On Duncan and Hollinger podcast they were split on opinions of who was a better option. Both were very curious of Whitesides next contract offer, and question if he is a good fit in a DameCJ offense.
We won with Lopez. Bringing him in was Buck Williams like taking us from 33-49 to 54-28 in one season. Whiteside took us from WCF to 29-37.
Yeah, because they werent impacted by who was on the court around them AT ALL... Also, Lopez had that impact 2013-2014. This is a question for 2020-2021 (7 years later...)
These were the arguments Nate Duncan made. Hassan gets big rebounding numbers but his teams don't rebound a ton. Lopez boxes out so well his team gets tons of rebounds even though his individual stats are unimpressive.
The only major additions were Lopez and Mo Williams and we improved by 21 wins. Yes, it’s 7 years later but I don’t think he’s digressed over that time. If anything, he’s improved by adding a 3 point shot.
Definitely Lopez. Whiteside has made our defense terrible. He blocks shots but that's it - RoLo understands team defense. Plus he BELONGS in Portland.
The league is going smaller, faster, younger and more agile. I get that we may have to zag while the league zigs, but I'm not really sure either are what we really need. Lopez sets far superior screens and plays much better team defense. Whiteside is a much better scorer. One guy is more "pick", and the other guy is more "roll." *shrug* I'd pretty much defer to whatever Dame says on this one. Most of the time I think he's a terrible person to ask about personnel decisions, because he doesn't want to change any of his guys. But in this case he's played with them both and probably feels a certain loyalty to both. So I'd just ask him, "Which dude do you think gives you the best shot at winning?"
Let's see, we replaced JJ Hickson with Rolo and with Whiteside we lost Collins, Nurkic and Hood, but you think it was as simple as just adding Lopez?
I think I like this answer the best. Id say we need a wing more than a big as well. Heck I might prefer Aminu or Harkless if healthy to either big.
the team was 39-43 in 88-89, and 59-23 in 89-90. Learn the teams records from year to year, then post. How you didn't know the teams record in 1990... Anywho, it wasn't just Buck who they brought in. It was having Rick as the coach from the start of the season, and the quicker than anticipated development of Cliff Robinson (as a rookie) and re-signing Wayne Cooper that helped them improve by 20 games from 88-89 to 89-90.
As to the poll, I hope the team takes whoever is willing to be a backup and can be a capable emergency start if there is another injury issue with Nurk. Assuming he'd have the same impact on the team in 20-21 as he did 7 years ago is putting a lot of hope into a backup C.
His fit/production with the team: ORtg DRtg October 115 99 November 119 105 December 125 105 January 128 108 February 120 109 March 129 108 RoLo October 67 109 November 100 104 December 109 100 January 102 113 February 105 101 March 86 105