I'm trying to be as realistic as possible here - - Our core for 2012-13: LMA Batum Matthews Hickson Where are the holes? Point Guard and Center, as always! OPTION 1: Pursue DWill; trade up and draft big [Drummond, TRob, etc.] OPTION 2: Pursue Hibbert; trade down and draft Marshall or Lillard OPTION 3: We have no shot at either DWill or Hibbert = Sign and Trade Batum to obtain a Center; Trade up and draft Kidd-Gilchrist; try to get Drajic or Nash
This is what POR currently has...and it is not pretty IMO.... CORE (1-3 best players, preferably all star caliber): LMA (is he a #1 or #2 though?) ROTATION (4-8, key starter and reserves that fill the majority of minutes): Batum (starter) Matthews (bench reserve) Przybilla (back-up big-man - hope is Freeland\draft pick or FA pickup can assume starting role from him sometime by mid season) SPECIALIZED ROLES (9-12, self explanatory): Babbitt (shooter) Freeland(Young big, potential but with some euroleague experience, slowly work into rotation and hope he can handle increased role) FILLER\BENCH SCRUBS (Preferably young players with potential or vets added for insurance): K. Thomas (Insurance big man) E-Will (potential w\injury history) N.Smith (scrub) * S.Williams (Scrub - if they don't waive him) Claver (potential, see what he can do) That is what they have confirmed coming back... Likely additions IMO: Freeland Claver Przybilla So you have 1 Core player, 3 Rotation players, 2 Specialized players & 4-5 bench\scrub players....Too few of the most needed players (core\rotation) and way too many of the least desireable (bench\scrub)...Not a good mix AT ALL. What they need? 2 more CORE players & 2-3 more solid rotation players You are not going to get a core player thru FA....but you can get 1 rotation player, maybe 2 or a rotation player and a specialized player (banger type 4/5) So I would guess 2 players in FA, one of them being a PG, and the other likely a banger... Use both 1st round picks and likely package both 2nd to go after a 3rd player, either in late 1st or early 2nd...A guy like O'Quinn
Brace yourself for a 30 years old, children's movie reference: Anybody remember the movie "The Neverending Story" and the little girl is holding the last little speck of "Fantasy Land" (or whatever the hell it was called) in her hands ... yeah, well LMA is kind of like the basketball version of that for the Blazers.
I'm fully expecting Hickson to be gone this summer. I suspect we won't retain his bird rights and we won't spend the money to keep him.
If the union loses the case on retaining bird rights on a player picked up off the waiver wire, that means we won't have right of refusal on Hickson. I don't think we'll use cap space to retain him.
