Al Horford would be perfect for this team. Paul Milsap, if he became available, would also be amazing for Portland. I'm somewhat less excited by Whiteside--he's a nice rim protector, but he often gets himself out of position by chasing blocks. Not to mention, he provides no shooting and the team needs some shooting in their front court. Marvin Williams also makes a lot of sense as a budget Milsap. My dream (semi-realistic) off-season would be for the team to sign Al Horford and Marvin Williams as their new center and power forward. I think those two players would add jet fuel to the Blazers' offense while also improving them on defense. I'd also explore an Evan Fournier signing as a bigger wing who can shoot off the bench.
Agreed on both Horford and Marvin. Brought up that duo earlier as the two guys we need to target. A lineup of Dame/CJ/Chief/Williams/Horford is unstoppable on offense and better defensively than the current one. We need to max our space, however, and that would require renouncing some of our RFAs. I'm ok letting go of Meyers if we can guarantee that we get the above mentioned lineup. But we can't let Crabbe and Moe go for nothing in return. We need the depth they provide.
1) Not sold on Whiteside for that kind of money. My gut says he would take the money and regress. Horford would be my preference, especially down the stretch of games. Mentally he is more reliable. (and can pass) But both will be highly sought after. I just don't see us getting either, so I would rather set our sights on a cheaper interior defender like Mozgov and go the center by committee route. (Like the Warriors did) 2) I like both your suggestions while we continue to groom Vonleh, but since we would have to trade for Millsap, I think we go after Marvin Williams. Younger, Longer, and cheaper. does he want to come back to the NW? 3) I like the 3rd ball handler idea. But I think we need to find someone who is willing to be content with inconsistent minutes. One that might play big minutes in one game and very few in the next. That player needs to come cheap since he will not be our primary FA target. Vasquez does not shoot very well but he does have the size and can probably be had at a good price.
Yeah, I wouldn't want to see the Blazers spend a lot on Meyers. Shooting bigs are valuable, but if they don't pair it with good or, at least, average defense, it's becoming harder and harder to play them in this pick-and-roll league. You can't hide players at all anymore. As for Crabbe and Harkless, I'd be more interested in keeping Crabbe than Harkless. Around the core players, the rotational reserves will probably need to keep churning, as players will price themselves out. Crabbe is a high level shooter, so I think he's a more valuable role-player in this era. Harkless is a better defender, but not a great defender (and, by defensive rating, not even a good one) so he's lower priority to me.
Was wondering when this was. Will Neil be there? I thought he was at the combine in CHI. Who will conduct the exit interviews with the players?
I hated that trade at the time but Nico didn't do much in the playoffs either. Surprise surprise, guess who got hurt again? Now, Charlotte is looking at possibly paying him 20+ mil /yr or losing him for nothing in return as a UFA. We could have been in the exact same predicament. We at least have Vonleh now under contract. I don't see the potential in Noah, but he is at least something.
Let's wait until that happens before we complain about it. That is the saddest reach for a silver lining that I've ever seen.
Not as much of a reach as you think it is. A 21 yr old top 10 pick, who is three years removed from HS is not something to scoff at. I didn't see much in Noah this year, but he has the physical tools and the desire to work (unlike former busts like Tyrus Thomas, Thabeet, etc). Give him a year.
Ironically Henderson scored more against the Warriors than Nic did against the Heat. If he's not on the floor Nic is not helping anyone.
I think the guards have to spend so much energy on defense running around screens. I liked it when we had Harkless out there doing that. Have Harkless guard the primary ball handler.
One nice thing about Whiteside, is how well he finishes inside. He'd have converted on a lot of the opportunities that that Plumlee can't. And Plumlee is very quick and agile, and could have been used to come out more on the pick and roll, but instead Stotts wants to leave him near the basket. So we may as well have a legit rim protector back there.
Ive warmed up to Whiteside. The dude is such a quick leaper. He'd be able to block some of those mid range shots that Stotts like to give up. Williams would be perfect next to him. Vasquez was rated horribly by advanced stats. In gonna put a little weight on that
