L.A, Nic, and Lilliard are going to be great together. Very complementary players. I don't think they have close to the potential that LaMarcus, Brandon, and Greg had, but I am pretty impressed and happy that we have a solid core to build around so soon after the Oden experiment finally died its painful death. I don't think this Big 3 is a championship core, but as we say in my tribe, it's not chopped liver either. We easily could have 3 all-stars. Not bad, not bad at all. Go Blazers!
We would be no better than 1-9 without Wes's contribution. Why do people overlook him. The guy has scored well and been all over the place on D.
I think Lillard, Aldridge, Batum and Matthews can be the nucleus of a perennial conference finals team in the same way the mid-2000's Pistons were. But based more on offense than defense, which is why I don't see the Finals appearances to be as likely. I'm not convinced Portland is going to do a great job of putting the right pieces around the core. But maybe. I try not to think too much about what could have been with Roy/Aldridge/Oden/Batum. Yes, Batum too. It could have been a team that people talk about 30 years later.
If we had a defense and rebounding center a la Noah + a year or 2 to gel, we'd be in the mix for a conference championship every year. The bulls are too smart to let Noah go. However, if the Pacers crash and burn they may trade Roy. i.e. we might have a "Big 3", but we definitely have a solid 4. Last thought for you oldies but goodies: for years the blazers tried to improve on Danny Young, but he hung in there year after year. I'd like us to find a steady, plays defense, runs the team without a lot of mistakes, shoots the 3 a bit backup PG like Danny Young.
We already have one in Ronnie Price. Price's stats, when backing up Deron in Utah were very similar (slightly worse, but not much) than Danny Young's stats when backing up Terry Porter in Portland. I'm holding out for someone better. BNM
I think we need a low-post scoring center (DeMarcus?) that would allow LMA to stay at the elbow where (unfortunately?) he's the most comfortable.
I think if the Blazers can follow something that resembles the Celtics' model of a few years ago, and the Pistons of a few years before that, they could develop into a deep playoff team. In other words, the Blazers would be working without any "superstars" per se - no Top 5 All-NBA players like Lebron, Kobe, or Tim Duncan - but instead, having 3-4 top 10 players at their positions. I think Aldridge is a Top 10 PF, and Batum is certainly close, if he's not there already. I wonder about the backcourt - is Lillard a Top 10 PG who can be the Blazers' Rajon Rondo or Chauncey Billups? Can Wesley Matthews play the role of a Rip Hamilton or Ray Allen? To follow the Celtics' and Pistons' models, you need a very good defensive center (a la Ben Wallace in his prime, or Kendrick Perkins). That's the spot where the Blazers are furthest away.
Batum is a top 5 SF. Lebron Durant Melo Who else? Pierce, Gay, Deng? None of them are as versatile as Batum on both offense and defense.
I've looked at the FA list and looked at who others are suggesting. Either I don't think they'll come or am not superimpressed. Anyone you see?
I have not been a huge Noah fan, but in this type of offense I think he would fit in better than someone like DeMarcus. Good rebounder/Better Passer. Plus the whole Knucklehead thing that DeMarcus adds. Only good veteran teams can add players like Cousins and not feel the negative effect. A young team like Portland could not handle him.
seems like we need a sg and or pf/c g tyreke evans iggy monta tony allen jack roddy beaubois kevin martin morrow jr smith mayo bigs al jeff pekovic dalembert josh smith david west milsap brand all pique my interest to some extent, and with 13 million or so to spend, there are plenty of options, also unbalanced trades didnt say dwight or cp3 cuz yeah
I wonder about Tony Allen. He is supposed to be one of the best on the ball defenders in the league. We could always use defense, I wonder how he would fit with our team and what he would cost. And I have always like Milsap. But Im not sure how he would fit on this team
