Which camp do you fall in? Me? Probably unsettle ripples. While I think that most all of the pieces are in order, there still are questions surrounding some players' specific roles and responsibilities. Yes, this comes with having a young team, and various injuries Nate is having to deal with. All that said, I still believe some type of (pruning/upgrading) deal needs to be made. We shall see.
wether we wanna admit or not.....its on the verge of a tsunami if we drop the next 2 which is very likely wout roy
I am in the unsettled ripples camp. I think there are a few of them however. I think this team needs a veteran guard that can help Bayless get better at what he does...attack the basket. I think this team a veteran SF who is a hustle guy and a defensive player I think this team needs a hustle/banger back up PF Nothing too major I really think the future is set with Bayless, Roy, Batum, Aldridge and Oden. All we need are some pieces to help us learn how to get to the next level.
At least unsettled ripples. Nate's continued struggles with rotations are seriously hurting players confidence and ability to win games. Add to that a stagnet offense and no PG able to adequately run the pick & roll. It's certainly not a raging torrent and every team has its issues, but I think it's time for a change of coaches and see if we can adequately develop the roles of our players.
I agree with you somewhat. I think Martel and Rudy are apart of this future as well. and the PF we need, could be sitting on the bench, we just havent seen enough of him yet... IMO anyway....
Freeland maybe. Ike plays horrible defense. At least he bangs for rebounds. At this point I really wouldn't mind seeing what Randolph could do with a few minutes. Maybe he'll bust his ass to stay on the active roster?
yeah, i was thinking Ike, just because he shows hustle and bangs the boards. I like that in a PF. I don't think our 2nd unit is much of a low-post scoring "unit" per say.... Also wouldn't mind seeing S-BO...for sure...
I want to say "Unsettled Ripples" so bad, but I think it's premature. So I'll go with Calm Watters with a warning of Unsettled Ripples ahead. There are some things about this team I love. For years, we wanted a playmaker - a scorer who could make shots/get to the line in the clutch. We finally have that in Roy. We haven't had that since . . . I don't know. Even Clyde was more of an open court guy (not a guy who won you games in half court down the stretch) So that's great. Except, he gets hurt. Now, the Calm Watters part is maybe he stays healthy if we get him some help offensively. The guy just gets punished night in/out physically. Oden. He's played with more emotion and energy recently, which gives me hope. Two weeks ago, I was worried big time. Reports of him allienating himself, becoming isolated . . . and he looked like he wanted to cry on the court. He's shown more heart recently. The kid has the weight of the world on his shoulders, but what #1 pick doesn't? I'm more optomistic now that he'll be okay. Not Bill Russell, not Shaq . . . maybe just a workman 15/10 with 2 blocks game. If he does that, plays with energy/heart, and stays relatively healthy I'm great with that. I just don't know what to think yet. PG. Blake is worthless when he's not banging down 3's. Sergio is has no disciplan and can't shoot. And neither can defend worth a crap. Bayless? I don't know yet. He does about 4 things bad to 1 good, but sometimes I see a glimpse and think he just might be okay. But I thought that about Outlaw too (see below) Should we trade for a PG? WHO?? Forget about getting the elite guys . . . maybe a guy like Andre Miller would be good. It's hard to get excited when I read we're looking at Raymond Felton. SF. Batum looks like he's going to be a good one. That game at LA the other night was an eye opener. Still, it's probably 2 years before we see that from him on a consistant basis. I'll wait! The guy has shown he can defend, he can finish at the basket, and he can shoot - he's going to be a good player. Outlaw? I'm tired of his act. Every 2 weeks he'll have a break out game - he'll score (and sometimes in the clutch), block a few shots, eat up some boards, grab a few steals . . . but even in his good games there are just so many mental lapses. Martell? We'll see, but I've never been impressed by him either. Same as Travis, he used to have about a break out game (24 points in a quarter last year vs Utah) and then dissapear for a while. It bothered me that he never improved on his weaknesses (ball handling, FT shooting - how does a guy with that stroke shoot 70% from the stripe?) We've heard "Martell worked with Kobe in LA this summer and . . ." more than once. What can we expect this year from him? When he comes back, we'll be fighting for a playoff spot and it'll be training camp for him. So, we'll have to wait another year to assess him . . . Great. Other Notes: Rudy is hard to read. Some nights he looks great, others he looks awful. I think he'll get better, but I'd like to see him work at getting better shots. He settles for too many 3's, and when it's not falling he needs to get to the basket more. I thought he was supposed to be a slasher? I really had hoped he could be the guy to help B-Roy break down defenses in the 4th quarter - so far he's been mostly an inconsistant 3 point shooter. Lamarcus is a solid guy - it's such a luxary to have a PF who can shoot 20 ft jumpers. His post game is solid too. I think he'll get better, maybe not a TON statistically but I think he'll become a better defender (he's not bad, but he could be really good) He really does seem like Rasheed with a better attitude. Needs/Trades: No secrets. We need a b/u PF who can bang and do the dirty work. PG and SF are