Yep. 5 years. Still looks like a Rookie, doesn't he? I almost wanna send him to the D-league, but I wonder if that would be too insulting. What other 5 year-veteran bench player has ever been sent to the D-league? To me, the most insulting thing of all.....is that someone in our organization (Olshey?) thought that he was worth the 11th pick of the First Round. What a fucking joke.
the amazing thing is that he has gotten WORSE and not better, he is awful basketball player and is having a terrible season even at his supposed one strength - shooting. I still can't fathom how we gave him 4 yrs at 40 mil - WTF was Olshey thinking?
Wow. Time flies, holy shit. I was never high on Meyers. I always said I would wait 4-5 years since Centers take a longer time to develop (so they say), but I haven't seen development, he still is the same damn thing from his rookie year!
Drafting him that high wasn't that bad. If you look at his college tape there was a lot to like. He didn't play scared like he does now. He actually had an attitude (which ironically was one of the knocks on him coming out) and it was easy to fall in love with his athleticism. He grew as a man, but not as a basketball player. I still don't understand what happened to his shooting. It was the most reliable part of his game and now that's gone too. It's not like his looks are any tougher either so I don't get it. It has to be mental since everything is mental with him. You can literally see him thinking instead of playing. That's why he's always late to react defensively. He can't even inbounds the ball without thinking about it. I want to root for him so bad, but it's to the point now where it'll probably never work out, at least not in Portland.
I keep thinking that if he put on 20 lbs of muscle and learned how to protect the rim, he'd be absolutely dominate. Not many other 7-1 guys in this league with his kind of frame, besides maybe Jordan and Howard. But I've resigned myself to the fact that that is just never going to happen. His dribbling is absolutely terrible in the paint, and because of his injuries, he's afraid of playing Defense.
fuck neil olshey for giving him that contract, fuck chris mcgowan for firing mike and mike, and fuck Paul Allen for approving those moves.
Yeah, I don't understand where the fear of aggressiveness comes from because it wasn't there his rookie season. I remember he was not afraid to throw down, now he barely ever dunks unless it's a lob. Most frustrating Blazer I've ever watched.
I believe he mentioned something about not wanting to play as a center during a post game interview in his second season.
Well, Allen got to see first hand the folly of his decisions last night. He got to see Meyers standing there doing nothing, Stott's inability to lead, and Olshey's contract results. If only he had people in this organization who could find gold nuggets in mud; like he does with the Seahawks. But noooooo.... I hope this was a wake up call for the richest owner in the league.
It's on the coaching staff for not developing Meyers as a true power forward or center. For some reason they think he is best as a stretch 4. I also don't think it was wise for the staff to fire Kim Hughes for dropping truth bombs.
I believe much of this has to do with his shoulder. Centers need to be able to reach up constantly, and I think he's risking his career if he dislocates that shoulder one more time. But one thing's for certain....he is NOT a PF. At all.
I'm with you on the second part of your sentence, but the contract for Leonard was a smart play, IMO. Despite his shortcomings, Leonard is a healthy young big with some talents and upside on a reasonable contract. He's a trade chip at this point. I'd much rather have his contract value than have passed on re-signing him. If Olshey had just let him walk, the Blazers would still be over the cap and wouldn't be able to sign another player. As it is, they have a $10.2 million dollar per year asset that can be included in a trade. Sure, you're probably not going to get much for him in a single player move, but in combination with other players, Olshey has more money to work with than he would have otherwise.
With respect, I disagree. I think a better alternative would have been to let him walk in FA, and save that money for someone else; a NEED position. Because we could sure as hell use that money to sweeten a trade right now.
But that's the part you're not seeing. The Blazers were already over the cap when they re-signed Meyers. They were only able to preserve the ability to use that extra money between the cap and the luxury tax threshold by using their Bird rights on Meyers. Otherwise, if they let him walk, they just lost an asset and have no way to use the money on another player.
