Bring Dre Back?

[BlazerWookee]

I never noticed it..... but now I'm sure you've burst that bubble.

Watch his commercial in high def.

[video=youtube;9desZZG_VWk]

 

[RoyToy]

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/6606/damian-lillard

Lillard has had some bad shooting performances this season but there wasn't a "Point in time" per say where he was doing bad.

I think everyone would agree he was definitely struggling a little bit.

Between reading some posts on here and BE, there was a lot of "What's wrong with Damian Lillard?" going on.

"Sophomore slump?"

 

[Natebishop3]

If Crabbe taped his satellite dishes down, would he be more earodynamic?

Aerodynamics don't matter if you're sitting on a bench.

 

[Sinobas]

I was just about to make a post on this. Dre is so old, but Mo Williams is not working out for us. He'd be a big upgrade as a backup PG. We could deal Denver Mo Williams and Barton.

 

[Sinobas]

There was definitely a point at the beginning of the season when Lillard was struggling and Mo would come in and the offense would pick up.

The Brooklyn game comes to mind. I'm sure there are a few others.

Mo has had 10 games this year where he's shot above 50%, but 19 games where he's shot below 40%.

 

[rasheedfan2005]

im a lifetime fan since the dre bullet to griffin play

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Blazers success has been attributed in large part to chemistry. Dre just cussed his coach out in public because he wasn't going to get PT. Too much of a wild card in my book to bring him in for what he contributes on the court these days.

Dre isn't shy to confront coaches, which might not be a bad thing, except for this roster i think it would be. We don't need players like T-Rob and Leonard having Dre as an example of how to be professional.

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

Denver is a train wreck from the Owner to the players. First year coach on an 8 game losing streak. I think when people have a complaint about any Blazer, they should post it on the Denver forum. You know, to consolidate the complaining.

 

[dviss1]

I think everyone would agree he was definitely struggling a little bit.

Between reading some posts on here and BE, there was a lot of "What's wrong with Damian Lillard?" going on.

"Sophomore slump?"

It was only his shot he was struggling with. I also provided a link to his game logs that show again, he had a few bad games but nothing to say he was slumping IMHO.

 

[dviss1]

Blazers success has been attributed in large part to chemistry. Dre just cussed his coach out in public because he wasn't going to get PT. Too much of a wild card in my book to bring him in for what he contributes on the court these days.

Dre isn't shy to confront coaches, which might not be a bad thing, except for this roster i think it would be. We don't need players like T-Rob and Leonard having Dre as an example of how to be professional.

After his disagreement with McMillian, he went on to become the consummate professional and arguably the best player on the team. Dre made this team go. He is a great teammate and would be a great addition IMHO.

 

[PapaG]

He wants more minutes in Denver, and he's going to get them with the Blazers. He doesn't fit at all with the Stotts approach.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

He wants more minutes in Denver, and he's going to get them with the Blazers. He doesn't fit at all with the Stotts approach.

Running and passing to open shooters, throwing alley-oops to two slim big men, posting up and driving to the basket when it's Miller Time?

I dunno, I think that's what we've been trying to get Mo to do...

 

[PapaG]

They've lost 8 straight. His outburst was warranted.

This kinda thing is nothing new for Dre. He called out Nate's stupidity here as well.

Dre knows better than his coaches, and his poor play isn't to blame for the Nuggets losing streak. That's why he's played a hundred years in the NBA and never got out of the first round. Because Dre holds the key to playoff success.

 

[PapaG]

Running and passing to open shooters, throwing alley-oops to two slim big men, posting up and driving to the basket when it's Miller Time?

I dunno, I think that's what we've been trying to get Mo to do...

Did you watch tonight's game. Every time some malcontent bench player for a mediocre team makes the news, we have armchair GMs clamoring to bring them to Portland. I saw enough of Miller here to know his glaring weaknesses as a player. I find it to be a dumb idea.

 

[jlprk]

I liked Andre, but Mo is better. Pass.

 

[Blazer Fanatic]

Did you watch tonight's game. Every time some malcontent bench player for a mediocre team makes the news, we have armchair GMs clamoring to bring them to Portland. I saw enough of Miller here to know his glaring weaknesses as a player. I find it to be a dumb idea.

