I'll respect Joel for everything he did for this team over the years, but frankly the full MLE is insanity ... even if it's for only a year. It's time to move on.
Guys who have suffered the kinds of injuries he's suffered at his size and his age are NEVER "completely healthy." Those injuries are like the canary in a coal mine.
Chris Johnson is our 3rd best big man till and when and if Greg ever plays. Typing that was fairly upsetting I'm not gonna lie to you.
I'll see all of that and undo some of that positivity by noting that Nate is back. Batum may be looking like a go-to guy on the national team but Nate tends not to let people (at least most people) have much leash and hence, that go-to-idness you see developing in Batum will quickly be squelched by Nate. The Felton/Miller evenness is a question mark Oden may be back but when and in what condition? Maybe not lottery but I'm also not overly optimistic. Gramps...
He was one of the first people Chad called today I'd definitely see how he looks before writing him off. I trust that he's been working hard to getting back in shape. Never have to worry about that with Przy. He was meh last year, but he also came back early and was like 65-70% at best. You'd have to think he looks much better now. It's not like he still wasn't a pretty good rebounder last year anyways. And if the Blazers do keep Roy, you're not exactly going to have great options with the lesser MLE anyways, and you need the depth in the frontcourt.
I like what Chris Johnson brought us last year. Great length, a shot blocking presence and a chippyness about him.
I'm not writing Joel off yet. If he can still play I'd like to get him back. He'll be cheap as he's said it's more about the situation than the money. Come back where fans love you and where you spent your best years. He's exactly the type we could use, and not just on the court. But if they determine after he's evaluated that he's never gonna be what he was, then he can simply slide into becoming the new free-throw coach.
I'd give him the BAE, and he would get a better offer from someone else. Fun bet, though...who gets more minutes in a Blazer uniform this year? Oden, Roy or Joel?
Saying he was "meh" last season is ridiculously generous - he was pretty much worthless, and it was painful watching him play in that condition.
Considering the fragility of Oden and Camby, I could see signing two big men if possible; Landry and Pryzbilla would be ideal and keep Chris Johnson also. It would have to be with the understanding that Pryzbilla would only be there in case of injury or if we played a team with particularly physical big men. I would rather see Johnson get time to develop into a player because it's possible a year from now Oden and Camby could be permanently finished. I doubt that Joel would agree to that role so I don't really see it happening.
