It would be nice to have one more consistent bench scorer but another part of me feels that most games we get a decent 3rd bench player and I'm not sure that's worth risking our chemistry.
What they don't give in scoring, I think they make up in defense. They are all pretty good defenders. That and I think they are holding out for CJ.
I still think Wright and Claver are easily-replaced scrubs. Freeland is a keeper. Jury is out on Crabb until he gets more experience, but I'm optimistic.
I think that's a pretty fair assessment. So for me to consider it it would have to be a combo like Barton and Meyers. And I just don't think that get us the kind of player we need and is a risk to chemistry on a team that is winning and really hasn't been healthy or playing it's best basketball
I've gotten so much flak here for liking Claver Freeland and Wright over TRob Barton or Leonard. I think the bottom of the bench will get better but Wright, Claver, Crabbe and Freeland are NBA ready and can hold their own against good players. LA, Lillard, Mathews, Nico and Kaman are going to shoot most of the time but you need stops.
I don't believe Neil messes with chemistry. With that said, It wouldn't surprise me to see a deal that sends TRob and CJ McCollum out to bring in a guy that bolsters the bench. You should be able to get a pretty good player with these two and I think it's perfectly fair if not too much for Green.
Problem with trading T.Rob is he's just an expiring. The team that picks him up would only be able to offer his rookie scale contract, which is 1.2 mil under MLE. That means every team would offer that and take him away
I see I might be crazy, but I personally think you should be able to get a G Green for McCollum alone
Joel has really improved since he first started playing here. I used to prefer T-Rob, but I think Joel is clearly our best backup PF. Don't care much for Wright. I had no idea about Crabbe, but he seems to be a solid backup.
I've been really impressed with him. He's looked like a starting quality guy the last couple games, blocking shots, finishing inside, gobbling up rebounds, and he has a nice mid range shot. I like it how he doesn't try to force low percentage shots like LA does.
I'm not sure on this but I think since TRob didn't have his option year picked up he losses his bird rights if he's traded and has a no trade clause. Players in that situation have almost never been traded.
All I know is we had the same record this time last season with zero injuries and the same starting lineup in every game. The bench has improved, top to bottom.
I prefer Clavier to TRob or Meyers just because he doesn't do bonehead plays. When your the 5th most important player for our team your role is to not screw up and let the other players shine. That said I don't want him playing outside of multiple injuries. So he is fine for a game or two as we've had right now. Crabbe has been very impressive this year. He provides great defense and really shoots the ball well. Doesn't make dumb mistakes either. Freeland has followed up his MIP Blazer season last year with possibly another one this year. He's starting competently alongside LaMarcus and starting more than competently without him. Wright is the perfect 11th man. I feel ok with him coming in for 10 minutes one game if we really need the help. But I don't think he should be in the rotation. The big problem with acquiring a better backup is yes it could hurt team chemistry; but they also wouldn't be happy in a small role. All of the bench players playing well on the Blazers right now will be fine accepting fewer minutes when Lopez and LaMarcus come back. If we had a Jeff Green or somebody like that on the team they'd throw a fit if they only got 10 mpg.
