Ok guys....your the GM/Coach now, what do you do? Some of us think we are better than KP and Nate....some of us think we know exactly what need to happen, what changes/trades NEED to be made. So here you go, tell everyone how you would handle this off season and get the Blazers to the next level. I for one KNOW I am not GM material and only inject my opinion on occasion, am not "In the know" about talent around the leage, not an expert on contracts and/salary caps etc.........I am just a fan with an opinion. but here ya go.... 1. I actually would only make one move really. I use Outlaw, Sergio and some draft picks to acquire a young (3-4 year guy) low post type PF to provide more inside game, ying to LAs yang. There are several out there and I am not going to name names as I dont know much about each and not 100% on how each would fit in our system. Also bring in another young PG, possibly through trade or draft (depending on how it shakes out and who is available) for a 3rd option if Bayless doesnt work out. 2. Webster starts, Batum comes off the bench......I give Rudy minutes here to, I think he can play SF as well as SG. I give Webster and Rudy some leash and LET THEM PLAY!! 3. Blake starts and Bayless gets more and more minutes as the season progresses......IF he shows/proves he can play PG and can transition from Combo guard to PG. 4. I tell Nate, "Pick up the tempo, let our young athletic team RUN! I am tired of hearing you talk about running more and DO IT!! Or will find another coach who will". Thats about it. Next?
Sounds exactly like what Seattle tried to do to Nate when he was their coach. In his 3rd year he relented and allowed the team to move from being among the slowest ones in the league to about mid pack (15th in the league). It was also his worst year as a coach there and they only won 37 times. Next year he slowed them up and played his style - they won 52 games and went to the 2nd round in the playoffs. A year after that - he decided he cared not for Seattle's front-office meddling in his coaching decisions and moved to Portland. Seattle hired a coach that ran ran ran - they were 11th in the league in pace - but won only 35 games. What this tells you is that if the roster is not built to run - forcing it to run is a mistake. This team is built around 3 stars - Roy, LMA and one day (hopefully next year) Oden. The only one of those that really thrives in fast-pace is LMA - but lucky for us he is so good that he works well in half court as well. This team should pick it's pace - but given the roster we have - Nate probably played them the right way. Let's figure it out: 1. Bad perimeter defense from both point guards lead Portland to make tons of switches on defense with the bigs covering for the point guard break-downs - this leads to the other team scoring on a mismatch (can't really run after they do that) - or the bigs being out of position for starting the break by rebounding while the quick guards are leaking. 2. Our starting PG (Blake) had his best years in slow-down offense where he has an exceptional ability to protect the ball. That same PG when playing in faster systems (as he did at the Bucks or a much faster Denver team) was much lower in his ability to protect the ball. When he was with the bucks - his TOV rate was higher than Kirk Hinrich and when he was in Denver it was actually pretty bad - to the tune of Jarret Jack bad last year (20%) 3. Our backup PG is a running turn-over machine - at 25% he makes Jarret Jack's miserable turn-over year in Portland seem fantastic. 4. Brandon Roy can run - but he is more effective when he forces his own pace on the game - it would be silly to force him to do what he is not comfortable to do. 5. With a healthy Greg Oden - we will see a lot more in-out game - again - a staple of half-court offense. 6. One of our 2 best fast-break finishers (Webster) was out all year. The other one is LMA - but in the future I will not be surprised to see Batum and JB added to the fast break finishers list. This team should be faster - and I am willing to bet that it will - but that is because they are more experienced and they do not need to protect the ball so much as they needed as the youngest team in playing rotation... - on the other hand - the team's biggest mismatches seem to be in the half-court system - it would be silly to ignore that and go running in order to run. What I am trying to tell you is that Nate seem to have a pretty good grasp of his roster and what it can and should do. Forcing him to run when the team's roster was not optimized for it has proved to be a mistake in the past in Seattle and I do not see it changing with Portland's roster. We are not built like GSW or the old PHX teams were. If KP wants the team to run more (not run all the time which would be stupid) - he needs to upgrade our PG to someone that works better in the fast break - and we need to upgrade our perimeter defense. I suspect that just getting rid of Sergio will lead to better perimeter defense with the 2nd unit and I suspect our team will get better at perimeter defense and will improve it's decision making on offense and on the run just because of internal maturation - but the difference is going to be very small given your suggestion to basically stand pat with out starting PG.
