While we are digging into the Ghosts of Blazers past Alvin Williams And Sasha Djeorgevic (add to the Greeks to give Rice fits!)
Thinking outside the box: With Mayo and Collison on board, I think Roddy Buckets would be a solid target. Has the length to guard most SG's and it would appease Batum, the second highest paid Blazer.
I think mentoring Lillard is much less important than getting someone who can actually play. If Lillard has to earn his minutes (rather than being force-fed them, whether he's ready or not) I think that he'll be better off in the long run... and the team will be better in the short run. Now... who that PG is, I don't know. Ed O.
That's the sign of a bad team, IMO. Bad in the sense that a guy who's not ready to contribute will build bad habits and bad in the sense that a guy who's not ready to contribute will result in more losses. Lillard might be good enough to be a legit starting PG in the NBA, but I'd rather him have to earn it than it be handed to him. Ed O.
Has anyone mentioned Nick Van Exel? Wait ... I know ... Bonzi Wells! He said he wants to come back to the NBA and that his time in Portland was his best. Who better to show the young guys everything to not do?
Westbrook started in his first year after 17 games of sitting behind Earl Watson. That was a 23 win team, so I guess it sort of proves your point in the short run about it being a bad team. Maybe Westbrook would be a little less me-first if he'd sat on the bench longer. Anyway, if Lillard winds up averaging 25 points/6 assists or so in summer league (he was robbed of at least 2 assists in his first game) I'd say he's more than earned a starting job. If I didn't feel that way, then I'd basically feel like no rookie PG should ever start at the beginning of a season unless they're on the tier of Chris Paul/Magic Johnson.
I don't get the sense at all that he's not ready to contribute. And I doubt he would go at 6 if that were the case. Ready to be better than someone like, say, Aaron Brooks who we could have brought in? Maybe not. But does it help his development playing under someone like that, or even someone like a Steve Blake, who might be able to beat him out in the "more ready to contribute" category? I don't necessarily think so. Was Tony Parker ready to contribute at 19? But he started after the 4th game of the season. Would he be better off if he learned behind Tony Daniels? The Bulls could have easily let Derrick Rose learn from Kirk Hinrich instead of starting him. Would he have been better off for it? Paul could have just learned from Speedy Claxton. Etc.
I think this is a solid idea, but what do you think Dallas will want for him? I think the price may be kind of steep. You want to give up Matthews (who is looking like a team leader) or Elliot Williams for a 2nd PG? I think I would rather just go the FA route.
So, to get any other PG of note in terms of cap space, and assuming Batum's RFA offer is matched, the Blazers have a day and a half left, right?
I have heard that they have like $4 mill or so if they match Batum. If they want to sign someone to a higher salary though they need to do it in the next day and a half.
