You're in Neil's shoes...

I can't see the blazers going after Rondo or have any desire or need for him or how we even fits with having a starting point guard on the team.

 

Yeah but remember they already have to cut 5 guys from their roster before the season starts. They are that far over. And the young guys they have are the same or better than what they would be receiving.

They need minutes to develop for Olynyk, Sullinger, Zeller, and maybe Faverani (Do they need Leonard and Joel too)

They drafted Smart, they added Evan Turner and they signed Avery to a big contract. They can't find minutes for Phil Pressey who they like. Blake would take minutes away from developing these guys.

They got Green and Wallace too, not many minutes for Wright.

I just don't see it....

 

With how high the cap is expecting to go up we can give Lopez and Mathews 10m a year this off season and then have tons of capspace next off season. That will of course depend on what the cap is expected to be and we should have a better idea of what it will be near mid season.

 

I've learned over the years to avoid expensive always injured players, I don't know about you guys but Rondo can't stay on the court. Last thing the Blazers need is the problem the Celtics have now.

 

As much as I like Wes and Nic, I think upgrading significantly at one of those spots should be a priority. You have to shoot for the stars and never be satisfied with your roster. This team can STILL improve despite having an already very good starting 5.

 

One thing I would do if I was Neil is to address this issue:

"Stotts, in his post-game news conference, talked about different aspects of the game, including the play of his second unit and how they handled the offense when Steve Blake was out of the game. Blake was the only healthy true point guard after Damian Lillard was scratched because of an ankle issue."

Keep an eye on the waver wire because if Darius Morris is not the answer than we better cut a SG and find a 3rd PG.

 

Project Jimmer... Lol jk but I do wonder if we end up trading Claver or Crabbe for someone like ray mccallum.

 

Neil will do whatever it takes to tie up Aldridge and may try to give Lillard the maximum. Unless Leonard has a magic season he's gone. Freeland probably stays if he takes less. McCallum will stay or be traded depending on his season. Barton will be resigned depending on C.J's situation. I imagine T.Rob will stay. Claver or Wright will make way for a real backup for Batum. The rest, he'll if I know. I am probably completely wrong.

 

Okay, so first off name all of the SGs that are better than Wes and all of the SFs that are better than Nic.
After you do that let's discuss which of those players are available.

 

With as weak as the shooting guard is in todays NBA how many are actually better than Matthews?
Or better yet... how many are as serviceable as Matthews?
#1 Harden - No question about his defensive drive...
#2 Manu - Questions about his durability are a concern.
#3 Wade - Questions about durability.
#4 Ellis - defensive questions but highly doubt he's available.
#5 Kobe - durability is a concern.
The rest...
Waiters/Williams/Gordon/Afflalo/Mayo/DeRozan/Martin/Thompson/Beal
I'm prolly forgetting a couple.. but how many of "the rest" are better or equal in value as Matthews?
What do the Blazers need from the shooting guard position? Scoring? Shooting? Defense? Playmaking?(do we really want to take the ball out of Lillard's hands?)
I'd argue that outside of the top 5 I listed Matthews is better and brings more value to the Blazers than "The Rest" of the guards I listed would.

The Small Forward is just as weak.
Outside of LJB/KD/Melo who is a Superstar or a Star??
Leonard is still 22? 23? I don't put him with those three yet...

Gay? MKG? Deng? Pierce? Evans? Gallinari? Green? Parsons?
(once again I prolly missed a few)

I don't think any of the small forwards outside of the Superstars would provide more consistently to the Blazers than Batum does.
But once again it's what are you looking for out of your small forward? Scoring? playmaking? shooting? defense?
(keep in mind Batum is prolly my least fav Blazer because of how talented he is and how uninterested he appears at times.)

So how many of the players I listed are available and what would the Blazers give up to get them? (don't tell me scrubs would land stars)
or maybe you have a couple to add?

 

That's the point. There really aren't that many SFs and SGs better than Nic or Wes, but those are our two biggest weaknesses in the starting lineup. Another dynamic scorer would take a load off LMA and Lillard. I would still go after Melo if he and his agent begin bitching about the Knicks season.

 

They're also our two biggest strengths on defense. It's a two way game. We have two 20+ point scorers, not many teams have that.

 

I agree. Even if we improve offensively with their replacement, chances are we will lose on the defensive end of the floor. Realistically, I don't think there is much we can do to improve those positions unless a guy like Carmelo asks to be traded. Must be opportunistic like the Rockets were with Harden when it was clear OKC wasn't going to pay him what he wanted.

 

Problem is there just isn't a James Harden player out there to sign and I personally don't want another guard next to Dame who demands the ball a lot. I think the offensive improvement scoring wise will have to come from Batum, we all know he can score ~17 a night... It's just a matter of want to.

 

If Klay and the Warriors continue to bicker about his new contract, that could be a great target. I would hand him the max without thinking twice. Nic won't ever average 17. He just isn't aggressive enough unfortunately.

 

Wait so Matthews and Batum are our best defenders, but you would be willing to get worse defensively signing Melo? Yes we would be a better offensive team, but that really isn't our weakness.

 

What if we got Gasol and Lopez? The new cap could make it work. Would Lopez mind coming off the bench? I actually think he wouldn't.

Gasol and Aldridge would be very formidable. Plus Lopez coming off the bench can be a huge problem for other teams

 

Defense is a system issue. Check the Bobcats and how they have some really atrocious defensive players, but one of the best defensive systems in the leagues. Yes, I would sacrifice one or both to get Melo. He's a superstar. Nic and Wes are role players. Easy decision.

 

See I disagree. I think Melo would take away everything that makes Lillard special. Melo is an ISO player that requires the ball in his hands much like Roy did years ago. It's fine if you have a 1 superstar team, but we have Aldridge and Lillard.

Melo would destroy our chemistry and flow