The number of options are very limited now that RLEC is basically worth nothing. IMO we have no choice but to ride it out with what we have, and hope Bayless steps in at PG and improves the team in that facet, and maybe sign a banger at backup PF. For a backup PF I would bring in one of the following: Antonio McDyess Paul Milsap(weakens a conference competitor so it is doubly interesting). Brandon Bass(again, weakens a conference competitor) I would look at the following players to add depth at center as a just in case Oden decides to mail in another season with foul trouble: Zaza Pachulia Marcin Gortat Bring over Freeland (low chance because he has been playing well, but you never know what a week of partying on Paul Allens Yacht might be able to do.) At PG I would look at Ramon Sessions. I would look at Ander Miller, but I have never really liked him as a player. It just seems to me it is more of the same. Every one of our PG is missing a piece of their game. One has outside shooting. The other has fancy pasing. The other can playd defense and score. If we brought Miller in, he brings penetration of the paint and some decent pick and roll play, but lacks the outside shooting. Another PG with a hole in their game, it's just a different hole. Then as a player who just finds a way to get it done, I would look at Marquis Daniels. The guy knows the limitations of his game and plays within those limitations very well. He plays good D, scores mostly from the inside of the arc, and brings some hustle.
I'm not sure how much actual trade value Sergio + Travis + picks actually has, but if something could be swung that would bring us back a veteran banger type PF then I'd be all for it. There's all kinds of guys that I can think of that would fit the "steady, but unspecatcular" power forward label and would be happy to see any of them come off the bench for 15-20 minutes a game. Antonio McDyess Nick Collison Brandon Bass Chris Wilcox Ronny Turiaf Marquis Daniels Leon Powe Udonis Haslem Jason Maxiell Drew Gooden. Give me anyone of those guys and this team instantly becomes just a little bit tougher inside than with Travis playing backup PF.
I'll start out by mentioning that we have the second most efficient offense in the league, and are only a slime margin behind the Suns in that category. Roy doesn't do fast breaks, he does mid pace breaks. I'd love to see us increase the tempo a tiny bit, but I'm fine with being one of the slowest teams in the league. As far as moves go here's what I'm thinking. -We have Oden and Joel and led the league (if I'm not mistaken) in rebounding margin. That tells me we're already the best rebounding team in the league. If we can find a perfect banger PF for a reasonable price I'd take him, otherwise it's a low priority. -We have Webster and Batum share time at the 3. Outlaw can play some backup 4 sharing the spot with a Joel/Oden combo depending on fouls and the match ups on the team we're playing. -We have Roy and Rudy share time in the 1-2 guard spots to get Rudy about 5-10 more minutes per game. Rudy gives us everything Blake does but better. Rotate Batum and Roy on the opposing teams point guard/best wing player as necessary. -If Bayless earns time give it to him, if not use Blake/Roy/Rudy as your rotation. With this setup no changes have to be made but improvement is possible. Here's what the off-season looks like -I shop Outlaw, Sergio, Blake, Picks, cash around the league looking to consolidate for > moving up in the draft, Jason Kidd or Hinrich, a PF who will rebound and play defense but can play smaller guys and possibly slide down to the 3. So much of trades is what's available at the time and what deals come up. Hold out for a high return, this off-season looks like more than usual may be available due to the economy. I'd rather have a versatile 3-4 at the PF than a banger unless the banger can produce his own offense, which would mean he deserves more playing time than we can give him and we have problems. Jason Kidd can play D and pass, can run a break when we get the opportunity, and can shoot (over 40% for 3 this year) If he's willing to sign the mid level for a championship great, otherwise probably not worth it. Hinrich is Blake with more defense. Defense is what we need to get to the next level which is why . . . We put a new emphasis on defense. If Nate can't do it this year I'd let his contract go and pick up someone new. Just to throw some intrigue into the conversation, Terry Porter anyone?
