Losing Lopez and Matthews was presumably part of the plan. I can't know anything for certain, but I feel reasonably sure that if Portland had offered Lopez or Matthews what the Knicks and Mavericks did, those two players would have stayed. Aldridge, of course, wasn't a choice. I'm sure that as Olshey's appraisal of Aldridge's likelihood of staying changed, the plan changed.
I'd say it was part of the plan considering he never even tried to extend Matthews or lopez. Not even before this offseason.
That was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but it's clear you didn't read my comment. I said we lost 3 starters for nothing (which we did in LA, Wes, and RoLo). And we didn't sign any big free agents (I like Aminu, but he's not what I'd consider a "big" signing). Nothing I said was not true. But again, it was mostly tongue-in-cheek. But the idea that NO's working a "plan"........ at this point, he's on Plan J, and that's okay. But let's not act like this has all worked out as initially desired.
David Lee has enough offense to keep us in the playoff picture. He won't be a 23&10 dude like LMA but he can be a 18&8 dude off clean PnRs from Damian.
My point is that with the chance that we weren't bringing back the core...that he has done something to boost the roster. Until Lamarcus decided, his hands were tied ..I'm glad we didn't spend max money on Monroe, Jordan or Hibbert. Sure, we know this wasn't plan A but I'd predict he's not done. He has made moves and he made them early in the off season
As a one-year commitment, I'd be much more for it if it weren't for how overloaded Portland is with young 4/5 types. If you think Portland can be competitive next season with Lee at power forward, it's a good move. I think Portland will probably be among the five worst teams in the West (highly unproven roster outside of Lillard, historically brutal conference), so I'd place a much higher premium on developing Leonard, Vonleh, Plumlee and seeing exactly what the Blazers have in those three and Ed Davis. Every minute going to Lee is a minute you don't get to develop and evaluate those four guys in game situations.
This. And let's not forget this piece from riverman, "why on earth would Olshey say anything at this point until he's finished his plan?" Again, my comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek. And it was mostly in regards to the assertion that this has all been the plan all along. I have no doubt what we've done up to this point was, indeed, part of the plan. Hell, the first contract agreement made public was Aminu - that tells me Olshey had a plan. But we can't pretend it's gone as planned, considering we were still reaching out to Monroe and LA. Anyone else we'd potentially been interested in (though the murmurs have been rather limited), have already been signed or dealt. I'm not hating by any means. I'm fine with the direction of the team. But come the end of the moratorium, if NO tries to sell us that things went exactly as planned, I'm going to call bullshit.
Offensively he's fine, but the injury bug has been brutal to him throughout most his career. Either he's soft and will sit out for minor injuries, or he's a legit health concern.
Not a David Lee fan. Meyers or Vonleh trump David Lee for me. We need a scoring wing more than another big now
I've decided to warm up to the option of signing LBJ. I'm not really a fan, but I think he could ear a starting spot on our deep roster. I've heard he knows how to post up smaller wings. Is this true?
Best thing to do is be patient. Keep the room available for one of those trades where a team is clearing space. I think the main goal now is to roll the cap space into next season, grab a top 10 pick, and if necessary rinse and repeat. We can evolve the core and swing big for free agents the next 2 summers if necessary.
Why do we want to sneak into the playoffs as an 8 seed? That means we lose our first rounder, and less time for young guys to play because we'll be playing David Lee starter minutes.
