Free Agent Chinanu Onuaku, Cameron Oliver, Gary Payton II agree to Training Camp Deals with Portland

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by BonesJones, Sep 3, 2018.

  1. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    What I see is that our coaching staff has done a GREAT job developing guards. You're absolutely right, it's not just Dame. It's also C.J., but what's even more impressive is turning 2nd round picks like Crabbe and Connaughton into rotation players. I'm 100% confident in their ability to develop guys like Baldwin, Simons and Trent Jr., but I have zero confidence in their ability to get the most out of Nurk and Collins.

    Yes, of course, get better talent when you can, but right now we have what we have and need to make the most out of it. Kim Hughes is gone, but ask Chris Kaman what Hughes did for him. Ask Marc Gasol, what Bob Thorton did for him. Kevin McHale turned Kevin Love into an all star. With so much of our future riding on the development of Nurk and Collins, and our past failures to turn lottery picks like Meyers and Vonleh into significant contributors, I just don't understand why we aren't pulling out all stops to get the best big man coach on the planet. Hell, even if it's just to work on their offense. Nurk and Collins seem to be ahead of the curve defensively, but both still have so much untapped potential on the offensive end, and we need strong 2-way players up front to compliment Dame and C.J.

    And, we're not SAS. It's pointless to compare our situation to ours. When was the last time SAS took a 19-year old big man in the lottery? Tim Duncan was a 4-year starter in college, the consensus No. 1 pick and one of the most fundamentally sound players to ever join the NBA. And he joined David Robinson, a 24 year old rookie who was also a consensus No. 1 pick with 4 years of college experience. Their current big men are 33-year old LaMarcus Aldridge and 38-year old Pau Gasol. And, whatever system they are using has proven successful for them. But,we're not them. We don't have their personnel, their coaching, or their track record of success. If we're trying to be them, it's not working. So, try something new. MEM became a legit contender when they had Bob Thornton coaching their big men - after they traded Pau Gasol in the prime of his career and were supposed to be rebuilding. Coincidence? Perhaps, but different approaches work for different situations. There are plenty of examples of teams with a proven big man coach getting successful results (Thornton in MEM, Hughes in both DEN and LAC), just like there are examples, like SAS being successful with out one.

    I'm not saying fire anyone we have, just supplement them. Let the current staff continue to do what they do best, but bring in someone to help our young bigs develop into above average offensive players. Collins has the tools, but is a LONG way from putting it all together. Get him some help. He doesn't have a veteran big man to mentor him, and we have no roster spot and no cap room to get him one. Perfect. Hire a big man coach, that doesn't take up a roster spot or count against the salary cap to be his mentor.

    Who is the best man for the job? Not my call. That's why Paul Allen employs an entire staff of Vulcans. Assign them to identify the best 2 or 3 candidates, and then pick the best man for the job and make him an offer he can't refuse. I'd start by checking out guys like Kevin McHale, Bill Laimbeer, Juwan Howard and Bob Thornton and take it from there.

    BNM
     
  2. dviss1

    dviss1 Emcee Referee

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    #facts

    It's really all morrow has ever been able to do.
     
  3. dviss1

    dviss1 Emcee Referee

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    Evan Turner is a so so defender and his D is very overrated in this forum.

    I don't think we lose much at all having him gone.
     
  4. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    Yep, give his minutes at the 3 Moe and Chief and his minutes everywhere else to Baldwin. We loose nothing defensively and while none of those guys are Kyle Korver, they all shoot better than Turner.

    The problem is, who wants him and what will it cost us to dump him?

    BNM
     
    Last edited: Sep 4, 2018
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  5. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    This made me look up numbers, just for fun. Our top 5 defenders last season, according to opposing teams ORTG. (I know this is lineup dependent, chill.)

    1. Swanigan
    2. Baldwin
    3. Nurkic
    4. Vonleh
    5. Lillard

    Swanigan was a surprise. The rest seemed about right. Leonard graded out as the worst, by far, which also seems on point.
     
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  6. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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  7. BonesJones

    BonesJones https://www.youtube.com/c/blazersuprise

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    We need Cheif playing frontcourt minutes since were thin there. Give his minutes to Trent.
     
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  8. Scalma

    Scalma Well-Known Member

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    What we should do is invite two more guys to training camp and let the 5 of these guys battle it out for the two two way spots.
     
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  9. Boob-No-More

    Boob-No-More Why you no hire big man coach?

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    I'm fine with that. Everything Evan Turner provides is easily replaceable by guys who shoot the ball better than he does.

    BNM
     
  10. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    MMA style? That'd be a great web series.
     
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  11. TorturedBlazerFan

    TorturedBlazerFan Well-Known Member

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    Hey turn it into the NBA version of hard knocks.
     
  12. Reep

    Reep Well-Known Member

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    I think Swanigan is a different type of defender. I noticed that in summer league. He isn't the dramatic shot blocker, but he does take up a lot of space and the defense seems to work well when he is on the court. Might be he is just solid in being at the right place at the right time.
     
  13. TorturedBlazerFan

    TorturedBlazerFan Well-Known Member

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    I think his feet are too slow to switch on pnr’s If he’s out on the perimeter on defense that probably won’t work out well. I think he can be a decent presence on the interior though. Big frame, may not alter a ton of shots but guys may think twice about attacking him. He also seems to have that good basketball iq, knowing where to be on defense is a big deal.
     
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  14. James lamphear

    James lamphear Well-Known Member

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    Swanigan has problems with perimeter defense due to slow feet.
     
  15. dviss1

    dviss1 Emcee Referee

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    So do 90% of the other PFs in he league.

    [​IMG]
     
  16. riverman

    riverman Writing Team

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    I've wondered but been to lazy to look it up...how much does a player signed to training camp get paid?
     
  17. chzbrgr

    chzbrgr Well-Known Member

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    I’m with BNM on this one. I don’t see the harm of hiring a really good coach for our young bigs. I liken it to hiring a really good offensive line coach, is it flashy and going to make an immediate measurable impact? Probably not, but why wouldn’t you want that coach? We know for a fact we’re not seeing any progress from our bigs, so what can it really hurt other than PA’s bottom line?

    Bigs have different footwork, reads, body positioning than guards. They are successful in different ways and using different strategies m. It’s only reasonable to think a dedicated assistant is required for those back to basket positions. Especially if we continue to be so adverse to veterans on the roster.
     
  18. tester551

    tester551 Well-Known Member

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    It's only like $20k-$40k or so.

    If the player goes to training camp, and then signs with the team's D-League affiliate, they can get a $50k bonus.
     
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  19. Chris Craig

    Chris Craig (Blazersland) I'm Your Huckleberry Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    $0 plus free room and board at Mrs. HCP's bed and breakfast
     
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  20. BonesJones

    BonesJones https://www.youtube.com/c/blazersuprise

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    Oliver is really agile and explosive for his size. I really like what I see.
     

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