Opportunities to Find our Franchise PG...

lou will plays for philly, they seem to like him, although his minutes might dwindle with jrue emerging

i would personally like to nab monta ellis, we need a scoring guard with roy up in the air

 

I would also contend that getting an effective slasher is as important as getting a shooter.

This team is DESPERATE for somebody to be able to get the to the hole consistently.

 

I don't know about that. One could argue that with a healthy Oden or some more help down low; Portland had a good opportunity to win against Dallas. It's easy for Dirk to get going when he isn't forced to defend LMA. With a healthy Oden, Chandler or Woodman would have to stay on Oden; forcing Dirk to guard LMA. A few of the losses to Dallas came because they were able to get offensive rebounds, after a very good defensive stop. With Oden, that wouldn't have happened. So I actually agree that our need is mainly in the bigs. We've been out rebounded a lot this season, plus our defense wasn't too stellar, especially in the paint. A big man will help in this area, more than a PG.

 

I don't disagree that we need help down low, but either we're banking on Oden being that guy or we're not, I don't think it can be both. CJ needs to get a LOT bigger, but looked like he could be capable of 10 mins/night off the bench and, while Camby's clearly beyond his best days, he's sufficient for now as well. For THIS past season, or even JUST NEXT SEASON, I would agree that a big needs to be a larger priority, however I'm looking at things longer term. I see us as being on borrowed time already w/ Miller at the helm.

Even if we'd have beaten Dallas, I don't think the team as constructed is talented enough to beat the LAs, Miamis, and Chicagos of the world.

So if you decide to stay with Oden, you put the necessary safety nets in place, let him come back at his own pace and gear up for next playoffs (which to me, would mean probably sticking with LA, Camby, CJ and maybe a Vet Min. PF, 2nd rounder, Babbitt, or our Euro). OR, if we're moving on from Oden, you need to have a plan with how you're going to construct the team moving forward AND either get a developmental C or PG, or enough assets to acquire one in addition to the firepower we already have.

I guess I just don't see a scenario where we can continue to ignore PG as a pressing issue. Our starting PG can't defend his way out of a wet paper bag and can't consistently hit a 15 foot jumper anymore. UNLESS Cho & Co. thinks Elliott Williams is worth a look, I think it needs to be a BIG priority.

As I said in my OP, maybe we don't completely ANSWER the issue this offseason, but I think it needs to be worked on. If we bring in a guy like Flynn on the chance that he turns into something, that'd be fine with me, I just don't think we can continue to look past such an important position if we're serious about becoming a title contender.

 

While I agree that finding a future replacement is important, the above doesn't make sense logically. By that logic, Aldridge has also proven he's not enough to get us over the proverbial hump, so should we be looking for a power forward replacement as a top priority? This team has shown it doesn't have enough, but it's much easier to upgrade the weaker parts of the team rather than the better parts. Aldridge is the best part of the team. Miller is quite arguably the second-best and at worst third-best behind Wallace. That leaves nine other spots that would be easier to upgrade.

For the future, yes, Portland needs a solution. In terms of contention next season, point guard is the least of Portland's worries, IMO.

 

In a vacuum, your point is a good one. Aldridge has (hopefully - knock on wood) another 7-10 good years in him. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Andre.

W/out question Dre is still an important piece to this team being good, he's just not in the right part of his career to help this team to become great.

 

If by help them become great, you mean develop with them for a few years, I agree. I think he can be part of a great team next year if (massive if) Oden returns healthy and plays most of the season (and most crucially, the playoffs). With Oden/Aldridge/Wallace as the starting front court and either Batum or Matthews in the backcourt with Miller...they could be pretty impressive.

I'd love to acquire a good young point guard, but I think Miller is taken a bit too much for granted. Point guards of his quality are not easy to find and Portland should be maximizing their window with him (since they have other pieces and aren't in a bottom-feeding rebuilding phase), rather than focusing on how to replace him in a year or two. I think they should keep their eyes open for opportunities, but I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world to roll into next season with Miller at point guard.

 

I guess I'll also throw out there that the whole point of this thread WASN'T to say "let's put all our eggs into one PG basket", but rather, what creative ways do you see out there for getting a guy who COULD be a franchise PG?

Another thought that comes to mind is Avery Bradley in Boston. Word is they're going to hold onto their vet. core and take another shot at it, and Bradley did nothing to help the team win games. Perhaps Rudy for Bradley would be appealing to them, giving them an energy guy off the bench?

THOSE are the types of things I started this thread to discuss...

 

In my opinion the only way you can get a franchise point guard is by either having a top 8 in the draft or by trading one of your best 2 or 3 players. Neither of these are options I wish to pursue at this time.