I'd have Butler higher. CJ is a little more productive on offense but Butler is 3x the defensive player. CJ - eFG .506 PPG 21.4, Reb 4.0, Asst 3.4, Stl 1.0, FTA 3.1 JB - eFG .512. PPG 22.2 Reb 5.3, Asst 4.9, Stl 2.0 FTA 7.2 CJ is the better 3-point shooter but other than that, Butler is better almost everywhere else. Throw in the defense and to me it's not close.
I don't know.....but I do know that 'chemistry' hasn't produced a win in the Playoffs in the last 2 years....even when we were the higher seed with HCA.
The only chemistry that would have helped this year may have been associated with pharmaceuticals to get Mo and ET healthy. Last year maybe to make a bomb to blow up the Warriors bus.
The dead last in assists (and it was by quite a bit for large portions of the season) really bothers me. We are supposedly one of the youngest teams in the NBA so that means young legs that can get out and run. Yet we play at a snails pace when it is one of the easier way to score for some of our players. SMH...
I'd love for them to target Butler. It's a little risky--CJ is happy here, and is 2 years younger and has a lot less miles. Butler is more of a win-now move, and hope that Trent or Simons eventually replaces CJ. CJ actually makes a lot of sense on that twolves team. He creates a lot more space and lets Wiggins play his natural slashing role better with more space in the middle.
I think the key is if either Mo, GTjr, AS, or even Layman step up and can hit threes's, that how you would offset the loss CJ and the addition of Butler. Otherwise we are in the same boat as the TWolves w/o a gun slinging 3 point shooter. I think both the rookies rep both good D and above average shooting.
Yes, it has. Without chemistry, the Spurs wouldn't have been in the playoffs in the last 5 years. With it, they have plenty of playoff wins. However, that is really a tangent. Rumors of Butler being hard to play with are plentiful. Is that a potential problem? Absolutely. Will those concerns go away if he is traded to Portland? I say they will, but I have to put on my Rose Garden-colored glasses to say it.
Looking for other trade fits, with our "ridiculous logjam", and who has similar issues. Sacramento depth chart: De'Aaron Fox/ Buddy Hield/Shumpert/Mclemore Bogdanovic/Justin Jackson Zach Randolph/Bagley/Giles/Skal Labissiere Willy Cauley Stein/Koufos/Deyonta Davis They have 7 or 8 bigs on the roster. They're also about 10 million below the salary floor, not that it really matters. Brooklyn sent out 2 seconds to get out of final year of Mozgov. Evan Turner and 2 seconds for Zach Randolph?
You forgot they're about to add another 4 in Bjelica. Make that Koufos instead of Zach and I'm in. Zach is washed. Watching him try to guard the pick and roll as Dame carved em up for 50 was eye opening. ZBo is done.
Good call, probably makes more sense, and gives us a backup 5. And, an added bonus for ownership, saves us 9 million this season, getting us under the LT
Curry shot .425 from '3' last year. (better than CJ) Stauskas (limited games) shot .404 from '3' last year. (better than CJ). Gary Trent Jr .402 from '3' in college which means Jack Squat but he's not a bricklayer either. (btw....better than CJ) The point is, the Blazers have several options along with an improved Baldwin and Layman (hopefully) to replace CJ's shooting while adding a scorer/slasher and elite defender. I've heard that as well so talked to a few 'folks'. His drive to be good/great and will to win he feels is not matched by other players. I would tend to agree. However, would it be fair to say he wouldn't have that problem in Portland with Dame?
Is there any reason to actually get excited about a potential Butler move? I don't think Neil has the guts to trade CJ. Are these "folks" just throwing names around or could there be something concrete?