I laughed openly.

 

[PapaG]

After his disagreement with McMillian, he went on to become the consummate professional and arguably the best player on the team. Dre made this team go. He is a great teammate and would be a great addition IMHO.

He's such a great teammate that he blows up at coaches who give his teammates PT over him. He's a malcontent, an average player, and a proven loser in the playoffs. No need to bring him back to poison team chemistry.

 

[jlprk]

Miller will be a better NBA coach than the rookie coach he argued with. His mind is already coaching. He can't retire from playing yet because he's making too much.

 

[Sinobas]

Wow, I'm surprised at some of the comments here, I think you all forget too quickly what a good player Miller was. He can rebound, score inside, is a very good floor general and wouldn't make nearly as many silly turnovers or force up the wild shots Mo Williams does.

Also, what's with all the BS talk about him not getting out of the 1st round? The Blazers haven't been out of the first round since the year 2000.

 

[PapaG]

Wow, I'm surprised at some of the comments here, I think you all forget too quickly what a good player Miller was. He can rebound, score inside, is a very good floor general and wouldn't make nearly as many silly turnovers or force up the wild shots Mo Williams does.

Also, what's with all the BS talk about him not getting out of the 1st round? The Blazers haven't been out of the first round since the year 2000.

Miller played a key role in extending that streak.

 

[BigGameDamian]

As long as the Blazers keep winning Mo will not be going anywhere and there will NOT be another guard coming in to take his place!

 

[Sinobas]

Miller played a key role in extending that streak.

Oh God, get out of here. Like it was his fault the Blazers lost. He played well in the playoffs. LA, Batum, and Matthews also lost those two playoff series, that doesn't mean jack squat right now.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think that if Terry wanted a PG who was a good playmaker but is a poor outside shooter he would play Earl more. Plus Earl is a better defender than Andre. (although Miller does get a lot of steals)

Tonight Mo played well with the first unit. With the second unit it seemed liked Lillard helped out more running the point and allowing Mo to play the SG spot. Whatever it was it worked better. They just need to keep getting better.

 

[jlprk]

Andre Miller was our best player the whole time he was here, except at the beginning when Roy could play. Without him, there would have been no playoffs. But I prefer Mo for the Stotts system.

Papa, you were Roy's biggest critic, but after he left, you said many times that you had changed your mind late in his tenure here, which seemed doubtful since you hadn't displayed any change. Now, you abandon your claimed change of heart, and revert to being his critic again.

 

[oldguy]

Andre Miller was our best player the whole time he was here, except at the beginning when Roy could play. Without him, there would have been no playoffs. But I prefer Mo for the Stotts system.

Papa, you were Roy's biggest critic, but after he left, you said many times that you had changed your mind late in his tenure here, which seemed doubtful since you hadn't displayed any change. Now, you abandon your claimed change of heart, and revert to being his critic again.

QFT....except I think you meant to say Dre, not Roy, in that sentence.


Go Blazers

 

[TBpup]

'Dre is shooting over 45% from the field, 50% from '3' (in limited attempts) and has a 3/1 Asst/TO ratio. I don't know that I'm all for trading for him but we would all fall over from fainting fir Mo put up anything close to those numbers.

 

[dviss1]

Miller played a key role in extending that streak.

No Miller, no playoffs at all that year. It just so happens we ran into the World Champs.

 

[shamelessblazer]

The difference is Stotts likes to run four 3-point shooters with LaMarcus on the offensive end late in close games. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but some adjustments would be required if that changed to Miller, Aldridge and three 3 point shooters.

The other good thing about Andre Miller is he had great chemistry with LaMarcus Aldridge when he was here. LaMarcus loved playing with Miller. So, this is the kind of move that would have minimal chances of disrupting this team's excellent chemistry.

BNM

I don't think Miller would be on the court at the end of games, why would we change what is working so well now? He would be great in a 15-20 mpg role though with Aldridge in the whole time. It would get Aldridge a ton of easy buckets and right now the only person on the team proficient at throwing an entry pass is Batum. Dre on this team would be the real LaMonster!

