It's like it still hasn't sunk in for people that contracts aren't what they used to be. Turner and Kent Bazemore signed identical contracts over the summer. Bazemore is averaging 11.6 ppg, 2.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and he's shooting 38% from the field, 32% from three.
By the start of next season, ET's contract will stop looking as bloated as it does now. Once guys like George Hill start making 25 mil, we'll stop blinking at 17 for ET (and yes, I know Hill has been good this year, but he's not a max player if you look at his career). The Crabbe contract is the one that is worrisome. It's completely untradeable. And even if he improves, he won't get the PT or opportunities here to show it.
I really wonder if maybe the Crabbe decision came from Paul. He has been notoriously paranoid about letting young players walk for nothing ever since the Jermaine O'Neal fiasco.
Was thinking the same about PA. But the messed up thing is, I have no doubt in my mind that AC can put up 15-18 ppg on decent efficiency in a place like BK/PHI/MEM etc where they can feature him in an offense. For our squad, he just needs to get around curls and figure out 10 shot attempts on a good day. And he doesn't do enough on defense to impact the game as much as someone like Iggy in GS. We matched his contract clearly to keep him on as an asset. But it's bad enough to make him a distinctly negative asset. Fuckin Sean Marks. I thought he actually liked his few months in POR. He definitely screwed us.
He was desperate. More desperate than us...... but then again, what does it say about us that we matched? I think when you just got burned by Chandler freaking Parsons, you tend to overvalue your assets.
no I get that contracts are just in general going to be larger due to the time we are in. but that kind of money for that kind of player is still pretty silly. I mean if the guy AND his agent are blown away by the offer, you gotta think even NO had that internal though of "shit, started too high". I am sure we have all done something like that, just not on that scale, and I know how I have felt afterward.
It was basically use-it or lose-it for us, and you'd rather impress the player and get him to commit right away. We thought we had Parsons and that didn't work out. And as I said before, if Kent Bazemore was getting the same contract, it can't be that far out of the realm of possibility. He probably was still dealing with the shock of the contracts as well when he got the offer.
thank goodness on the parsons part lol but yea the bazemore comparison is definitely fair, baze seems like he might at least be more fun to have around than turner. that wasn't a I would rather have him comment, just an observation of the players personality's/way they play.
I really wanted Parsons last season.. until he went down with another knee injury. I didn't want him after that. There were rumors that getting Parsons was part of a plan to get Dwight Howard. Not sure if that's true. Our team would certainly look much different with Parsons/Howard. Not sure if it would be better though.
There was also a rumor that we turned Parsons away after learning more about his injury status. Not sure what to believe.
Yes ,playing in Boston or Indiana means playing mainly against Eastern conference teams. Now let's see him contribute against GSW,Spurs,Clippers,Thunder etc. It's nice to see Turner is playing well lately, but i'm personally not going to change my opinion of him. He is not worth what he's getting imo.
Turner is basically a less efficient Shaun Livingston. Good defensively, good passer, able to hit mid-range jumpers and post-up smaller wings. He shoots more but scores at a lower efficiency (in fact, Turner's scoring efficiency has been pretty awful most of his career). He's a useful spare part, with his ability to do everything moderately well (except score), but he's being paid like a high-level supporting player. Age aside, I'd rather have Livingston, and Turner is making roughly three times more.
We are also seeing a trend the last handful of years of teams paying for possible potential that the player hasn't shown yet. Probably that way with Crabbe, NO and PA probably said hey this will not be the greatest contract next year but what matters is he worth it in the later years of the contract.
Pining? No. I never said I wanted him at a max contract. I said that I wouldn't be surprised if he got a huge paycheck. Turns out I was right.
I will care about a player's salary when it keeps us from getting someone better. For the Blazers, that rarely is a factor. If a player makes us better then that is all I care about. We need a big guard who attacks the basket and who can dribble and pass. So until we find someone else who provides that better than ET off the bench. than I am happy with ET. He started off the season looking bad, and I still don't want him taking many 3's. But the last 5 games or so, he has played well.
