Ifeaanyi Festus Ezeli is in town and preparing to interview w Blazers

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SlyPokerDog, Jul 6, 2016.

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  1. blue32

    blue32 Who wants a mustache ride?

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    haha well done sir.
     
    blue32, Jul 7, 2016
    #461
  2. Mediocre Man

    Mediocre Man Mr. SportsTwo

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    What did Frasier do wrong?
     
    Mediocre Man, Jul 7, 2016
    #462
  3. OSUBlazerfan

    OSUBlazerfan Writing Team

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    "Peak" Ezeli @ 2:15
     
    OSUBlazerfan, Jul 7, 2016
    #463
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  4. TBpup

    TBpup Writing Team

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    I just don't see very many teams with cap space left that need a center as options for Ezeli. With cap holds, here are what teams have left and who they have at center:

    Brooklyn - $23.2M. Brook Lopez ($21.1) and Justin Hamilton (($2.9M)
    Philly ------$21.3M. Noel, Embid and sometimes Okafor....logjam at center.
    Denver ---$21.1M. Nurkic and Jokic both can play C but at $3.2M combined, not spending a lot on the position.
    Phoenix ---$14.4M. Chandler and Len already there. Doesn't seem a position of need.
    Milwaukee $13.4M. Monroe making $17.1 but that is about it. Could use another big.
    Minnesota -$13.0M. Between KAT, Aldrich and Pekovic, they are stacked at C.
    Utah --------$10.1M. Gobert, Withey and Pleiss. Not a real need.

    http://www.spotrac.com/nba/cap/

    That is everyone else with cap space taking into consideration cap hold or un-renounced Free Agents. Out of that list, Denver and Milwaukee seem like the only teams with current space that also really need a center and would spend a lot of money on one. To go from Golden State to Denver would strictly be a money grab and could Portland possibly lose out to MIL 2 years in a row?
     
    TBpup, Jul 7, 2016
    #464
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  5. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    Denver definitely doesn't need a center. Jokic might be that teams best player in general and Nurkic is legit as well. Hell, their third string center is pretty good too. Joffrey something. He's French so I don't care to look up his name.
     
    Scalma, Jul 7, 2016
    #465
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  6. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    If Bobby marks is right and we can get Ezeli for 10m per, that would be ideal. Would allow us to keep harkless and just trade plumdog or something.
     
    Scalma, Jul 7, 2016
    #466
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  7. KeepOnRollin

    KeepOnRollin Well-Known Member

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    I think Ezeli takes 10 MIL per at some point. But I think he waits to see if he can get a better offer (which I think is unlikely of happening) so it may be a few more days before we get this resolved. We just better not cave and give him anywhere near 20 mil a year. That would be a mistake imo.
     
    KeepOnRollin, Jul 7, 2016
    #467
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  8. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

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    I vote for or something
     
    Pinwheel1, Jul 7, 2016
    #468
  9. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    That video makes a GREAT case for... Evan Turner. We played well with Aminu and Plumlee leading the break, so imagine how much better we'd be with somebody who can dribble!
     
    Rastapopoulos, Jul 7, 2016
    #469
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  10. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

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    I bet it is closer to 12 Mil than 10. Which still would not be terrible if he checks out.
     
    Pinwheel1, Jul 7, 2016
    #470
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  11. worldbarrow

    worldbarrow New Member

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    Can someone tell me why we really need Festus Ezili? He was playing Ed Davis minutes for the Warriors and putting up similar numbers. Ezili is a more physical presence than our other bigs. That's all I've got.

    If we're investing in Turner, then we can part with Aminu. Mostly the same player as Evan Turner, but an inferior athlete. Lose Leonard and we have enough to pay Ezili, but how are we going to pay Allen Crabbe?
     
    worldbarrow, Jul 7, 2016
    #471
  12. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Lauverne. He's not actually very good, but he is third string.

    I don't think Denver will be interested in Ezeli, but they've had success playing Nurkic and Jokic together, so they might not be as stacked at C as they look.
     
    Rastapopoulos, Jul 7, 2016
    #472
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  13. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    Where to begin..
     
    Scalma, Jul 7, 2016
    #473
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  14. BrianFromWA

    BrianFromWA Editor in Chief Staff Member Editor in Chief

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    to be fair, the answers are probably seeded all over some >400-post threads right now...
     
    BrianFromWA, Jul 7, 2016
    #474
  15. Rastapopoulos

    Rastapopoulos Well-Known Member

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    Because rim protection was a real weakness for us and he's pretty elite at that.

    That isn't happening and it shouldn't.
    1. Aminu was probably our third best player last year.
    2. Olshey just specifically mentioned him as our starting PF (a position Turner cannot play)

    I imagine the holdup is because of a combination of Olshey agonizing and haggling over the contract. Signing Ezeli is going to mean that we lose at least one out of our three RFAs and possibly two. Sadly, I think Leonard will be the one to stay because Olshey seems to value him highly.
     
    Rastapopoulos, Jul 7, 2016
    #475
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  16. Pinwheel1

    Pinwheel1 Well-Known Member

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    I don't really think Aminu and Tuner are any where close to being the same player. One could argue Aminu played his best at PF last year, and some Boston fans have said Turner plays best at SG. Aminu is a very long defender, (7'3" wingspan) and Turner is a good ball handler.

    Other than they both can play SF and neither is a great 3 pt shooter.....they have very little in common and help the Blazers in entirely different ways.
     
    Last edited: Jul 7, 2016
    Pinwheel1, Jul 7, 2016
    #476
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  17. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    lol what holdup? He flew in late yesterday. If we don't hear anything by tonight then maybe it won't happen but damn give it a day at least!
     
    Scalma, Jul 7, 2016
    #477
  18. Schilly

    Schilly Well-Known Member

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    Because he is courting us not the other way around. Also I suspect Neil would be just fine moving forward with our RFA's. If he holds out maybe Festus settles for a contract that doesn't require anymore renouncing.
     
    Schilly, Jul 7, 2016
    #478
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  19. noknobs

    noknobs Well-Known Member

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    It's amazing that someone "pretty elite at that" is still available in free agency. His "pretty elite" status must be our little secret.
     
    noknobs, Jul 7, 2016
    #479
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  20. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Bad knees trump many things.
     
    Natebishop3, Jul 7, 2016
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