After benching Vonleh Portland became a 53 win team.

Counting the post-season so far, we're 13-7 without starting Vonleh, winning 65%. That was the pace of a 53 win team. When you consider we almost certainly will make a big splash in free agency, Portland should be nicely positioned next season to compete for a top 4 seed.

 

FTFY

For real though, I think that a 53 win team plus a big splash plus extra development results with a near 60 win team. That combined with Duncan and Manu possibly retiring, Durant possibly leaving OKC, and who knows wtf in Clipper land, I think that we should be competing for the 2nd seed next year. We're great on our home floor...

For next year it's WCF or bust.

 

OMG I just turned into Kingspeed....

 

Seriously, with a proper power forward you'd probably be looking at two wins instead of two losses in close Warriors games. Aminu has been good at 4 but if you move him to 3 and put a 4 in you're looking even better.

 

Yeah, and it's the league's third youngest team. It's exciting to get so many young guys getting deep playoff experience and the sense of what a winning culture is.

And then there's the publicity of this playoff run. Think back about how Greg Monroe chose the Bucks over our team. There's no way he walks away from the opportunity here if he were in the same position this summer.

You have to sell good free agents on success, not rebuilding. Lillard's 26/6/4 in the playoffs over 10 games screams to FA's that if you come to Portland, you are going to have some fun when the real games count.

 

Welcome.

I am not so sure I agree with this, unless your PF can guard the perimeter. Who did you have in mind? Not saying we don't need to upgrade the PF position, but against the Warriors when they make you go small I think Aminu was fine. Green is a nightmare match up for almost every team. Not sure another PF plays that many minutes against this team

 

I actually like Aminu at the 4. He's the perfect spacer because he's a good but not great shooter. He's got the length and rebounding ability to play here, and he's got the versatility to switch and defend multiple positions.

 

Hello, nice to be here.

Millsap is my PF pipedream perfection. He's good defensively, can rebound, scores a lot. In a perfect scenario we's reunite him with Horford from FA here but it's not doable.

 

Agree. That's why I like the idea of bringing in a Starting 3 capable of scoring and deft as a perimeter defender.

 

I like Noah's defense, but until he can hit a shot consistently, he's basically Mason Plumlee without the passing.

 

Noah Vonleh was disappointing this season, we should have been starting Aminu/Harkless the whole year. I think they showed early on that they were the best forward tandem.

The only thing I saw from Vonleh is flashes of being a good defender. We also know that he has a decent jumper in the gym, but he didn't hit them in games.

 

It's much more doable (3%) than many of the other scenarios floated in this board (PG). If Horford is not interested in re-signing, then PDX is possible. In that case, they start over, and no need to keep Millsap.

 

Vonleh, like Plumlee, also has an issue of getting his shot rejected. As athletic as he is I find it hard to figure out why.

 

If Horford decides to move then it's Boston or Portland. Boston would be a sideways move at the moment, they don't have the team to challenge yet, he'd be much better off with Lillard and CJ.

 

Confidence?

 

It's not benching Vonleh; since Christmas (including playoffs), we've played at a 53-win clip (34-19), but all of January we had Vonleh starting at PF.

 

Watch out for Orlando when it comes to Horford. He went to school in Florida and loves the State (a lot of players do due to the tax advantages).

I would rank it as:
1. Back to ATL (big leader)
2. No one, still ATL
3. ORL
4. BOS
5. POR (only because he has never in his whole life lived west of the Mississippi)
6. Who cares. No one. He isn't getting this far. But DAL would be next.

 

He was born in the Dominican Republic where it's hot.
He went to college in Florida where it's hot.
He has spent his entire pro career in nearby Georgia where it's hot.
So, he's going to sign in Portland where it rains, oh wait!

Honestly, I think we have a shot, but it's a small one. The big question is... how important are basketball reasons for him?

 

Curry was out in those games.....that changes things a bit.

 

It's not just having athleticism, it's knowing how to use it. Timing is a big deal...Draymond Green blocks the shots of people taller and more athletic than he is by timing his block attempts perfectly, often getting his hand on the ball before his opponent has reached the apex of their leap. Anticipation, timing, coordination...all of these are a big deal in leveraging athletic ability and Vonleh needs to develop more of those.