http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9517740/nba-offseason-grades-west Below is the portion on the Blazers, they have these details for all NBA teams.
Other west team grades: Mavs D+ Nugs D+ Warriors A- Rockets A Clips A+ Lakers C Grizz C Wolves C- Pelicans B- Thunder C- Suns B Kings C+ Spurs B Jazz B
Nice writeup. Lopez was acquired so easily that I kind of overlooked that PER. That's a much better PER than Przybilla's best season, and I remember all the speculation about whether we would keep him or if he'd get stolen from us by the Spurs, Bulls or Twolves. No doubt that Robin has had the far, far better career compared to Joel at the same age. Stats, of course, aren't everything. Especially when talking about defensive centers. But still....
Luke Babbit on Line 1, sir... I'm surprised "waiving Nolan Smith and Luke Babbitt" wasn't listed as an addition.
No analysis on Earl Watson or Terrel Harris. I've recently been convinced that Robinson was a good pick up (although I still don't think he is as good as Hickson). Now, for my sanity, I need to read that Watson was a good pick up. I can see the back up PG position coming back to haunt the Blazers again this season.
I think, if we were actually playing to win, our bench would still be very undermanned. As Lopez is our starter, our bench would consist of Wright and CJ (and maybe Claver). Robinson is still a net negative until he learns to play under control, and we've seen everybody else and it was ugly. Watson might have a role too, but he's getting long in the tooth and was never very good.
I think you want Lopez off the bench. You think he's a rim protector? No way. 82games.com says opposing Cs lit him up for a 17.8 PER. His 7.8 rebounds per 36 seems rather poor to me. He put up decent offensive stats on a terrible team made worse by injuries to its key players. In spite of having no real other C who was healthy for the whole season, he earned 26 minutes per game. Next to LMA, you have your bigs not known for rebounding prowess. Leonard may not have been much better, but he was a rookie. I can see why the two would compete for the job.
You lose me right there. His Block % of 5.0 was 9th in the league. He's a shot-blocker. A rim-protector. His offensive stats per 36 were consistent with prior years despite increased minutes. This suggests legitimacy. He started every game, and was playing alongside the #1 pick and a PF who was their biggest offseason acquisition. He was third on the team in total minutes. Next to LMA, centers tend to have career-high rebounding seasons. Lopez will be just fine Leonard was not only "not much better"; he was significantly worse. Lopez is exactly what Aldridge asked for. If the front office has any interest in keeping Aldridge, Lopez is the unquestioned starter--something Olshey made very clear in the introductory press conference. You're just wrong Denny. Wrong on every level.
Who is replacing the MVP Lopez in New Orleans? What suckers those guys are for giving up a superstar on such a great contract. /green font.
