Ben Golliver on 1080

[Fez Hammersticks]

The team needs to rebuild through the draft. The core just isn't there yet to compete.

*Wes is a below average starting SG
*Batum is an average starting SF
*No legit starting C
*No legit starting PG

"The team management are in denial." Ben said what a lot of fans have been saying all year: this team NEEDS a rebuild. The best option is to trade up and get that player who can be a major impact player in a year or two.

 

[Natebishop3]

Oh I'm sure the team thinks they will be able to sign a couple of core rotation players this summer and either trade the picks or draft some good players. The culmination of all this getting us back into the playoffs... which is great and everything, but I'm sick and tired of making the playoffs and getting bounced in the first round. This team needs a lot more than what we can get in free agency.

 

[Blaze01]

Outside of #1, I am not convinced that the next 5-6 players or so aren't on the same level...So I don't think POR needs to trade up...I'd keep #6...and #11, maybe you could trade #11 for #14 & #16? I would consider a dela like that

and I agree it sure seems that POR announcers\analysts are in denial...and many fans...I am not sure about mgmt...

 

[Natebishop3]

Outside of #1, I am not convinced that the next 5-6 players or so aren't on the same level...So I don't think POR needs to trade up...I'd keep #6...and #11, maybe you could trade #11 for #14 & #16? I would consider a dela like that

and I agree it sure seems that POR announcers\analysts are in denial...and many fans...I am not sure about mgmt...

That's how I feel... unless they want to draft Robinson. This team needs inside scoring in the worst way.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

We were promised a reload! We want our fucking reload!

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Listening to Ben I get the sense that the Blazer management are totally unrealistic about this roster and are in total denial.

Are they that stupid to re-tool when you only have two legit starters on the entire roster? Welcome to purgatory.

 

[Natebishop3]

We were promised a reload! We want our fucking reload!

Hard to reload when you're out of ammo.

 

[PapaG]

Nic put up a 17.3 PER this season. By that definition, he's 'above average'.

I think Nic's easily in the top half of SFs. Whether or not he's worth more than $10 million is the question that the Blazers need to answer for themselves.

 

[Natebishop3]

Nic put up a 17.3 PER this season. By that definition, he's 'above average'.

I think Nic's easily in the top half of SFs. Whether or not he's worth more than $10 million is the question that the Blazers need to answer for themselves.

The thing is, his defense hasn't been anywhere near what it was billed as, and his scoring is replaceable. It would be one thing if he was the lockdown defender that everyone thought he'd be, but he isn't. Even 9 million per year seems high to me, and anything over that is overpaying for a position that can be replaced. What's Nic's ceiling? He's not Scottie Pippen as some people though he might be. I'd put him more in the Danny Granger echelon.

 

[RoyToy]

But...but.... Nic Batum is a future star!!

Lol @ me being unreasonable about Nic.

 

[Rhal]

so pretty much what Bens been saying on Blazers edge all year. I guess I'm in deniel because I disagree with almost everything Bens been saying all year.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Drttimmy]

I listened as well, and thought his summary was spot on. It was either him or Parrish on Canzano's show, that said we'll likely choose between Barnes, Beal, Lamb and the two point guards at 6. Doesn't think we have the stable infrastructure to take on a project like Drummond and doesn't feel Sullinger is a good fit for our team. Feels MKG and Robinson will likely be gone by 6.

As far as dealing the picks, on one hand Allen is on record saying he doesn't want to go through another rebuild, leading to think he'd deal the picks for a vet. On the other hand, draft time is Allen's favorite activity as an owner. Does he bow out of the fun of having two lottery picks in the same draft? I think and hope they'll keep the picks. If the GM search is any indication, we won't be overwhelmed by any of the trade offers and we'll hold our cards.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I like Batum but he is pretty much a one-dimensional scorer.

He has no mid-range game and his post game is a long way away.

 

[Natebishop3]

I like Batum but he is pretty much a one-dimensional scorer.

He has no mid-range game and his post game is a long way away.

Exactly. Next thing you know, he's going to be 28 and he won't have grown at all from the player we know today.

 

[Ed O]

Exactly. Next thing you know, he's going to be 28 and he won't have grown at all from the player we know today.

Or he'll be a 28 year-old multiple all-star. That's five or six years away. It's hard to say.

