48 hours: Johnson v. Mills, the countdown is on?

[blazerboy30]

I haven't seen much to indicate Johnson will be a good defender of PGs in the regular season. He's big and strong for a PG, but he doesn't strike me as particularly quick laterally for the position.

Mills is not a good defender at this point, and Johnson does show good anticipation defensively, but it strikes me as less accurate to say Johnson is a good defender than that Mills is a very fast player.

Ed O.

While not necessarily guaranteed to carry over to the regular season, Johnson forced more 8-second violations those few games than I saw in all of last season combined. Sure, this could be due to the opposing point guards being inexperienced and not used to the 8-seconds instead of 10 seconds. But no other point guard in summer league was able to apply the same pressure against the same quality of opponent. At the very least, he is able to put a lot more pressure, defensively, on the opponents than any other point guard we have seen come through the summer league.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

While not necessarily guaranteed to carry over to the regular season, Johnson forced more 8-second violations those few games than I saw in all of last season combined. Sure, this could be due to the opposing point guards being inexperienced and not used to the 8-seconds instead of 10 seconds. But no other point guard in summer league was able to apply the same pressure against the same quality of opponent. At the very least, he is able to put a lot more pressure, defensively, on the opponents than any other point guard we have seen come through the summer league.

There were also a few Andre Miller-style steals where he simply overwhelmed the guy as he approached the 3pt line from halfcourt. I saw some good things, enough to warrant 12 minutes on the court every night.

 

[blazerboy30]

There were also a few Andre Miller-style steals where he simply overwhelmed the guy as he approached the 3pt line from halfcourt. I saw some good things, enough to warrant 12 minutes on the court every night.

Agreed. I can see him playing alongside Roy, letting Roy run the offense while Johnson applies pressure to the opposing PG.

I just don't see Mills' "skill" of being a very-small "scorer" as translating to the big league. I do see Johnson's "skill" of being a good-sized, athletic defender translating.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Apparently Mills has an offer from Italy.
http://thehoopsmarket.blogspot.com/...+(The+Hoops+Market)&utm_content=Google+Reader

 

[DUB]

He wants to be in the NBA, not Europe.

He can go to Europe any time he wants.

 

[hasoos]

Agreed. I can see him playing alongside Roy, letting Roy run the offense while Johnson applies pressure to the opposing PG.

I just don't see Mills' "skill" of being a very-small "scorer" as translating to the big league. I do see Johnson's "skill" of being a good-sized, athletic defender translating.

That's kind of an interesting statement considering how many times the Blazers have been burned by a guy who was a "pure scorer" coming off the bench for another team. Does Von Wafer ring a bell anybody?

Don't discount guys that can score in this league. They have their uses, especially for building a bench unit that you can depend on.

 

[andalusian]

Don't discount guys that can score in this league. They have their uses, especially for building a bench unit that you can depend on.

Oh, hasoos, You DO miss Outlaw

 

[Paxil]

I wasn't too impressed by Johnson... yeah he tried to play some D... but he reminded my of Jarret Jack. Mills? He showed flashes of Tony Parker, but there were so many bone headed TOs that I just wonder where his head is. I think they may keep Johnson just because Mills is a FA.

 

[Eastoff]

So shouldn't we be hearing something about this decision soon, or are we going to have to wait until after their proper training camp?

 

[jlprk]

This has been a long 48 hours.

 

[blazerboy30]

That's kind of an interesting statement considering how many times the Blazers have been burned by a guy who was a "pure scorer" coming off the bench for another team. Does Von Wafer ring a bell anybody?

Don't discount guys that can score in this league. They have their uses, especially for building a bench unit that you can depend on.

Did Von Wafer hurt us because he was an undersized scorer, or because our perimeter defense was atrocious?

I'll go with atrocious defense, since he didn't hurt the rest of the league.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Did Von Wafer hurt us because he was an undersized scorer, or because our perimeter defense was atrocious?

I'll go with atrocious defense, since he didn't hurt the rest of the league.

