Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Quick said he did, so I'm just going off on what he's saying right now on the radio. Could be wrong, who knows. Seems weird that Collins would already have a job when he was just cut.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News No one is expecting them to play...but both players have been in the league for awhile now, and have had experiences in good systems like Utah and San Antonio. It's not as if Mills would play either. He's got three people in front of him as opposed to two for Collins and Udoka.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Come on Guys I know veterans are important, but we added veterans in Andre and Howard who both will get regular playing time. Pendergraph and Mills won't even be healthy for a few months,a dn Collins nor Ime would have played either. TO me Joel, Steve, Brandon, Andre and Juwan should all be considered "Veteran presences" which is a 1/3 of our team, and I think a person could make a case for Rudy in that mix as well. Our younger players are becoming veterans and as championship windows start to open they will be veterans. Good move.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News I think it was the right choice, because the Blazers already have multiple small forwards under contract, and multiple center/PF who can play center better than Collins under contract. So why keep one of those around when you can take a chance on a draft pick/project. I know folks don't think much of Mills, but there is a reason he is on this team. Part of that reason is because he impressed Nate in the Olympics. He was a fast guard who gave NBA players problems. You can't teach speed. Just like Dallas is finding out with Roderick Beubois right now.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Hate it. Horrible decision. Mills will amount to squat, much like Sergio and Telfair did. But at least we've got that 4th PG, injured no less. Whew, that's a load off.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News I am pretty sure it is saving money, the vet minimum would be higher than what they are going to give Mills.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News But Mills is a second rounder. His contract will end in two years max.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Hmmm maybe your expectations of what the 15th guy is going to do for the team, are just a little bit high? Let's get real here. If the 15th guy is playing, the Blazers are in trouble, period. Secondly, most players who are 15th guys on the roster, float in and out of the NBA, sometimes several times a year, or are trade filler at best. Why pay them a lot of money. A rookie is cheaper than a vet by far. I would want Paul Allen to pay millions of dollars a year for a player of Collins or Udoka's stature, to have them sit on the bench at #15. What a total waste of cap space, and Pauls money.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News And Ime or Collins wouldn't amount to squat? How much did Raef Lafrenz help us the last 2 years?
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Unlike an injured rookie, a vet actually could have helped this team, even in street clothes. And they could play, especially Collins, if someone did get hurt for a few weeks. Now if that happens, we're in even more trouble than we would be by playing our 15th man. I mean, since we have 15 guys under contract we wouldn't be able to pick someone else up, right? But I suppose we could stack two of our PG's on top of each other and have them play center...
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Apparently, both KP and Nate wanted Ime, but management higher up vetoed the decision.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Even if somebody gets hurt, they still have to higher quality bodies behind them ready to go. You would have to hit the injury freight train for them to see minutes on any team that was expected to compete for playoff honors this year. As I said, if they are in the game, you are fucked anyhow. Secondly, Patty Mills contract isn't guaranteed. We can cut him as needed if we want. Thirdly, we have an NBDL affiliation for a reason. That reason is to take a chance on guys we think have a shot at playing in the NBA down the road one day. Lasty, Collins flat out sucks. Sure he can rebound and foul folks, but otherwise he is a total stiff. Udoka would have a chance just because all of our SF are stinking right now. That is the only guy I would give a chance to at all, and that is because the guys in front of him just aren't that good.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News And what if next year we realize he can really play at this level. Maybe he'll have trade value to a team looking to rebuild and give us a veteran that would be higher than our 15th man like Ime and Collins. I would rather have a potential starting PG down the road than a 4th string SF with no potential down the road. I LOVE Ime and I'm sure his 2 years of experience with the Spurs would come in handy, but I'm not sure it wins us more than one or two games this year.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News Almost. He was the last pick (or close to) in the 1st round. Manu, on the other hand, was a late second round pick.
Re: 15th Roster Spot (non) News How the hell would we be fucked by having Ime play backup for a little while? That's great, then why have him at all when we could have someone who could teach our youth some things, like Ime. It sounds like Nate and KP agreed with me, so I'll get over hasoos and the Vulcans disagreeing with me.
