After watching Matthews leave and not going after Beverly or Carroll. I am disappointed that we did not go all out for more hustle guys. If we are rebuilding adding someone like an Amir Johnson who works their ass off on both sides of the ball each game is essential to promoting good habits in your young players. I have not seen enough of Plumlee, Davis or Aminu to know for sure but none of them truly strike me as the Matthews esque blue collar workaholic. Can we find that kind of effort and grit on this team or are we going to be in for a long season?
yeah, this is an odd question. Because I'd imagine that most "NBA fans" would say that blue-collar grit/hustle is just about all Davis, Plumlee and Aminu bring to the table.
Henderson has never struck me as the go all out all the time kind of guy, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I hope your right about the others because it will take that kind of effort every night. Plus everyone wants to play with those kind of high energy guys. I am no OKC fan but I loved watching Westbrook last season that guy busted his balls every night. It's the same kind of effort that have made guys like D. Green, K. Leonard and j. Butler so much fun to watch and max level players.
Some analysts think Plumlee will be a lottery pick, and others believe he’ll fall a bit below. Regardless, Plumlee will be a nice pickup for whatever team drafts him because he’s a hard worker who wants to improve, and he’s mobile and athletic. Plumlee might never become a star, but he’ll have a solid career for a decade or more. http://www.nba.com/draft/2013/prospects/mason-plumlee/ Strong rebounder. Hits the glass hard and shows a willingness to battle inside … Runs the floor well with both speed in the open floor and good lateral quickness … He’s a top notch shot blocker for a forward due to excellent timing, explosiveness and length … Appears to have a 7-foot-2 wingspan, or close … Does not have a superstar attitude, he has a workman's approach to the game that is refreshing to see from such a talented player … Ed Davis Yeah, I've always liked Aminu. He's had some monster rebounding games against us. He had two 20-rebound games against us last year playing the small forward position, which is really unusual," Carlisle said. "He's an extremely hard worker. His game continues to grow in all areas and he's made himself one of our core guys, which is a testament to how hard he's working."
Aminu, Davis, Plums and Hendo are all hustle/defensive type players. I'd like to see KJ McDaniel added to that depending on what he costs. Then bring in Thibs and turn them into a defensive terror!
I can see that in Aminu but Davis and Plumlee both coming from bad teams gives me some concern you develop bad habits when your team is not any good and I do not want to see that happen here.
Sorry, but this seems backwards to me. Get the difference makers first, then use what cap space is left to fill in with the hustle guys.
This sounds exactly like the kind of player who will become a fan favorite in Portland I hate rebuilding but I'm really excited to see young hungry players who are going to leave it all on the floor every game starting with Capt. Dame
I loved Wes. I supported getting him before we signed him. I liked what he brought on the court every night. Having said that, his lack of athleticism kept him from getting a lot of loose balls. It's great to have players who hustle, but it is even better to get guys who hustle and are quick enough to get the loose ball or rebound. Neil seems to be going after more athletic players. Plumlee is more athletic than Rolo Vonleh/Davis are both more athletic than LMA Amino is more athletic than Nic Henderson is more athletic than Wes Even Frazier is more athletic than Blake. Of course that will not result in more wins without another couple of studs, but it looks to me like Neil saw our biggest weakness. My biggest pet peeve the last two years is how few 50/50 balls we got when the ball hit the floor. More minutes for CJ will help as well. He might be short for a SG, but he gets to a lot of loose balls.
No, but frittering away all your cap space on guys who are merely useful isn't going to make it any easier.
