We might already have him in Pat Con. He is a shooter and he plays defense. Raw but coming along nicely.
I can't wait to see him next season. In the few games he's played during the late season I was quite impressed by him. If we consider this year's starting unit to be Dame/CJ/Aminu/Vonleh/Plumlee then I think we need two new starters at SF/PF/C - replace two of the three and the 3rd guy will be fine. Barnes and Ibaka? Keep Plumlee. Barnes and Sanders/DMC? Keep Vonleh. Ibaka and Saners/DMC? Keep Aminu (although I'd actually go with Harkless).
We definitely need this. Not everyone can "learn" to become a good shooter. I feel like with Aminu (and Plumlee) WYSIWYG. But with Harkless, I think he could improve, a lot. I'm very excited about Mo's potential.
Pat has been such an afterthought. When he did get into the games at the end of the season, he looked GOOD.
So would you like to continue this conversation now? http://stats.oregonlive.com/nba/boxscore.asp?gamecode=2016043024&home=24&vis=25&final=true Player Pos Min FGM-FGA FTM-FTA 3PM-3PA +/- OR Reb A Blk Stl TO PF Pts L. Aldridge F 29:32 18-23 1-1 1-1 +30 1 6 1 2 0 2 1 38
How about the new and improved 2016-2017 Maurice Harkless? We won't really know until the unveiling next fall, but I'm anxious to see next year's model.
Regardless of who it is, they need another guy who can consistently step up. It wasn't until part way through the 2nd quarter in Game 6 before anyone besides Dame/CJ made a shot outside of 2'. The misses from outside of that were brutal which is why the crowd inside the Rose Garden (Moda is no longer even in Oregon so that's out) was so nervous and not very loud. You could feel the apprehension because it was so obvious in most of the players.
Unless the player is a big who can shoot and score with high usage as well as play defense (like a Kevin Love with good defense), the Blazers can't solve their roster issues with one guy. They need more shooting in the front court and they need more defense across the roster and they need at least one more guy who can create for himself and others. There isn't a quick fix to that, it'll take at least another wave of roster building.
He has to want it AND understand he isn't there yet AND understand how much MORE work it's going to take to reach the top. Maybe with Dame in his ear he might get there. [fingers crossed]
For whoever is suggesting Harrison Barnes... hell no. Let's not pay the max for a player who is half as good as Batum.
