Not Dame, not CJ, not Wade...we talkin' 'bout Stauskas! Not a player who's gonna play every game...we talkin' 'bout Stauskas! I mean, how silly is that? I mean, I know we're the Blazers forum, I know we're supposed to talk about Blazers. I know that. But we talkin' 'bout Stauskas! We talkin' 'bout Stauskas! Stauskas!!
For those that are "complaining" about this signing at the first moment......WHO ELSE would you have tried to get for $5.3M? Olshey UPGRADED our 3PT % by replacing Napier and Pat with Stauskas and Curry. Major upgrade by % pts. I believe that the "complainers" are just upset that we aren't in a position to improve the starting lineup significantly. We knew we wouldn't be able to do that with free agency. No surprise to me.
Yep, we got him on a 1-year minimum contract. You need to fill out the 14th and 15th roster spots anyway and it doesn't get any cheaper or any shorter than a min contract for 1 year. That's pretty much the definition of a zero risk signing, and we still have both of our 2-way contracts open in case any young guys with potential get cut by someone else prior to opening night. BNM
For me it's not who we signed but the position they play. Between Simons, Trent, Stauskas, and Curry their best position all projects to be SG. I know they can all play some other positions at times but to me SF and a vet big were both bigger needs than adding two guards, let alone four. I totally get not wanting to block Collins from getting major minutes but I feel like there is no net or backup plan if he struggles or there is an injury to him, Aminu, or Nurk. Plus I feel like we overcompensated a little bit for shooters at the expense of defensive improvement.
You had mine right up until "at the expense of defensive improvement." Collins, Aminu and Harkless (and even Turner, ugh) are all good defenders. What we really need at the 3 and 4 spots are 2-way players who can both defender and score. We have the defense nailed at those two positions, but Harkless is the only one who has proven he can be a 2-way player. The problem is he tends to only prove it for about 20 games a year. P.S. I "liked" your post anyway. You made some valid points. BNM
What I meant was that the new signings/draftees in particular weren't to help improve the defense, they were all for shooting help. Now the two rookies could be good defenders eventually (who knows) but that wasn't a huge factor in drafting them. Curry is an okay defender but not really considered a two way player. Stauskas is a bad defender. I know the defense can still be on par with last year, maybe even better depending on Collins having an expanded role and if we get the "engaged" Harkless.
Having experienced the ups and downs/mood swings (to put it nicely) in Blazerland since 1970, I’d almost be willing to put down some real cash that says that Sauce Castillo is a Blazer fan favorite by mid season. Or that’s the way it usually seems to work around here......
We fans tend to over-inflate our knowledge of players abilities or talent. I.e., Pat Connaughton. Prior to last season, the consensus was that he was an absolute train wreck of an NBA player. Then when he started performing and putting up relatively so-so production, he became "patty C". NOT saying that's how everyone felt. Enough people still maintained he was a borderline 15th man. I'm not sure if I backed up your point or not.
