Have you guys forgotten about internal development?!?

Everyone's opinion seems to be that we will only get marginally better next year because Evan Turner is only a marginal upgrade over Henderson. They forget to acknowledge that we had a very young team last year, and these guys got their first real playoff experience and also work their asses off.

Youth + Potential + Work Ethic + Experience = Improvement.

We finished the 2nd half of last season at a 55 win clip. While the schedule was softer the second part of the year, it's still a sign that we improved in the throughout the actual season. If we can improve that much (going from 11-21 and finishing 33-17) in the middle of the season, then we will most definitely see vast improvement out of not only Vonleh, but everyone on the team. Here's the improvements I see coming from all of our guys next year.

Damian Lillard
He has the tools to be a good defender, and I really think that having another ball handler in Turner to create and make things easier on him offensively will give him more energy on the defensive end. I think this is the year that he will become an average to above average defender. Coupled with a very slight uptick in efficiency on offense (45% FGs, 40% 3pt?) and he'd be a legit superstar.

CJ McCollum
He's only played consistent minutes for 1 season. The fact that people act like he's hit his ceiling at the age of 24 and only 1 year of consistent starter minutes is hilarious. Having Turner should also take some pressure off of CJ, which could result in better defense. As he becomes more and more comfortable in the league and playing with another ball handler for all minutes he's on the court could result in more open 3s and shots for him. An improvement on defense and any sort of uptick in efficiency and he's easily and all-star caliber player.

Moe Harkless
This ones easy for me. If he develops a consistent jumpshot (which he's already shown flashes of doing), then he would be one of the premier 3 and D guys in the NBA, that could play both the 3 and the 4 while also providing top level athleticism. Guys that can check all those boxes are very rare. He's shown he's a cable slasher and if teams have to respect his jumper, it will open up driving lanes for him and open up his entire offensive game.

Ed Davis
I think the biggest thing for Davis is to put on some weight so he can defend centers. Well, he's already rumored to be adding 15 pounds of muscle this off-season. Davis is already one of the most underrated big men in the league and adding 15 pounds of muscle only turns him into an even bigger beast.

Noah Vonleh
I don't have to say anything about him. He has the tools to be a great 2 way PF, he just needs to put the pieces together mentally. If he does, watch out.

Meyers Leonard
My guess is Meyers has spent a lot of time watching film this offseason focusing on defending the rim. He's improvements with his verticality but just seems to be caught in the wrong spots defensively. Watching a boatload of film while he recovers may be able to help him with that. I still believe he has potential as a low post player. He's strong, agile, and has great touch on his jumphook. His biggest problem has always been footwork and getting to his spots. He's still only 24, and the think that he's peaked as well is foolish.

Allen Crabbe
The potential he has defensively is tantalizing. He has flashes of lockdown defense and he's great at playing the passing lanes. The biggest thing for him is learning to not foul, which can be taught in the film room and in practice. He also has to guard to of the best offensive players in the league day in and day out, which gives him an advantage when developing into that true lockdown defender. His handles are so poor that there's no way he won't improve on them also. An improvement in ball control will make him a better offensive player, as he'll be able to read defenses and make the right play on his pump-fake one dribble pullup instead of always shooting the jumper or floater.

Evan Turner
He shot well from the 3 point at the end of last year, and if he makes an Aminu-like improvement from the 3 point line he will be better than Chandler Parsons. Players become better shooters when they play for Portland, so I think it's very possible to see his 3pt percentage to jump to around 35%. You take away Parsons jumpshot, and he doesn't have the handles or speed to do much offensively. You give Turner a 3 point shot that defenders have to guard him all the way out to the arc and he has the speed to beat them easily and make plays running downhill. As it his, he's a solid playmaker and scorer attacking guys waiting for him at the free throw line. A respectable 3pt shot would make him a better version of Nic Batum/Chander Parsons.


I do feel like Aminu and Plumlee are pretty maxed out. They need to improve more on shooting and finishing but those improvements I expect to be marginal at best. But the fact that all these guys have potential to make these improvements and are young guys with good work ethics and playing in a hard working culture leads me to believe that most of them will make these improvements. And if that's the case, there is no way we don't land HCA.

The fucking Timberwolves, Jazz, Grizzlies, Rockets or even the Thunder won't be better than.

For those assuming that some of these Western teams will have huge improvements and pass us up because they're young and room to develop, ya'll need to realize that we're in the same boat and have the same room for development, as well has having an advantage of who we have leading this team, the culture we've built, as well as the playoff experience we acquired last year.

 

I've been saying this all along. Not in the exact words, but I've been saying it.... That's why we were better than expected last year....

 

It's kinda like a hobby collecting. People don't count what they already have but the shiny new toy in the window. I'm on the band wagon of what we have. Looks very good if we can keep most our own.

 

Evan turner was a dope addition. He's going to be an even better addition than Aminu was.

CJ also mentioned connaughton as someone that'll make a jump. I'm not his biggest fan but the more good players the better.

