Ford's Updated Offseason Grades

Anyone got insider? Just curious if his grade changed at all for the Blazers in today's updated Offseason grades. Maybe a comment about Stotts?

 

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
Key additions: Nicolas Batum (matched offer sheet), Damian Lillard (draft), Meyers Leonard (draft), J.J. Hickson (re-sign), Victor Claver (draft), Joel Freeland (draft), Will Barton (draft), Jared Jeffries (trade), Dan Gadzuric (trade), Neil Olshey (GM), Terry Stotts (coach)

Key subtractions: Jamal Crawford, Brandon Roy, Raymond Felton, Hasheem Thabeet, Kurt Thomas, Joel Przybilla, Nate McMillan (coach)

Three years ago, the Blazers could do no wrong. They've been in a downward spiral ever since. Is this the summer things start turning around in Portland?

Re-signing Batum was at the top of the Blazers' list. The cost was high, almost too high, but the cost of letting him walk to the Wolves for nothing was higher. I might have been tempted to take their offer of Derrick Williams and another first- round pick for him ... but probably agree that the Blazers made the right call on Batum.

I thought Lillard was the best point guard in the draft. He is in for a pretty big adjustment, going from the Big Sky Conference to the NBA, but if the Summer League is any indication at all, I think it will happen quicker than people think. Leonard, a project, was a little more of a reach, but he has the requisite size and athletic ability to be a starting NBA center someday. Barton was a bit of steal in the second round. He is a good scorer with a nice midrange game. Overall, they had a strong draft.

The Blazers also added two former first-round picks, Claver and Freeland. Claver, a 3 with a high basketball IQ, played well in Spain last season. Freeland is an athletic big from England. Neither player projects as a star or even a starter in the NBA, but they add depth and should finally give the Blazers some return on their picks.

Hickson was solid for the Blazers last season and is re-signing on a reasonable one-year, $4 million deal.

GRADE: B


http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8262146/nba-updated-offseason-grades-every-team

 

Hasheem Thabeet is a "key subtraction"?

And how is Brandon Roy a subtraction? They amnestied him LAST YEAR.

 

Gadzuric was a "key addition"

Probably get better Blazer analysis from posters on this board . . .

 

The updated grade is B. What was the initial grade? The point of the update is to see whether we moved up or down since the draft.

 

There wasn't a grade before because of the front office/Batum contract up in the air.

 

Oh, thanks. I'd be more interested in each team's delta (change) since his first ratings.

 

Losing Thabeet is addition by subtraction.

 

I have a feeling that Thabeet will be in the NBA till he's like 35 and will become adequate. You can't teach height.

 

I'd say that's pretty spot on.

 

Ya, pretty spot on

 

Ha!

 

yeah, lol

I would rather have a stack of chairs at least they have a use