The funny money that was offered just in the first few hours of Free Agency was ridiculous. Players who rarely played or who have never really been a starter were offered massive contracts due to the increase in the Salary Cap. How much will this affect team chemistry on some rosters when someone like Kent Bazemore is making twice as much as fellow starter who is more productive? Timofey Mozgov will make more than TWICE as much as anyone else currently signed on the Lakers roster....that's insane. And then the are the Portland Trail Blazers. They were rumored to be a possible destination for Dwight Howard, and supposedly had a meeting scheduled with Hassan Whiteside. What they ended up with was just a max offer to the #17h ranked FA who by age 27, has already had 2 knee injuries including the Portland dreaded micro-fracture procedure. And Portland just made the offer. While Parsons is reported to have been "impressed", he was still meeting the Grizzlies as opposed to some deals that were offered that were announced agreed to in principle. Many fans are already feeling a bit let down that if this is all Portland can possibly get with a couple of young stars, tons of cap room, an up and coming Playoff team, that getting that 'needle mover' that Olshey has referenced may not be happening anytime soon. Free Agency has just started so there is still time but not off to the resounding start some were hoping for.
I'm definitely disappointed, but I'd be lying if I said their wasn't a part of me really nervous about giving Whiteside that big contract... I actually like Parsons a lot. If it wasn't for huge need for center, I'd probably put Parson number one for free agents as far as fit in Stotts system... Injury doesn't scare me. He bounced back well after major surgery and most recent was minor. Plus his game doesn't rely on athleticism and is more about his size advantage, skill/smarts, and shooting. I just hope they can get him to sign.
I'm a wait til the dust settles person. This is the 1st Blazers team wehVe had in forever where I felt like only minor tweaks were needed, so I am feeling good about just minor improvements for now. Especially since a year ago I figured we'd be excited about Brandon Ingram at this point.
I agree that Parsons fits well with Stotts offensive scheme as well. It's just at some point, Portland has to get someone to play defense and with the $$$ offered to Parsons, if he were to come here, you take either Harkless or Aminu off the court....both of whom were 2 of Portland's better defenders.
I always said we needed 3 scorer and Neil think so too. Going after Parso was the right thing to do. Now we have a meeting with Austin Rivers today that be a very good back up pg to Dame. That would a great 3 man rotation.