I suggest you go watch the Dallas/Denver series before you say Jason Kidd can still play D again. They pretty much have gone to putting in JJ Barea to defend point guards because Kidd can't keep up with them anymore, and running him at shooting guard. I know that they have also been doing this in the latter part of the season, but I don't know how far back.
Trade for Tayshaun Prince. It will improve our defense a ton with Oden getting a another year under his belt. If it takes losing Outlaw or Martel and cap space which Detroit is rumored to want, we should do it even give them a future pick. Use Sergio to slightly improve our current draft pick if we don't trade it. Blake/Bayless/Koponen Roy/Rudy Prince/Batum(Martel if not traded) LMA/(Outlaw if not traded)Nick collison(FA) Oden/Joel Batum and Prince can play spot duty guarding good PG for limited amounts of time. Prince like Roy can bring the ball up and allow Bayless to attack the basket more. I love the fact that Prince has a post up game and can pass out of it which creates a different element Roy doesn't have.
I guess what I said doesnt sound like I meant it to. I didnt intend to sound like I wanted the Blazers to turn into a "running" team, like Phoenix or Denver......I just want to see them run a little more than they do. Capitalize on opportunities to run, fastbreaks, certain units on the floor at certain times to push the tempo. We should be using our youth and athletes MUCH more than Nate has been. I am fairly happy with the flow of the offense, but I would like to see more "open" play, a little more freedom. We look too methodical, too controlled and calculated and that gets stagnant and predictable at times.
I like all of the guys, so I have a hard time wanting to trade them. I’m going to put my BeealZeeBob hat on and give this a shot anyway. Trading chips are cash, picks, taking back bad contracts and SR, TO, SB if we are getting back a pg and MW for the right deal. Rudy goes only if he brings back Rubio. PG This team is deep enough that they should be pushing the ball at every opportunity. They are deeper than most teams, and they can tire opponents by pushing. They should only try to finish a fast break when there is a really high value shot to be had. If it’s not there, give the ball to Brandon. Play an inside out game well into the shot clock to get quality looks. I would target Rubio, Sessions or Miller only if he wants to sign cheap for a title run. Otherwise, get what we can for Sergio; Steve and Jerryd compete for starter. Long term I see a three guard rotation of Roy, Rudy and Jerryd. SG Bake it. Improvement through experience here. SF Bake it. Nic and Marty can man this spot. If there is a young stud that can be had for a Pritchslap, do it and move Martel…keep Nic. Whoever is here with Nic has to take the starting spot from him, otherwise they’re backups. PF I guess I’m out of step with conventional wisdom here. As much as I like watching banger PF’s style of play, I don’t see that as the best fit for the Blazers. They don’t need a ying to LMA’s yang so much as a ying to Joel’s yang. And Joel’s yang hangs out in the low post. Maybe I’m missing something, but it’s generally agreed that LMA is the perfect complement to Greg’s game, because Greg takes up the space in the post. I see the same situation with the second unit, as Joel will always be in the post. Seems like what we need is LMA light. PF Wish List: Mehmet Okur Would give us the best PF rotation in the league. PF’s I like, and we might be able to get: Nick Collison, Zaza Pachulia Tall, tough, play D, can play the high post, rebounding, should be attainable. Guys that could help, good chance could be had fairly cheap: Antonio McDyess, Rasho Nesterovic, Miki Moore. C Joel and Greg should have this position covered for a long time. Big improvement from Greg learning not to foul next year. Nate doesn’t have to win it all next year to keep his job, but at least 5 more wins and make the WCF. Even if he fails that, I want a proven winner to replace him, or else bake it. Trade up in the draft as much as possible and draft BPA. Trade BPA for position of need. Go Blazers
Here's my take on the situation. 1) We need to build on our core- so we won't trade Oden, Aldridge or Roy. 2) Our offense is the 2nd most efficient in the league, so there's more need to focus on the defense. Houston shut us down, but they were a great defense that was almost tailor made to stop Roy. 3) Our defensive weakness is primarily on the perimeter. First step- don't take the option on Blake or Outlaw and release Frye- this leaves us about 15 million to spend on a free agent. Make an offer on the first day of free agency to Sessions- Milwaukee is limited as to what they can offer, I believe. Sessions can only make the mid-level exception for his first two years, but I think we can technically offer more than the Bucks over the life of the contract. Sessions is a good young point guard with the 11th best PER and is better defensively than Blake. Make an offer to Artest with the rest of the money. This gives us a lineup of Sessions/Bayless/Sergio Roy/Rudy Artest/Webster/Batum Aldridge/draft choice Oden/Pryzbilla We can then use Sergio, our #2 picks, possibly Webster and our salary cap exception to move up in the draft- where we can draft a good PF back up.
