Breaking News: Blazers will not use Amnesty Clause on Brandon Roy

I think so.

 

LaMarcus at center reminds me of Tim Duncan at center. It is clearly the most superior lineup the team can put on the floor but it isn't something you can run for 30+ minutes a night. Save it for the last 8 minutes of a game, and other stretches where you need some tempo. Likewise Wallace is awesome at PF for brief stretches, but neither guy can play those positions for the majority of their minutes in a game for an entire season.

 

Very well said. I prefer having LMA at the 4 so that he can save his energy on defense having more for the offensive end.

 

Yeah I generally agree with this; cap space is over-rated for markets like ours that are not prime free agent destinations. Cap space is a huge asset for the New York, LA, Dallas, Miami areas since the elite all-stars want to be in those cities.

But even if cap space is less valuable to us than other teams it is still has some value, so if we can potentially be in a position to have cap space with only a small opportunity cost today I’m all for it. The downside of keeping Roy is we have a smaller MLE, but usually those players are less than 50/50 long-term in terms of having a worth equal to their contract. So maybe it will be for the best only having the small MLE now since we can't make a bad free agent signing.

Now the tough decisions are giving Batum an extension before the season or signing Oden for beyond one season. Those decisions have risk either way and could backfire if the team retains potential cap space and doesn’t lock up a young improving player, who may walk, or losses cap space by giving the player a long-term deal and is possibly stuck with an underperforming player.