Don't we already know what Hickson is at this point? A hustle player who doesn't/can't defend and will probably be nothing more than a good high energy backup. What good does it do having a guy with that resume' and starter's aspirations? At least with Robinson he's got a chance to be more than that ... for 1.5 million dollars less.
How do you know this? Because we haven't hired a big name past player? It isn't guaranteed, at all, that the best players will make the best coaches.
You are right, Robinson has a chance to be more than that, but also less than that. I would like to see the Blazers have a bench they can rely on and know what they are going to get out of it. I understand all the excitement that comes with rookies and in this case the #5 pick (he is also a player two other teams didn't seem overly concerned with giving up the high ceiling) but he really hasn't proved anything yet, Hickson has. A good high energy backup for 5 million a yr sounds reasonable (plus I think Hickson can improve, but that is another discussion )
Hickson wanted a chance to start and didn't want to play center. I don't think we had a shot at bringing him back unless like last year he got no good offers. 15/3 from a team he has chance to start on (he has to beat out Farried for it but thats possible) is better the same offer from a potentially worse team with no shot of starting.
You know, I realized after I posted that, that I don't even know who we have on staff this year to work with Meyers, or how they stack up. I was going on past history, where I've sometimes been pretty disappointed. (Caleb? Really?) But, there is in fact new management in town so maybe they are going in the right direction. When I look at how much Paul Allen pays his players, historically, I just don't know why the organization hasn't spent more, really a minute fraction of player costs, on the best support, training and coaching staff money can buy.
Yes, and we have pad others very well too. But no matter how much you pay, you have to know who to hire. I trust Olshey completely, but not sure yet about Stotts.
But their bigs play much bigger in college than in the pros. Maybe Manning has them playing well above their head?
Mike Rice @mikerice6 38s Now that we can talk about f.a. I have never seen such a physical player on the blazers in my yrs like Robinson. He could be special
I posted this in a summer league thread as well. Rice has been here since 91'. That means he has seen Buck, Grant, etc. Exciting
Awesome to hear, indeed. Really hoping he makes us forget about the Maninmal. He could bring exactly what this team is missing, some true grit.
Sounds like it is all just mentally understanding his role and the NBA game. If he can be even half of what his projected ceiling was coming out of Kansas ...
I'm just tired of people talking about the guy like he was cast off by two teams. He wasn't. The first team was the fucking Kings... let's not give them more credit than they deserve. It's not an organization that is known for great decision making of late. The Rockets would have kept Robinson. Daryl Morey said as much. It's not like they gave up on him. They had to dump him so they could sign, arguably, the best center in the league. I think we got a real steal in Robinson and I think people are vastly underrating this move. If we had traded for Robinson last summer people would have been freaking out. Nothing has changed. He's still the same guy. He just needs a chance and I think we can give it to him. I would rather see Robinson get minutes over signing another big like Brandon Wright. I want to see Robinson get at least 20 minutes per game. I don't care if that comes from him backing up Aldridge, or playing with him at times. It needs to happen.
Agreed and I would add that just because he didnt develop as fast as Lillard did for example and in 2 crappy situations does not mean that his development will not happen at the rate that most rookies with good coaching and opportunities develop (2-3 years). I think we have been a little spoiled with Lillard, which by the way is fine by me I just dont think its fair to hold the 99% to those standards.
Mike Rice @mikerice6 3m "@The_Total_Pkg: @mikerice6 Is T Rob practicing yet? Any first impressions?"as long as he knows his role as a banger in side player Mike Rice @mikerice6 1m "@RipCitySwayze07: @mikerice6 who would you compare t rob to?"I hope Reggie Evans Mike Rice @mikerice6 47s "@MichaelHustad: @mikerice6 Brian Grant? Buck Williams? Kkersey?"buck williams
