Merged: Starting Over / So what happens the rest of this season....?

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

What do you mean by "start over"? How exactly do you "start over"?

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

You're somewhat right. The bottom line with Aldridge is that he's probably impossible to move and the same goes for Roy. But in a nutshell, I would readily trade Miller, Camby and Joel (and even Greg's expiring contract) to take back some deadweight contracts and high draft picks if they're available. In the meantime give Nic and Armon as many minutes as they can handle, do the best you can for the next 2 or 3 years and when Roy, Aldridge and whomever else get to a point where they're more movable use their expiring deals to get some value.

It's either that or hope the CBA includes provisions for cutting injured players and recouping those contract dollars as cap room.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

So...what do we do?

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Yup.

But with the contracts that are on the books now, and very little roster flexibility, "re-tooling" might not exactly be an option.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

And how "lucky" have they been? They've won 0 championships. Isn't that the goal?

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

FWIW, I kind of like the idea of trading Oden, Pryzbilla, and Miller for Iggy and Brand (assuming Philly would do it).

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Too painful.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Not over McMillan's dead body. You'd have to fire him first.

Not saying that won't be an option, but that would have to be the piece to fall.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Build around who we have. We still have a very good team with a lot of upside. Batum, Aldridge, Johnson, Matthews, and Rudy are still very young.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

So be it. Hell, he's probably gone anyway at the end of the year either by choice or because of failing to advance out of the first round.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Name me the last NBA champion that was built that way, throwing everyone away for draft picks?

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Brand is not a center. And he's damaged goods. I pass on that deal. You underestimate how much Joel and Miller still have to offer our team.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

None of those are top 20 players, and I would argue none of them have the potential to be either. How do you manage to get by with a bunch of role players?

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Boston.

They clearly tanked in 07. Failed to get GO/KD, so they traded away their pick from that year, and a whole bunch of young guys they had picked earlier, and built a championship core.

I was laughing at Ainge for sacrificing years and years of contention for one run at the title, but I was clearly misguided.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Name the last NBA champion that had two of it's cornerstone players with health as shaky as Roy and Oden?

And for what it's worth I'm not an advocate of only building through the draft, I'm very much in favor of trying to acquire as many draft picks as possible on the hope of nabbing at least one or two elite players and then leveraging the rest in trades for veterans or role-players.

At least rebuilding gives this team a shot, the status quo for this team is a fast-track to nowhere.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

They did it through trades, not through the draft. We have way more to offer in a trade than they did that year. Yes, they tanked for Oden, but they lost.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

Batum, Aldridge, and Johnson still have the chance to be top 20 players, I believe.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

We don't need to tank to win a title, there have been plenty of great players drafted late in the draft. Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, Carlos Boozer. I don't want to see the team be a 21 win mess to get in a position where their most likely pick is #4 and they have zero quality starters to add even if they luck out in the lotto. Yes we should look to improve the talent through trades. Yes this may push back the possible contending window. But if we end up getting a lucky move that adds an allstar we would be right there in the title hunt. I think that is a much more likely path then trying to intentionally suck in the hope the team gets a lucky lotto ball bounce.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

at their respective position? yeah I'd buy that. Don't get me wrong I really love Batum, I like Johnson's potential and Aldridge doesn't infuriate me the way he does some Blazers fans, but of that group I'd say only Batum still has enough ceiling to maybe be a top 20 player in the league and that is a longshot.

 

Re: So what happens the rest of this season....?

I'd be for trading our veterans, but only if it nets us anything of value. I don't see teams, though, who are headed toward the lottery, looking to make a move for guys like Andre and Camby, and giving up their potentially high picks. Ugh, I just hate the idea of tanking and trying to rebuild through cap space or depending on ping-pong balls to fall our way ... again. I still think we've got good players on this team that we don't have to start ENTIRELY over.