And I know a ton will totally disagree with me, but here it goes. Now keep in mind, this is only if all the players stay. PG: Miller, SG: Fernandez, SF: Roy, PF: Aldridge, Center: Oden Blake: PG/SG Sub Webster: SG/SF sub Batum: SF Sub Outlaw: SF/PF Sub Pryzbilla: Center Sub Variables: Bayless (SG/PG) and Howard (vet big man) The rotations will be sweet and very versatile. First sub would be moving Roy to SG, and subbing Batum for Fernandez. Then sub Roy for Webs and Miller with Blake. yada yada yada. The only reason why I suspect this may be a possibility is well... I think Fernandez's ego wants him to eventually be a starter.
Not starting but we will be finishing a lot of games with that lineup this year. A lot of nice weapons and options in late game situations.
Oh not for this year. I am just thinking about the future. It could be possible for Fernandez to want to stay knowing he is finishing games. I'm just worried about his ego and used to being the star of his team.
I'm not worried about his ego, if he bitches and demands more, package his ass up with somebody else and trade him. Rudy is not indispensable.
Several problems with this "future" you speak of... In the "future" Andre Miller won't be a Blazer. I'll be shocked if he's one next year, let alone in the more distant future. Bayless, Outlaw, possibly Blake, and whatever else it takes WILL be moved at the deadline to get our franchise pg of the future. Also, how the hell is Juwan Howard a variable? Forget the fact that we have the best young 4/5 combo in the league, Juwan Howard is ANCIENT. He won't play a factor in the present, let alone the future. He's a glorified coach already. Finally, barring a huge blowup or bad injury with Roy, Rudy won't be a starter in Portland, ever. Its sad because he's a great player and a fan favorite, but neither he nor Brandon have what it takes to move positions and still play at the level we'd need them to play at, plus we're too loaded at the 3 and will eventually have a "the guy" at pg. Either Rudy will have to be ok with a career of being a backup, or he'll get shipped out eventually. Like others have said, your lineup could very well be one which we finish games with THIS season. But you might wanna get some windex on that crystal ball of yours. That or return it for a working one.
I know some people will say moving Roy to a sub-optimal position is a bad idea, regardless of Rudy's talent. However, Roy has shown to be very effective as a SF. http://www.82games.com/0809/08POR5.HTM This site shows by position stats. You'll notice that he spent roughly 25% of the teams minutes as a SF last year (vs roughly 50% of the teams time at SG), and he put up a higher PER as a SF than a SG (though marginally). However, look at his opponents PER. It's a massive difference (17.1 vs 8.8). This would imply he's actually much better at defending SFs. Though I suspect most of his SF minutes were against backups, not starters, which would skew the results. However, it does seem to imply he could be very effective as a SF. I do think it might be worth at least experimenting with. Roy could still handle the ball plenty at SF. Note: I would avoid reading anything into his PG or PF stats, as both were such limited minutes as to round to 0%, though the PG numbers are fairly amusing. Of course, I'm not totally convinced that, long term, Rudy is going to remain a better fit than Batum (nothing against Rudy, I'm just really high on Batum and think we really need a great defender in the starting lineup). But it's interesting to consider.
Rudy would have to know by now if he could be a starting sg in the NBA. He plays against a 2x all star every day in practice.
Um, I use (variables) since well, I doubt they are even a factor. And all the names I use are because they are the players we have now. You could very easily add "vet PG" in place of Miller. As for Roy not being able to play the 3... I completely disagree with you there. In fact, the games I've seen him play the 3, he did very well.
You have Miller and Howard on our team for the "future" lineup? So how far exactly are you looking in the future? 1 year?
Bayless, Roy, Batum, Aldridge, Oden Fernandez as the primary reserve and best sixth man in the league. Bayless hasn't yet proven that he'll be the starting guard of the future, but I think he will. If I'm wrong, Pritchard has a couple of years to find a good guard to pair with Roy, as Miller has at least a couple of years left in him, I think.
Roy has lost weight this year - he reportedly weighs 205 lbs. He won't be spending too much time at the "3". This is why Nate's trying to get Rudy more time at the 1.
Lineup this season - Miller/Roy/Batum/Aldridge/Oden Lineup of the future - Bayless/Roy/Batum/Aldridge/Oden