First dream: Rubio, Blatche and Jamison for TO, SB, SR and the 24 pick. Washington can re-trade Travis or Steve, pick up their options, or just cut them. They basically get Sergio for the right not to pay 35M over the next 3 years (+ some luxury tax), and the ability to do what they want with Blake and TO. If running Rubio and Bayless as our 2 PGs next year makes you queasy, use the MLE (or less, depending) on Kidd or Miller as a stopgap/mentor (Kidd preferable, though I know he has some shortcomings right now) or someone cheap on the BAE like Tyronn Lue or Brevin Knight. Someone old, steady, who won't kill you while the younguns are learning. More later, already spending time I shouldn't be.
Good lord, that's one of the more lopsided trades I've seen. I know the Gasol deal happened, but I just don't see this working out.
This is my plan: Strengths offense: 1. shooting the 3 2. offensive rebounding 3. taking care of the ball Weaknesses offense: 1. getting easy baskets 2. not drawing a lot of fouls (low FT attempts) 3. total lack of a post game Strengths defense: 1. Interior defense 2. defensive rebounding 3. Batum on the perimeter Weaknesses defense: 1. Perimeter defense 2. allowing teams to drive and get our bigs into foul trouble 3. giving up way too many open 3's What I think we need to fix the problems 1. PG upgrade that can get into the lane, control the tempo and play better defense 2. A veteran wing player that has the ability to shut down other teams, and also is able to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim 3. A back up 4 that can bang and hurt people. 4. More motion in our offense, and running more when we have the opportunity (this is really part of #1, but I think Nate needs to loosen it up a bit as well) So here is my plan: Trade Travis, Sergio and #24 to Detroit for Jason Maxiel. Both teams will be under the cap allowing this trade to happen. Trade Blake and Webster to team for a TE and a mid first Then sign Ron Artest and Jason Kidd to FA contracts. Both players know how to play, and know what it takes to win in the playoffs. Kidd is old, and is the perfect mentor for Bayless. Artest is a nut job, but respects the hell outa Roy, so would probably be fine. Draft Gani Lawal with the mid round 1st Draft Darren Collison with the 32nd pick That leaves us with Kidd/Bayless/Collison Roy/Rudy/Koponen Artest/Batum/2nd rounder Aldridge/Maxiel/Lawal Oden/Przybilla/Freeland I think that team gives us the right mix of youth and veterans. Kidd and Artest would add a lot to the team IMO by simply teaching Bayless and Batum how to play during practice. I know Koponen is a PG, but he is 6'5", and could easily play the two like Brandon where he handles the ball.
I honestly don't think this team needs another star, unless they can land a stellar point guard. A stellar point guard would salivate at the thought of playing with Roy, Rudy & LMA and would bring out the best in Oden. But teams with stellar point guards tend to hang onto them, unless KP has some really really compromising photos of George Shinn. So I would say concentrate on role players to fill in the cracks. The cap room does not have to be spent all in one place, it can be used to get 2 guys who are good solid bench players and fill needs.
I am sure we can photoshop something up. Unfortunately, George Shinn has enough money he can just pay somebody to kill us instead of trading us Chris Paul.