I would agree, though, that he's an average small forward right now. His PER is good, and I love that, but he's within a standard deviation, I'd bet, of average. I anticipate him getting significantly better, but that isn't a given and it's definitely not a certainty to happen next year.

I don't see a scenario where the Blazers trade both of their lottery picks and get good enough to matter. I think that the team is best off taking two cracks at getting really good players, using their cap space to get better immediately, and then hope that one or both of the lottery picks blossom into something special that can make a difference in a couple of years as Aldridge and Batum are in their primes.

Ed O.

 

[Natebishop3]

This is how I feel about the Blazers organization sometimes.

 

[PapaG]

Or he'll be a 28 year-old multiple all-star. That's five or six years away. It's hard to say.

I would agree, though, that he's an average small forward right now. His PER is good, and I love that, but he's within a standard deviation, I'd bet, of average. I anticipate him getting significantly better, but that isn't a given and it's definitely not a certainty to happen next year.

I don't see a scenario where the Blazers trade both of their lottery picks and get good enough to matter. I think that the team is best off taking two cracks at getting really good players, using their cap space to get better immediately, and then hope that one or both of the lottery picks blossom into something special that can make a difference in a couple of years as Aldridge and Batum are in their primes.

Ed O.

Your standard deviation would put a starting SF with a PER of 12.7 in the same group as Nic, at least in terms of a spread from "average".
Nic was 8th in the NBA among qualified SFs in Hollinger's PER rankings.

Can the Blazers give up an above-average starter who is in his early 20s?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/holl...n.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?position=sf

 

[HailBlazers]

The #1 reason why we need to retain Batum is..... Kevin Durant (the second coming of MJ). Nic is the only player that can really match up with KD, bottom line. And that's huge.

 

[e_blazer]

The team needs to rebuild through the draft. The core just isn't there yet to compete.

*Wes is a below average starting SG
*Batum is an average starting SF
*No legit starting C
*No legit starting PG

"The team management are in denial." Ben said what a lot of fans have been saying all year: this team NEEDS a rebuild. The best option is to trade up and get that player who can be a major impact player in a year or two.

I didn't hear the interview, so I'll take your synopsis at face value. That said, I get a real kick out of a guy like Ben, with his superb experience as an NBA guru, issuing a proclamation that Blazers management are in denial and that a total rebuild through the draft is the only way to go. We've had multiple discussions on rebuilding through the draft and it's been demonstrated over and over again that it doesn't guarantee anything in the way of becoming a legitimate contender.

Of the four teams still playing for the title this year, the Spurs and the Thunder can legitimately be said to have rebuilt through the draft. The Heat and Celtics are the products of getting one All-Star level player through the draft (Wade for the Heat and Pierce for the Celtics) and then engineering trades that brought in additional All-Star talent. I don't know that one model is necessarily more successful than the other, but both take smart moves by management as well as a considerable amount of luck.

I don't know what moves the Blazers will be able to pull off this summer, but I have absolutely no problem with them taking a shot at trying to add pieces to their current core as opposed to a tear-down and rebuild through the draft. My guess is that the actual plan is a little of both...get an established player through a FA signing or a trade and add one or two solid prospects through the draft. Seems to me to be a reasonable plan.

 

[PapaG]

I didn't hear the interview, so I'll take your synopsis at face value. That said, I get a real kick out of a guy like Ben, with his superb experience as an NBA guru, issuing a proclamation that Blazers management are in denial and that a total rebuild through the draft is the only way to go. We've had multiple discussions on rebuilding through the draft and it's been demonstrated over and over again that it doesn't guarantee anything in the way of becoming a legitimate contender.

Of the four teams still playing for the title this year, the Spurs and the Thunder can legitimately be said to have rebuilt through the draft. The Heat and Celtics are the products of getting one All-Star level player through the draft (Wade for the Heat and Pierce for the Celtics) and then engineering trades that brought in additional All-Star talent. I don't know that one model is necessarily more successful than the other, but both take smart moves by management as well as a considerable amount of luck.

I don't know what moves the Blazers will be able to pull off this summer, but I have absolutely no problem with them taking a shot at trying to add pieces to their current core as opposed to a tear-down and rebuild through the draft. My guess is that the actual plan is a little of both...get an established player through a FA signing or a trade and add one or two solid prospects through the draft. Seems to me to be a reasonable plan.

