I know everybody always likes change in the off-season, but do we really need it here? We won 50 games with a team decimated by injury. For a stretch of games this year we had only 1, I repeat 1 of our top 10 scorers from last season playing for us. Had we had a healthy roster this year, I believe we almost win 60 games. I don't believe this is a stretch by any means. It is hard to pin your hopes on a healthy Greg, but had he been healthy as well as Joel, out team would have been tough as shit! I believe Greg in the middle while obviously helping on the Defensive end helps players like Rudy and Martell on the offensive end. Do we really need to trade and weal n deal a bunch this off season. Your aren't gonna get shit for Rudy because of how little he makes, so stick with him. I've said before that if we return our top 12 from this past season and pray we stay healthy, I think we go to the WCF next spring. I would love to hear how you guys think we had done this year with 2 healthy centers.
Would of done great. But I think we learned a valuable lesson this season/playoffs: We need to increase our offensive efficiency without Brandon Roy. He needs to be icing on the cake and not relied upon so heavily. That being said, we need a solid back-up PG and a real Power Forward
If we stand pat, I think we still have a lot of inconsistency and uncertainty in our reserve corps. I would like our Oden/Camby/LA big man rotation, and I think our guard rotation will basically be Miller/Roy/Bayless. That leaves Rudy, Martell, and Dante fighting for scraps and/or Batum's minutes (by all rights). DC would be cool with that, but I don't see Rudy or Martell being satisfied as 5-10mpg guys (which, with everyone healthy, they should be).
Honestly, I'm not sure having Greg and/or Joel around would have made a huge difference. The injuries thinned the bench and actually made life easier for Nate. Over the first 20 games, Roy seemed less than thrilled to be sharing the court with Oden.
I would not be that disappointed, we had a great season with all those injuries. The one minor upgrade I think we need (if we don't make a major move, which I think we will since I feel Pauls uses his money this offseason) is a good backup PF who can score on the block, not a superstar but established NBA player. I can't even think who is out there, but someone like a Brandon Bass (pre Orlando).
Curious what you mean by "real power forward"? I know the majority on here want a banger type PF, but if Greg is healthy and banging down low, doesn't LA's game suit his perfectly. They still haven't spent a lot of time on the court together, but his outside game I believe counters Greg's power in the paint. Also, I've mentioned this before, only 4 PF's in the league averaged more points and rebounds then LA. (STAT,Bosh,Boozer&Z-BO) Not bad if you ask me.
It's time to trade some of the uncertainty and questionable long term fit with some of our bench guys (Bayless, Rudy, Martell primarily) for some proven commodities. Let's face it, we're not going to be able to afford all of these guys anyway when their rookie scale deals are up, and we haven't even given Nic or Oden an extension yet and I don't see this team going grossly over the cap to keep them all together. So really standing pat isn't an option
Yes Perfectly. I think I front line is set, our bench needs to be sorted out is what I meant. Bingo, rebound and score.
He's been bounced around the league like a pinata, but a guy who could definitely fill that role of off-the-bench, low post scorer, at a reasonable price would Drew Gooden who's probably in line for a Full MLE type deal. His career averages per36 are 15 and 10, and he's always been a relatively efficient guy (career PER of 16.5) and he's only 28. I don't love him and you have to wonder why he's never been able to stick anywhere, but he's somebody to think about.
I would be fine with us standing pat... and by that I mean adding a guy through the draft and/or bringing one over from Europe. Our biggest needs this year were 1. Backup power forward, and 2. Backup point guard. I think that having Oden/Aldridge/Camby as a three man rotation, our 4/5 position is in reasonably good shape. Pendergraph might never amount to much as a player, but he isn't bad as a fourth big guy. I have a lot of hope that Bayless is going to continue to improve and that he will be able to do the backup PG job. He doesn't turn 22 until August, which makes him a mere six months older than Armon Johnson (who might be the second-best PG in the draft and might be sitting there when the Blazers pick). I'm always in favor of getting younger and getting bigger and getting better... but if we don't do much this summer I won't be upset. Ed O.
I think standing pat is foolish... and I think if you buy into the we were injured and won 50 games, imagine if we were healthy? type of opinion then you are buying in on fool's gold.... Yes, the team performed very well considering the injuries, yes having Oden healthy for a full year would make a difference, yes if Roy were healthy the playoff series vs PHX would have been more competitive....but don't kid yourself, this team is not a WCF team....and this year's PHX team was a lot better than HOU last year...Maybe POR takes them to 7 games, but I doubt they would have advanced... POR is not an NBA title contender as currently constructed, not with the offense it runs, not without another player who can step up and be relied upon to score outside of Roy... If Lebron James cannot win games by himself for CLE running an iso-heavy offense, which had a great regular season, when most teams don't scheme to stop you or where your not playing a good team every night, then you are CRAZY if you think that Roy can... The Roy-iso offense has to change, POR will NEVER win a championship utilizing this offensive scheme... You have a PF in Aldridge, who puts up good numbers but relies WAY to much on outside shooting (65% of attempts outside 10ft in the playoffs, shot 29% from that range...that is not a fluke people), and is more likely to pass up a big shot than take one.. You have a center in Oden, who I think COULD be the #1 option, and certainly the #2, but has been unable to stay healthy, do really want to roll the dice and HOPE that he has a healthy year? I sure wouldn't...I mean if he does...great, but plan for the worst (ie like you can't rely on him) and then if he does stay healthy & comes back as good\better than he was then you are sitting in a great position.... This team needs another reliable scorer off the bench, I mean I hate to say it but a Corey Maggette like player who can get his shot when he wants, no other player on this team can do that...that is a major problem...and outside of Oden, not ONE of our other post players has a reliable INSIDE presence on offense, that is a big problem in the playoffs....as much I dislike Charles Barkley he is right on the money with that assesment...too many jumpshots and too many Roy-iso vs 2 and 3 defenders..... How about back up PG? You got Miller, who has what? 2? 3? years left and then what? Can Bayless be a starting PG? Or is he better suited to a scoring guard? I think so far the latter seems to be more likely...at some point you have to address this.... Same goes for center, this is could be a serious problem in a few years, Camby has 2? years left Przybilla? Maybe the same, maybe 3? will he even be here after the trade deadline? Can he even come back after that knee injury at his age? That leaves you, again, with an oft injured Oden and little else... Almost all of the playoff teams ahead of POR are getting better, or I don't see them slipping...So yeah POR needs to make some changes, I think resting your hopes on a healthy Oden and then suddenly expecting the team to jump to the WCF when they haven't even shown themselves capable of getting out the 1st round, let alone take PHX or HOU to 7 games is homeristic...
Back up PF is not a concern to me. (Unless LMA has a season ending injury) The top of my "want list" is a scorer to replace Rudy at the back up 2. A long term replacement at the PG position would be nice, but much tougher to find.
If we stand pat, we will be making these types of threads 1 year from now becaue the season will have been over for a couple of weeks
There really isn't a move Portland can realistically make that would have even a fraction of the impact a healthy Oden would have. If Portland stands pat and Oden is relatively healthy for the whole season then I think Portland would improve by a few wins. Really, Oden's defense and his offensive rebounding would garner at least a couple more victories. As for the playoffs, it's all about the matchups. I do think a mobile Oden causes every team but the Lakers a ton of problems.
The only minor adjustment I would make is to bring in someone like Lebron James to backup Batum at the SF.
Would 13-15 minutes of LeBron really make a difference? I guess he could get a few minutes as the back up PF too.
