Which position and which player? To me, it really has to do with which young players will be in the rotation next year. Going into camp, I'm thinking Robinson, Barton, and McCollum. So, today, I like to add Hawes, but I don't know if he'll be available. I'd also add a PG with the small exception or vet min.
I'm torn between a scoring PG to help the bench, or a backup center. There are still a lot of unknowns regarding how much Barton, CJ, and Leonard can contribute next year. If Leonard doesn't show much improvement this summer then I would put center at the top of the list. Hawes would be great. If Leonard does step up then I would like to see a scoring PG.
Bigs: LaMarcus (s), Lopez (s), TRob (b), Freeland (b), Claver, Leonard Wings: Batum (s), Matthews (s), Wright (b), Barton (b), McCollum, Crabbe Point: Lillard (s) With Lillard out, that only leaves Barton, Batum or perhaps McCollum able to advance the ball up the floor. I think backup point is our biggest need. Lowry, Chalmers, Livingston, Mills, Augustin, Sessions are all good targets. Lowry will get more than the MLE. Chalmers and Livingston will probably get the full MLE. The others will probably be BAE target money. With that said, of course you go for the best player available. I think a solid backup big would be the next need. I don't think Freeland will show a lot of improvement from where he was at last year. I'm hoping TRob takes a step forward, but if not, we're pretty thin on the bigs. Hawes, Blatche, Hill, Jason Smith, Humphries and Jeff Adrien are all good targets. I think Hawes will get more than the MLE. Blatche will probably be right around MLE range. I think the rest could be signed for around the BAE. With only two open roster spots, I'd be surprised if we went after a wing. We have good depth there.
It's going to be hilarious watching everyone here scream and bitch about any Pg we bring in, especially if we use the full mle on a guy like Chalmers. Most of you bitches about Mo, and he is a better player than most of the pgs available. If we resign Mo, we don't have to use the mle. I think a 3 year deal gets him resigned even at 2.8 million or whatever it is we could offer him.
We need both a PG and C. (PF is fine with TROb and Joel and Claver) #1 priority for me is a back up PG who can defend. Someone who can play along side both CJ and Damian. (Wes as well but size is not a factor when playing along side him) Yes we need one more big to be on the roster in case of an injury. Joel has proven he can defend when he was healthy. But Leonard is the wild card. If he improves then he can fill that third string C roster spot. If he does not then he needs to be replaced with one who can. I can see why some would vote for C as the #1 MLE priority, as it is important, but if I had to choose one.....I would go PG first. No matter how much you upgrade the bench it won't make a difference if you do not have someone running the show.
I hope Blazers management keep their options open and go after BPA with certain defensive abilities, so I selected other. I hope our team goes after a vet that'll complement our current squad while providing much needed defense and leadership. With that said, our team can try to land someone like Shawn Marion if we're going with the current squad for the next 3-year championship window.
