Neil is obviously building for now with an eye on the future. I like this approach. To compete with OKC and (now) the Lakers we're still pretty far away, and that's IF we land Hibbert. Of the starters, only one perimeter player can create his own shot (Lillard) - Nic and Matthews skillset on this end are nearly identical: outside shooting without the ability to put the ball on the floor. If they are deadset on keeping Nic, and they sound like they are, Matthews has to go to the bench or traded. The SG spot needs a lot of help, and fast. PG: Lillard SG: SF: Batum PF: Aldridge C: Hibbert With his ability to attack the rim and shoot, anyone else think we can get by with Lou Williams? His PER the past three seasons have been impressive: 18.2 | 18.9 | 20.2
Sweet Lou and Lillard feels like kind of a weird pairing. I don't know who I want him to play alongside of, but that wasn't a name that immediately sprang to mind.
If Elliot Williams is ever healthy and lives up to his potential he could be that type of SG. A lot of ifs though.
I don't know. I don't watch a ton of PHI (and when I do it's for Evan Turner), but I get the vibe that Lou is a homeless man's Iverson. Good PER, puts up 16-17 shots per36, gets the occasional steal, gets to the line, not really a deep threat unless WIDE open. He might score 25 if he went to TOR or SAC or something. I just don't think he's worth the price we'd have to pay for him, and for the role he'd want us to give him.
The body minus arms and legs So Aldridge, period Lillard will probably be part of it sooner, rather than later. If Batum re-signs, him as well
This is essentially what I was thinking. We need another guy who can be a RELIABLE #2 option, stepping into the #1 role when necessary (cuz Aldridge won't always be a #1, but unlike some here I believe he can be on most nights). Given our best player is a big, it'd be nice to have this #2/1 be an outside player. I don't believe Batum will ever be that guy. I don't think he's going to improve significantly, although his stats may still go up a bit. He's not a bad #3/4 option but we need someone to be in front of him for when he's passive. I don't know if Lillard can be that guy, and counting on him to be it sooner rather than later could be dangerous (although I do have high hopes for him). Seems like we really need a FA to step into that role. I still think Wes can be a serviceable player, just not as one of the top 3 options on the team. For the role he plays (energy, defense, 3's), I think he can do a great job.
Monta Ellis and Kevin Martin are a couple of thoughts. Monta is a big time scorer, but undersized. Kevin Martin is an extremely efficient scorer at 29 years old, but has injury problems. Starting quality SGs are fairly easy to find. I wouldn't be to concerned in finding one. I agree though, another shot creator in the backcourt would help immensely. Having Wesley come off the bench would be terrific. I'd like to see what Elliot Williams and Barton can bring to the table this season.
Ouch, it looks like Lou wants a contract in the $10m/per range. No way. I'm a fan of buy low, sell high: Tyreke Evans is uber available. But then again, a player that talented on the market in his 3rd years should raise some red flags.
Cousins is not available. And as the Spurs have repeatedly shown, you can have ONE chucklehead on the roster. Just don't give him a partner in crime.
If we had the 4 you actually suggested, I would be estatic with any of the three SG's we have now on the roster. But that is a big IF.
I don't think Batum is staying, at all. And tbh I really don't want him for the price Minny is willing to pay. I think we can do a lot better. He will play good for Minny for that money. He WONT play good for US. It is over, we need to part ways.
Sorry if I'm a pain in the ass here, but as someone who watched a lot of NBA basketball this year but didn't focus too much on the Blazers, what exactly is the problem with Matthews? I mean, I find it hard enough to watch my own team (MEM) living out of town, the way that ESPN dominates the schedule with the Lakers/Knicks/Heat/etc. His numbers were stellar though, and the word of mouth around the networks was positive. What's the real scoop on him? It seems like Blazers fans have a conensus on him that I was unaware of. Is it similar to how O.J. Mayo is seen in a positive light around the league but was slowly tearing the Grizz apart with his selfishness and decision making?
People's beef with Matthews is that he had a down year (although he's only been in the league a few years anyway), so we overreact and freak out and call him useless. The thing is, he's actually a very solid player. He battled through some injuries, the condensed schedule definitely didn't help with that. He's a streaky shooter from 3 at times, which can drive some people super crazy, but overall his percentage evens out pretty well (when he's taking 300+ per year and hitting around 38-40%, I'm not gonna complain). He's a great defender, and I'm gonna get hate for this, but he's way better than Batum defensively. Batum's defense is more legend than legit, and there's some advanced stats that back that up big time. Matthews is a scrapper, and a hustler, but he doesn't have great ball-handling skills at this time. It's overall just a classic scenario of a player who does a few things really well getting criticism for not being a completely well rounded player (he only averages 3 rpg and 2 apg). He's got the drive to improve (he's playing in Summer League this year because he wants to get more games in), but he'll never be super well-rounded. He's a GREAT 4th(ish) option who IMO can elevate the play of others based off of his hustle if nothing else. Pinwheel1 made a great point that if it's a lineup of Lillard/?/Batum/Aldridge/Hibbert, any of the guys we have now for the 2 would be more than fine. You don't NEED 20ppg out of each of your starters. You need guys who can be reliable in their areas, and a couple of guys that you can count on down the stretch.
Mathews is a good defensive player but on offensive he is really a catch and shoot guy who can slash. He has pretty bad ball handling skills and bad decision making, without a good PG to set him up he has huge problems on O. He was also a very very streaky shooter last year.
So far, it's still just LaMarcus. I see nobody else on the current roster that we shouldn't try to trade for far better players. If re-signed, Batum (currently our 2nd best player) should be our 5th or 6th man. So our C, PG, and SG should all be better than Batum.
Thanks for the info on Matthews. That description doesn't sound far off from Jeff Taylor (the Vandy swingman who was the first pick in the 2nd round). I personally wanted my team to draft Taylor at #25 because we were a complete team that just needed a spot-up shooter who could play defense, his the open three, and not get in the way too much offensively. There's a lot of value in a player like that, but you definitely need a complete team around those types of players, and who knows if Lillard will be the type of playmaker who can facilitate.
++++1 Agree 100% on your views on both Wes and Nic. Wes is a better defender than Nic. S&T with Minny and let Nic go at that price. Get as many picks from Minny as we can and stockpile them.
