I think it just depends... he'll be out for money against Milsap, Jefferson, and couple other bigs. He's younger though. I think a team could easily throw six to eight at him.
I think Hickson will ask for about as much as Aldridge makes or higher, why shouldn't he? I can pretty much guarantee that if it is higher Hickson will not be on this team next year.
There's way too much competition at his position this summer. I highly doubt he makes more than 8 million per year.
So I guess it comes down to how comfortable we are with Meyers Leonard at the end of the year. His PER has ben steadily rising, but he's still got a ways to go before I feel comfy with him starting. However, in the Hickson position where he's just a garbage man, we could have Leonard start next season and call it good... Regardless, Hickson's not going to come off the bench for us. He's going to start somewhere. And he's also not going to accept another one-year deal, no matter how big we make it. So, basically, he's not coming back next season.
As our team leader in PER despite 2/3 the minutes of Aldridge, Hickson is the greatest Blazer free agent of the generation. Paul Allen might offer him compensation off the books, like 15% ownership of the team.
That's what they all say. Prove it. And don't just cite a big page full of equations. That's my trick; you don't get to.
Hickson is a solid role player, but his FT% is brutal. He's a very good garbage man who can rebound. Drtg is dependent on who is on the floor with you, as is Ortg, fwiw. I wouldn't pay him more than the MLE, and I will be surprised if somebody offers him more than the MLE. He is a very limited player who is very good at rebounding, but you lose on the defensive end because of the terrible defense. The Blazers need to get someone who can defend at least as well as LMA, because I am sick of seeing Kevin Love and a few others get to coast on the defensive end while playing the Blazers, at the same time LMA has to defend him and a few others.
Hickson is a role player who can fill a valuable niche on a good team. RE the comparative statistics, Hickson simply is not used or guarded the same way LaMarcus is. Hickson isn't as valuable or versatile or used the same or as much as LaMarcus in the real world, no matter what those numbers suggest. I would suggest that LaMarcus' usage is the very reason some of his numbers aren't higher. Just imagine for a moment Hickson were used the same way LaMarcus is: what do you think his numbers would look like? Conversely, we know that putting LaMarcus in the low block unleashes LaMonster. It will be interesting to see what the market says Hickson's value is, but I think it is going to be largely dependent on whethere there is a team that can afford him that needs a role player that brings what Hickson does. I think we are one of those teams.
