Does Hood count? He played in the finals two years ago (poor guy has been swept in the playoffs by GS each of the last three years, while on three different teams). How about Terry?
Yeah, he joined for the 1999-2000 season. So from 1999. Terry is a good one, but as far as players go, Hood didn't win a title.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/miketo...-insurance-in-signing-pau-gasol/#4deb7f4b330f .....At 39, Gasol is past his league-tilting years, but he brings a resume and pedigree from 19 years in the NBA that few players have ever brought to Portland. He is a six-time All-Star who won two NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers. Gasol has played in 1,226 NBA games (1,150 starts). That’s more than the Blazers’ other big men – Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins, Hassan Whiteside and Skal Labissiere – have played combined (911, with 530 starts). Perhaps more importantly, Gasol has played in 136 playoff games, which is three times more than the other four bigs combined (43). At times when the Blazers need an emotional lift, Gasol could simply bring in one of his championship rings as a way to inspire his teammates. He will become the first player who plays for Portland after having won a championship since Dorell Wright, who played for the Blazers in 2013-14 and 2014-15 after winning a championship with Miami in 2006. Wright, however, only played 20 games with the Heat as a then-20-year-old. (We're ignoring Festus Ezeli, who signed a two-year deal with Portland after winning the title with Golden State in 2015, but never appeared in a game with the Blazers and was waived.).....(continues)
An all Center front court may actually work. Hoping for blocked shots all over the place. Tower over the little ones who can shoot. Create that 3 man wall so that Dame can shoot and score.
Exactly. It's a no-risk move. The downside is he gets hurt and is simply a big-man coach who helps out our young bigs. He'd be occupying a roster spot but if he was hurt for the year we could release him and actually hire him as a coach if we needed the roster spot. He'd still get paid, still be around the team in the same capacity, and we lose nothing. He'd still help our bigs and be great for the culture. The upside is he plays, is productive in 10-15 minutes off the bench as a big that can shoot 3s, pass the ball, is a smart defender, and is a calming influence for a bench led by a 20-year old 2nd year player. All that plus he would essentially a big-man coach as well, helping our bigs develop, as well as being a great culture guy. I don't see any downside whatsoever.
Gasolina is only a year removed from starting, and playing 23 minutes a night. It’s not like he relied on his athleticism as a 37 year old, so I wouldn’t dismiss him just yet, even if he’s now 39.
I go camping for 4 days and we actually do something at the end of July. Great move imo. Not only is he a great locker room presence but he should be a good mentor as well for Zach Collins and Nurkic. He also showed on SA that he can still give solid small minutes, you can't expect him to play for 20+ minutes a night but he is very solid for 10 or so a game.
I hope he is dedicating his summer to getting in really good shape and proving that he can still be a very effective player.
https://www.blazersedge.com/2019/7/...y-how-many-titles-portland-playoff-experience Pau Gasol’s Winning Reputation a Boon to Blazers Apparently, as I've been reading so often, this is his leading value to the Blazers.
https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/...portant-role-with-portland-trail-blazers.html By Joe Freeman | The Oregonian/OregonLive Pau Gasol boasts two NBA championship rings, six All-Star game appearances and four all-NBA team nods and has seen and done virtually all there is to see and do in the NBA. But as he weighed playing another NBA season against lounging on the beaches of his native Spain, he couldn’t escape a truth that has guided him throughout his nearly 20 years in the league. “The love for the game, the competitive spirit,” Gasol said, when asked what, at age 39, drives him. “To see and push myself to newer limits and to continue to be a part of the best league in the world with the best players in the world. I still have a huge passion and fire for what I do and I love working my butt off to continue to do it at the highest level.” The Portland Trail Blazers added championship pedigree, versatility, experience and a respected locker room voice when they signed Gasol to a one-year contract last week. But they also added a player who, even as he enters his 19th season in the NBA, remains exceedingly motivated. The Blazers are counting on Gasol to nurture and guide young big men such as Zach Collins and Skal Labissiere, but they also are counting on the veteran power forward/center to elevate a team coming off a trip to the Western Conference finals. “We’re hoping Pau has the championship experience that gets us to that next level and helps us over the hurdle,” Neil Olshey, the Blazers’ President of Basketball Operations, said. Gasol is the final addition in a surprisingly busy Blazers offseason that has included trades for Hassan Whiteside and Kent Bazemore and the signings of free agents Rodney Hood, Anthony Tolliver and Mario Hezonja. The Blazers’ roster, which features 14 players, is set for the 2019-20 NBA season, Olshey said, and it will ooze depth, versatility and experience. Gasol’s All-Star days are undoubtedly behind him, but the Blazers are banking on him filling an important role in their frontcourt. Coach Terry Stotts said he envisions Gasol playing both power forward and center, either alongside Whiteside and Collins or at “the five by himself” as part of an overhauled Blazers bench. The future Hall of Famer, who has averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists with five teams over 18 seasons, will be especially invaluable over the first four or five months of the season, as Jusuf Nurkic works back from a gruesome left leg injury. “His game really fits with what we want to do and how we want to play,” Stotts said. “He can play the four and five … he knows how to play. The bonus is that he’s a winning player and he’s won everywhere he’s been.” Gasol has played in 136 playoff games during 12 trips to the postseason, which includes two championship runs with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he’s coming off his least productive — and perhaps most frustrating — season, during which he averaged just 3.9 points and 4.6 rebounds with the San Antonio Spurs and Milwaukee Bucks. Foot and ankle injuries limited him to just 30 games and his season ended in May, when he underwent surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. Rather than try to play through the ailment during the Bucks’ postseason run, Gasol said, he had surgery to ensure he’d be ready for the start of the 2019-20 season. Jesse Elis, the Blazers’ director of health and performance, visited Gasol in Madrid last week for a checkup and Gasol said Monday that he hopes to be “completely cleared and free to compete during training camp.” “I had a rough season last year with the injury,” Gasol said. “I did decide to take the surgery when I did because it would give me a chance to be ready by training camp for next season despite saying no to the chance of playing in the playoffs.” Of course, a byproduct of adding a player with Gasol’s reputation and resume is that his impact can be felt long after he leaves. Gasol has played in 1,226 games, significantly more than the rest of the Blazers’ big men — Nurkic, Collins, Whiteside and Labissiere — combined (911). Collins blossomed faster than expected, in part, because of the tutelage and leadership of Ed Davis during his rookie season. The Blazers are hopeful Gasol’s wisdom and guidance can have a similar impact on the entire frontcourt. And as he enters the twilight of his distinguished career, Gasol is eager to pay it forward. “I’ll teach them the things that I’ve learned and acquired from years of experience,” he said. “I am excited about it because I think once you get to this stage of your career, it becomes a very fulfilling aspect of the game, to share knowledge, to share experience, to share wisdom and help the younger guys just like the veterans have helped me along the way in my younger years. So I think that’s part of the beauty of life, part of the beauty of sports. It’ll be fun. I love mentoring. I love being a leader in that way. So I look forward to it.”
Which one of you mouth breathers got invited into the conference call??? (In before @THE HCP could say it....)
