Free Agent Derrick Jones to Portland

FTFY.

I'm not a Crowder fan so meh.

Ibaka is interesting. He likely didn't have that deal on the table day one, since the Clippers probably don't sign him if they keep Harrell. Granted, maybe Ibaka goes to the Lakers then, but I have to wonder if we actually pursued him day one.

 

Right brain fart. Maybe we made the same offer to Ibaka, maybe not, but the reports were that he had a 1 year/12 milion deal from Toronto from day one. So he would have had to like us a lot more than returning to Toronto to even consider us.

He also projects into a larger role in both Toronto and LAC (or LAL).

All speculation of course, but if I was Ibaka, I would choose one of the other 3 teams over Portland as well.

 

If Dame drives into a clogged paint, there's a likely chance he won't have a passing window to DJJ. Can't just assume he'd be able to deliver DJJ the ball when he's surrounded by multiple defenders.

But I agree in terms of him being good as a cutter/diver/lob target, which goes directly back to the main point: His offensive productivity will depend on two things, his jumpshot and if he's utilized correctly.

 

He might've prefered a 2-year, $19M deal over a 1-year, $12M deal. Same with Millsap. But we'll never know if we offered him.

 

A couple of guys who gave Dame trouble with the trap are now his teammates and it's fair to say they gave other teams problems with the trap as well....good defenders pick up the pt guard before he crosses half court. Stotts coached a Lamarcus led team which had a top 10 defense before Wes injury....now with an improved roster he can hopefully get us back there again

 

Sounds like we agree, personnel can restrict a coaches ability to impliment specific schemes, as you noted with OKC and Denver.

We used a few 2-1-2 attacks against the Lakers. I thought I recalled you being happy with the options in Game 1. Do you have a non 2-1-2 scheme that you think is more effective?

As you know, when a defense traps, you don't get to decide who you pass it to ahead of time, instead you have to try and give your team as many options to be successful depending on who the defense decides to leave open. Thus, the issue we've had when teams have had the option to lay off players who are below average shooters, play-makers, and finishers at the room.

Of course, when you are 6'8" and have a more clear line-of-sight to your options, that will allow you to make better reads, throw a more direct pass, and in turn increase the pressure on the defense. Sadly for us, the guys the get doubled on our roster are 6'3" and under.

 

This sounds a lot like Walton (outlet passes & high post), Lucas (rebounding), Twardzik, Hollins (pushing the pace), and Gross (cutter).

That strategy may work. We have a lot of the players with the right skill sets.

 

returned to Denver

 

Huh? You design ways to outlet the ball out of the trap into a situation where you can attack the 4v3 advantage. The coach is literally supposed to design who to pass it to ahead of time.

 

This guy has the most flat personality I've ever seen. I thought Aminu was a bad interview but damn.....DJJ brings it to a whole nother level.

 

Which is funny compared to RoCo.

 

Yeah, RoCo is super open. Obviously, at the end of the day, play on the court is the most important thing. ET was one of the most hilarious dudes ever, but on the floor, he left a lot to be desired.

I just thought it was funny how dull DJJ was. Even my girlfriend, who doesn't watch or care about basketball at all came over and asked me if this guy was unhappy or depressed.

 

Harkless was the same way when he first came here, and he opened up like crazy. Keep forgetting Jones is only 22.

 

Correct... you're saying a coach can decide which one player is open for the first pass? I'm saying the defense also has a say in which players they're more comfortable leaving open. NBA teams aren't going to be able to run a set play to break a trap over and over, they're going to have to read and react.

For example. A team might decide Nurk would eat them alive at the block, but if he wants to catch it at 30ft, they'd be ok with that. They might be willing to keep a guy between DJJ and the basket, but won't worry about closing out on him because they are willing to live with a 28% shooter taking a shot over Dame & CJ.

I'm open to seeing your scheme that eliminates the defense having ability to pick where they can mitigate their risk.

 

He is going to turn 24 in 3 months....

 

ah, oops. my point remains. Some dudes are just guarded

 

unless CJ is on them

 

He's been in Florida....he's just cold landing in Portland! He'll acclimate! Takes a few weeks.

 

that moment with jason quick was... awkward, to put it lightly

 

probably reads s2...