Blazers: Better Before vs. After July 1st? (*Poll*)

[MarAzul]

Nah! The Blazer traded away the best player they had on the court in the last playoff. The coach never understood the game well enough to use the man.
You can't get better trading the player. Trading the coach is the only way.

 

[Natebishop3]

Nah! The Blazer traded away the best player they had on the court in the last playoff. The coach never understood the game well enough to use the man.
You can't get better trading the player. Trading the coach is the only way.

............. who?

 

[BBert]

Nah! The Blazer traded away the best player they had on the court in the last playoff. The coach never understood the game well enough to use the man.
You can't get better trading the player. Trading the coach is the only way.

What player was that?

 

[BBert]

Blazers have more shiny new objects than I can remember getting in one week.

It's exciting

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Serious question:
Is the ONE vote for better before @swish3 ??

 

[Natebishop3]

What player was that?

I think we found Swish3's alt account.

 

[SIeepwalker]

............. who?

What player was that?

Hint: someone forgot to log into their swish3 account !

 

[tiredhunter]

Gut instinct is upgrade in the majority of minutes, with some gaps in the bench minutes. End of first to mid second quarter is going to be ulcer city again. A lot of it is dependent on Ant being what is expected and Collins being ready for big minutes. Ultimately, this is a chance to see if our future pieces can deliver long run or not.

Since most of the moves weren't strictly need for need, have to think about it as the entire squad, and how everyone fits in.

Core: There will probably be some improvement here as both CJ and Dame add to their game, and I don't expect either will have lost a step just yet. As they age, injuries/load management does become a bigger concern.
Lillard, Damian (PG) --------------------> Same
McCollum, CJ (SG) -----------------------> Same
Nurkić, Jusuf (Injured Center) ----------> Same

Starter Roleplayers: Somewhat a mixed bag, but the positives far outweigh the negatives.
Aminu, Al-Farouq (PF) -------------------> Collins: Net neutral on D, new strengths, new weaknesses. We'll see how schemes adjust. Don't expect as many 3s. Better to learn now if he can step up at PF, or if further changes are needed. Want to see how his post game develops.
Harkless, Maurice (SF)-------------------> Hood or Bazemore: Bazemore feels like a nominal upgrade on offense, and a question mark on D. Hood higher ceiling, but is going to take some time to get up to speed, likely more consistent
Kanter, Enes (Backup Offensive Center) --> Whiteside: Huge upgrade, though less likable, and character is the big concern.

Key Bench: Where things get ugly and uncertain.
Turner, Evan (Backup Point Forward) -----> Mario: Defensive downgrade, probably offensive as well, but could click and fit in to offense more naturally
Curry, Seth (Backup PG) -----------------> Anfernee: Who knows if he is ready for the big stage, but the man has shown he is not shy about ceising opportunity.
Hood, Rodney (Backup SG/SF) -------------> Same or Bazemore: This will be pretty similar,

Bench: Again, feels like a mixed bag, but at least it is no longer a group that you're left thinking more of promise, than performance on the floor.
Layman, Jake (Bench SF, streaky) --------> No real direct replacement here, but with the depth at SF, not many minutes. Hopefully they get another PF/C
Leonard, Meyers (Bench PF) --------------> Toliver: He'll likely get more minutes, so should be more consistent. Don't expect any major hero games/stretches from him, but don't expect him to get lost.
Collins, Zach (Bench PF/C) --------------> Skal: Also a pretty big wildcard, likely a step back, but will only be playing in the first half.

Practice Squad Guys;
Simons, Anfernee (DNP) ------------------> Nassir: Will be elated if he cracks the rotation, but don't see where.
Labissière, Skal (DNP) ------------------> Hoard: Can't wait for summer league.
Trent, Gary (DNP) -----------------------> Same? Suppose he could crack into the Layman minutes.

 

[swish3]

Serious question:
Is the ONE vote for better before @swish3 ??

No!

 

[MarAzul]

Funny! They ask, but they all know.

 

[Natebishop3]

Funny! They ask, but they all know.

I find it interesting that you and Maris seem to cling to really bad white players.....

 

[Labinot41]

At first, we are not done yet, there are stil two open roster spots and we have to wait what is the next move by Neil, right now, i think the roster is not better than the old because there are too many "what if's", BUT it has definetly more upside than the old roster and the fit from the role players to Dame and CJ should be much better than the old roster. We can surround Whiteside with 4 shooters (Dame, CJ, Bazemore, Hood) at any time, this could be our best lineup. With Harkless, Aminu and Turner you could never do that, with those guys you have allways a spacing problem, those guys are good for regular Season, but we have higher expectations. And we all know, Harkless, Aminu and Turner were never able to benefit from missmatches when Dame got trapped and doubled teamed in the Playoffs and in the future nothing would have changed, so it was time to move on from these 3 and bring new guys. Of course it's a risk to gamble on the development on Collins, Anfernee, Little and even Hezonja, but you have to take it because with Aminu, Harkless and Turner in the Rotation you will not win a championship

 

[mook]

If simons cant play point and Mario doesnt work out they’re gonna be awfully thin with ball handlers.

