OT Nic Batum quote on Charlotte: "First time I got to play like I want to in eight years in the NBA."

Ugh.

Two way players please. We have way too many one way players.

 

It's about availability, man. We're not getting Jimmy Butler/PG/ Giannis/Iggy. How many wing defenders can score off the dribble, shoot, and put up a consistent 15-18 a game? If we can't get one of these true two way players, we gotta just build with what we have and fill in those defensive needs at PF and C.

Besides, I think Parsons and Gallo are comparable defenders to Nic. Prolly better in some aspects.

Barnes maybe?

 

I wonder if Deng would be open to signing here at a reasonable price. He's kind of the player we need.

He's older but he would be a great vet to have.

 

One thing to say about Nico......contract season...his best with us was also....yep...a contract season. He sucked in their game 7 loss and I watched that game.

 

Rather just keep the two that we have: Harkless and Aminu. Both are better defensive players than Gallo or Parsons.

I also like Crabbe at the 3. There aren't too many SFs that can actually take advantage of his soft frame, and the two players that can do it the best are in the east (LeBron and Melo). You lose a lot of defensive rebounding though, so it would be nice to have a dominant rebounding PF/C pair if you are gonna start Crabbe.

 

If Harkless is gone, maybe. Otherwise I don't see the minutes and I quite like Harkless better.

Not a bad single if nothing else worked, but I can't see how he would want to come here anyways if we don't guarantee him a starting role.

 

Minor injuries? He's missed 134 games in the last three seasons. He's only had one reasonably healthy season in the last seven years. No thanks.

BNM

 

For me, power forward is the position I want to target. I think there are options out there at PF so we can plug a reasonable player into the starting lineup while we develop Vonleh.

 

I know. Was saying this year's issues were sorta minor.

Sorta.

 

Al Horford coming here would be celebration worthy.

Dame/Crabbe
CJ/Crabbe
Aminu/Harkless
Horford/Leonard
Plumlee/Davis

Ugh....

 

And he's going to be 28 this summer. That's not ancient, but given his injury history, I don't see him aging well.

BNM

 

Why ugh? Horford is a freaking beast. He hits threes, passes well, and blocks shots while being competent inside. He's prolly #2 on the list of available UFAs.

And Crabbe at PG?

 

I've said it many times, I'd LOVE to have Horford and/or Millsap. Millsap has another year on his contract, so we'd only be able to get him if ATL decides to blow it up - which they may do if Horford leaves. It's a huge long shot, but I LOVE Millsap's defense.

BNM

 

The others, I agree. But I think Butler is there for the taking if we want him. It would take CJ, but I think the Bulls would jump at the chance to distance themselves from Butler. The question is, do WE want to make that trade? It's intriguing, but I'm not 100% sold on it.

 

I meant Ugh as in it would be amazing but he would never come here.

And Crabbe I just meant running a 3 guard rotation with Crabbe/CJ and Dame. Obviously CJ takes backup PG duties. In three years we're going to have 50+ million committed to these three guards so we better play them a ton of minutes.

 

I think he means, "ugh.... probably won't happen."

 

The problem is that if a star goes on the market, Portland is going to have to outbid teams like Boston who can put together a far more competitive package.

 

This is true, which is why the more stars and 1/2 stars that are available, the greater our chances of landing one. I hope BOS blows their wad on Boogie, leaving the "scraps" for us.

BNM

 

People keep saying this, and it's just flat out false. His best season with us was two seasons ago - which was NOT A CONTRACT SEASON.

 

CJ's off the table for Butler. He's a far better defender, but CJ's playmaking skills and ability to handle PG duties is what makes the Dame-CJ two headed combo so potent. I want to see what they can do with a third scorer before deciding that they won't work long term. It was funny seeing Jalen Rose call out our backcourt after one half last night for "being two short."

That problem was nonexistent the previous 6 months when they climbed up the charts.