The official let's DUMP MEYERS thread

Insert Qyntel Woods as example

 

Sure. A little different, but the result is the same.

 

I want to give up on him, but realize that there are a few guys like Deandre Jordan and Jermaine scattered in the mix for every Cole Aldrich and Rafael Arajao.

We don't gain anything by giving up now.

 

Well, thet's your 100% fan opinion.

And in the end, who kows, maybe you guessed right. But it's only been 1 year and he's young and somewhat immature. He clearly has raw talent (as opposed to some players who don't seem to have any at all). I think we need to make more of an effort to bring him along.

 

Guess I'm just special but I saw some slight improvement last night.

Whether on not the Ref's agreed he seemed to be in better position being straight up on defense.

 

I'll still hope for the best, but reminds me of Babbitt in a sense. In that, he'll show a few flashes here and there that make you think hey, maybe.....but that's all you get is a few flashes in an otherwise terrible performance. I hope I'm wrong and it turns out differently. I see no need to dump him, for reasons mentioned above, but I'm not expecting much.

 

It's not quitting if you were never with him. Like, you didn't want him drafted in the first place, cried bitter tears and vowed to do everything in your power, for the good of this team that we hold holy, to purge it of this vile excrescence. That's not quitting.

 

If we could get a second round pick in return for him I'd do it. But I'm not sure another team has any interest. I believe we already picked up his 2014-15 option? We should let his contract expire after that season just as we did with Luke Babbit's third year.

 

It would be great if a tanking team has any interest in him. He could really help a team lose. Denver has incompetent management and a desire for our flawed big men. Perhaps they would swap Andre Miller for Meyers and Barton.

 

I know that this thread is as predictable around here as farts after a bad Mexican meal, but seriously, making any assessment of Leonard based on last night is laughable. He'd played exactly one minute in the three games prior to the Houston game. Then Freeland can't go and suddenly he's pushed into playing against a front line that includes the best center in the league and another center who's probably in the top 10. Of course he got abused at times, what young center in a similar position wouldn't? Leonard is a project and he's going to take time to develop. He's got good athleticism and a nice soft shooting touch. Yeah, he's totally lost out there a lot of the time right now, bu I have to think that given time he's going to develop into at least a serviceable bench player. There aren't that many of those guys around so, hell no, I'm not of a mind to dump right now.

 

Man, some of you guys are going to shred your rotator cuffs throwing in the towel so hard.

We have absolutely nothing to lose by letting Meyers play out his contract here, and we have nothing to gain by cutting him loose right now. Personally, I saw some improvement last night, but it took a little effort on my part to see it, lol. He was banging with Howard for all he was worth, that's gotta count for something even if he wasn't banging well. The fact that he can shoot pretty danged well for a guy his size means he can spread the floor for Lamarcus and Damian, and besides, almost everything he does poorly can be taught to some extent.

He needs to cut off some of that damned hair, though.

 

I think we have different ideas of what is being tough. In basketball, for him to be learn to be tough (in my mind) means for him to learn his position and them to fight and hold his position. He can't be afraid of contact, but he doesn't need to be a bruiser. He does have to be willing to bang bodies . . . but I don't think he is afraid of that, I think he is lost on the court most of the time and doesn't put himself in a good position to be physical.

I'm surprised you feel so strongly that players can't learn to be tough. I'm sure there are examples in many sports where young players started out on the whimpy and learned to play physically. I think it is one of the biggest jumps from college to the NBA . . .even finesse players have to toughen up in the NBA to succeed.

 

If the Blazers want to be contenders I think they will need another big that can rebound, block shots and play defense. I just don't think Lopez, Freeland and Leonard will cut it at center and I'm not a huge fan of playing players out of position especially your most important player in Aldridge.

 

I started this thread to vent my frustration with Meyers - I see NO improvement at this time, I realize we could get little for him and we may as well keep him, I want him sent to Boise when they get going so he can play as many minutes as possible - assuming our other bigs are healthy.

 

I agree with this. Short term playoffs this year and to keep our all star happy, Blazers need to get another center on the roster.

 

If anything we should've drafted Steven Adams over CJ, how's Adams doing anyway?

 

If there was a stat for being in the absolute wrong place per possession, Meyers would lead the NBA.

 

LaMarcus Aldridge was a rookie at the same age as Meyers after two years in college. In his first two NBA seasons he averaged 9.0/5.0 and 17/7.6. He played competent defense as a rookie. LA has obviously improved since then but you could see 90% of what Aldridge is now during his first two seasons.

NBA players make small improvements here or there but they don't have radical transformations. You can make very educated judgments of a player once you see him in multiple games against NBA talent. We saw Meyers play all last season. Some of us diehard fans have watched him in summer league, training camp and in preseason. You can tell what skills he has and what basketball abilities a player has. Nic Batum displayed his talents as an 18 year old. Sergio Rodriguez displayed his passing abilities from the moment he was on a court. Luke Babbitt and Nolan Smith in their first year showed they’d never be more than roll players.

Meyers is never going to be a defender or rebounder on the NBA level he just doesn’t have those abilities. He might be able to find a niche role as a Matt Bonner big man but he has a long way to improve to get to that level. That is not enough upside to use a roster spot or a minimum contract salary slot for. Teams make mistakes in the drafts and this was one of them. Time to move on.

 

What do we possibly gain by getting rid of him now?

I'm not trying to defend him, but using personal frustration with him as a reason to get rid of him for nothing in return, just so you don't have to watch him play, is beyond ridiculous.