But if Simons can play point and Mario does work out, we're going to be pretty deep with ball handlers. A lot of teams don't even have two guys who can handle the ball as well as Dame and CJ.

 

[Labinot41]

And most importantly is: it doesn't really matter what the roster looks like right now, it matters how the roster will look after the Trade Deadline in February, i trust Neil to do good things at the Deadline to improve our Team

 

[borim69]

Lets start with Turner. When he first got here CJ had not broke out yet. So his first year was probably his best thinking he was the #2 guy. I think his attitude changed when CJ emerged as it seemed to me he got worse every year. Bazemore is coming in knowing at best he will be the third guy and will be fighting to keep a lot of that bloated contract. Hood is in the same position minus the bloated contract but will be fighting for starter minutes and to continue on with what he had accomplished in last years post season. We will probably take a hit defensively but what we will gain is those 2 on offense will not be ignored for long when it comes to the double team of Dame and CJ. Bazemore/Hood > Turner , Harkless, Aminu.
Aminu was never a starter even with extended minutes he played the same when he got here as he did when he left. A very solid defender and a solid bench guy. Letting him walk in the short view might have been a mistake but in the long view of things it was best for him and us and it would just hamper Collins development.
Curry. See ya and glad you got paid by someone else other then the Blazers. He is not as good as CJ and more inconsistent all he would have done is stopped us from using Simons
Kanter, Meyers< Whiteside. Period. The attitude I can live with because we want our Center to have attitude otherwise we would have kept Plumlee. He once said he wanted to come play for Portland and if there is any team that can make you feel at ease it is Portland/Dame.

So are we a better team on paper? yes/no all depends on your view. In reality everyone of those players that left were not going to get any better with the exception of Jake and he was just not going to get any minutes and they were also part of the reason for our sweep from the WCF Kanter excluded. So we might take a step back this year but we also did not make any long term commitments either and we will also get a good look at our project players so my opinion is we got a lot better no matter what the outcome is for next season and I am excited for it.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Serious question:
Is the ONE vote for better before @swish3 ??

That's who I guessed it was

 

[mook]

I think Harkless and Aminu defense is being massively underrated. They were huge in covering for Dame and CJ the last few years. They could guard smaller wings or bruising power players.

Their offense was a mess and I love the changes we have made. It was time to search for improvements. Now so many are focusing on their deficiencies being removed there is not enough appreciation for their strengths.

We could have huge problems on defense at the start of next season. I'm not sure Blazers fans, management, or players: will have the patience needed to work through that development.

I was wondering about this too. Just for kicks, I ran numbers on our biggest matchup nightmares last year to see how well Hark and Aminu actually did during the regular season. Here's how the following stars did against us:



We were 16th in defensive rating last year.

Considering Hark and Aminu got their minutes almost entirely for their defense, I don't see a lot of "stopping" going on here. You could argue they also covered up a lot of deficiencies for our guards, but did they really do enough to offset their own offensive deficiencies? I'm skeptical.

I think we're better off with a downgrade in wing defenders, and an upgrade in rim defense (which we will get in Whiteside, and with more experience/minutes in Collins) and an improvement in wing shooting.

The biggest upgrade, by far, will be Whiteside. Portland's system last year turned Kanter, notorious for being possibly the very worst defensive center in the league, into a passable (and sometimes even effective) defender in the playoffs. Swapping him out for a guy who gives you the same rebounding while actually specializing in defense....well, it's going to be fantastic.

 

[perkinsfor3]

What should we expect from Little this year? Aminu light?

Reminds me of Wiggins so much. I'd say a more reeled-in Wigginss: better efficiency and similar impact in 1/4 of the minutes.

 

[Labinot41]

I was wondering about this too. Just for kicks, I ran numbers on our biggest matchup nightmares last year to see how well Hark and Aminu actually did during the regular season. Here's how the following stars did against us:

View attachment 26862

We were 16th in defensive rating last year.

Considering Hark and Aminu got their minutes almost entirely for their defense, I don't see a lot of "stopping" going on here. You could argue they also covered up a lot of deficiencies for our guards, but did they really do enough to offset their own offensive deficiencies? I'm skeptical.

I think we're better off with a downgrade in wing defenders, and an upgrade in rim defense (which we will get in Whiteside, and with more experience/minutes in Collins) and an improvement in wing shooting.

The biggest upgrade, by far, will be Whiteside. Portland's system last year turned Kanter, notorious for being possibly the very worst defensive center in the league, into a passable (and sometimes even effective) defender in the playoffs. Swapping him out for a guy who gives you the same rebounding while actually specializing in defense....well, it's going to be fantastic.

Yeah i rembember how Paul George went nuklear against us in the regular Season and neither Harkless or Aminu could stop him, (i know it's just regular Season and they did good against him in the Playoffs, it would be interesting to know how much his shoulder hurt him, or if it really was because of Harkless and Aminus Defense)

 

[illmatic99]

I agree floor spacing is important, and stretch 4s are the way to play.

