I think you are correct about what they think; and he does have some tools. But he makes bad decisions, is very inconsistent and there is no sense in thinking about keeping him because you couldn't count on him coming to camp in shape. He thinks he's too good to be a backup so that wouldn't make sense either. This is just a case of a management team that can't admit they made a huge mistake trading for him and so they hang on to him.
I don't think the Blazers know that for sure yet. He has been held back for the last year and a half by a hip injury. and he has some pizazz to him. Now, Thabeet is another story, a guy who reportedly has no interest in working to be better. If he isn't already in the weight room two hours every day and asking the development coaches to come in three hours before games to work with him, he should be released now.
By the way, did anyone notice that Flynn figured out very quickly the other night that Pryzbilla is the only Blazer big man who will roll to the basket on a pick-and-roll? Maybe Hickson will also; I hope so.
Caleb won't play the young guys, he's getting very rigid and predictable in his substitution patterns!
Chauncey Billups didn't come into his own until much later in his career. Flynn has only been in the league a few years and you're already saying he's a bad player? I don't think he's had a fair shot. His first year he was trying to figure out the triangle and then he went to Houston where he was buried behind Lowry and Dragic. Where was he supposed to find minutes? I think he's worth a shot and a much better prospect than Nolan fucking Smith.
Billups never had a season of single-digit PER. Flynn's had two in a row now. I'm not a fan of Nolan Smith, either, of course, but just because Smith was a bad pick doesn't mean Flynn is suddenly going to be an NBA-level contributor. Ed O.
I like picking up under-performing lottery picks. Maybe they can pay off, and we got them cheap. No big whoop.
Just because people agree on something does not make it reality. It's like watching a car accident, for every person involved a different reality. Likewise could easily be possible for Felton, he's got the potential, he's just been sporadic as hell. If he could come into his own and be consistent he could be a very solid PG.
Flynn and Billups put up surprisingly similar rookie stats in similar roles: Games Flynn - 81 Billups - 80 Games Started Flynn - 81 Billups - 70 Minutes Played Flynn - 2339 Billups - 2216 Points/Game Flynn - 13.5 Billups - 11.2 Assists/Game Flynn - 4.4 Billups - 3.9 PER Flynn - 13.0 Billups - 13.6 TS% Flynn - .511 Billups - .516 eFG% Flynn - .457 Billups - .445 AST% Flynn - 24.7 Billups - 22.6 TRB% Flynn - 4.6 Billups - 5.0 TOV% Flynn - 17.9 Billups - 16.7 So, I think there is some untapped potential. And while Billups may have not had any single digit PER seasons, he did post an 11.1 and 10.5. It wasn't until he landed in Minnesota (ironically) and became a full time starter that he started to show steady improvement. His second season in Minnesota (his 5th NBA season) was the first time since his rookie year that he played over 2000 minutes. He had a PER = 17.6 that year and then really broke out the following season in Detroit with a PER = 20.4. After a solid rookie season (PER = 13 for a rookie starting at PG is respectable), Flynn saw his minutes plummet from 2339 to 983 to only 142 so far this season. Yes, his PER is only 8.9 this season, but 142 minutes is a very small sample size for calculating PER. One decent game and his PER could shoot up well into double digits. Point being, like Billups, after a solid rookie season, Flynn has been a bit of a forgotten man. In Houston, he was buried behind Lowery and Dragic. He may not become the next Chauncey Billups, but at only 22 I'd like to see him get some more PT before cutting him loose. PGs in general take more time to adapt to the NBA game. Since his rookie year, Flynn hasn't been given the minutes he needs to reach his potential. I'm not sure what that potential is, but I'd like to find out. At this point, I'd rather just trot him out there for 20 minutes a game to see what he has than continue to play Felton and Crawford big minutes. I think trying to win is admirable, but when you're losing anyway, you might was well see what you've got while you can. BNM
Surprisingly, Smith is actually older than Flynn. And, given that Flynn showed much more promise as a rookie than Smith is, and currently has a higher PER, I'd rather see Flynn getting minutes right now than Smith. Smith is tied to a cheap rookie contract for a couple more seasons. We'll have plenty of time to evaluate his performance. Give Flynn some meaningful minutes to see if he's worth keeping. BNM
BNM tearing it up with some good points recently, especially on this discussion. Nice work, man. I really would like to see Flynn get a chance. I have yet to see, or think of, a valid reason why we wouldn't be giving Flynn a shot. We don't have any THAT good that should be keeping Flynn on the bench.
Flynn has had three years in the NBA to show something... and Smith has had a few months. I'm a big fan of looking at a player's age, of course, but Flynn has barely showed a pulse in the NBA and I don't think that he's got any tools or attributes that indicate he's likely to bust out. Billups (who is an exception, rather than the standard, for slow-starting NBA point guards) has very good size at the PG spot... that's something that he was going to have whether he had a great start to his career or not. Flynn, on the other hand, isn't big and isn't particularly fast. Isn't a very good shooter. Etc., etc. There's a chance that Flynn will stick in the NBA, but I don't see it as particularly likely. Ed O.
Apparently Flynn looked good in his first 20 games (in the NBA): [video=youtube;H-zbeWiirdU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-zbeWiirdU[/video]
How was he supposed to play in Houston? He was behind Lowry and Dragic. That would be like saying Sebastian Telfair was supposed to get minutes behind Damon Stoudamire and Nick Van Exel.
Flynn had has all-star talent, does he still have it? that question will be decided if he have the desire to work hard off the court on a small contract until he gets his shot again. No one is going to hand the reins over to him off the bat he is going to have to earn it on the practice court and in the weight room. I still believe he can come back and be an above average starter. He was playing fairly well in Minnesota his rookie year then when he started to hit the rookie wall and play badly the media ate him alive. All this stuff came out saying "we just have to wait tell Rubio comes over" ect throwing him under the bus. That came out even harsher when he was playing threw injuries then when he had to get side lined. Playing under a small city market that just rips into you everytime you touch the ball and can't wait for you to leave so they can see there "real" pg in Rubio had to be tough. Houston he was never going to get any playing time behind Dragic (Why the hell did the suns give him up for Brooks? The guy was always really good behind Nash) and of course Lowry. I'v looked at Flynn as a potential starter (might as well aim high if you give him a chance) more then I do Smith. I'v always thought Smith was destined to be the next Steve Blake, an okay starter if in the right situation but should be a career backup. We have Flynn for only a few more weeks while we have Smith for 2 to 3 more years so I say we might as well give the Syracuse Guard a little run. Can we also bench Felton because the way he is playing this management team might give him another contract if we wiff on all our PG this summer.
