At the same time, if Stotts is determined to use Aminu as a PF, then maybe Vonleh really is trade bait.
Lack of a proven big man coach has hindered his development. Of course, you can also say the same thing about: Meyers Nurk Swanigan Collins BNM
I'm pretty sure this might open the team to a lawsuit. It may be against the CBA, too. I've not ever seen where a team has done this. Quite the opposite - potential RFA/UFA players are almost always given the PT they deserve, if not more than they deserve. FWIW
Isn't Jim Moran the big man coach? Collins is ahead of schedule. Vonleh has gotten better every season. Nurk is better than the player he was in Denver. Not one of those players is older than 23. Davis has played his best ball in Portland. So did Plumlee. I mean, does Moran not get any credit for that? Swanigan is still TBD. Meyers is Meyers.
He's supposedly the guy on the staff who works with our bigs, but that doesn't make him a proven big man coach. Exactly what big men has he coached up? Compare his resume to Kim Hughes, the last actual big man coach we had. Zach Collins ahead of schedule???? No way. The guy was a lottery pick. Yes, he has shown flashes of his potential, but isn't coming close to providing consistent results. Lauri Markkanen is the same age, 1 and done college player, 7-footer and he's killing it in CHI. Compare their numbers and it's not close. Also, compare our Collins to John Collins, also 20 years old: Zach Collins: 4.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, PER = 7.6 Lauri Markkanen: 15.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, PER = 16.0 John Collins: 10.9 ppg, 6.8 rpg, PER = 21.1 Two of those guys are ahead of schedule. One is not. Bam Adebayo, Jarrett Allen, Jordan Bell are also outproducing Collins. If Vonleh has gotten better every year, it's been in VERY tiny increments. He's in his 4th year in the league and still doesn't have a single reliable offensive move. He's always been an excellent rebounder and a solid defender. but he still struggles to score 4 ppg, even when he starts. We're basically playing 4-on-5 on offense when he's on the floor. Nurk was MUCH better last year, but this year he's pretty much the same player he was in DEN. The only difference is he is our starting center by default. His shooting percentages are HORRIBLE, especially for a big man who rarely shoots from beyond 10 feet. Of qualified players, he's 127th of 132 in TS% (all those ranked lower are guards). He turns the ball over way too much. Of the top 50 players in TOVs, only Dwight Howard has fewer assists than Nurk. For a guy who isn't creating for others, he has WAY too many unforced TOVs. These are things that can be corrected. It's not too late. Meyer's was actually making progress under Kim Hughes and has been a trainwreck ever since Hughes was fired. Davis actually put up better numbers in LAL and his best year in POR was his first. He's actually declined under Moran. Plumlee was all about energy and a high motor. He lacked even the most basic offensive skills. He had zero low post moves (got almost all of his points in transition) and couldn't even make a wide open 10-foot jump shot (or a FT). Moran did NOTHING to coach him up, or add to his skill set. The fact that Vonleh, Nurk, Collins and Swanigan are all 23 or under is EXACTLY why we need a proven big man coach with a record of coaching players up. Hell, even Ed and Meyers could benefit. BNM
Comparing Markkanen to Collins isn't very fair. Markkanen is a scorer, it translates quicker. He's also on a rebuilding team and the opportunity to play was there from the beginning. This applies to those other guys you mentioned. Portland doesn't have time for growing pains, not to mention the surplus of bigs they have. As for someone like Bell, he was more prepared for the NBA. But regardless of Markkanen, or any other rookie on another team, Collins was not expected to play this season. This comes from Terry and Olshey. The fact that he's carved out a role; yes, he's ahead of schedule. And the coaching staff should get some credit, otherwise they can't get criticized when it goes wrong.
Wasn't Vonleh much better player with Nurk and vice versa? I don't know if I remember this stuff good, but I think there were some voices here that they are perfect fit. And since Vonleh is benched, Nurkic can't reach beast mode anymore. I wish Stotts was gone so f long time ago.
Nurkic played his best with Vonleh. Noah was a beast on D and is a very strong rebounder. The question should be why is Aminu not playing at the SF instead of PF. Noah is getting a raw deal under Stotts. I'm struggling with the rotations this year more than any other year. Maybe NO is meddling too much or even PA. Stotts does look frustrated in interviews like his hands are tied. IDK.
Point is other guys, just as young, are getting PT and being productive. It's not like Collins is buried behind some stud PF. Last year, PF and back up center were our biggest weaknesses. Those happen to be the same positions Collins is ideally suited to play. He was drafted to fill those needs. I see the potential in Collins, and I'm fine with the pick. I'd just like to see him work with a REAL big man coach with a proven record of coaching guys up. BNM
I was thinking the other day, can't we just get Kim Hughes to legally change his name so he can be brought back into the fold under the radar? We can all chip in for a disguise if he needs to sit on the bench during games.
It can be like one of those lame ass All State commercials where we hire his twin brother Tim Hughes. BNM
How do we get someone in the media to lefgit ask Stotts point blank why he is not starting Aminu/Noah at the 3/4? How? I want to know WHY Stotts has not gone back to the best lineup we saw last year????? Yes I know Hark was at the three then, but Aminu would be better.
Easy question: Turner. Move Aminu to the starting 3 and start Vonleh at the 4. Moving Aminu to the 3 means fewer minutes for Turner and more minutes for both Vonleh and Collins at the 4. BNM