Really it's Batum who's been the one running the offense somewhat, and when he's out of the game it bogs down (the Mo & Dame lineups are not great!). I htink Dre would be best as essentially Batum's backup, for 15 mpg, during which Aldridge would be in.

At first blush I liked this idea, still might, but remember we also have CJ right around the corner. Miller is a pain in the ass if he isn't playing, and between CJ, Lillard and Wes, not to mention Mo and Watson, I think this trade could spell trouble. Only way I touch it is if we are sending out Mo in the process.

As I said above, I think Miller would more or less Batum's backup, and would pair great with CJ at times (who could guard the other team's PG while Dre took SG's). However, the Mo minutes would be a problem, as Dre and Mo in at the same time would be a disaster.

I do think Dre would be an enormous upgrade over Mo in terms of giving us some stability and allowing Dame to play of the ball next to a real PG for 5 to 10 minutes a game.

On a real note

Portland's offense is about the 3pt shot and spreading the floor. Terry Stotts loves him some floor spacing.

That leaves when Dre "Coach Killer" Miller enters the game. Teams would double off of him and he wouldn't be able to make them pay. That changes the offense in a way Terry Stotts would never want it to.

Bullshit. For one, Dre is hitting the three at a decent clip this year (still only taking what the D gives him). For two, Stotts sure seemed to use an aging Kidd well in Dallas when everyone acted like he "added" a 3 point shot, but in reality was just hitting the wide open ones okay when the D sagged off of him. As others have noted, Dre is great in the post, knows when to back cut, and is a terrific rebounder. Especially when paired with at least one floor spacing big and a 2 and 3 who can shoot (all of ours can except for Barton) this would be fine.

I think this would help in the regular season but hurt us in the playoffs. Playoff basketball slows down and defenses are tighter, they eliminate easy lobs and post ups. Court spacing is critical, you need to be able to stretch the court and have guards who can make open shots. The problem with Dre in the playoffs is teams give him the three and it bogs down the offense. If we could replace Watson with Dre I'd love to do it for a change of pace in the regular season.

But I'd rather keep Mo as our 6th man and veteran PG option.

Again, bullshit. See above. Dre can hit an open three at this point. He wouldn't get so many easy buckets if everyone sagged completely off of him (and is too good of a passer for teams to do that too), and his teams playoff problems cannot be blamed on him. See his damn near 50 point performance in the playoffs for us.



Dre, CJ, and Wright, all getting 15 mpg and getting our starters down to 33 mpg would be a fantastic 1/2/3 rotation.

Dame/CJ
Wes/Wright
Batum/Dre

(not set positions, but rather the roles on OFFENSE) these guys would play.

Running and passing to open shooters, throwing alley-oops to two slim big men, posting up and driving to the basket when it's Miller Time?

I dunno, I think that's what we've been trying to get Mo to do...

 

[mook]

I'm a huge Andre Miller fan, but looking at the comparison for last year it's not like he's light years ahead of Mo Williams at this point in his career. And the reason we have Mo now is because of Olshey and his reputation for treating players well. That rep gets tarnished if we pawn off Mo to a lotto team just months after signing him. (Not the end of the world, but is it worth it for a slightly better than lateral move? Olshey will need that reputation in future trades...)

On top of that you have all the on-court chemistry issues. Mo plays like a pretty bad version of Damian, which this team is used to. Dre plays like, well, Dre. He's awesome, mind you, but when you have a finely tuned Porsche of an offense, do you swap out the cylinder head for an aftermarket version that has nice specs but may not work correctly, especially when you are in the middle of a long road trip (competing for a #1 seed)?

And then you have this whole unknown of how CJ will fit into the offense. It may be that he naturally excels and marginalizes Mo into being a 18mpg PG backup exclusively, which we could live with. Especially if you make sure Batum is always out there with Mo to really run the half court offense. The problem with Mo may fix itself if we just give it a little time.

 

[TBpup]

And the reason we have Mo now is because of Olshey and his reputation for treating players well. That rep gets tarnished if we pawn off Mo to a lotto team just months after signing him. (Not the end of the world, but is it worth it for a slightly better than lateral move? Olshey will need that reputation in future trades...)

I'm not advocating Olshey do so but that is exactly what he did to Eric Gordon.