Well, That's a Wrap 13 game losing streak to end the season, which in the rebuild is OK considering many of the starters were injured to end the season. I shudder to think what this team would be like without LMA being on the court. They must get him some help on defense, even if it means overpaying. Lillard is a given and is the only player who can't be traded, based solely on his contract for the next 3 years and the on-court value you get for it. Matthews is best-suited as a 6th Man, IMO, but upgrading will be difficult. Batum ... get healthy. He was very good early in the year, but couldn't overcome his injuries and probably played injured too often. Hickson - thanks for the hustle and the dunks. Off the bench, he'd be great, but he wants to start somewhere as the PF. No thanks. Leonard - a project. We'll see. He did have some moments where he looked like an NBA player, especially on offense. Barton - should be decent off the bench, and has 6th Man potential in terms of scoring ability. Freeland - not sure. Looks to lack confidence and elite athleticism. Claver - doesn't really wow me at all. Pav - thanks for playing. Good luck next year. Frankly, I would have rather had him cut and kept Adam Morrison, just because. Maynor - not wild about him for anything other than the vet minimum. No need to extend the Q.O. Everybody else - thrown into the junk pile of former Blazers.
My thoughts exactly. This team needs to make substantive changes to the lineup next season. Just adding a veteran center isn't going to be enough to get them over the hump.
Ya know I really think LMA is the best PF in the game right now, add that to a future superstar PG, a damn good possible future all star wing player in Batum, good trade chips in Mathews and Hickson, some pretty good young players and the Blazers are much closer that people give them credit for. I'm excited about next season and I think they will be much better.
I assumed SPD's "everything else - meh" was trolling, though. If he can't appreciate LMA's season, then I question his basketball IQ.
Playoffs or bust next year. I think LMA will quietly demand a trade if we can't get into the playoffs next year, but if next year's squad can't even squeak into the post-season, then maybe it would be wise to do a complete rebuild this time.
I agree with this. It's a huge summer for Olshey, and he has two elite players to build around. If he can't find the pieces, then LMA may as well be traded as soon as the 2014 trade deadline. I think a healthy Batum and Matthews, along with some veteran help, will make next year's team a 7th or 8th seed in the playoffs.
Not trolling. LMA wasn't bad. He had a very good season and is a very good player. But if you were to summarize this season in one word, one sentence, or one paragraph all of them would be about Lillard and Lillard only.
Lillard/LA/Matthews/Batum/Leonard/Barton/Claver/Pavlovic. These are the guys I'd like to see return. Freeland doesn't interest me at all. We have too many finesse guys that don't bang around the rim enough. Pavlovic and Claver are smart players that can contribute. Barton and Leonard can grow. Barton just needs to calm down a bit and try to do a little bit less. Leonard needs a stint in a big man defense camp. Maynor was a nice fill-in for the second half of the season, but I think we'll search elsewhere (Jack?). If we don't go that route, will we find another SG to start so Wesley comes off the bench (or vice-versa)? Move Batum to SG and/or get an interchangeable SG/SF? A defensive-minded starting center is the biggest thing we need right now, though. Give a hard foul, bang the boards, throw the outlet pass. Will Elliot Williams be signed on for next year?
Eh, I think having an All-Star and soon-to-be All-NBA player who averaged 21/9 is noteworthy, too. I don't call that 'meh', but whatever. I know I'm in the minority here in thinking LMA is an elite player.
Re: Well, That's a Wrap Leonard: I've defended him but objectively looking at his play in April we probably should have drafted a dildo instead. Undersized sure, but would of at least understood the importance of positioning and when to help out. His inability to understand that shoving someone 20 ft from the basket for no apparent reason will inevitably result in a foul, inspires awe. And while boxing out is a sophisticated, advanced theory on the cutting edge of hoops knowledge, it can be taught to 5th grade girls inside a fucking hour. Since apparently none of Leonard's coaches could impart this to him in the first 21 years of his life, he'll need to work real hard at this over the summer so that he can come back and be very very bad at defense. Small steps. Maybe next year, instead of just randomly jumping/sliding/running randomly around on defense, blissfully unaware, maybe we can teach him to react to what others are doing instead of his predetermined routes and spastic movements, which, while providing the opposing teams bench with much joy, don't help his team a whole lot. Barton: Over confidence when you're really not that good is just another phrase for stupid, and stupid beget more stupid. Freeland: Good at nothing, mediocre at most, and bad at basketball. However, relative to many on his team, he has some potential, provided he gets stronger, and better at basketball. Claver: What a shooting stroke. That might be the best part of his game, providing he's not actually shooting a ball. I do see potential somewhere, I just can't remember where. Pav: Luckily injured for large swathes of the season. Well played, Pav. Has some game, just doesn't seem to do anything above-average, or perhaps even average. On a good team I think he could be a good glue guy. Smith: He needs to go play somewhere that respects his game. Like Duke, maybe. But I think that ship has sailed, so maybe China. Babbitt: Oddly enough when you place a turd and surround it with a bunch of other turds, the turd doesn't look so back.
