Blazers came close to getting Devin Harris for Andre Miller?

I'd advocate such a concept myself; Matthews and Roy would be a tough tandem to stop in the back court (both are strong, with full range offensively), and Batum adds an extra level of confidence with good ball handling skills and lateral defense. There's no good reason (besides having Andre Miller) not to give this a good long look. If Andre and Rudy are both moved, this lineup will most likely be the one we go to.

 

I think we might see that lineup regardless. If for some reason this team continues to struggle with Miller at the point, we might see McMillan start to experiment. I would be in favor of seeing this lineup at least three or four times for extended minutes just to see if it works.

 

I agree that it is a problem, and I don't think Harris would ever be utilized to his full ability, but he would certainly add a top 12 player (arguable I guess) at a position that is (seemingly) tough to fill. If we did get Harris I'm sure we'd see the same kinds of tug-o-war with Roy that we see with respect to sharing the ball with Dre', but at least Harris has enough cache and is young enough that Roy might be tempted to bite his tongue instead of airing his desires in such an unprofessional and frankly selfish manner as we saw a couple of days ago -- Brandon might even be right about needing the ball more, but as a the defacto leader of the team this was poorly handled.

 

After listening to Nate on Courtside the other night, he actually called Wesley a "2 or a 1" when Mike Rice asked him about positions and combinations of players. I'm guessing Wesley can guard some ones and he certainly seems to have a pretty good handle and court vision. Maybe this is a viable solution.

 

Is Matthews about the same size and weight as Nate was during his career? I think they are both about 6' 5", but I don't know how heavy Nate was in the day.

If Nate was a successful PG, then perhaps he sees Matthews as a viable 1 guard? I can't remember seeing Nate play, so I don't have an opinion about his PG abilities.

 

If this data from basketball reference is accurate for Nate's later career, then he was perhaps 50 lbs lighter than Matthews. If this data refelects Nate's rookie year, then perhaps the difference is less?

Nate McMillan

Nathaniel McMillan (Nate, Mac)

Position: Guard-Forward
Height: 6-5 Weight: 195 lbs.
Born: August 3, 1964 in Raleigh, North Carolina
High School: Enloe in Raleigh, North Carolina
College: North Carolina State University

The same source shows Wesley at 220 lbs. So rookie to rookie the difference is 25 lbs. I thought I had heard that Matthews weighs ~250.

Wesley Matthews

Position: Guard
Height: 6-5 Weight: 220 lbs.
Born: October 14, 1986 in San Antonio, Texas
High School: James Madison Memorial in Madison, Wisconsin
College: Marquette University

 

Nate and Matthews are pretty close to the same size (Nate is longer limbed) but we're talking about different eras. Back when Nate played you could hand check on the perimeter, which placed a premium on big physical defensive guards, now it's more about quickness and funneling a driver into your help defense than locking a player down one-on-one (exceptions do exist).

As for Matthews I think he can guard ones (at least most of the time) and the rest of his game seems like it could be fairly complimentary of Roy's given his ability to shoot from deep, and the fact that he's got a half-way decent handle ... I guess we'll see.