Bring JJ Hickson off the bench for a scoring punch and..

I just don't think you can bench a guy who is averaging a double double as your center.

 

Hmmmm ... yeah, that's a thought.

 

Our starters are playing about 35-40 minutes a game, it's not like Hickson would be in there with 4 scrubs if he came off the bench. You play your best players period. Horrible idea.

 

I mostly agree with that, but assuming they didn't draft busts in Claver, Freeland, Leonard and Barton all of those guys are going to need an investment of time ... and by time, I mean real court time, not the sporadic practice time that players get in the thick of the regular season.

 

If they want to play more then they need to play better. You don't start inserting guys into the starting lineup who don't deserve it.

 

I would actually like to see Freland and Barton get more time.

Barton > Nolan Smith

 

Fixed!

BNM

 

David Thorpe calls it the "Royal Jelly" and it's a pretty compelling argument for player development. Any young player needs real court time and a real chance to work through their issues without a quick hook and with a steady role. Without it guys wash out all the time -- some would have washed out anyway, but how many fall through the cracks who otherwise could have been productive players if they'd gotten the opportunity?

Furthermore, practice time in the NBA during the regular season is mostly about shoot-around, getting shots up and game planning, scrimmages are few and far between.

So while I don't necessarily want to see a bunch of scrubs getting force fed minutes at the expense of guys like Lillard, LMA, Wesley and Batum, this is the year to try and see what you've got -- no real expectations, no reliable bench depth and not a lot of pressure.

 

I totally see the point, but I actually really like Hickson and I'm not convinced that there will be someone this summer who we can sign that will be better than JJ.

 

Hmmm, it occurs to me that my last post is probably derailing the thread a little bit.

Back to Hickson, I agree that he should be starting right now and maybe you're right, there won't be anyone better for us to sign this off-season -- it's probably not even a "maybe" to be honest. Maybe 1 or 2 worthwhile free agents and something like 13 teams with max or near max money this summer.

 

Can we extend him now? Olshey might want to seriously consider it, unless he thinks he's going to end up doing a lopsided trade, but this team really doesn't have any assets outside of the starters.

 

I don't see any big trades looming this year; there just aren't enough real assets. As for extending Hickson ... errrr ... ummmm ... I don't know? I can't quite shake the "contract year" thing. I still question the kind of player he'll be after he cashes in. If he's still playing like this three months from now and the team is confident in what they have, then I suppose Neil is savvy enough to know what he wants to do with Hickson and this roster.

 

Hickson can start, or Leonard can start. As far as I'm concerned though, Hickson has earned the starting spot. How can you not love this guy? He's like Marcus Camby on rebounds except he can actually make a layup on offense.

 

Leonard is a good three years away.

I say go after Pekovic. By the time he's in his last year, Meyers ought to be more than ready.

 

Well, if there are a lot of teams with cap space this summer, and very few players worth the cap space, I think you could make the jump that Hickson will get paid. Maybe we should look at trading him now? Dive right into starting Leonard and bring Freeland off the bench? I really like Hickson, but he's a UFA after this season and Leonard is the clear future at that position. I hate to give him up, but you can't overpay a guy to come off the bench. Seems like he's our only marketable asset and this team desperately needs some bench players.

Who could use a big guy?

 

I just don't see how he fits here long term though. The Blazers are not trading Aldridge ok and I don't think they drafted Meyers to be the backup center in the long run. So where does that leave Hickson? Is he all of a sudden going to become your long term backup center? The Detroit Pistons are going to run into the same problem in a few years. I just don't see how it works. With Hickson you see what his value is at trade deadline and keep your options open.

 

The thing is, you don't need a conventional center to win in the NBA these days. Right now Hickson is the second best big behind Aldridge, so he should start. I like Leonard, but he's not better than Hickson. Not right now, and maybe not next season either. Hickson is scoring, he's rebounding, and he's hustling. Nothing to dislike about the guy. The only real fear is that he's playing for a contract and then he'll have a letdown. That's always possible.

 

You guys heard on Talkin Ball that Chris Haynes talked to Stotts about bringing JJ Hickson off the bench for a scoring punch. Stotts said no because he is playing to good right now but Chris and Dwight Jaynes both agree that you have to give as much time as you can to Meyers Leonard and Damian Lillard together on the court to develop some cohesiveness. So why not start now? Adding that Hickson is a short term fix and Leonard is the long term fix.

 

Bingo. We suck, so let's use the worthless minutes to get our guys experience.

 

If Chris and Dwight think it's a good idea, it MUST be true.