolph a black hole who didn't play defense, and now he plays respectable defense and team-ball. Not saying we want to invest THAT much time in Bennett, but both of those things are teachable.
I can't help but think that giving Vonleh some competition for back-up minutes would be a good thing. Even if Bennett doesn't beat him out, it might help accelerate Vonleh's development by giving him extra incentive to work hard and prove that he's the one who deserves the minutes.

 

Possibly. Or, if Vonleh is already motivated enough then it could just cut into his minutes and provide a distraction. It could cut either way.

 

That is a possibility and because of it I will not be disappointed if we lose out on Bennett. But if I had to lean one way or the other.....I would roll the dice on adding Bennett to the mix.

 

So, if we added Bennett, the Blazers could go with an eight man rotation of PF/C's (I'm counting Aminu since he can play the 4 spot):

Aminu gets the PG duties as the smallest guy
Leonard plays SG
Vonleh plays SF
Davis at PF
Plumlee at C

Kaman, Alexander, and Bennett off the bench.

 

I wouldn't be disappointed if we lost out on Bennett, much rather the opposite

I say we forget bringing Bennett here & show Vonleh some respect/show him that we believe in him (I personally don't think he needs extra motivation) by not bringing in someone to make Vonleh "prove" he's our guy. Again, not worried Bennett would take Vonleh's spot but any chance that could even potentially undermine Vonleh's development, I'm against.

 

And we don't have to make that decision til after camp. Diez isn't under contract so he doesn't count. Bennet makes 18, meaning we have to trim 3. Miller I think is definitely one, Pressey or Frazier is one then it comes down to IMO Alexander or Montero. We wouldn't claim Bennet off waivers with intent to then waive him. The other option is and I think it may have some merit is to combine Kaman and Crabbe in a trade, if we want to give Alexander and Montero a season long look. My gut feeling though is Alexander is the Odd man out.

 

But........If Bennett could play some 3 then he would not be effecting Vonleh's minutes. I have my doubts that he could, but if Jay thinks there is a possibility then it is really Bennett vs Harkless for getting into the SF rotation.

The more I type, the more I realize he is not a good fit for us. I have talked myself out of it. But if we do go after him then I will assume Jay and Neil see some potential.

 

If Bennett is affecting Vonlehs minutes, then it's because he is playing at or better than Vonlehs level.... Tell me how that is bad?

 

LMA’s reputation four years ago was he was a good starting caliber PF, but he played soft.

Bennett’s reputation is that he might be a decent bench player some day, put he does not put enough effort into improving his game, especially on defense.

Comparing LMA to Bennett is like comparing a professional stand up comedian to an amateur clown.

 

If Neil can con him into a 2-year deal with a TEAM option for a 3rd at $3 mil per, he should totally do that. I am a bit worried about him hurting team chemistry, so why would I do it?

Trade Coming Soon. I think Neil's plan is that once these guys have shown they can play (hopefully midseason), then make a consolidation trade. A player with his upside on a crappy contract could be very valuable.

O-live says he went on waivers yesterday. If so, he clears waivers tomorrow.

 

Yes, except that Aldridge had the physical attributes and college numbers to justify hope in more. Bennett does not.

 

During the evaluation time, any minutes one gets takes away minutes from the other. Both need game time experience against NBA players. In order to truly evaluate both, you would have to do so by giving each half the experience they would get otherwise.

If we were talking about Julius Randle v. Vonleh, I would totally agree with the logic, even though it would cut the experience of both. I just do not see any evidence--on either end of the court--that would justify taking minutes from Vonleh to give to Bennett--who has never shown signs of being anything other than a classic scoring 3/4 tweener (puts up points, but can't defend and cant rebound).