How so? We would be swapping Howard for a much more productive Thomas. Juwan's off-court and leadership contributions are sizable, but they wouldn't necessarily outweight what Thomas could give them on the basketball court.
You lost me? We'd be left with Thomas/Aldridge/Dante/Pendergraph, that's the same number of guys we have now.
We would be swapping Howard + Outlaw for Tyrus Thomas. Edit: Oh and Tyrus Thomas is thinner than Juwan Howard...
The way I see it, I'd rather have Camby than doing anything to help the Lakers. No matter what happens, I want no part of a deal with the Lakers that helps them out in the slightest... especially if it involves Sasha.
I noticed this from the article. That's not true. Who is this reporter? Outlaw played 11 games this year and was his usual average self.
Funny how the clips got Camby for a second round pick and now they could Outlaw and Blake for a second round pick.
Good. Better to cut the cord this season, since Portland isn't going anywhere important anyway, so he has the rest of the season and off-season to deal with the trauma. Then he can return next season with a completely rehabbed emotional state.
I wouldn't hate a Camby acquisition, but I'd rather have Thomas. I think Tyrus is underrated due to how much he was overhyped coming out of college. He hasn't lived up to his draft status, but he's a lot better than another Stromile Swift (as he was often compared to by skeptics). He's a very good weak side defensive presence and is actually reasonably productive. Camby is also productive, but at his age he wouldn't be a contributor for nearly as long and I definitely think his defensive reputation is overrated. He racks up the blocks, generally at the expense of sound team defense. Gambling for blocks is no better than perimeter players gambling for steals. His man defense and pick and roll defense has been very suspect throughout his career.
The question about Thomas is how much are you willing to pay for him after this season? He'll be a restricted free agent, his advanced stats are very good, and I wouldn't be surprised if somebody offers him 5 years/$35 million. Is he worth that? I'm not sure I can answer that right now. Camby either expires and resigns for cheap, gets signed by the Celtics (Haha), or retires. A PER over 18 at his age is hard for me to ignore.
It makes me think he has another 1-2 high level rebounding years in him. Being #2 in the NBA in rebounding at his age is impressive.
I'm not really worried about what Camby would do for the Blazers past this season. I seem him as strictly a rental and don't see the Blazers keeping Blake and Outlaw next year anyways. Cunningham's emergence has really facilitated moving Outlaw imo. Smart player and plays tough defense, which is perfect. And next year you can't have Bayless and Blake splitting minutes again. It will be time for Bayless to be an even bigger contributor. I don't really get picking up Tyrus Thomas. He's dumb.
