I love all three of these suggestions. I think we have plenty of offense so this could be part of a unit you put in at the end of games to lock down the opponent. Much like how Greg Anthony and Stacy Augmon were used on those late 90s Portland teams.
Bradley and Deng are obtainable, but I don't see how we could put something together to get Sanders. The dude is making too much.
I'm serious, I would be great in the Earl Watson role. Also I can cheer and wave a towel better than Patty Mills. And I'm white like Steve Blake so I would fit a lot of popular fan niches.
Full MLE guys 1: Deng - possibly a pipedream but would be fantastic at max MLE with player option years 3 and/or 4. 2: Pau Gasol - would be a great fit as b/u to Lopez, is he okay with 20 mpg at this point? Would love his passing here. 3: Greivis Vasquez: would fit like a glove next to Damen and/or CJ and is passable next to Batum at 2. Really just needs to play with someone who can guard 1's. He would make the game a lot easier for bigs, get us some easy buckets and give Dame some time off. (the Maynor effect) 4: Channing Frye: Wouldn't want to get locked in long-term to him, but a front court rotation of Lopez, Aldridge, Frye, and Robinson would be killer and give Stotts tons of versatility. He'd fit wonderful next to Robinson (who could get O rebounds and run the break; Frye would get D rebounds and get back on defense) Vets for cheap: Andre Miller: I would imagine WAS wants to keep him, but if they deny his option (which is spend right?) can they still sign him? He could fulfill a Vasquez-lite role, giving us 15 mpg. Aldridge would love it. Jermaine O'neal: great fit as a b/u enforcer/insurance if Lopez goes down. Not going to give you tons of time, but a high character guy at this point in his career. GS probably doesn't want to let him get away, but they're going to need to make changes and we may offer a lot more to him at this point. Vince Carter: great versatile guy, really has finally accepted his role this year, embraced being a mentor/solid defense. Would make life easier for Dame too handling the ball. Turiaf: just an insurance guy. But high energy, and if you got Frye or someone it'd be nice to have a guy to replace a few Lopez tough guy minutes instead of making Aldridge start at C.
I'm still dreaming of Deng for the MLE. I'm deluding myself into thinking that he had such a bad experience in Cleveland, he would do anything to be on a team with good chemistry: [video=youtube;yCFB2akLh4s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCFB2akLh4s[/video]
Tony Allen...or someone as good as him on D (or close too) Would love a late game lineup with: LMA Batum (Allen) Wes Lillard Thats balanced D and O
This. Allen, Marion, Tucker, AK47, Sefolosha, Aminu or hell even Artest should be looked at this summer. Especially Allen, Marion or AK47 for that late game lineup.
And Deng still isn't shit compared to Batum. Call me when Deng can run an offense the way Batum does. Deng is a good player but he is expendable...
You don't need to get so defensive about it. I just said Deng is more aggressive and he is. That's what most of us harp on Batum for isn't it?
Batum is fine the way he is. He doesn't take horrible shots, runs the offense better than any forward not named LeBron and defends the opposing teams best player in crunch time. Deng wouldn't be aloud to be aggressive on offense either, would you want Luol Deng to take away shots from LA and Lillard? Stotts wouldn't. He would be a GREAT 6th man for us but no way in hell would he ever be more effective than Batum.
Why? I think it's either CJ or Robinson that have their minutes cut into. Matthews plays 32 mpg @ 2, w/Deng either Batum slides down to 2 and plays 16 @ each, leaving 31 for Deng @ 3 and evaporating CJ's minutes or Deng grabs Aldridge's b/u minutes along with Batum's cutting Robinson out.
Deng will certainly earn more than the MLE. The best hope Portland would have is a sign & trade with Cleveland. Wes + Wright would allow Portland to sign him to a contract up to 12M/yr (but hopefully it wouldn't be more than 9-10/yr). REALLY hate loosing Wes, so maybe T-Rob + Wright + Victor.... or CJ + Wright + Freeland Vasquez should be the #1 target in FA in my opinion. He would be a perfect backup PG, but is still big enough to guard SG if needed. I really like the idea of Marion, but I don't see him leaving Dallas. One additional option that people shouldn't sleep on is Boozer. If Chicago uses the amnesty provision on him (which I think they will) Blaizers can submit a partial claim on him and get him for the BMLE before he gets to FA.
I really think that IF mgmt thinks CJ will pan out, a guy like Vasquez is a necessity. (1 on offense, 2 on defense); I would love a combo offseason of him and Jermaine. Otherwise, I would really like Channing or Pau (MLE) and Andre Miller (on the cheap). Either way, one MLE guy and one cheap vet, along with Robinson and CJ getting playing time.
Today's NBA is a PG and wing driven league. So upgrades....ESPECIALLY DEFENSIVELY, need to be made at the wing position. Bench or starter. We are also still EXTREMELY thin up front after Lopez and Aldridge.