That's the approach I'd take. I find it difficult to fathom giving up an All-Star big for draft picks or a lesser player, and thinking that constitutes a "rebuild". That's a "tear down", and I don't think the Blazers are in that situation, and I'm not sure they'd make it through another tear down.

Without that 2006 draft, would Paul Allen even still own the team?

 

[ironcrotch]

Just think that anything that is said now is smoke. The team probably has guys in the lottery they like and don't want to tip their hand in any way. Everything you hear now up until the draft is done is gamesmanship. It happens every year.

 

[DeanMoriarty]

Ben is right on that the Blazers management is delusional.

But Ben is also highly skewed because he's always skeptical for the skeptic's sake (ex. I'm taking the opposite or creating an opposite just for the sake of being controversial) rather than taking a critical, open-minded approach. This isn't a bad thing, it just means his arguments are diluted from time to time.

For one, Batum isn't an average SF. Scouts and GM's know this. That's why they're ready to offer him money this summer.

Secondly, Mathews isn't below average. He's arguably a tad bit better than average. Why? He can shoot the three and play defense....certainly better than half the league's starting shooting guards. Portland definitely stole him from Utah.

Other than that, he's just stating the obvious. Delusional staff/"Yes Men", no starting center, no starting point guard.

 

[e_blazer]

Other than that, he's just stating the obvious. Delusional staff/"Yes Men", no starting center, no starting point guard.

Delusional staff/"Yes Men" - This part is message board lemming BS.

no starting center, no starting point guard. - This part is what the draft and summer trades/free agency are for.

 

[SecretAgentMan]

The team needs to rebuild through the draft. The core just isn't there yet to compete.

*Wes is a below average starting SG
*Batum is an average starting SF
*No legit starting C
*No legit starting PG

"The team management are in denial." Ben said what a lot of fans have been saying all year: this team NEEDS a rebuild. The best option is to trade up and get that player who can be a major impact player in a year or two.

No, it's not. Using both of out lottery picks is the best option. It raises the chances of us getting a major impact player. Outside of Davis, no one is guaranteed to make a major impact. I'd rather have two opportunities rather than completely wasting one of our picks to move up a couple spots. Two lottery picks is better than one, especially when we are rebuilding.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I agree mostly with his analysis of the team presently, although I think Wes is average. The only way to be sure to get an impact player in the draft is to trade up for #1 and that won't happen.

I think it's possible with the cap space they have and the draft picks to obtain an above average center and PG and I think it might pan out better than trading LMA and starting over. OKC somehow ended up with three picks in the top five in a short time span; that's not easy to repeat. And then they had to be perfect in their drafting and lucky in having no injuries.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Speaking of Batum...

I think S&T options could be intriguing.

The Warriors have him high on their wish list FWIW. They have some interesting players I'd be interested in.

 

[Natebishop3]

Speaking of Batum...

I think S&T options could be intriguing.

The Warriors have him high on their wish list FWIW. They have some interesting players I'd be interested in.

Like who? Most of their guys are pretty old.

 

[Blaze01]

You don't base your rebuild strategy and sign Batum to a $10-11\year deal with the HOPE that he blossoms into a "core 3" guy....He has been in the league 5 years and he has pretty much the same inconsistent player for all 5...capable of great offensive output one night and practically invisible another....I would not base my rebuild strategy around a guy like that, I would be trying to acquire other core pieces, and yes resign Batum, maybe even over pay and then if he does improve into one of those type players the team is that much stronger....

This team needs top line talent...first and foremost...forget about positions...PG...C...who gives a crap, talent trumps all in the NBA....you can sign a mid tier PG and as long as you have 1-2 other core players to play alongside LA it doesn't really matter...POR needs players who when given the ball at the end of games can create for themselves and open up opportunities for others....right now LA is the ONLY player that can do that....they need consistent scoring and right now LA is the ONLY player that can do that...

I am not opposed to overpaying for Batum, but only after you have swung for the fences in the draft on #6 & #11 and signed a mid tier player with a big chunk of that $12-13 million in cap space (and preferably signed another mid tier vet to a $4-5 year deal)...same goes for Hickson...stack talent...and right now this team has very little of it...

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Like who? Most of their guys are pretty old.

Klay Thompson.

 

[Natebishop3]

Klay Thompson.

Klay, Biedrens, and the 7th for Batum?