After the recent progress, I have done a decent flip on who I think the core should be moving forward. Dame and CJ are of course leading the Untouchables. I then add Nurk and Vonleh. I believe these four should be our core moving forward. Mixed on Aminu currently, but his D is a huge need for us. The way Nurk and Vonleh have been playing together along with Dame, makes me feel those three can move the ball around to get through or around any defense. CJ is a scoring threat against any team and is very important for the fact that he is one of the best in the league at creating his own shot. Harkless, would be decent as a backup, but needs to improve his output a bit more or I think he can be replaced fairly easily. However his friendly contract makes it nice for this maxed out roster. To replace him might be hard to do without spending more. Turner and Crabbe. they each provide a needed niche. Turner is that third ball handler with the starts and has all but turned into our second unit PG. I really like him as our PG off the bench, but does the money make that worth it, or can we draft a PG in the upcoming draft and try to move ET? Crabbe provides elite outside shooting(though he needs to be more consistent) and is a big need for our style of offense. Can we replace his shooting for less money? He knows our system, so that is a plus and his drives to the hoop seems to be improving, but again.. that salary makes him questionable as a keeper to the core in my opinion. Davis is a backup role player, but not quite big enough for C and not fast enough or good enough shooter for the PF. I think he goes. I really like the future core of Dame/CJ/Vonleh/Nurk. Very young with great outside shooting and great interior D. I am okay with also keeping AC/Turner/Aminu one more year to see if they improve and can become part of that core, as their ages fit for the most part. Who are your Untouchables moving forward?
Our best six players since Jusuf has joined are our starting five (Dame, CJ, Moe, Noah, Jusuf), and Allen Crabbe. I would like to keep all six as much as possible.
I don't think anyone should be classified as an untouchable. Unless you had Lebron in his prime I guess. Dame is the closest thing to an untouchable we have. Merely because there arent a ton of players better than him.... and his leadership, face of thrle franchiseness and loyalty make it nearly impossible to deal him. But if someone had a kevin durant for 3 more years and offered him for dame you'd do it. Cj is close too, but if paul george had 3 or 4 years on a deal, and we could work out something with cj for something like that you would likely do it. The goal is basically to just improve and get the best player in any deal. So i dont really like calling someone "untouchable"
I think id rather keep Turner than Harkless, because the D is about the same, if not better, but the ball handling is far superior. Does it equate to the salary difference? Maybe not, but I think at this point the ball handling is more important than Harkless D.
Dame and Nurkic are the only untouchables in my eyes. I would also trade CJ before Crabbe. We can actually get a star back and balance out the roster if we traded CJ. McCollum is the type of guy you build a franchise around, he truly has that type of personality/game. We could build an intriguing package for someone like jimmy butler.
As far as core... Damian, cj, vonleh and nurkic are really the only guys i see as ones id want to keep. The others could be dealt for improvements. I would love to see harkless packaged for an upgradr at sf. Whether that be with picks or players. I like moe, but a better sf would do wonders for us.
But were not gonna gut the team and trade away our franchise players. And no roster has a 100% turnover ratio, so some guys will be on the team. Who do you think it will be? Who do you think the organization values enough to try to keep as a core? I think your fixating on the word Untouchable rather than the point of the question. I chose Untouchable, simply so I can have the movie image up.
I'd like to keep the starting unit and Aminu (just for certain defensive missions and matchups he is good and costs nothing) and try to trade either ET or Crabbe, whoever brings back more or maybe both. We need a really good 3 and D wing. But, the most important thing as stated in Nurkic-Vonleh thread is our young guys to really work a lot this summer and come back better. Nurkic is a beast, but he is the opposite of efficiency and Vonleh just now stops being scared and is more aggressive. They can and need to get better.
Im tempted to make an unwatchable poll. but it would be pointless, because Meyers and Aminu would win easily.
Yeah the "core to build around" is probably the better topic. The word "untouchable" is a lighting rod around here. For me I want to proceed further with the trio of Dame, CJ, and Nurk. After that I would also prefer to keep Harkless and Vonleh. (low cost and high potential) Then a decision has to be made between Crabbe and ET. I like both and they add two entirely different skill sets, but I don't think we can afford both long term. So my answer is Dame, CJ, Harkless, Nurk, Vonleh, and.......probably ET over Crabbe. Although I think Crabbe is a fantastic 3 point shooter, I think he is easier to move. And at the same time I think ET is harder to replace because of his versatility and value he brings specifically to our team.
Dame and Nurk are the keepers. It would take a lot to pry CJ from me, and I doubt such a player would be offered, so he stays too. Vonleh is close, based on potential and fit, but there are plenty of players in the league better than him, so he's available but not cheap. I like Mo too, but he's replaceable. The rest I'd trade without blinking. I think there is something to be said for continuity. I think that's one of the Spur's lasting strengths. You have to have a long-time core, and then keep upgrading a little at a time, but not wholesale. That's why I'd make certain players "nearly" untouchable. Sometimes, continuity and chemistry > pure talent.
I think the money situation is going to demand that Crabbe be moved in order to avoid being in the Luxury Tax range next season. AC has provided some much needed fire power off the bench lately, but that's replaceable at a lower price tag. He's a player who needs a chance to show what he can do in a starting role and I think his size and shooting range make him an attractive commodity, albeit one with a hefty price tag, in today's 2-guard depleted NBA.
Dame and maybe Nurk. For me, I'm still on the "trade CJ for the right price" bandwagon. If Vonleh continues to improve, he will become extremely valuable. For some reason power forwards seem to be hard to find.
No, it just proves that neither of you took the time to read the second part of the poll question, "or core to build around". Sure, you can make up a hypothetical trade for any player on the Blazers' roster (or any other roster in the NBA) where the team would probably trade their star player. But GMs don't have the luxury of waiting for some magical hypothetical trade to come their way. They have to think about how to improve the roster with smart draft picks and sound trades. Do I think that there's zero chance Dame or CJ gets moved? No, but I'd put the odds as pretty high that they're still here next season.
I agree 100%. I do see a big difference besides skills though. ET signed so he could play here(granted, for more more money, but still...). Crabbe signed an offer sheet to go elsewhere. Let him. He can be a starter on another team, and would probably like that more, and obviously he isn't opposed to moving. I too do like Crabbe and his 3's. Something is gonna have to give down the road though....
I think I prefer what Crabbe brings to the table going forward. Partly because I think getting a third ball handler to back up Dame/CJ who can play defense shouldn't be that difficult.
