Notice Trail Blazers and guard Anthony Morrow agreed to a one-year, non-guaranteed deal

But not all that old for a 3-point specialist whose game doesn't depend on great athleticism.

Kyle Korver just led the league in 3FG% at the age of 35 (and 33 and 32).

Other than last season, which was a relatively small sample size, Morrow has always been one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the league. Even after a down year, his career 3FG% of .417 ranks 5th among active players and 13th all time.

Hopefully, his poor shooting in OKC last season was a one-time aberration and he returns to something closer to his career average. If not, he can be waived and his non-guaranteed contract comes off the books. This is essentially a zero risk signing.

BNM

 

You won't hear that from me. I've been hoping for an affordable Crabbe replacement and would have been happy with someone that gives us comparable production at half the cost. If Morrow can return to his career norm, he will give us comparable production at 1/10th the cost and will be a huge steal. If not, waive him and look for someone else.

I wonder when his contract will become fully guaranteed. The later, the better. Hopefully not until at least sometime in January. It would be nice to see if Morrow can return to past form, and how well he fits with the team, before making that decision.

If he doesn't work out, as long as his contract comes off the books by the last day of the regular season, it won't impact our luxury tax situation.

Even if this doesn't work out, it's still a great move by Neil. High upside with zero risk.

BNM

 

Here's a nice article on Morrow from after his trade to the Bulls:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nb...thony-morrow-overcoming-obstacles-nothing-new

 

In Stott's offense Morrow should catch the ball in better rhythm than he did watching and waiting and not knowing WTF was going to happen in the Westbrick ball hog offense.

Just speculation, but I know it would be true for me.

 

Outside of Nurkic, Morrow's defense fits right in with where Portland was last season.

 

-Always liked his shooting stroke, this is way better than the nothing we had going into this season.
- The guy's a pro and he played for a team that played ugly for Westbrook. This signing sounds like a bargain.

btw, anyone remembers this?

 

This is 2017 brah, no one cares about defense.
What we want is more 3-pointers.

 

Well, he is a Crabbe replacement...

BNM

 

GET HYPED

 

Yep, Stotts' flow offense creates a lot of open catch and shoot opportunities for guys like Crabbe, Harkless and Aminu. Should be a much better fit for Morrow than last year's Westbrook dominant show in OKC.

BNM

 

GREAT signing.

 

https://www.theplayerstribune.com/2016-9-29-anthony-morrow-nba-letter-to-undrafted-rookies/

 

A few other notes on Morrow's 3-point shooting:

Only Stephen Curry, Kyle Korver and Klay Thompson have matched Morrow’s career efficiency (41.7%) and volume (8.0 attempts per 100 possessions) while playing even half as many minutes as Morrow.

In his first 8 seasons in the league, Morrow never shit below .371 3FG%, and shot .423 or better 3FG% 5 times.

BNM

 

The more you know...

Why are you turning this into a thread about HCP?

 

Lol, damn typos! That's a common one for me when typing on my tablet, and one that slips past autocorrect.

BNM

 

I guess the question then becomes why hasn't he played more?

 

Like Crabbe, he is a 1-dimensional 3-point specialist. Through his first 4 seasons in the league, Morrow averaged 27.4 MPG, compared to 22.8 MPG for Crabbe.

Morrow is basically Allen Crabbe, but has been doing the same things for a lot longer for a lot less money.

Here is a comparison of their carrier stats. Two extremely similar players with very comparable production.

The most significant difference is that Crabbe will be paid more this season than Morrow made in his first 8 seasons combined.

BNM