Yeah I agree. The most concerning player in the series to me was Lopez. He was very ineffective for stretches of last years playoffs as well, this is becoming a pattern against the good teams. He has a lot of value in saving LMA from taking the beatdown of playing center during the regular season but I'm less sure of him being the long term answer for us at center. The other options around the league have their own glaring weaknesses though; Hibbert is much worse offensively; Chandler is on the wrong side of 30. If we can keep Lopez on a cap friendly contract where he isn't too overpaid to be a great backup/ short term starter that would probably be best.
Yeah we will have our draft pick; Crabbe, the full MLE and some roster spots available. Individually each of those might be a poor bet to be a rotational piece but as a group we could get a pleasant surprise from one of them.
Whatever you're smoking, can I have some? AA has been a starter much of his career. Asking him to step in when Wes got hurt was hardly some unreasonable imposition. As for revisionist history, do you honestly believe Olshey made the deal believing he was renting AA for 2o odd games? I'm sure he believed AA would be back next season. At the time, it looked like a great deal. I was as enthusiastic as everyone else. It didn't work out. Get over it.
Eh. It was a valiant effort. But alas, this failed too. He was supposed to be a 6th man, and he barely knew the guys when he had to become a starter. Revisionist history gets everyone at times.
I'm curious as to why people don't think Frazier will be back. This kid was the MVP of the D League. He's lightning quick and shows a willingness to be a pass first point guard. I would much rather have him than Steve Blake's old ass! And what most people are not saying or have even mentioned in this forum is that he shows that we have a hope for Wesley's Achilles injury. Frazier has successfully come back from this surgery! Has he lost any quickness? Nope! He is quicker than Lillard!
I can see Frazier coming back as the B/U PG. We have ranked towards the bottom of the league in creating turnovers and fast break points the last few seasons. Frazier could be a spark plug off the bench. It'd serve him well to work on his shooting range. He shot 36% from 3 pt in the D League, which is decent. But he looked terrible shooting it in limited action here. He needs to get a little stronger as well. But I like his quickness pushing the ball up the floor & his court vision. We haven't had that in a LONG time. Didn't know he had ruptured his Achilles before. That does make me hopeful for Wes, as Frazier is as fast as they come.
According to RealGM Frazier is signed for next season as well. I think Olshey likes him, and plans to keep him around and develop him.
This is why... These are the other MVP winners from past years, have you heard of any of them ? J 2014:15: Tim Frazier* (Maine Red Claws) 2013-14: Ron Howard (Fort Wayne Mad Ants) & Othyus Jeffers (Iowa Energy) 2012-13: Andrew Goudelock (Rio Grande Valley Vipers) 2011-12: Justin Dentmon (Austin Toros) 2010-11: Curtis Stinson (Iowa Energy) 2009-10: Mike Harris (Rio Grande Valley) 2008-09: Courtney Sims (Iowa Energy) 2007-08: Kasib Powell (Sioux Falls Skyforce) 2006-07: Randy Livingston (Idaho Stampede) 2005-06: Marcus Fizer (Austin Toros) 2004-05: Matt Carroll (Roanoke Dazzle) 2003-04: Tierre Brown (Charleston Lowgators) 2002-03: Devin Brown (Fayetteville Patriots) 2001-02: Ansu Sesay (Greenville Groove)
I've heard of Ron Howard. He directed some pretty killer movies, was a star on Happy Days and The Andy Griffith Show. I'm not quite sure if he can play basketball though... On a serious note... Courtney Sims, Mike Harris, Randy Livingston, Devin Brown and Matt Carroll are all players I heard of before.
Ahhh at work. I should have paid more attention. I copied that from an email my boss sent me. I should have known some people on the forum would know some of the names. Here is the key. Did any of them ever turn out to be solid role players on successful teams? Not that I know of, but then I have not researched. Point being is that I am not sold on Frazier being a long term Blazer only because of what he did in the D league. I do like the glance we got of him this past season. Good hands, good dribble, fast. knows not to shoot too much... but , he is very small and our starting PG is already smaller than average. I think we need an upgrade in the backup PG spot. Neither Blake or Frazier are a long term answer I think.
We just need Frazier to be the second or third backup at PG. I'm certain he can be the third, and with a training camp under his belt he should be able to compete with Blake for second. It just depends on who else we might be able to get. I actually like him a lot.
There is no reason not to keep Fraizer. He can be the 2nd or third PG on the team. I would really like us to use our money and talent search for a better SF and Defensive center. My realistic list would be Hibbert because we would most likely be able to keep ROLO. Having Hibbert and Rolo at center would really solidify that position. Aldridge and Leonard can solidify the PF position, with Kaman playing a back-up to both PF/C positions. I love Crabbe, but I think he's a ways away from being a serious factor. We need a post up and slashing SF. I want one so badly, so they could set picks on the pick and roll to really screw with teams!
