Here go the incredibly stupid rumors and suggestions. CJ for Jahlil would be the dumbest possible move you could make. We have the second best back court in the damn league.
Someone is going to give them a really nice piece. LA was willing to deal Randle and their lotto pick last year. I guess Sac probably should have done it?
Probably, but what they likely should have done is kept Karl as coach and traded Cousins. Don't forget Cousins was suspended for an on court interaction with Karl. Ultimately Ranadive chose Cousins over Karl, which leads to my previous point - This season is going to be very interesting for the Kings. Cousins has enough talent that they should have been in playoff contention the last 2 seasons, which I think in part is why he is so frustrated. In that sense you could be right, putting him in a more successful situation could improve his attitude, but I'm still not sure I wan't our team to be the one to take that risk. If you were to take a risk (with even trade off) on Howard/Cousins it absolutely be Cousins. But the fact of the matter is that, at least for the moment, Cousins comes at a much higher price. For what it's worth I put Cousins and Howard in the same category because I think they have similar risk/reward. Cousins is definitely the better player of the two right now, but both come with big question marks.
Thanks for the correct. Makes a difference as Joerger is arguably more prepared to deal with the ego after coaching players like Randolph/Stephenson (Granted the latter did not work out well, but still Joerger seems to have gotten the most production out of him). Kind of makes you wonder if they brought Joerger in as a last result... Do you guys think they will fire Joerger before trading Cousins? Or is this Cousins last chance to get it right with that organization?
https://vine.co/v/eLMMbxqUhjO The more I see of Okafor the more I see a superstar big man with a smooth game. I might consider CJ for Okafor, it's rare you see a 6"11 275lb 7"6 wingspan big able to take people off the dribble or go coast to coast.(Which is what the last vine shows) Taking people off the dribble is rare for someone of his size. Also - Okafor in January had a better defensive rating than AD, Drummond, Howard, Chandler and was only .3 points worse than his teammate Noel. I read somewhere that Okafor was a better defender at the rim than projected if you look at the numbers. But I don't know how to look this up.
He is awesome on O for sure! but I wouldn't say one good month makes you a good defender. Search "Okafor on Defense" on Google and you get a lot of articles. Here is one: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...jahlil-okafor-got-game----just-not-on-defense
I'm aware he's poor in the pick and roll. It's not like the Blazers hang back and give up a midrange shot anyway in the pick and roll. CJ is no defensive stopper himself... And doesn't really have the tools to be one. Okafor will be 21 at the start of next year and looks to have all the tools. Do I want to trade CJ? no But for Okafor you have to at least consider it.
His defence is not the best but it's not completely terrible either. I'd hope it wouldn't take CJ to price him away from Philly but I don't see which of our remaining assets could do the trick here - they won't want to take Plumlee as it would still create a problem of riches at center position, Crabbe would be their starting SG but still does not have enough value, then you are looking at players like Vonleh or Davis whose value is far below Okafor's. As much as I'd like Okafor here I don't see how we do this without getting the price too high. Well do it NBA 2k way - sign DeRozan for max contract, then trade him and Plumlee to Sixers for Noel and Okafor. I actually think they could still work together at some point.
Sign and trades don't work that way. You can't sign a player and trade him to another team unless it was your own player. And you can't trade even your own player in that situation to another team if you add a player with him.
The offense of Dame, Okafor & CJ would shock other team’s defenses into straight jackets. Dame & Okafor would not. Blazers only trade for Okafor if both Dame & CJ stay.
I love CJ's game, but it is a lot easier to get someone who can create their own shot from the SG spot than it is to find a dominant low post scorer with tons of upside. I would certainly consider pulling the trigger.
I was wrong though. Okafor won't turn 21 until December 15th 2016. So he'll start the 16-17 season as a 20 year old. Personally Okafor > #1 or #2 pick in this years draft. Wouldn't give up much more than CJ if I did. But... It's not a horrible trade for the Blazers given the weaknesses this team has.
Is it? I feel like the NBA is at an all-time low when it comes to wing talent. CJ Harden (blech) Wade (old as dirt) DeRozan (blech) Crawford (6th man, not starter) Who are the other SGs that can create their own shot?
Jimmy Butler. Monta Ellis. Jason Terry. Tyreke Evans. Quite a few. I'm not interested in creating a comprehensive list...
