Dwight Howard

With some of these contracts that are gonna be handed out, Whiteside will get max, but you pay for bigs. I don't think he signs with us, but I think he's on the same level Andre Miller was when we signed him.

 

Not seeing a link, bud.

I know of 3 free agents that didn't return to their team, although 2 didn't have a choice after the Turncoat left. We have a hard enough time retaining our own top FA's.

 

I edited in that bit about five seconds after I posted the original because I realized that forgot to address the point ... it would have been just as easy to add it into another post, but it seemed easier to edit, rather than spam another message.

This team still has very few quality wins and just because they elevated themselves from the perception that they might be one of the two worst teams in the NBA, to being mediocre, doesn't mean that they are anywhere near being on the cusp of contending for anything meaningful. All the Blazers look like right now is a team in the middle of the pack. That doesn't mean they stand out in a situation crowded with teams with just as much or more capspace to offer versus the Blazers.

"Tiny," "Small," "Not big." Semantics. It's still close to being in the bottom third of market size. And if history is any guide you can bet your ass that plays into agents steering their clients to places. It may not be the most important factor, but it's still a factor.

Why does it matter where a guy is from? People move to California or Florida all the time from the mid-west and the northeast for the sunshine, that doesn't make Portland's 222 average cloudy days any more palatable or a selling point; it may not be a deal breaker, but it's definitely not a mark in its favor. As for Greg Monroe signing in Milwaukee, yes he may have thought he had a good chance to win but that doesn't invalidate the point that weather plays a factor in these guys' decision to sign somewhere - an exception doesn't disprove the general rule.

What does the year have to do with anything? The internet has been around for awhile now, so has social media. A Billionaire owner isn't special. Damian Lillard is a very good player, but he's probably not good enough to create a magnetic draw for the free agents who are about to command max money. As for marketing opportunities, a lot of these guys probably want to maximize their earning potential. They've got a decade (give or take) to make hay while the sun shines. If they're charismatic enough a lot of these guys probably think about moving into broadcasting when their time is up and the best way to do that is to maximize your television exposure through endorsements and media appearances.

Portland is geographically isolated from the rest of the league that's just a fact. This has two effects: 1. A lot of your games are broadcast late at night when the majority of the country sleeps and 2. you have more travel than any other team. Maybe those aren't deal breakers, but they aren't positives or selling points.

We already know that a lot of guys simply resign with their current team, but when they don't, what is that makes Portland desirable if you are (likely) a young, single, African American with a lot of money and the ability to pick and choose where you want to live and work? I still haven't seen a compelling argument for why Portland is such an attractive destination this summer (and downplaying the negatives isn't the same as selling a positive). I'd love to be proved wrong.

 

If only the NBA were filled with hipsters........ we would be the #1 destination.

 

Agree with posters that say we can't go after Howard.

First he will be a free agent this summer, if he left the Lakers for nothing why would he stay in Portland? That risk isn't worth giving up an asset for.

Secondly he is rapidly aging and declining production. Even if we were to retain him he could have a very negative value to the team in future years on a massive contract.

Third; he needs to go to a win now situation. If we were in Detroits position when they acquired Sheed it could work. The Blazers aren't there right now. Maybe in two or three years we can make a deadline deal like that but for now stick to the plan. We don't want to follow the Suns debacle of trying to rebuild with youth and also win now. They were in a similar situation to us two years ago with a lottery team making a playoff push but tried to do two strategies at once. Its repeatedly failed in the NBA.

Finally I question the positive impact of huge lumbering centers in the current NBA. The Nets, with Brook Lopez, 76ers with Jahlil Okafor, Bucks with Monroe, Hornets with Al Jefferson, the Pacers being much better without Hibbert/West, Celtics Raptors and Cavs being the top 3 East teams without centers. Thats just in one conference but there is a very high correlation between huge physical centers, teams with offense run through a center, just being soundly outplayed.

Over in the West we see similar trends; the Lakers are a disaster with Hibbert, Suns with Chandler and Len, TWolves even with a stud Towns are ineffective, Pelicans get nothing out of Asik, Kings have one of the most dominant big men in the game putting up historic numbers and a few talented teammates but have been below .500 for a decade. 20 years ago a dominant big meant a team was .500 at a minimum; just not the case in the modern NBA. We've seen it with our Blazers too; how effective was the team last night with Hendo, Harkless, Aminu at both forward spots and a role playing center giving strong effort? There is no reason to have a franchise player at center in today's NBA.

 

Great post! Says it all!

 

So would you trade Lillard for him?

It's very silly to say you don't ever miss the opportunity. Like every NBA trade decision it depends entirely on what you have to give up.

Howard is possibly a few month rental if Portland acquires him. Do you trade away multiple years of first round picks? A young core piece such as Vonleh who is on a rookie contract for 3 years? CJ or Plumlee who are both on cheap contracts? That would effectively cost the Blazers a max level player in free agency this summer and a young asset if they were able to resign Howard.

Do you think the Blazers have any way of contending this year with Howard?

I agree the team would acquire him for just cap space, or for low value assets, but just randomly adding whatever aging star you can get without a clear long tern direction is a horrific NBA team building strategy.

The Rockets are going to need some sort of valued asset to let Howard go; it doesn't make any sense for the Blazers to give up such an asset at this point in time.

 

What? You don't think rich young black men will choose Portland for our coffee shops, micro-brew pubs, art house theaters, wine country tours, and summer time outdoor recreation? What world are you living in?

 

So what you're saying is....... Westbrook to Portland 2017!

 

This man is clearly an intellectual. So, yeah.

 

Dame and Westbrook in the same backcourt........ what would the NBA do????

 

You miss it if that player is a douchebag of Howard's caliber. And then you're grateful you missed it.

 

Uncle Cliffy is opening a pot shop here ...that's got to spark some interest from NBA players looking for a home past their careers

 

I wouldn't give up any of a young unproven Marc Gasol, a future 1st round pick or a future 1st round pick. Maybe Vonleh is equivalent to Gasol for us.

Howard is going to command at the least one of those types of assets. Yes we don't know exactly what any trade costs until its done but we can make very educated estimations. We know Howard has value to other NBA contending teams and as the Blazers aren't contending it makes no sense for us to pay that same high value.

 

You never answered my question.... which players that are not currently on our team would you be okay with acquiring?

 

This magical world of yours doesn't exist. NBA players can't make these type of agreements, the teams can be heavily punished, and even if such an agreement was made it would be totally unenforceable.