Kevin Martin would be a good fit. As soon as opposing 2 guards start lighting up Martin you could put Matthews in there and give him 35 minutes of burn. It would be a matchup nightmare. Fire and ice.
...sign OJ Mayo, re-sign Hickson, sign backup center [that is good at defense/rebounding], and draft the rest of the roster needed to fill: PG - Lillard SG - Mayo SF - Batum PF - Aldridge C - Leonard 6th man guard - Matthews 6th man forward - Hickson ...et al benchers below!
Its not about what he doesn't bring. Its about what he could bring to the bench. I like Wes as much as the next guy. But, lets be real, he's a guy with a 14 PER. Not exactly irreplaceable. He'd bring great energy to a bench unit that sucks. He'd be one of the best in the league at it. There's a reason that coaches like to have starting quality players coming off the bench.
But the question isn't whether we should upgrade the 2 spot, it's where does upgrading the 2 spot rank among all the other moves we need to make? We need a backup point guard. We need a starting center. We need a scorer off the bench. Matthews isn't perfect, not by a long shot, but he works in the interim. Obviously there are some options this summer at shooting guard that we could make a run at. JJ Redick, Kevin Martin, OJ Mayo, JR Smith... Martin is probably the best fit of those four, but he has yet to complete a season without missing significant time. Mayo would be a great fit in terms of age and talent, but he has questionable character. Still, I'm intrigued by him. I'm wondering what kind of deal he will command this summer. Redick would be a nice addition because of his shooting, but I'm not sure if he's really an upgrade over Matthews. Possibly just a lateral move, but one that would allow Matthews to come off the bench. I like adding Smith. He's nuts, no doubt about that, but he's an awesome bench scorer. This team could use a little crazy.
I'd prefer a guy like Jatrrett Jack who can play both guard spots and would not cost too much, then we have more $$$ for glaring needs like a C as Meyers develops, BTW I am assuming JJ Hicksom is not resigned.
John Salmons just turned 33 a month ago and will be in the league a few more years. He could be had cheaply and share time with Matthews. He's at least as good as Matthews, and I think better.
I don't see Matthews as an ideal sixth man. I mentioned before, but feel his inability to create for himself or others kills that. Mayo, Jack, monta would make for good sixth men here I think.
I really don't think Jarret Jack is a good fit for the Blazers. Lillard is playing 39 mpg. That leaves 9 minutes of actual backup PG play for JJ. In theory they'll play together, but why would you want the ball out of Lillard's hands even with Jack in the game? Can Lillard really do well as an off-ball SG? Jack is a combo guard, but hes a ball dominant one, and taking the ball from him and having him play as a SG seems like a waste when there are so many real pure SGs out there who can do it better than him at a lower price. JJ works as a 30 mpg player off the bench in GS because Curry makes a seamless transition to being a pure SG and he can be highly effective off the ball. Just seems like a waste throwing 6 million a year at Jarret Jack when you could get a significantly cheaper replacement to fill those 10 mpg and throw your money at an impact 6th man, a C, and just general quality depth.
+1. How many 2-guards out there shoot the three as good as Wes and defend as well? I like him as a starter.
I've been saying this for a while now. I think Jarrett Jack would be a great option as a back-up 1/2. He can play both positions and he's starter quality as he's shown at Golden State. He would be the perfect spark plug off the bench.
I've always wanted the Blazers to get him. He has struggled in Philly, but he shoots better from 3, is a better defender and he is 2 years younger than Matthews. Turner's PER has gone up each year in the league, where Matthews' has gone down from him first year with us. At SG Turner, while slight has a better PER to PER vs ration that Matthews. Turner is also much more of an athlete
Ive seen his name mentioned before but the more I see of him and the more he burns us the more I like OJ Mayo. Im not sure what he would cost but his offense would change our team quite a bit. Whether that means he starts for Wes or he comes off the bench I really dont care. Although thinking about it I would love to have Matthew's defense for our starting unit and Mayo's offense for our bench. If we could pair Mayo with a back up PG that works well with Mayo's skill set it would make our team offensively legit for 48 minutes. Especially if we found a way to get Hickson as part of that bench. I would also send Claver to the gym this off season and tell him to stand at the 3 pt line and shoot until his arms fall off.
I'm with you on wanting Turner, mm. I think we both talked last offseason about trying to buy low on him.
