Upgrading the SG position

I would try to.

 

Ok. So, which player(s) on our awesome roster will you try to trade for him?

 

He hasn't improved all that much. He can get anywhere he wants to on the floor with his handles, but he can't shoot or finish. And outside of maybe Crash, very few players have made drastic improvements to their games past the age of 24. So, there's no real potential to get him to produce more than his current value.

 

Defensively, he's exactly what we need at guard. Offensively, he's a bit too streaky to count on throughout the entire game. I see him as a terry or ginobili off the bench. Most likely playing crunch time minutes.

I think our sites should be more of an offensive guard like just reddick starting. Reddick may not play in crunch time. Or you find a sf that has more of a defensive specialist role and move Batum at sg. Then during crunch time, you play Wes at 2 and move Batum to 3.

 

Tough one. Probably have to do some sort of 3 way?Matthews and Hickson could be sent out in a deal

 

Matthews have been battling injuries last year, then still recovering this year. I agree that I would much rather have his per go up, but I don't want to make any assessment until I see him healthy. Also, if we had a better bench, I suspect Matthews per to go up. We are asking sooooo much from our starters. More minutes doesn't equate to better production, IMO. In fact I think more minutes actually effects efficiency for a player. I'm talking 35+ a game.

 

Turner's PER the last 3 years: 10.8, 12.6, 13.1
Matthews' PER the last 4 years: 12.3, 15.5, 14.1, 14.5

 

Don't forget leadership qualities. Matthews kicks ass in that category.

 

So mm's statement isn't accurate. Matthews per last season was injury riddled, while its gained 0.4 so far this injury riddled year. He's only down 1 per from his best year.

 

I've been referencing repeatedly how his impact goes past just the #s. I don't think Matthews is all that great, tbh, but we all seem to underrate what he brings. We need more depth yes, but a starter to replace Wes--- not so much.

 

I noticed your references. And I agree with you. A lot of people focus on the stats and forget the other qualities making a player who he is.

 

I think that ability would be more valuable off the bench. He would lead the bench unit fresh.

 

I like Matthews, but he is not a drive to the hoop kind of player. Do we have one of those on the bench?

Matthews is a great safety net at the 3-pt arc for our drive to the hoop players in Lillard and Batum.

 

Historically, Wes has been really bad off the bench.

 

Sometimes it's more about small improvements combined with different opportunity. Past the age of 24, look no further than our own roster, with Aldridge, who has had his best years, and his highest PERs after he turned 25. He's made plenty of improvements to his post game. Nic turned 24 this season. He looks like he's made some improvements to me. I dunno. Part small improvements, part opportunity.

 

Barton certainly shows signs of being able to be that kind of player. He's out of control sometimes, but I think that he has the makings of a good backup SG.

 

Showing signs is good, but he's out of control more often than not.

 

I think our biggest need is a steady backup PG. Someone like Eric Maynor would be perfect. I foresee a trickle down effect with that. He'd improve our bench players signficantly allowing them to play longer. That would give the starters much more rest and make them more efficient.

 

He's a rookie so you have to make some allowances for that. Given that the prevailing wisdom around here is that the Blazers should aim not to make the playoffs, it seems to me that giving Barton a lot of burn the rest of the season makes sense. See if he improves before deciding on the game plan for the draft.

 

Rookies usually need two years in the league before u see significant improvement. I think most of us are used to Roy and Lillard being good right out the gate. Most the time that isn't the case