Blazers Off-Season Grade?

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MickZagger said:
Was it like a shock to some of you guys that we didn't have much cap flexibility this year in a saturated market?
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Apparently. I think some of them figured we were going to sign Melo with the MLE, or maybe they don't understand that there's a salary cap?
 
RoyToy said:
Well they were only 5 games worse than the Blazers last year and improved their SF/C positions

Carlisle is also a better coach than Stotts
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Felton put them over the hump.

I'm going to bookmark this post. Dallas will be better than us.....HAHA
 
Natebishop3 said:
Apparently. I think some of them figured we were going to sign Melo with the MLE, or maybe they don't understand that there's a salary cap?
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No one said or expected we would get Melo. Who the F would want him anyway? This is a strawman argument, and you know it.

Yes we get that all Neil had were 2 exceptions to work with. And given THAT I still give him a C+. Last year he pulled a few rabbits out of an empty hat. This year, not so much. Meh.

I like Blakey a lot, and love his ability to hit the big 3, but he is mediocre a backup PG, nothing more.. If Kaman were not so injury prone, I would grade higher. Kaman can be a stud if he plays, but that is iffy given his history.
 
I'm not sure were done. I remember last year everyone though our offseason was wrapped up. It was announced we signed Mo Williams and everybody was shocked.
 
Stevenson said:
No one said or expected we would get Melo. Who the F would want him anyway? This is a strawman argument, and you know it.

Yes we get that all Neil had were 2 exceptions to work with. And given THAT I still give him a C+. Last year he pulled a few rabbits out of an empty hat. This year, not so much. Meh.

I like Blakey a lot, and love his ability to hit the big 3, but he is mediocre a backup PG, nothing more.. If Kaman were not so injury prone, I would grade higher. Kaman can be a stud if he plays, but that is iffy given his history.
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Last year we didn't have an empty hat, as you said. We had cap space. We were able to acquire Lopez and Robinson because we had cap flexibility. This year we did not. We had zero cap flexibility, so we were left with only the MLE and BAE.

So I will say to you what I said to ToB: if not Kaman and Blake, who would you have signed with those options? It's not a huge mystery. We can look around the league and see what guys signed for. We know Channing Frye got 8 million per year. We know Paul Pierce wants around 10 million per year. We know Spencer Hawes turned us down to sign the exact same deal with the Clippers.

This isn't like trades, where you have no idea what was offered or what was accepted. We know exactly what we could offer, and we know exactly what these guys have signed for (or will sign for.)

So unless you are a proponent of doing nothing, which is what ToB was basically saying, then I don't see how you can hate the addition of two veteran players that fill holes in our lineup. Is Kaman exciting? Hell no. Is Steve Blake exciting? Nope, but they were fairly inexpensive, they wanted to play here, and they help strengthen our bench.

I'm okay with that. The offseason isn't over, and I think Neil still has something up his sleeve. I guess we'll see.
 
Solid B at midterm... could slide +/- if a "trade coming soon" ticks the needle either way. If N.O. aces the final with a really nice trade it could be an A. Everything so far looks to help the bench and that is encouraging.
 
This thread reminds me a bit of when our draft selections were severely derided in the past when all we had was the 25th pick.
 
I would give us C+/B-

I think Kaman was a solid addition in case of injuries and quite frankly that's all I cared about in getting a big man. Someone who was big enough to bang with the other bigs and at the same time can pass/shoot the ball from the high post. I was happy with Robin and Joel (before he got hurt) last year but knew we were gambling without one more experienced center on the roster. Kaman gives us that depth.

I view Blake as insurance as well. I hope CJ and Will will improve enough to give us solid minutes. We either needed to trade for a top back up or sign a vet for insurance. Neil went with dependable vet.

There was something about Mo's play with the 2nd unit that did not seem right last year. They never seemed to play together or trust one another. I am hoping for a more cohesive 2nd unit. Of course you can't put that all on Mo, the other players needed to step up regardless. Mo saved our ass on many occasions, but this year the points need to be spread out. I wanted Sessions, but I have always loved Steve's competitiveness. I think he will be a steady influence with the young players.
 
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B. A lot of guys here underestimate Kaman, he's been a very productive center with the time given. Blake won't give us the headaches that Mo did.
 
B

This season is going to 95% depend on the progress of the other players already on our roster. If all our guys under 30 continue to improve these could be A additions. The aspect I do really like is both players can be beat out of the rotation and accept limited minutes. But if the young guys struggle both players can be respectable pieces of a playoff teams rotation and even temporary starters.

If our bench really struggles again while Kaman and Blake don't contribute then yes the offseason would be a failure.

Its odd so many fans talk about how we should be more like the Spurs but then when we keep the same coaches and 13 of 15 players people complain that there aren't a bunch of short term flashy changes.
 
repped.

Draco said:
B

This season is going to 95% depend on the progress of the other players already on our roster. If all our guys under 30 continue to improve these could be A additions. The aspect I do really like is both players can be beat out of the rotation and accept limited minutes. But if the young guys struggle both players can be respectable pieces of a playoff teams rotation and even temporary starters.

If our bench really struggles again while Kaman and Blake don't contribute then yes the offseason would be a failure.

Its odd so many fans talk about how we should be more like the Spurs but then when we keep the same coaches and 13 of 15 players people complain that there aren't a bunch of short term flashy changes.
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The other great aspect of these additions is we didn't lose any assets, we didn't lose any draft picks, and we didn't assume any long term salary. We had no draft pick this offseason but now the debt to Charlotte is paid off and going forward the team has all 7 of their own future first round picks. In that sense you could think of this offseason as gaining one of our picks back. Picks are basically the currency used to swing trades so having all those assets could help us bring in an all-star down the road if one becomes available.

While I was intrigued by the idea of adding Monroe we would've had to pay him a max contract and that likely means losing one of our current starters at some point. Not adding long term salary will allow the team to keep all of our free agents next summer or possibly pursue an upgrade if Neil wants to go in that direction.
 
Draco said:
B

This season is going to 95% depend on the progress of the other players already on our roster. If all our guys under 30 continue to improve these could be A additions. The aspect I do really like is both players can be beat out of the rotation and accept limited minutes. But if the young guys struggle both players can be respectable pieces of a playoff teams rotation and even temporary starters.

If our bench really struggles again while Kaman and Blake don't contribute then yes the offseason would be a failure.

Its odd so many fans talk about how we should be more like the Spurs but then when we keep the same coaches and 13 of 15 players people complain that there aren't a bunch of short term flashy changes.
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Repped.
 
Draco said:
The other great aspect of these additions is we didn't lose any assets, we didn't lose any draft picks, and we didn't assume any long term salary. .
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Great point. And those assets can still be used for a minor trade if necessary.
 
I dont have a grade and actually like Kaman, but this is funny as hell. my appologies if this is posted already.

[video=youtube;Cv1cBN8M-9I]
 
JFizzleRaider said:
What would be an A+ for you mm?
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Wow, A+ huh?

A realistic one, or at least a fairly realistic one would have been buy into the late first round and select Rodney Hood

Would have tried to do a S&T for a better center and or PG

Signed Aminu as a good defensive wing


Hindsight would have been.....As you know I don't feel the Blazers will win anything as constructed though, so with Lebron going to Cleveland I would try to deal Aldridge to them for Wiggins, And other young talent then S&T Mathews, Leonar_ and future picks or whatever for Monroe
 
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