That's an interesting way to look at it.

 

[blazerboy30]

That's an interesting way to look at it.

I can't tell... are you being sarcastic?

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

This segment from an interview with Chad Buchanan on Blazer's edge might clarify a little:

"Now that Summer League is over where does Patty Mills stand in relation to making the team and what did you see from him this week?

Where he's at right now is that we will scout him in at the World Championships in Turkey. Another team could come in and make an offer on him right now and we would have the rights to match it or not match it. He could take the route -- if he doesn't get an offer from another team -- we could tender him a partial guarantee, a non-guarantee, anything along those lines. Where if he decides that I didn't get an offer from the Blazers but I want to try to make the team, and we offer him that type of situation where he comes in and tries to make our team, he could go that route if he really wants to be with us. Or he could try, another team might come in and offer him something that we decide we're not going to match. It could go that route.

This was a good chance for us to see him play a lot of minutes this week and obviously we're looking at both him and Armon. There are scenarios where we keep both of them too. I think it's something that we'll sit down as a staff this week and talk a lot about how both of those guys played because they both had bright moments this week. Patty can shoot the ball, we know what he is as a kid. We really like him as a person. Our players like him, our coaches like him, he's good for our locker room. He and Armon are very different players. It's a matter of our coaches feeling comfortable with what do they want from that spot.

 

[DUB]

This segment from an interview with Chad Buchanan on Blazer's edge might clarify a little:

Not really!

Cheers for the update though.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Not really!

Cheers for the update though.

Well, my speculative take on the situation is that the Blazers would be happiest if no other team made an offer this summer and Mills would come to camp on a nonguaranteed contract. So, they would have the world championships and training camp to further evaluate him. Buchanan also says they might keep both; this would seem to be only possible if they made some kind of trade that resulted in the blazers having one less player. The worst thing for the Blazers would be if Mills was offered a guaranteed contract by another team before they make a trade like that, my feeling is they would not match. So if any team (San Antonio) is interested in him, I think that team would make an offer sooner than later.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I can't tell... are you being sarcastic?

No.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think if you trade for Devan Harris then AJ is a better choice. If you don't, then it is a tougher decision. Overall I think AJ has a better chance to stick long term. Neither are locks, but I do like his size and toughness.

 

[blazerboy30]

I'd say the odds of AJ working hard and developing a respectable 3-pt shot are a lot better than the odds that Mills will get taller and longer and become a good defender.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I think if you trade for Devan Harris then AJ is a better choice. If you don't, then it is a tougher decision. Overall I think AJ has a better chance to stick long term. Neither are locks, but I do like his size and toughness.

I'd say the odds of AJ working hard and developing a respectable 3-pt shot are a lot better than the odds that Mills will get taller and longer and become a good defender.

I'm somewhat loathe to add yet more youngins to the rotation, but if Bayless, Rudy and Miller are moved in a deal to bring back a "pretty good player" (in Rich Cho's words) at point guard then I actually wouldn't mind seeing both Armon and Mills retained. Mills isn't a pure point guard, but he does possess pretty good vision and his ability to stretch a defense could be pretty valuable. I also like the idea of having backups with vastly different skill-sets to give the team some flexibility depending on matchups. But really what it's going to boil down to is whether or not Miller and/or Bayless are traded and if so, what kind of point guard is brought back. If it's Tony Parker (a speedster with so-so defense) I think you'd be more likely to see Armon kept. If Harris was obtained (poor shooter, but quick and potentially a good dender) then Mills might be a better backup. And if through some miracle Chris Paul was picked up, it probably woudn't matter which guy you kept (though I'd probably favor Armon because of his size).

 

[Trader Ed]

I think with the way he played, and the fact that he cost a couple of million dollars to get, Johnson will make the team in some capacity

plus the fact that Nate describes Patty as uptempo, and Armon as defensive minded... leads me to be believe he will choose Armon to match Nate's style of play... slow and grind it out. But as was said.. if PA overrules him, it maybe Patty.