Interesting mostly unbiased view of the Blazers

http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1234407

discuss/argue

 

Why is that interesting? That seems like it would be the opinion of any casual NBA fan.

 

I liked this comment:

If Leonard develops into a quality NBA center, then I think you guys could have a contending team in a few seasons. You'd be more like a Pistons style no-star championship level team if it does happen, since I don't think any of your guys are elite players. Lillard and Aldrich could definitely be multi-time all-stars, but we aren't talking superstars here. Batum is very good, but I doubt he ever makes an all-star team.

I think one of the keys is Leonard. If we retain JJ and if Leonard pans oout we'd have a pretty darn good front court. Then some depth at PG & SG and we can be a pretty good team.

 

But will what you receive for LMA enable Portland overtake those teams? I doubt it. Again you have to hit a home run in the draft to do so. I am not sure you can really plan more than 3 years out. Unless yo have a team of rookies.

I am not against trading LMA if you get a sure thing in return. (Like the #1 pick on draft day-and even that is a gamble)
But I think we spend to much time creating fantasy scenarios and then get disappointed when they don't happen.

 

I'm surprised how little upside Lillard gets credit for in that forum. Seems like most think he's about as good as he'll ever get, which is a strange way to view an NBA rookie PG. When was the last time a stud rookie PG never advanced much? Steve Francis or Damon Stoudamire?

I remember a lot of people (even on this forum) felt the same about Roy in his rookie year, though, so maybe it's hard to imagine a rookie guard with few glaring flaws drastically improving.

Interestingly, the argument used to be that he played at Weber State, so his stats are overrated and he isn't really NBA caliber. Now the argument seems to be instead that he's a 4 year college player, so he came out of Weber State fully polished (?!) and has limited upside.

Personally, I feel like Weber State did a pretty crummy job of preparing him for elite-level defenses, and it gave him absolutely no experience in learning how to guard guys like Chris Paul or Kyrie Irving. He's learning a lot on the job this year, much like a lot of non-4 year PG's.

 

Realistically, I think Portland has 5 more years with LA in his prime.....assuming he re-signs here. I have long been a proponent of trading LA for younger pieces that better fit our core age, but TOTALLY understand the people who think it is insane to trade a 27 year old all star PF in his prime. Hypothetically, the deal we would need would be a price other teams would likely not pay. I mean is

Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones, Kevin Martin and Toronto's and OKC first enough? You decent prospects and a but load of cap space plus a lottery pick?

Okafor, Vesely, Seraphin, Crawford, their pick...3rd right now?

Gortat, Morris, Phoenix first (5 right now) and LAL's pick (13 right now)

Milsap, Heyward and Utah's two 1sts

Hibbert, Hansbrough

Sanders, Henson, Udrih

Not a lot out there to "guarantee" future success


I am not advocating any of these, just pointing out some deals that wouldn't make me cringe. Not saying the other teams would do them either

 

The one thing I have yet to see from Lillard, who I believe is going to be a multi time all-star, is the ability to create for other players. He's a rookie, I get that, just pointing it out

 

I thought it was funny that one guy said Lillard is "undersized"....

The guy is 6'3, 195 lbs according to NBA.com.

How is that undersized?

 

He said undersized 2 I believe

 

Here's the thing; is Lillard a pure point guard? Not in the sense that some people would define it, but I would argue that the point guard position has evolved over the last 20 or 30 years and "pure" point guards are virtually non-existent at this point. Look at the top point guards in the league:

Derrick Rose
Russell Westbrook
Deron Williams
Chris Paul
Kyrie Irving

Of those, only Chris Paul would probably fit in the old school concept of a point guard. I'd argue that Irving is even more of a shooting guard than Lillard. I think Damian is underrated for his ability to make plays and I think he'll get better as he gets older. He has the capabilities, otherwise he wouldn't have 12 assist games. But yes, he is a point guard with a natural scoring ability, and I'm fine with that. Actually, that's why I don't have a problem with Batum being more of a playmaker. If Nic wants to rack up trip-dubs while Damian averages 20+ ppg for his career, that's fine by me.

 

Me as well. I wasn't complaining. I think he will end up in the 20/8 range for his career. Best we've ever had, if he stays healthy?

 

Smaler centers, larger PG's... the league is trending more towards generic types.

 

Oh, I wasn't saying you were MM. I was just giving my opinion on the topic. I just think it's interesting because there will always be that old opinion that scoring point guards are not really point guards at all, but how many successful pass-first point guards are in the league?

Chris Paul.

It starts and ends with him, I believe. Ricky Rubio is a great passer, but what else? He can't shoot, he can't defend, so at what point do you say, "yeah he's a great passer but he's hurting us with his shooting and defense." Some would probably point to Steve Nash, but Nash was also a shooter. A really good shooter. If you look around the league, there's probably Rajon Rondo, but he's another guy that has a questionable jumpshot, but he makes up for that with some very good defense and rebounding. If he wasn't a headcase, he could be the best point guard in the league.

I'm hesitant to throw Deron Williams out there, because while he puts up good assists numbers, I think he also has a tendency to look for his own shot. Shit, last year he attempted over 17 FGA a game. That's two more per game than Lillard. Right now he's around 13 FGA per game. I suspect that Lillard will eventually settle down and average between 12 and 13 FGA per game, which incidentally is right around where Nash was during his best days in Phoenix.

 

I think Kevin Johnson and Gary Payton were part of the reason why it evolved... but you think John Stockton was a score-first point guard?

 

It was funny because this was a big case for dirk throughout his career. Obviously Aldridge isn't as good as dirk in his prime, but the concept is the same.

What i find interesting is Aldridge never had a fully functioning team, yet he is counted out. Does anyone know when was the last time Aldridge had a healthy core and bench throughout his career? Yeah thats right, NEVER!