Amazingly enough, what I write on an internet board devoted to my favorite NBA team doesn't fully represent my entire personality. I hope that's true of you, too.
So, you expected Neil to retain all of our starters, as well as assemble a bench consisting of CJ, Henderson, Aminu, Leonard, and Plumlee, plus young unproovens like Frazier, Crabbe, and Vonleh. Makes sense...
you're the one who responded with the meltdown reference, as if the only other option out there was happy and giddy about the moves.
I hope he can produce for us like he did for Dallas the last few games of the playoffs! Especially at the price we got him for.
Think Gerald Wallace Stacey Augman Bruce Bowen Or maybe even Jeromw Kersey Nice defense, and hustle guy. Not great handles. Needs some work on his jumper. Probably will be a fan favorite
The things is , none of the moves Neil has made so far will stop him from getting top free agents. Other things might (like they prefer going somewhere else) but not adding Plumlee, or Vonleh, or Aminu, or Henderson. We all would prefer that those 4 come off our bench. Whether they do or don't depends on the next 10 days, not the last 10 days. Either way Neil was going to have the same chance of getting them.
I figure we're going to make like Paul Simon and just call him "Al". It would help Mike Rice out for sure.
Went from this 11. Nicolas Batum, Portland Trail Blazers USA TODAY Sports Scoring 9/20 Trying to fight through injuries for much of the year, Nicolas Batum saw his scoring ability decline rather drastically. He had trouble getting separation from defenders, and his shots were often awry, leading to many a single-digit output while he struggled to hit even 40 percent of his looks from the field. Scoring has never been Batum's forte, but it was a distinct weakness in 2014-15. Non-Scoring Offense 13/20 Though Batum wasn't a huge threat off the ball, he retained his knack for distributing the rock and racking up assists. For the third season in a row, he posted an assist percentage on the right side of 20, which is rather impressive for a small forward on a team with a shot-creating threat at the point. Plus, the number of bad-pass turnovers he recorded dipped rather dramatically and not just because he was spending less time on the floor. Defense 35/40 Defense has always been Batum's bread and butter, and it was no different in 2014-15. Even while fighting through some nagging health issues, he remained a lockdown threat on most nights. Regardless of the situation, it was tough for even the more potent offensive players to rack up gaudy point totals against him. Rebounding 5/10 The versatility continues. Batum's raw numbers, however, are misleadingly high. Not only does he record a less impressive number of opportunities, hinting at a slight lack of involvement on the glass when the boards aren't coming right to him, but he was surprisingly ineffective with other players in the area. Intangibles 9/10 It's somewhat astounding that Batum managed to spend so much time on the court. At various points throughout the season, he injured both knees, his wrist (twice) and his back. Somehow, he still missed under 10 games. Overall 71/100 This was certainly a down year for Batum, who regressed in just about every area save his work as a distributor. But he still managed to make a positive impact for Rip City. Even when he's fighting through injuries, he can play quality defense and display his well-rounded game. We've certainly seen more from him in the past, but his season would be a successful one by many other players' lower standards. To this at SF 21. Al-Farouq Aminu, Dallas Mavericks USA TODAY Sports Scoring 7/20 There's not much to write home about here. Al-Farouq Aminu is one of those players who scores largely because he's picking up trash, not because Rick Carlisle is drawing up sets that lead to him getting shots. Nor is he going to create his own looks very often, except for when he grabs a rebound and hits the follow-up attempt. Non-Scoring Offense 4/20 Is any defensive scheme going to focus on shutting Aminu down? Not really, and defenders often cheat away from him when he's standing on the perimeter for the Dallas Mavericks. Between that and a dearth of passing skills, there's not much going for him on the offensive end. Defense 37/40 This would be why Aminu is making the cut. He's a true lockdown defender who can routinely take on the toughest wing assignments, especially because he's so good at preventing points while working on the ball. His off-ball work can be a bit sloppy, but you're not going to score against him in a one-on-one situation unless you manage to work your way into the post. Rebounding 6/10 Aminu has been better in years past, but he's still quite dangerous on the glass in a per-minute setting. Very active as soon as a shot goes up, he seeks out as many opportunities as possible and isn't afraid to fight through contact. Even though he spent less than 20 minutes per game on the court, he was still one of the top per-minute contested rebounders at his position. Intangibles 10/10 It's hard to complain about a man who accepts his role and goes out each night willing to make the biggest impact possible with limited minutes and touches, especially when he also stayed quite healthy throughout the year. A bruised shoulder was his most severe injury. Overall 64/100 A defensive specialist through and through, Aminu is strong enough on that end that he still registers as a top-200 player—if only barely. It also helps that he does good work on the glass and stayed healthy throughout the season, though improving some facets of his offensive game would certainly elevate his standing even further. And by "some," I mean "all." Not sure I would be celebrating how I spent that 30 million
With a cool foreign name like Al-Farouq Aminu you should love this guy. I mean he's no Bogdan Bodganovich. But, he'll have to do.
Exactly this, plus we actually got Aminu, Noah and Henderson for Batum's money. Add those up and we got a steal
This is all I care about. We have to have a guys like this on the team. We can get away with platooning him with a shorter SF who can shoot. But having someone that can guard players such as Steph, KD and Harden, is absolutely essential. Not that he will shut them down, but at least he can slow them down. Defense 37/40 This would be why Aminu is making the cut. He's a true lockdown defender who can routinely take on the toughest wing assignments, especially because he's so good at preventing points while working on the ball. His off-ball work can be a bit sloppy, but you're not going to score against him in a one-on-one situation unless you manage to work your way into the post.
