Przybilla was effective in his initial 3-4 games, then got with the program and eased off because we were losing in blowouts. I hope they bring him back. If not... We got Mehmet Okur for Gerald Wallace and cut him fast. Now he'll return to Europe. We could have him for the minimum and we want someone to show Leonard and Freeland the ropes... http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/06/15/reports-okur-may-leave-nba-sign-in-native-turkey/
Those tapes show that Hickson sells tickets. He was by far the center of the entertainment. I get the feeling that some people stopped watching games, and have no idea who he is. He's a bargain, is what he is. He was here the last 19 games, and Aldridge was held out of (oops, I mean was injured and missed) 9 of them. The best I can do is to compare post-All Star stats for all Blazers to Hickson stats in those 19 games. They show that he was our 2nd-best player after Aldridge (you can view these stats per game or per 48 minutes). http://www.hoopsstats.com/basketbal...trail-blazers/team/playerstats/12/25/18-3-eff
Re: Hickson Coming Back I would rather have babbitt with nba experience over barton at that SF position.
Joel looked so lost under the basket last season and couldn't make his shots. He would be a waste of vet min salary of 1.3 million and worthless spot on the bench.
Great, great signing! I thought that ship had sailed but I'm stoked. I'd start him at center with the roster as currently constructed. Would he be an all-star there? Heck no, but he'd be a good player to have.
I wanted us to keep Hickson so bad. Two years ago, he was untouchable in Cleveland. Now, due to their (and Sactown's) incompetence, we've got a good PF (nowhere near in his prime) for cheap. The glut of big bodies is a good strategy, I'm sure we told Hickson that we'll give him a year and if he comes out on top (behind LMA of course) then there's more money in it for him. He's got a huge advantage over Freeland and Leonard. Also, let's bring back Joel. Lillard/Smith Mathews/Williams/Barton Batum?/Claver/Babbit LMA/Hickson Pryz/Leonard/Freeland That.... is pretty bad. but could be worse.
At least if they're going to be bad it will be young and bad ... there's at least the hope and the chance that some of them might get better.
Not that this makes us any better, but if we did lose Nic for draft picks/no players, based on that roster I would prefer to use Wes a lot at the 3 depending on the match ups. Thus giving William/Barton more minutes at the 2. I think a Lillard-Williams-Matthews line up, along with our bigs who can all run, would be much more athletic and fun to watch.
I love that he signed for one year, and totally understand it from the Blazers side, but what the hell is the benefit to Hickson for doing it?
Because with Portland he's sure to get the opportunity to prove himself further. Also, is it so hard to believe that Portland is actually a hot destination for young players.
Jeff Caplan: Chris Kaman on ESPN Dallas 103.3 FM now says he went back & forth last 3 days between Dallas and Portland Didn't know where to put this. But if this went down probably wouldn't of signed JJ
Agree with this. His value had fallen last year and so he wasn't getting the kind of offers he wanted. So he decided to take a year to re-establish his value. And maybe he has a little attachment to Portland since they wanted him last year and gave him some playing time; this all at a time when he might have been getting down on himself.
