You mean apart from the guy who Magic Johnson just called "a top five player in this league" and whose insertion into the lineup turned Golden State into an unstoppable powerhouse? Or the guy who's about to get a max contract from the Bucks because he's the best in the league at DRPM at his position as well as being a great offensive player? Why was CJ a great pick? Because the draft sucked? Everything is relative, I suppose - a "great pick" in one draft would be sucky in another, then. I like him fine as a scorer off the bench, and maybe he could be a starter next to a big PG like John Wall, if he didn't have the rich man's version in Bradley Beal already. Sure, I like CJ and I'm hoping he exceeds all expectations for an undersized, not particularly athletic, not great-defending SG. But maybe he already has, but notice we CRATERED when Wesley went down, so it's not like expanded minutes for him was good for the team.
Look, here's what I think: there are likely to be very good players available at just about any position in the first round, and even early in the second. But NOBODY knows who those players are. At the same time, EVERYBODY thinks they do. So, of course cocky GMs are ready to trade proven players for the guy they've fallen in love with. And once in a while they'll be right (especially if they're the Spurs). But our front office hasn't exactly impressed recently. Our last great draft pick (not counting Lillard, because he wasn't that surprising at the place he was taken) was probably... Batum.
it takes a long time for a guy to be deemed great, especially when after Batum we were picking in the late 20s. Lillard was a great pick because it could've been Harrison Barnes and it could've been TRob or Waiters if they fell
Batum was always about potential. He rarely did much other than try to be a point guard. You can blame the presence of Aldridge hogging the ball and the coaches falling for it, or you can blame Batum for not scoring when he had the ball, which would have forced a diminution in Aldridge's role by the coaches. Which came first, the chicken or the egg. Did A cause not-B, or did not-B cause A. (Hey, the letters agree with the names!) Either way, Batum has peaked. What you see is what you get, and his trade worth will only diminish as the years go on.
If we absolutely HAVE to trade for the #4 pick, then here's a trade I'd get behind (provided the player we take turns out good and isn't Porzingis): Meyers and CJ for the #4. (They might even be good players for the triangle.) If you want to clear out salary, send along Afflalo and/or Kaman. If Olshey did that - trading 4 of "his guys" - I might actually respect him. That way we have a chance of keeping the starters that were so awesome at the beginning of last season together and build up the bench, which should be the goal.
So we trade away two guys that should be upper tier bench guys this year (on talking ball they said Cj and meyers as your 6 and 7 are likely championship caliber) for a possible bench piece? That's ridiculous. Or, we can move batum or rolo and try to upgrade our starting lineup. Sounds better
Is Phil Jackson senile enough to do this? If it was the old Knicks regime I could definitely see it, and so far the Phil regime seems to be just as inept.
When CJ and Meyers win a playoff series I'll start thinking about championship caliber...as for now they haven't won shit yet.
I was just saying that for all the people who think Batum.couldn't get us into the lottery, you.did a pretty good job illustrating why he should be able to. Most teams would be dying to get a Batum in the top..5, let alone the top 10. Why the Blazers do it? We need something not named Batum. It's a risk, but, I am firmly in the camp that with all teams healthy - we aren't winning as constructed and a lot of that is due to Batum's consistent disappearing acts in the playoffs.
You do know that every Blazer starter looked worse in the playoffs, right? Because Memphis is a fucking good defensive team? Ironically, one player whose all-round numbers were better was Batum.
Yeah, blame it on the 4th/5th scoring option rather than the guy the team is built around that's due to make $20M per season...who never shot above 38.2% in the POs this season.
I actually think it would be a good move. He gets a seasoned player that works well with dominate scorers and they would still have another max to offer the robin player.
so, if Batum was in this draft, he would be picked ahead of Russell or Winslow? To put it another way, you believe the 4th best player in this draft is inferior to Batum?
No, I believe NY wants to win now with Melo. They put too much money and cap space not to go "all in". Russell or Winslow will definitely be better players in the future, but too young to make a big difference now. They would do well with a team with more proven players to make up for their youth.
Id much rather keep Batum then trade him for the #4 pick if we keep LA. If we dont then id deal Batum for even less then the #4 pick. I love Batum and want to keep him but without LA im not willing to pay him after next year with the salary he will demand.
