As I see it, and I'll be the first to admit my crystal ball is really cloudy, the Blazers' rebuild is several years away from being truly competetive. I think that in Aldridge, Lillard, Leonard and Batum they have a core that can be built around, but I think they really need a top-level wing player to replace Matthews in the starting lineup. Matthews is a backup...a good backup, but a backup. Barton could surprise me, but I just don't see a guy with that build being a top-level SG in the NBA. I expect that the Blazers will finish low enough this season to have a good shot at drafting a solid SG prospect next June. Let's say that they are set as far as talent goes for their core after this summer. At that point, its a matter of separating the wheat from the chaff from the bench and filling it in with solid, experienced NBA players. Then there's the matter of gaining enough experience for the core to be truly competetive. Judging by OKC's progress, that's about a five year path from right now. I say that with a bunch of good fortune, the best case scenario is that they're in position to make the playoffs in two years, can win a series in three, and can compete for a top spot in five. Man rebuilds suck.
should have pushed for Igoudala. And like I've said in the past, there are no "5 year plans" in the NBA. You either build them in 2 years or don't do it at all.
Our roster lacks assets and the roster was too far away that even a player like Iggy wouldn't have made this team much better. At best, a first-round and out ....again.
I know, we just have a lot of young talent on cheap contracts and cap space. We totally lacked tradable assets.
We still need to look at the trading deadline of acquiring big contracts for teams looking to dump. Not sure but I'm sure some names will pop up...mainly need a starting 2 guard. Just protect the 3L's and use everyone else as trade bait.
Young doesn't always mean they're good assets. Outside Lillard/Leonard/Batum the roster severely lacks talent regardless of age. You give up those and you have a two-man show (LMA/Iggy) and we're right back into that revolving door of mediocrity.
ok, then find someone else. I think the real problem here is Batum and Matthews aren't really NBA quality starters, not the youth of the roster. maybe batum is borderline but his game is pretty similar to last season and we'll always be waiting for him to take that next step.
This year's team looks to be seriously bad -- thin and inexperienced everywhere bad. If we get a high lotto pick and a player worthy of our cap space this summer, we could see a 20 game swing next year.
Well, I guess this year is really just an assessment year. What do we have in Lillard, Barton, Leonard, Freeland, Claver, etc? I suspect Olshey will take his time this season assessing our young talent and then determining a course of action from there. With that said, I expect a lot from LMA this season. If he continues to suck it up like he has so far in the preseason, I don't know if he's really worth holding onto.
They were looking to move Iggy for awhile, just because he got traded for Bynum doesn't mean his price was that high. Philly was thinking of moving him for awhile but because of his contract supposedly not many teams wanted him.
