In a nutshell, you nailed it Bert. Mo is way better than Brooks is ever going to be. Mo won't get the tech or pout on the bench. Mo will get assists which I don't think Brooks has ever gotten. Mo is also a good locker room guy. Luke Ridnour is the better choice for the local guy.
With Damian, CJ, Batum and Barton backup PG is not a big need IMO, even with Mo walking. A solid vet such as Udrih for the vet minimum would be perfect. With our MLE and BLE I'd like to see us target a defensive big man and a defensive SF.
That no PG lineup looked good in short spurts, but what happens when teams start pressuring the ball handler with no real PG in there? I wonder if Sergio would even want to come back here, he left with a pretty bad taste in his mouth. Yet another good backup we cast off for nothing.
Avery Bradley would be a great get. Being from Seattle he might have an interest in coming back out west
I want Vasquez as well. I'm just worried he will cost too much as we need a backup big pretty bad too
He turned down 24 mil over 4 years, which is more than MLE. But that was before injuries in the second half of the year, and he would've been signing to a bad team in the Celtics. Could we play him next to Lillard at all with his size? Could he run a lineup next to Matthews (is there enough PG skills?) I do like him though and having an ace perimeter off the bench would be great.
We lose. Hell we struggle with one PG in the line up against teams with great perimeter defense. Phoenix obviously comes to mind, but so do the Clippers. I was at one of the Blazer-Clippers games in LA and the ending was painful. When the Clips turned up the D in crunch time and doubled Dame, we could not get a decent shot off. Maybe CJ or Will would have helped, but I am a fan of playing 2 PGs at the sames time (in small doses) i.e Westbrook/ Jackson or Dragic/Bledsoe or even Steph/Jack two years ago. And Terry does too based on how often he had Mo and Damian in together in crunch time. I would love to upgrade that duo, but regardless if Mo leaves then he needs to be replaced by the best backup PG we can afford. We need two players on the court at all times who can attack the basket. (In addition to Batum)
best we can do is throw the full MLE at him and make it a "toxic offer" like we did with Wes Matthews. Then pray Boston does not match.
Then that leaves the Blazers with only vet contracts to offer. Is anybody here seriously considering signing Avery Bradley for the full MLE? I'm baffled here at times...
Yes, Bradley would shore up a huge need. Perimeter defense and legit sixth man at the guard spot. Also we would still have the bi-annual exception to offer. That would bring us to 15 roster spots.
What more do you need? If you get Bradley, then you've got a clear top 7 (starters, he, and Robinson) all we need is a b/u 5 and 2/3. I think there's hope that either Freeland and one of Claver/Barton/CJ can fill out spots 8 and 9 in a rotation. If not, we could still offer 2 million dollar contracts right?
Will Barton could probably handle part of the PG duties when paired w/Bradley. I still wonder how much Bradley can play next to Damian due to size, but maybe it wouldn't be a problem. Couldn't be as bad as him paired with Mo I guess.