But at center, I'm old school.
I like centers that collect rebounds like the IRS on tax day. And protect the rim.

Whiteside should be the best center doing that dirty work allmost every game. I believe his impact will be huge most games.

We should be a better team this season. The true test will be the playoffs.

My guess is, the players from last season that are gone, are the players that did not show enough in the playoffs. Weak links next to Dame and CJ.

Time to go for it, and I like our new roster.

Whiteside is kinda the antithesis to dirty work. He doesn't set great screens and is worse than Camby in trying to chase blocks. Check out his head to head matchups vs any decent center. He got destroyed.

 

[SIeepwalker]

Lets start with Turner. When he first got here CJ had not broke out yet. So his first year was probably his best thinking he was the #2 guy. I think his attitude changed when CJ emerged as it seemed to me he got worse every year.

Did I enter an alternate universe ?

 

[SharpesTriumph]

And most importantly is: it doesn't really matter what the roster looks like right now, it matters how the roster will look after the Trade Deadline in February, i trust Neil to do good things at the Deadline to improve our Team

If Whiteside or Bazemore dont work out well we could trade them for a more productive player.

Im hoping the team plays awesome and no moves are needed, outside of additions with little cost as we did in Hood/Kanter last year.

But it's nice we have flexibility if needed.

 

[ABM]

Nah! The Blazer traded away the best player they had on the court in the last playoff. The coach never understood the game well enough to use the man.
You can't get better trading the player. Trading the coach is the only way.

Sure, yeah, OK...

 

[Pinwheel1]

At first, we are not done yet, there are stil two open roster spots and we have to wait what is the next move by Neil, right now, i think the roster is not better than the old because there are too many "what if's", BUT it has definitely more upside than the old roster and the fit from the role players to Dame and CJ should be much better than the old roster.

I think the "what ifs" are usually there for us to start the season, Probably a little more worrisome right now because of Nurk's injury. But last year we started with some too.

We started the season not knowing how Baldwin (He played 16 games for us last year) Nik and Curry would help. What would we get from Jake and Zach this year. Would Swanigan gives us minutes? Would the rookies play? Was Hark's knee worse than they said.? (He never played more than 20 minutes a game in Oct or Nov.) And the never ending question every year........what to do with Meyers.

But I agree with you that this year's "what ifs" seem to have more upside. I am excited to see how it comes together but I can't help but worry about the start of the season. We could struggle with so many new pieces....or not

 

[Orion Bailey]

We are better than the end of season last year.

Whiteside as a starter over an injured and dehydrated kanter is enough to make us better right there.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Also. Whiteside played best when he had a leader in wade watching over him.

I think lillard will do the same.

We have two players who can contend for most improved.
hezonja and whiteside.

If they do, and collins and simons pop, we win it all.

Mark this post.

 

[Boise Blazer]

It seems seems really really unlikely to me that Olshey and the front office would just randomly put trust that kind of trust in Simons and Collins if they didn't think they were ready. Especially coming off the the WCF, the most wide open upcoming year in a long, long time and considering the other moves we made that clearly indicate that we are making our move to contender. I get that it's a little unknown but it's not like they are rookies that were drafted low or in the second round. They have enough analytics and have seen enough to feel comfortable with these moves.

 

[TBpup]

It seems seems really really unlikely to me that Olshey and the front office would just randomly put trust that kind of trust in Simons and Collins if they didn't think they were ready. Especially coming off the the WCF, the most wide open upcoming year in a long, long time and considering the other moves we made that clearly indicate that we are making our move to contender. I get that it's a little unknown but it's not like they are rookies that were drafted low or in the second round. They have enough analytics and have seen enough to feel comfortable with these moves.

Agreed with that as well. Also, they weren't going to spend $16,000,000 (what his contract would be with the tax implications) on Seth Curry for 8 points and 1 assist per game. Do to what you said above, they probably believe they will get close to that or better for a much lower $$$ commitment for now.

 

[wizenheimer]

Lets start with Turner. When he first got here CJ had not broke out yet. .

CJ had just averaged 21 points and 4 assists and had won the MIP award. That sure looks like a breakout to me

 

[wizenheimer]

It seems seems really really unlikely to me that Olshey and the front office would just randomly put trust that kind of trust in Simons and Collins if they didn't think they were ready.

they put enough trust in Evan Turner to give him 70M dollars right after they put enough trust in Chandler Parsons to offer him 94 million; enough trust in Crabbe to give him 75 million; enough trust in Meyers Leonard to give him 41 million. enough trust in Festus Ezeli's knees to give him 10 million

they've been making good transactions over the last 5 months, but the same people evaluating Simons and Collins also evaluated Parsons, Turner, Crabbe, & Meyers and got those evaluations wrong...big time

IMO, your argument is not very persuasive, especially when a little insurance against getting one of the current evaluations wrong is the low cost of a veteran minimum contract