Great read. We have a stellar lineup of quality human beings who truly want to do whatever it takes to improve, succeed and dominate. Whether they get there is another topic,. but the drive is there and that's one hell of a start for such a young team.
"Last summer, when the Hornets pursued a need for Nicolas Batum at small forward, the Blazers insisted on receiving Vonleh in the trade. Portland was going young after the loss of free agent LaMarcus Aldridge, and Vonleh (who arrived alongside Gerald Henderson) was the key part of the deal." We hadn't gone young, yet. The Batum trade happened before Aldridge had left - some have speculated that Batum was traded in an effort to appease Aldridge. Regardless, we hadn't lost any of our other starters at the time of the trade and Plan A was still to re-sign Aldridge, not replace him with 20-year old Noah Vonleh. BNM
Nothing we didn't already know but none the less it is something we have discussed on this board and it won't help Noah: "Last year the mandate was player development and improvement,'' says Stotts. "This year, with the season we had, we've moved up a level. It's about winning games and competition for minutes on the court. No one is going to have minutes handed to them. Whatever decisions I make about playing time are going to be in the best interest of winning games.''
I was hoping for more from him during summer league as well, but I wouldn't exactly say he was disappointing. He just fell short of what I personally wanted to see from him. I forgot (or never knew) about his injury his rookie year. That is similar to what happened to CJ. It pushed his timeline for really helping a playoff team back a year. Which might not be a bad thing if we can extend his contract after this year for reasonable money.
The competition is going to be nothing but good. Based on the article, the less court time he gets, the more he is going to work on his game on the side, during practices, etc. He may never become what the potential may be, but it wont be through lack of effort. Honestly, can we ask anything more out of our players? The attitude the article portays of him having is of a winner. A Dame type of discipline. I'm ecstatic for the upcoming season regardless of who gets PT and who doesnt. If Noah doesnt get time, that means other guys are playing well or making those steps. All is good in P town peeps!
I truly hope Vonleh becomes a beomoth in this league, I kind of see his potential in the vain of a less fatter zebo
I can see Vonleh getting fewer minutes this season than last, frankly. If it's a choice between giving him minutes or giving Ed Davis minutes, it's Davis every time.
Yeah, Vonleh isn't going to see hardly any minutes unless there is an injury. That sucks when you are trying to develop a player like Vonleh who could potentially be a cornerstone player down the road. If you wait to long, said player will either become an all star on another team (I.e. Jermaine O'Neal) or he will never reach his potential.
Awesome article. Honestly, I kinda dismissed him after summer league. He didn't dominate. I just didn't see him cutting it, with our lineup. Now? With a work ethic and attitude like that, how can someone not like him?
Vonleh is worth the investment...he's hands down the strongest lower core guy on the roster...he's not easy to move when he gets set. He's going to training camp stacked up against some real talented bigs...best man wins!
He'll be 25 years old when Meyers, Crabbes and CJs contracts are up. That amazes me...not a lot of miles on Vonleh for going into his 3rd season and being 21
In the article, Stotts says that Vonleh won't get unearned minutes as he did last year. Last season's minutes of Chris Kaman (zero) and Cliff Alexander (zero) will make way for the minutes of Ezeli (the new Ed Davis) and Evan Turner (a whole lot, much more than Gerald Henderson). The way to do this is to reduce Leonard's minutes to zero (the new Kaman) and Vonleh's to zero (the new Cliff Alexander), and move all of Vonleh's 15.6 minutes to the new PF, Ed Davis.
All I know is going up against Ezeli in practice will be great for him. Yes we talking bout Practice!
