http://stats.nba.com/playerTracking...D_RIM&sortOrder=DES&SeasonType=Regular Season This information has been available for a long time. Playoff stats are even better, Aldridge and Lopez combined for over 24 opponent FGA at the rim.
We have three players who are Top 6-8 in their position; Robin is one of them. We should keep all three. EDIT: Actually, I was wrong... http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics/_/position/c/sort/VORPe All of Portland's starters are Top 10 in Estimated Wins Added... because our bench was awful and we won a bunch of games. But whatever. Our Starting 5 is awesome, and Robin's a big reason.
I really think its going to come down to either paying Wesley 8-9m a year or Lopez a max 4 year deal and i'm leaning towards paying Lopez that max even though it would screw us from adding anyone else because LA will be making 19m/batum 11m/Lopez 16m then we would give Lillard a max deal the next year as well.
Love Wes but I agree that if Lopez has another big year (and proves not be a fluke - not that I am saying he is) then he is the priority over Wes no matter what it takes to sign him.
Maybe you're starting to agree that it might be a better idea to spend $10M/Y on a good PF rather than $20M/Y on a good PF? Those $20M/Y contracts to undeserving players weigh a team down.
Not saying I disagree (or that I agree), but there's a lot more C talent in the league than there is SG talent.
Nope never agree with letting an allstar in their prime go for a downgrade unless they demand a trade, a head case that has become detrimental to to the team, or has sustained and injury that robs them of a good portion of their game.
I have called Wes a top 5 (just 5th though) SG and don't want to lose him. With that said the drop off from Robin to some other C we could get would be more the drop off from Wes to an improving CJ or SG we could get imo. Want to keep them both though.
The lack of apparent SG talent means both that good ones are hard to come by and that a mediocre one won't hurt as much because the talent pool is mediocre... When I started typing I had a solution to the puzzle but now it's gone.
What's really frustrating to me about Matthews is that we all know that his biggest and most significant contribution to the team is on the defensive end, but he also knows that the aspect of his game that's going to get him paid the most is scoring. So, he's working on trying to add parts to him offensive game to earn himself a big contract, when that's not really what the team most needs from him. He doesn't have the explosive athleticism necessary to be a dynamite offensive SG, but he does have the strength and heart to be a defensive stud. He's already good; I just wish he'd commit to being great.
He does have an elite offensive tool that's in high demand league-wide and that's three point shooting. I agree that he's never going to be an all-around offensive dynamo, but I think the team definitely needs him as a shooter on offense. It's also what's ultimately going to get him paid...three-and-D guys are extremely in vogue. That's the reason Klay Thompson is apparently enough to reel in Kevin Love (assuming the Warriors were willing to give him up). Matthews is a slightly lesser version. His lack of explosive athleticism probably means he'll never be a true lock-down defender, but he definitely has the smarts and instincts to be a good on-the-ball defender and savvy help defender.
So next summer, both Wes and Rolo will get offers of 10mil+ We gonna keep em? How open is PA to going into the luxury tax? Our starting lineup in 2015-16 could look like this: Dame: 2mil (last yr of rookie deal) Wes: 10mil Nic: 12mil LA: 20mil Rolo: 10mil Dame's max won't kick in until after Nic's expires, but definitely some major decisions to be made. The cap inevitably rising will help our cause.