 

Internal Development..... What like tough love and team bonding? Did someone hire the White Shadow?

 

The Thunder are still better than us.

 

Not even. Who's their starting SF now, Roberson??? They have no shooting whatsoever. They were 11 wins better than us with Durant. I don't see how, coupled with our improvement and their decline, we don't surpass them.

 

-Adams is much better than Plumlee.
-We have no one who can score in the paint like Kanter, i really like Davis, but i'll take the 20 and 10 guy over him.
-Roberson is a really good defender\intangibles guy. Sure he's not great on offense, but he gives them balance and someone to put on the star of the other team.
-If you calculate defense and offense then you come to the inevitable conclusion that Russ and Oladipo are equal if not better than CJ and Dame.
-I didn't think Donovan was anything special during the regular season, but the preparation work he put together in the playoffs puts him slightly above Stotts in my book.

We need to remember that the biggest problem when discussing about this is that we saw 2 OKC teams last year: the meh one in the regular season and the brilliant one of the SAS+GSW series.

 

So Westbrook, Kanter, Oladipo, Adams, etc aren't going to get better?

These fucking threads always make me roll my eyes. Yes, we will get better, but so will a lot of teams. We aren't the only team with some young players. Overall we were one of the youngest, but you can't seriously think all of our players are going to take a huge step. Maybe guys are what they are? Maybe Dame just isn't a good defender? Maybe Oscar is a one trick shooting pony? Maybe Crabbe is as good as he'll get?

 

Your posts are so fucking condescending they make me roll my eyes.

Your reading comprehension is crap. I outlined a couple possibilities where guys could see improvement next season. I'm not saying all these guys are gonna turn into all stars. Maybe they don't, maybe they will. At least some of them certainly will.

This thread is to address the fact that some people act like we won't improve next year as they forget about our youth and potential.

So you basically bitched about the thread then agreed with the whole point of it. Sometimes i wonder if you complain just to complain.

 

This thread is acting like others won't improve though. The thread you posted is fucking stupid. I read the site daily, and I haven't seen much of we won't improve. I have seen a lot of other teams have improved their talent, which we have slightly, but not as much to this point. You are whining about posters not saying the players are getting better, and yes, they will, at least some of them. What you're conveniently not saying is the other teams, that got better this summer through the draft and FA, their players will get better too.

 

Ed Davis has been in the NBA for 6 years. If he's putting on 15 lbs, it's not going to be muscle.

 

My boy Dusty on 1080 the fan made a good point this morning, before Durant Barbosa was the biggest free agent signing the Warriors had. Everything else came through drafted player development and trades.

 

Similar to everyone in BOS claiming Horford is the best FA ever to sign with the Celtics. Read an article about how Dallas is the same way where they never get FAs even after going after dudes every year.

There are very few truly amazing FA destinations in the history of the league. LA/NYC/CHI/MIA/PHX

That's about it.

We're in the same boat as everyone else.

 

Dame and CJ have very little room for improvement. They will get incrementally better, but they're both already so good that you can't expect another jump in production from either of them. Defensive improvement will largely be unnoticed until they have a good team-defense system to work within. Until we jump screens and then recover Dame and CJ will always take heat for being the weak link on defense, when really it's Terry that's the weak link.

Davis is what he is - a very under-skilled, hustle-time bench player.

Meyers is unlikely to ever make a jump, but I do expect continued incremental improvement from him each season.

Harkless and Vonleh are the only guys on the team that have enough head room to make a giant leap forward. Well, I suppose Alexander, Montero, Pat, and New Guy do too - but I somehow doubt that anyone is counting on their development as a factor for our improvement.

 

In what way? He is still well below an average PER player. Still plays shitty defense. He is a good three point shooter

 

I agree with your premise. We had a young team last year and we are all talking about how Minnesota and Utah will pass us because they will be better, well so will we. I also don't think we need to give Neil so much shit for his lack of moves because we already have a lot of pieces. Yes we still need that third star to be contenders, but truly how many of those free agents that were unrestricted would have actually lifted us to that status? Whiteside? I really doubt it, but the argument is moot because he never left Miami

The one thing I disagree with is that Plums has peaked. I don't see why he can't improve as well. Bigs peak later, why can't he.
Look at how much better he improved his free throw shooting during the middle of the season. He showed flashes of a pretty nice hook shot in the lane. Mastering that shot would go along ways in helping us on offense. As would a simple set shot from 10-12
feet.

I realize he does not possess the ideal wing span for a defensive center, but he is a legitimate 7 feet and is a lot quicker to the ball than we usually have had at center. Add that he can pass and dribble and he is still better than most. I am not lobbing for him to be our only center, but I like what he brings for half the game. And I think he will improve.

 

We certainly have the right coach, infrastructure and leadership from our star player to make all of this happen. It would be nice to have an excellent big man coach as I don't think Plumlee is necessarily maxed out on his tools. It's an important off season for sure.