Withey was second in the NCAA behind Davis in blocked shots the year before last. Just out of curiosity, I looked up who held led that stat by year. Over the last decade, it looks like you've got Anthony Davis, Okafor, and a bunch of no-names you've never heard of. Shot blocking in college doesn't seem to translate well to the NBA, at least not if that's basically your only skill. Most of these guys, just like Withey, were long skinny guys who probably just didn't have the brawn to hack it in the league. Most of them averaged more blocks in their record season than he ever did in college. Like most second rounders, he's most likely going to wash out of the league. He did have a nice talent at the college level that we could definitely use, but it seems pretty unlikely that it'd translate to the NBA game. Interestingly, in the late 80's and early 90's college shot blocking seemed a much better indicator of future success.
I think one of the biggest problems with us as Blazer fans is that we hold onto our failures forever, and are constantly in fear of them repeating. MJ Durant Jermaine Asik (on a smaller scale) Think of all the shitty players we've let go or traded? The list is endless, but nothing ever came from them so they are forgotten.
My issue with Withey is his frame. He's 23 and only 220 after participating in Kansas' conditioning program. Lopez is 25 and is 35 lbs heavier. Sure Withey can block shots, but it's tough to do when you're getting pushed down in the blocks. Does anyone see Withey getting even to 245-250? I'm certain he will be a serviceable backup at some point. However, we know Lopez is already a serviceable starter. At roughly $6MM annually (including his trade kicker) and for a couple of seconds (my read is that Withey is one of the seconds in that deal), it's great value for us. We gave up a lot more for T-Rob, who hasn't accomplished half of what Lopez has, and few were bitching about that deal.
agree and we have no ideal how Withey's college strengths will translate to the pro's, his lack of weight is a concern. Lopez has at least proven he is a serviceable C and his cost is very reasonable, plus IMO he does have upside and we'll see if he can build on last yr which was by far is best season in the NBA
Well I admit I'm not as thrilled by the trade as I was, but only time will tell how well we did in this trade.
If it's true, as someone posted this morning, that we are getting back two second rounders for the two that went out, it's a wash and the trade grade goes back up, in my mind.
The longer I listen to The Fan, the more I think that they're jumbling the various twitter reports from yesterday on this trade. I have a feeling they've got it wrong, and that we're not receiving any picks, but just giving up Withey and another future 2nd. Separately, aside from the idea that Withey might actually become a productive player, the other part of his departure that I dislike is the Robinson/Withey dynamic. The articles about their friendship at Kansas got me a bit stoked about how they might rekindle their "iron-sharpening-iron" relationship here. All in all, I'm still happy about the deal.
The original source is usually a tweet, and I see nothing on Twitter. What's really sad is that we finally got a player with a nickname.
I know that isn't going to appease many (if any) but remember that POR has Freeland as the 3rd string Center and Claver as the 3rd string Stretch 4. A lot of us would probably like to deal Freeland (for a ham sandwich even - not me but a lot) but we do have 3 guys who can play Center still. I don't think Center (and PF) are a need anymore. Move on to SF and PG in that order.
I think backup PG and backup SF are equal top priorities. Both positions currently have guys who seem like they could be adequate second stringers ((McCollum at PG, and Matthews at SF) but the jury is out whether either will perform well there over the long term as backups. Besides, injuries happen and we don't have anything to put in there behind those two.
Yeah I had the same thought about the time I posted about it. Unless I see it in print somewhere, I'm assuming they are confused. I reasonable assumption, to be sure.
