Zombie Derrick Jones to Portland

Who says that he can't start opposite Covington. I think he has a real shot to win the starting SF spot and it's obvious by this move that our team looks at Covington as a PF... the same position he played full time for Houston and part time for Minny.

 

for me, it's that Portland really doesn't have a legitimate PF. They have one small-ball PF...and they have an injured Zach. There's a hole in the roster IMO

 

I wonder if he gives age a a lot of weight? He must give athleticism a lot.

 

In my view, you are too stuck on that idea and you’re failing to notice how much deeper and tougher the roster is. The Blazers had the 3rd best offense in the league last season and one of the worst defenses. There won’t be any fall-off in the offense, if anything it’s going to be better with improved outside shooting. The defense should be light years better. The combined effect is going to move the Blazers into the upper tier of the West.

 

Just so you're on record: What (measured) level or productivity would he have to have for you to say Stotts utilized him well?

 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ho...rick-jones-jr-rotation-free-agency-miami-heat

 

Jason Quick last month:

https://theathletic.com/2141622/202...olshey-sign-derrick-jones-jr-blazers-mailbag/

What’s one realistic move that Olshey can pull off to improve this team’s ceiling for next year? — Husein A.

Sign free agent Derrick Jones Jr.

It’s no secret the Blazers need better defensive players. Badly. Only Cleveland, Washington and Atlanta had a worse defensive rating than Portland last season. The 6-foot-7 Jones is a plus-defender who can switch on pick-and-rolls, much like Maurice Harkless and Al-Farouq Aminu did the last time Terry Stotts coached a top 10 defense (2017-18). Jones has a 7-foot wingspan and has pogo-stick hops that make him an elite shot blocker. According to Cleaning The Glass, Jones last season among NBA wings ranked in the 93rd percentile in offensive rebounds, 92nd percentile in blocks and 88th percentile in steals. The guy can instantly help shore up the Blazers’ soft perimeter defense.

If there is a hesitation with Jones, it is his shooting, which the Blazers value from a wing for spacing purposes if he is going to be paired with Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Jones is a poor 3-point shooter (career 28 percent), but I would argue he can excel as a slasher who is exceptional at finishing around the rim. Plus, I’m not worried about the Blazers’ offense. With Lillard, McCollum and Jusuf Nurkic, this team will always be a top 10 offense. It’s time this team starts addressing its defense.

The biggest hurdle will be convincing Jones to leave Miami. In April, before the Heat’s run to the NBA Finals, Jones said he wanted to return to Miami, noting a sense of loyalty to the franchise that gave him his first real shot at playing in the NBA. Miami holds his Bird Rights, meaning it can go over the cap to sign him, but it is also believed that the Heat want to preserve cap space for the summer of 2021 to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Olshey’s biggest carrot in this free agency will be the roughly $9 million mid-level exception, and even though Jones will likely be a hot commodity, I don’t think it will take the full mid-level to land him. And if it does take the full $9-plus million to lure him from Miami’s beaches to Portland’s pine trees, I think you still do it. He’s only 23, which down the road could align him with the next iteration of the Blazers’ core that includes Anfernee Simons, Gary Trent Jr., Nassir Little and Zach Collins.

 

And when the other team swarms Dame, how will he be any more useful than Hark and Aminu were? I'm not just bitching to bitch - I look at Jones and see a poor man's Chief. I would have been fine with keeping Aminu as a reserve, but it always seemed to me he was over-matched as a starter. How is Jones any different/better?

 

heres the problem though, I don’t care about the regular season. If it doesn’t translate to the playoffs it’s irrelevant.

 

Because he can slash

 

all this chatter about Covington playing PF got me curious:

last year, at Houston:



and Minny:



and 17-18 in Philly:



sure looks to me like he's better as a SF and should only be a situational PF. A steady diet of PF and it looks like he gets over-matched on defense, doesn't score with the same efficiency, and essentially ends up a net negative

 

better defender and way more athletic

 

My take superstars/all stars need role players around them to win championships. These are players that understand their role and sacrifice for the betterment of the team. This is easily the best role team ever put around Dame.

With these two new defenders we can matchup up with the teams above us Denver, Clippers and Lakers.
Last year/this year we got exposed on defense and rebounding. The additions make us better in both categories. I wanted to see more toughness someone to send message to the other team I think this team will have some of that at least that’s my hope.

 

I think it will translate to the playoffs. First, they should be good enough that they don’t face the Lakers in the first round. That’s a great start. They should have home court in at least the first round. That’s a plus. There’s tons of depth so that there’s a better chance of surviving injuries and of being able to play varying styles to match up with opponents. Better defense is always a key to winning in the playoffs. If you’re looking for guarantees of winning it all, you not going to find them; the West is too deep for that, but this team, IMO, is built to compete.

 

You know Aminu was a 28.6% 3 point shooter when he came to Portland.

 

I fully agree that the quality of your opponent plays a big role in the outcome of a series. We've been knocked out by the eventually western conference champs a lot!

I don't think this roster will finish top 4 in the West. I suppose there is a chance we come out and play all 72 games hard (and stay healthy) while others are on the load management plan and we do finish top 4.

Our big problem is that the majority of the teams that win it all have an elite player who has above average height/length for their position that can overcome schemes. Either that or 3+ all-stars, or both. We still are no where close to fitting that criteria and I think it'll continue to make playoff success very difficult for us.

 

So, guys like Hollinger and Jason Quick think this guy was really valuable. But, although Spoelstra and Riley didn't think Leonard was valuable enough to play in the playoffs, they thought he was more valuable than Jones? Or did they think that Jones would accept a lot lower pay; and money is really important to them because they want to sign Giannis. And Leonard was willing to sign a contract only guaranteed for one year while Jones wanted a longer contract?

 

I think Nurk is capable of reaching AllStar status. I know that’s a goal of his for this year. Zach will need to step up his game this year as well. We need to see how rosters finalize, but as of right now, I see the Blazers on equal footing with the Jazz and Nuggets.