From NBA.com: This year the Deadline is Before the all-star break, so that should change things. Portland should be "Buyers"... Buyers and Sellers: http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/new...pers-bucks-nuggets/1w4kglcudwq0m1tcmagph0q20o Some things Portland might be interested in: 1) Getting under the Luxury Tax. We're about $3 mil over, and are likely to be over post-Nurk contract, and the Repeater Tax is onerous. 2) Talent Upgrade. Our role players have all looked very good at times, but consistency remains a serious issue. 3) Positional Roster Balance. With the drafting of 2 bigs, we have too many bigs, and not enough smalls. Of course, to some this means trading CJ. 4) Talent Consolidation. We have a lot of "good" players, we need to convert these "assets" into a "star"-type player. 5) A Starting SF. Mo was a revelation when we got him, but has now fallen out of the starting lineup. It is unlikely that all of the things will be addressed, but addressing any one of them would be a improvement. If we don't make a move, We're HOPING/PRAYING that: 1) Mo comes out of his Funk 2) Collins deserves to become the starting PF, and the coach does indeed start him. 3) Aminu changes the arc on his shot 4) ET goes from 0-way player to 2-way player
Buyers and sellers. Portland should be one of the more active teams. Should being the operative word. Who knows with Olshey. Said this same shit last deadline.
Neil is always active, but yes, it definitely remains to be seen as to whether his sowing will result in any reaping.
Moving Turner would be addition by subtraction it seems, at this point. I'd hope that to be a priority. Difficulty will be finding equally bad contracts to replace him with. If Collins continues to show he can be a viable backup PF, I can see moving Vonleh for a 2nd rounder to drop below the tax. Neil went after Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, so it seems pretty obvious he has a goal of upgrading the SF position. But there's just so few. And less that would be available. Seems they're all either better suited as SGs or PFs. The Neil Olshey special of trying to find a "one man's trash is another's treasure" could look to Mario Hezonja, Stanley Johnson?
After playing way, way below my expectations up till now, Mo has had two good performances in a row, and suddenly seems really engaged. He even hit 4 clutch threes in the those two games, and was a big part of both victories. If he keeps that up the SF dilemma becomes less critical. To me the number one thing to look for is how is Neil going to shed 3 million in salary before the end of the season to avoid the repeater tax going forward. Unless there is some miracle deal that suddenly makes us contenders (not going to happen), I think that will drive any move that they pursue this season.
Since we’re getting closer There are four players I believe Portland will actively seek trade packages for before the deadline. Napier Leonard Vonleh Harkless I don’t think those are the only four Neil is listening on, but I do believe those are the four more most likely to be dealt. Napier- A luxury at this point. If we were a contender, we could justify making sacrifices to keep him around, but in our situation, he is trade bait. And a good one at that. Could attach him to someone like Leonard to dump salary, or use him separately to balance the roster out. Out of the above four, he’s the most likely to go. Leonard- The interesting one. You could make a case for why he would, or wouldn’t, have any value on the trade market. Personally I think there’s enough there (backed by some favorable metrics) for another GM to take a chance. I doubt we’d be able to dump his entire contract but if we could save maybe half, or even $3M (the amount of savings needed to get under the tax) that’d be great. Vonleh- This is the one I’ve been torn on. On one hand I’ve been encouraged by his development and think he’s turning into a good player, especially defensively, where he’s one of our best, but on the other hand, that progress also gives him value on the market. Add that to his RFA status and our (cheap) depth at his position, it may be in Portland’s best interest to move him. Harkless- The recent play from him is cool, but I didn’t think he’d be hard to move before his little awakening. I think he’s shown enough in the past to justify his moderate contract, and youth is still on his side. I’ve been saying it for I don’t know how long, but Aminu and Harkless are redundant, and one of them has to go. Aminu is the better player but Harkless is younger and under longer control, and would interest a young team with cap space (ie Chicago) more then chief. I know I didn’t list Davis, and his contract and play make him valuable, but if the above scenarios play out, he sticks around. He should come cheaper than Vonleh. Of course there’s the very real possibility that we’d lose him in free agency, but we could always gauge whether he wants to stay or go now. If he says he wants to test the market, or isn’t open to extension talks now, we can trade him instead of Vonleh. Fin
Speaking of trades, and Harkless, this random thought just popped into my head. Harkless had been mysteriously listless all season, and was benched for a significant stretch. Then he played like a man possessed for those two games. What is the possibility he asked for or was offered a trade, and he was showcasing himself?
Who else here thinks Leonard is being stashed hard because his PER is around 20 and his stats look great? Olshey can say "Look at his performance this year!" and not be a liar.
I could see a scenario where his agent asked for one, so likely. I’m sure Paul doesn’t want $20m sitting on the bench either, so the feeling is probably mutual. You’re not alone in that thinking. Don’t think he should play another minute until the deadline. He’s shown enough this year to get another GM on board imo. Actually that would explain why he doesn’t even play in garbage time anymore.
The OPs post is depressing. It shows just what a clusterfuck the roster is. Over the tax threshold, but in need of talent. Great post Wiz
I'd give Olshey another year if he could turn our mefiocre talent into a real player. This roster is all on him
Again: Leonard wasn't playing, then had two really good games in a row, and since then has been riding the bench. Showcased, then DNPd to keep him from getting injured?
I sincerely hope not. I would lose a lot of respect for Stotts if he doled out PT for such non-game-winning reasons.
Big chance to Mr Neil save his life and this team life in this trade deadline. I Hope we can trade Turner, ED (love him but he have a good value). I'd put a 1st or 2st round just to get away from Turner.
