I wonder why Sam Cassell hasn't been picked up by some playoff-bound team as PG insurance. I can't imagine he'd play worse than our backups. Where did he go after Sacramento waived him? Is he waiting for 30 days to elapse so he can go back to Boston?
Oden being out is a huge loss. When Pryz is in the game the defense cheats off of him pressuring the rest of our players, they are forcing Blake to take these shots by overplaying Roy/LMA. If Oden was in the starting lineup teams couldn't leave him as open, then Joel would be the defensive force off the bench to complement Travis/Rudy offense.
Bayless was pretty bad which has been a trend of late, but Sergio was fine in his 3 non-garbage-time minutes and Blake wasn't that bad either except for keepping his game on the perimeter and not trying to go inside. I thought all 3 played decent defense, it just looks worse when you can't get any offense going to counter. Travelling + early game = likely loss. Nate has been trying new lineups due to injuries, and the Blake/Sergio pairing doesn't help either player excel. Bayless's one trick of driving hard to the hoop has been scouted and no longer brings anything more than a block and a turnover, so he will have to adjust his game to make deeper shots, or learn the hook. He also will have to adjust to playing at both guard spots while Nate juggles lineups. Lately Bayless has seen more time at SG, his natural position, which has bigger, stronger guys guarding him. Nate is trying some stuff now so there are no surprises come playoff time. BAKE IT!
Once you eliminate guys who are either on the downside of their career, bad ideas chemistry-wise, demand the ball too much, are injury-prone, or are seriously over-rated by you, we are left with Paul and Williams. They are not available.
Harris, Paul, Williams, Parker, Billups, Rose, Westbrook, Ellis, Sessions, Stuckey <--- For the love of God give me one of those!!!!!
Neither one of the backup PG are going to be consistent unless they gain consistent minutes. Quit fucking around playing one 3 minutes and the other a few minutes, grow some gnards and make a decision.. I have no doubt Sergio is about the biggest pile of shit at PG I have seen in a long time. At least Bayless has upside. Give him the minutes, maybe he is ready to contribute by playoff time.
Does anyone think Ellis will last In GS? Sounds like there is just too much bad blood to over come. I think he is a legitimate option. Do we have Raef's ending contract through June?
Raef is of no value to us anymore I believe. But Ialso think Ellis is a legit option, and he can be Portland's version of Harris/Parker imo. The kid is good, and just 23 but has lots of experience with some good playoff experience as well. He is the type of player i'd personally want next to Roy, but of course opinions greatly vary on that matter.
So could Bayless, yo. On a bad team, I think Bayless would have a pretty nice stat line because they'd have nothing to lose by playing him. I don't think the Warriors will part with Ellis. Ellis and Biedrins are their two best players, and both very young. Short of giving them the Blazers' young prospects (Bayless, Batum, Rudy), I don't think they'd let him go. I expect them to build around Ellis and Biedrins with Brenden Wright and Anthony Randolph.
Sorry to necro post, but I was looking for my PG list. But to respond to this, I really think Ellis is what we hope Bayless can be (plus better defense) while Ellis is just 23. Some reasons I think Ellis is very attainable... 1. Rumors were flying last offseason of Ellis maybe being traded, and PDX was one of the teams. 2. Nellie openly said he doesn't like having Ellis and Crawford on the same team. 3. Ever since the offseason, management and Ellis are not seeing eye-to-eye, which leads to a lot of speculation that Ellis may go this offseason. I think we have the prospects, along with unneeded draft picks and some cap space to get him this offseason. I think he would be phenominal for us.
hey I'll 2nd it... while not the greatest option, I think Foye is a talent who'd significantly upgrade the Blazers backcourt. He's not a classic pass first point, but dude is a very good athlete and a quality outside threat. I think he could blend with Roy in the same way that we hope Bayless projects. His game suffers some playing undermanned in Minnesota and that they're unlikely to part with him as he's one of their best players. For his sake I hope he gets the chance to play with some quality wing players at some point in his career and isn't stuck playing with Sebastian for long. STOMP
do you have a link for this Nellie quote? I live by the Bay and haven't heard that one... in fact I've heard him say the opposite. It's a near given that local media is going to speculate on guys, especially when a team is struggling. But the 25-44 Warriors do have a winning record with Monta which seems to indicate his importance to them and dude hasn't been 100% following the ankle injury yet. The W's don't have a classic pass-first ball dominating PG, instead they've filled their roster with multiple players who can handle handle the ball and create for themselves and others. Here's guessing they don't make major roster moves and hope for some health and internal development. STOMP
huh? his salary will clear the offseason. Combined with some other moves (renouncing Ruffin, Frye, Blake &/or Travis) Portland could have well over 10M in capspace depending where the line in the sand is drawn regarding the cap. The capspace that is in part cleared with RLEC coming off the books could also be utilized in smaller chunks to facilitate draft day deals... it is potentially of significant value STOMP
They won't renounce Travis or Blake, which eats into that figure above. I am assuming Portland will not make any significant changes to the roster any time soon. We all better hope the current group can get it done. I think if a few things break Portland's way, the current team might be up to the task.
Did you read the post above mine? He was asking if we still have Raef's contract through June, I just said/meant that he can't be included in a trade in June. It obviously expires and gives us some much needed cap relief/space.