obvious weaknesses, but I like Batum in 2 years. Should we trade for Lee? Well, can we sign him after this year? Will he be okay as a b/u? Big questions. I'd like to move Outlaw and Frye, but who'd want them? Frye has been terrible, but he is playing out of position big time. He's not a center, he's not even a legit PF. He's more of a SF, who can't defend other SF's. On the right team, he can provide a scoring spark off the bench. I don't know what Travis' trade value is - it seems like the "potential" might have come/gone since he's been here 6 years - he is what he is now. Martell probably doesn't have any trade value either. Summary: I'd love to have G. Wallace, C. Butler, or Andre Miller but at what cost? How much value does Raef's expiring hold to other teams? Does anybody want Outlaw, Frye, Martell, Sergio, or Blake? I get as frustrated as anybody when the Blazers struggle, but I try to remember that this is a young team that sometimes starts 3 rookies. I also remember how a bad trade can handcuff you for years. Or a bad contract. I still trust KP. If the Blazers do make a deal, I think we'll (us fans) like it. But I'm not going to bash him if the deadline comes/goes and we don't do anything. Someone on here suggested that "if KP is really a good GM, than he should be able to pull off a Gasol-like trade . . " Give me a break - that was a gift and they don't come around very often. I do trust that if we don't make a move, it's because there just wasn't anything out there that makes sense. And I don't think we'll make the playoffs w/o a trade BTW. When Utah is healthy, they are a much more complete team than we are. The only team ahead of us that I could see falling off is Phoenix. If Shaq, Amare, or Nash gets hurt than they could nose dive. If we do miss the playoffs, than I think you have to call next season "playoff or bust". But not this year. If the right trade comes along, then great. If not, I understand why.
Ok, great, so how do we engineer trades so we end up those three pieces while NOT giving up the big 3 plus Bayless and Batum?
MIXUM added to ignore list. I'm OK with the occassional bitching, but not when every single one of your posts is like that. Hell, even if we beat the Pistons by 40 tonight, my guess is he/she will find a way to complain. How he/she ever made it through the 21-61 season without offing himself/herself, I'll never know. -Pop P.S. I'm going with the "unsettled ripples" camp. I think we have a good nucleus, but there are some glaring issues at certain positions and injuries to key players really tests our depth. I'd like to see us make a trade to land a solid, starting quality small forward and send Travis packing. Unlike most people, I think we're OK at point guard. What people fail to realize is that bringing in a ball-dominant point guard will relegate Brandon to playing off the ball. I like having a guy like Blake who can reasonably run our halfcourt sets and also space the floor and hit from the perimeter. Hell, look at the Lakers. You telling me Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar or Sasha Vuja-bitch are quality point guards? No, they just space the floor appropriately or bring something else to the table because in key situations Kobe handles the playmaking role. Just like Brandon does on this team.
I'd say calm waters. I'm not really too worried about this year... I just want us to consolidate a bit and be primed for the next year or two when our core is more mature. Ed O.
We are Blazer fans. It will NEVER be calm waters. (lol) It wasn't in 1999-2002 and it wouldn't be if we won the championship. (we would be greedy) Having said that, I am in un settled ripples. I feel good about the future as I really think Bayless will turn out to be that "other guy" who can attack the basket with Roy. Batum and Webster give us two entirely different types of SF's that can compliment them. But if Bayless is not the guy..... then we will need another option at PG. I watched a lot of games last night and really didn't see any SF out there that really fit the mold we want as an attacker. Example was Gerald Wallace. Great game and great win. But he deferred to Felton and Augustine down the stretch when they really needed a basket. And I find this quite common for most teams. (Not all but most) It's all about the guards. They have the handles and they are the ones who win games down the stretch. So I guess what I am saying is we need Bayless to step up next year or we need someone else at that position. Sure Caron Butler would help this year, but he is one of only a handful that would. Is he realistic? I think a stud PG is bigger and I think Bayless will be be that guy. Next year. But yes no one wants to wait until next year.
I dunno I think you could get Wallace for Raef's contract and some small pieces I think you could find a rugged PF like Eton Thomas or something for some smaller pieces The PG is the toughest. You could get Miller from Philly probably, or wait until the off season and grab someone like Bibby or Nash. I certainly don't think it's out of the question or impossible to make that happen. If Dallas starts to fall you could get Kidd and Bass for some smaller young pieces and Raef or a pick I think. Travis and Sergio are fairly hot commodities with faster teams like GS, MEM or NY. There are players out there to get. Not all of them, or any of them have to be all stars
I expect two weeks of threads with water analogies . . . I won't mind if it replaces the whole cake thing going on in this forum. But maybe to play with these metaphors . . . I think the unsettled ripples posters see are due to the fact the cake just got thrown into the water. I know, it makes no sense, but neither do a lot of those cake analogies . . .
