Riverman pointed out that there are a ton of trade ideas that send out LMA or some key piece, and those threads take off, but that there isn't enough talk about the benefits of keeping this core together. First off, what is the core? Is it just LMA and Lillard? Or is it all five starters? Personally, I am happy to keep this group together if I felt confident that LMA would remain a Blazer long term. I do think that although Rolo is a huge upgrade over Hickson, I would still be looking for an upgrade over Rolo, or at least another starting quality center that Rolo could split time with. Aside from that, I love everything about Lillard, I love the tenacity and jump shooting ability of Wes, I love the versatility and length of Batum and of course I think LMA is one, if not the best PF in the game today. Add a bench to this team and a little more experience, and limits disappear. The question is, LMA, what will be his choice, will he stay or will he go.
This team barely got into the second round where they were roundly trounced by the eventual champion Spurs. So either you believe that Lillard has another major jump in production/efficiency in him, or that the bench being bolstered is enough to make this team competitive enough to hang with a real championship caliber team. Who is the core indeed?
The fact that they got trounced by the Spurs is pretty much irrelevant, IMO. The Heat got thumped just as badly. The Spurs were just that much better this year. I do think that Lillard can take some additional steps and I also think that a solid bench that doesn't lose a lead when the starters go out will help a whole bunch, both in terms of wins and in terms of keeping the starters fresher. That said, I don't think that there are any guarantees that the Blazers will win as many games or even get out of the first round next season even with an improved bench. There are just too many really good teams. What I want is for the team to be improved in quality and to be in the mix so that if things break their way they could be in a position to play for at least the WC title.
I seem to remember Rolo being the #1 offensive rebounder in the league. The blazers were the #1 rebounding team in the league, even with the worst bench in the NBA. Give this core a good bench and we could be in the finals.
I think if you can upgrade at any position, you do so. The argument on this message board of course is what exactly constitutes an upgrade. I realize sometimes you need to take a chance, but I am in favor of being more patient than being........stupid. I would say the core is Lillard and LA. We need one more stud player. It can be done without trading either of those two. Ideally we keep Nic and find another good wing. SA did it by trading Hill........... I would like to keep Wes as well, but eventually we need someone besides Damian who can attack.......
After a decade of re-building with young players, I like the idea of keeping this starting unit together while trying to substantially improve the bench. You hear so many analyst talk about the value of playoff experience and how players and teams can grow from that. Blazers have about the best starting unit (talent, age and experience) they have had in a long time. I think you play it out and see how far it can take them. Obviously no guarantees in a very competitive west with a lot of big markets spending all kinds of cash plus the Spurs, Durant and co in OKC and all other small mkt teams trying to figure out how to get into the playoffs. But to break up a unit that experienced success in regular season and playoffs, puts Blazers right back into trying to figure out how to make the playoffs again,
I think it also means more to win a title with homegrown talent that's developed in our city for years. That is a title winning team I'd be proud of. I don't want a random group of one year players to come together and win a title like the Marlins
So what? The spurs are the bar, unless being "pretty good, but not quite good enough" is good enough for you.
It's more a matter of what do you do with that information...try to get a little bit better each season until you are good enough or throw in your hand and start over. Both answers can be correct at a certain point, but making the call on which applies to a given team's situation is what separates the good GMs from the bad ones. I do know that the answer isn't throwing in your hand each and every year, which is what gets advocated by some around here every summer.
T hanks for starting this thread, it belongs on a Blazer fansite. To me the core is the starting 5 and the bench is where the adjustments need to be made. I think Neil has to let summer league dictate who gets picked up or traded. Oct 31st deadline will be interesting as will the feb15 trade deadline. We made Kaman an offer and that makes us better than with Watson on the bench. Mo may leave if he gets the 3 years he wants and then we will find someone else for the roster spot. Roster spots 11-15 are not crucial to the success of the team but insurance policies for injury or foul trouble. Terry Stotts and Neil have been in the game for a long time as great as some of you folks are at basketball info, I don't think the view from here compares to the view from the front office. Wish lists are fun though
Pops repeatedly praised the Blazers as a great team, so in my view..that's good enough. Current Blazers are not mediocre, they are in the top 7 of 30 NBA teams. Yup, top 7 in a small market which by the way San Antonio is also a small market with no nightlife, etc
Yeah absolutely right, but bringing them up as some "means of why Portland isn't there" is as valid as saying okc or Miami aren't there.
Pops praising the Blazers doesn't really count since his team was crushing ours. The actions speak louder than a coaches attempt to keep his opponents complacent. If we can keep this team together (which I don't know if it's possible, especially Aldridge) then I'm fine with keeping the core together, and in fact there are some wonderful positives that come from keeping players together for several seasons. But if we keep this squad together, we need to greatly improve our bench. Problem is, we have very little maneuverability to improve our bench. We didn't get a pick, our MLE is going to a decent but not special Kaman, we are losing our best bench player and only legit PG backup, and I don't see where the improvement will be coming.
That isn't true. We don't have to beat a team from the past. We don't need to beat the 2000 Lakers to win the title. I believe this year's Spurs were an outlier and possibly the best team to win a title in the last 12 years. Luckily, we don't need to be the best team in the last 12-15 years. We just need to be the best team in a given year.
