I'm not putting a limit on Wes. He's too important. He is the heartbeat of the team. He also doesn't strike me as the type to choose money over winning, loyalty, or comfort.
I wonder if the plan may be to wait out Denver. If they want a 1st rounder for both players then Denver may get it for one and not the other. That's when Olshey may make his move. When they are desperate we get the other one and not have to include the 1st rounder.
Their advanced stats are mediocre but Chandlee and Afflalo are two-way players. Or do you want a legit scoring threat in the mold of a Jamal Crawford in Kevin Martin? Bench scoring is the biggest need IMO.
Scoring is nice but what good is 10 ppg in the playoffs on .350? In the playoffs you need as many two way players as you can get.
Won't Trade: Neil's not going to trade anyone in the starting 5 - he just said it again. Neil's not going to trade Biebs, Neil drafted him and he's found his niche and is playing pretty well. Neil's not going to trade CJ (sorry Fez), Neil drafted him and he's shown some signs. Neil's not going to trade Blake (Neil just signed him, and he's worth more to us than to other teams. Probably Won't Trade: Neil probably won't trade Kaman, Neil just signed him, and he's a good fit. $3.1 Mil, Neil probably won't trade Joel, he's injured and teams generally don't trade for injured players (however, he is expiring) That leaves... $3.69 Mil, TRob (expiring, Biebs is making him redundant, and Biebs fits our system better) $1.37 Mil, Claver (expiring, team can make a qualifying offer) $3.15 Mil, Wright (expiring) $0.92 Mil, Barton (expiring, team can make a qualifying offer) $0.86 Mil, Crabbe (has 1 more year on his contract) 2016 1st rounder Notes: Afflalo, $7.56 Mil, Player Option for another year W. Chandler, $6.75 Mil, Team Option for another year Example Scenario: Wright + TRob + Joel + Barton = $10.86 Afflalo + Chandler = $14.31 I don't know what the cap hold would look like for a future 1st rounder (if there was one at all) I also know know what the % off the trade is allowed to be. I'm not assuming Denver would do this, it's just a (blazer homer) example.
What about 14 ppg on .543 TS%. That would be a huge boost to our bench scoring - still one of our biggest weaknesses. With Kaman fading, our bench is now down to 28th in scoring. Not quite as historically bad as two years ago, but still pretty anemic. BNM
I don't care too much for TS% Martin is a great FT shooter but he only averages about two trips to the line per game in the playoffs so imo TS% is irrelevant. His numbers are 13.7 PPG/ 3.8 RPG / 1 APG on .388/.354/.944 while playing 30.6 MPG To be fair Afflalo's playoff numbers aren't great but his two trips with Detroit he barely got any run and was hurt for one of the Nuggets trips. If we put up Afflalo's two healthy trips to the playoffs with the Nuggets up his numbers are 10 PPG / 2.8 RPG / 2 APG on .471/.294/.807 while playing 28.6 MPG Not a HUGE difference either way but now we have to factor in other things like defensive ability, fit, durability and age. IMO Afflalo beats Martin in AT LEAST 3 of those 4 categories.
So, the break is here. Let's see what happens. Dorell, Trob, Barton, and Claver are all expendable. Kinda interesting that Dorell has disappeared. Didn't think he was playing that bad
We aren't moving Wright I bet. It's gonna be a package of T-Rob/Barton or Claver and the 1st. http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=qjlptka
Good summary. The bottom line: Blazers are standing pat. A solid NBA player like Affalo or Chandler isn't going to just fall into our lap in return for the Blazers' scraps.
