Busy Frye can't be at Olson Classic

[rafy]

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Frye has settled into his new city and has purchased a home and worked out there.
"I love it up there,'' he said. "I'm being embraced by the community. It gives me a chance to simplify my life and hoops. Being up there with some of the best talent is going to help me.''
The Blazers' future looks bright with the likes of Greg Oden, Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge joining Frye.
"Without a doubt I think it is a team of the future," Frye said. "If you look at our roster, we're one of the youngest and most talented teams in the league. We just have to work hard, stay humble and play the right way.''</div>

Source

Just a little excerpt from the article. Though, from all accounts, Frye is giving Aldridge a run for his money at the starting 4 spot. I'd be interested to hear what Knick fans their opinion on him. From what I've seen, he's much more comfortable shooting 15 - 20 footers than anything else.

 

[dallasdude]

Blazers made a stupid trade by trading Randolph for Frye when they are already loaded with bigs. They could've gotten so much more for Randolph and I'm pretty sure this trade will haunt them forever.

 

[Bleed Green]

My opinion on him is that he's easily replacable. He hits that Mid-Range jumper with ease but other than that, he's not a factor. He's an average rebounder and defender. Maybe his game will expand but I'd rather have Randolph.

 

[Mr. J]

I think Frye is more than capable of taking the starting PF spot from Aldridge. But honestly, Aldridge and Frye have very similar games. When you look at them, they are both 6'11" and are skinny weighing in around 245. But here is the skinny on Frye (no pun intended): He can shoot comfortably from basically anywhere within the 3-point arc. He doesn't do a great job creating his own shot, but usually utilizes a quick jab step to create room to shoot the midrange jumper. The post moves are still underdeveloped but Frye possesses a pretty solid hookshot.

But on the contrary, his weaknesses are his rebounding, which is poor for a guy his size, but is partially due to spending time on the perimeter. Also, his defense is pretty soft, even though he was labeled as a pretty good defender/shotblocker coming out of college. Still, his biggest weakness is his mental game. Last year, he slumped considerably, which I found weird; Curry was thriving and drawing double and sometimes triple teams, leaving Frye open to rotate to the basket or shoot the midrange jumper. Despite having this advantage, it seems as if Frye actually regressed. But what's even more surprising was the fact Knick fans came in excited about his progress. In the offseason, similarly to this one, there were reports that Frye was looking fantastic. He was up to 260 lbs. and was said to have improved his overall game. But for whatever reason Frye's hard work in the offseason didn't translate to an improvement on the court. I think when he struggled early on in the regular season he just couldn't get over the "struggling state of mind".

At the end of the day, Channing Frye is a class act and a hard worker, so the Blazers have themselves a good guy who you can bet won't get in trouble or say something stupid, which is important since they want to shed the JailBlazers moniker. Since the team is also rebuilding, they shed salary by acquiring Francis who expires in two years. Personally, I don't think it was as great a move for Portland since they have created somewhat of a logjam at PF/C. They also gave up a 23/10 player for Frye who likely won't ever reach those numbers (I would say his max is something like 16/7). I guess it remains to be seen but I think the Blazers could have gotten better for a borderline all-star.

 

[rafy]

Well, from your description he sounds perfect for our new system. How is he as a passer? As in, how good of a high post to low post passer is he? I'd imagine there would be the opportunity for a nice two man game between him and Oden. Though, from what you said about Curry, it doesn't look very promising.

Also, there is say that Frye could play some minutes at the 3 spot, with Aldridge and Oden ahead of him. Do you think his perimeter skills can translate? And also, how would you rate his speed/foot work? Could he potentially keep up with other bigger small forwards?

As far as the trade goes, I can't tell you guys how happy I am the way it went down. From the stats point of view, you guys got away with robbery. But honestly, I'd rather waive Randolph than have him on my team. So, getting Frye out that transaction, along with Francis's expiring contract, I'm pretty stoked about it.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">rafy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Well, from your description he sounds perfect for our new system. How is he as a passer? As in, how good of a high post to low post passer is he? I'd imagine there would be the opportunity for a nice two man game between him and Oden. Though, from what you said about Curry, it doesn't look very promising.

Also, there is say that Frye could play some minutes at the 3 spot, with Aldridge and Oden ahead of him. Do you think his perimeter skills can translate? And also, how would you rate his speed/foot work? Could he potentially keep up with other bigger small forwards?

As far as the trade goes, I can't tell you guys how happy I am the way it went down. From the stats point of view, you guys got away with robbery. But honestly, I'd rather waive Randolph than have him on my team. So, getting Frye out that transaction, along with Francis's expiring contract, I'm pretty stoked about it.</div>
As a passer, Frye is decent. Nothing more nothing less. He does have the occasional "good idea" but those usually result in turnovers. My favorite example of it is this:
Invalid Video Link
But one thing you have to acknowledge about Frye is how hard he works and he is very coachable so I'm sure it's a facet of his game which he can improve upon.

As far as playing SF, that's not a good idea. Frye is still a power forward and doesn't possess the quickness to stay in front of your average NBA 3. And since the SG and SF are so interchangeable in the league, Frye could actually be matched up with a couple of SG's on some nights. Needless to say, he would be a huge liability on the defensive end. For argument's sake, imagine Frye being matched with LeBron James, Pierce, Maggette, Gerald Wallace, Richardson, etc. Frye is best suited at the PF spot and at center occasionally. I think it'll be a good thing anyway. With such a deft shooting touch, Frye should draw the opposing shotblocker out of the paint.

Last year even though Frye struggled with Curry, I think it was mostly mental. He really never found his niche on the team and was hitting the same shots he was hitting his rookie year. I'm not really familiar with the PG game in Portland, but he especially thrives in the pick-and-roll/pop game. The Knicks used to run that play all the time but after Curry emerged, they really stopped using it so I guess it was like taking away Frye's bread and butter. Here's an interesting stat: During Frye's rookie season, he shot his jumpers at around 42%, which is the same as Randolph this past season. That's excellent for a big man.

I know Randolph has gotten into his fair share of trouble both on and off the court, but hasn't he grown up a lot this past season? Wasn't he stepping up calling team meetings and being a leader? I remember Jarret Jack speaking highly of him.

 

[rafy]

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty much sold on Frye now, and I like the deal even better. But a few last things; what do you think is his ceiling? Could he become a all-star player, borderline all-star, or a solid role player? Also, how much money do you think he'd command when it's time for his extension?



As far as Randolph goes, he may have matured on the court, and in the locker room. But he's still the same strip club going, pot smoking, couldn't be bothered to work in the off season Zach Randolph.

On the court he's a workhorse. He's going to get a couple of offensive boards every night, and he's going to work for his points. Defensively speaking, I think a sack of potatoes would play better help defense. He can't rotate for the life of him, and faster PF's always blow by him, and he relies on his 5 man a lot to pick up his slack.

 

[Mr. J]

<div class="quote_poster">rafy Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Thanks for the info. I'm pretty much sold on Frye now, and I like the deal even better. But a few last things; what do you think is his ceiling? Could he become a all-star player, borderline all-star, or a solid role player? Also, how much money do you think he'd command when it's time for his extension?



As far as Randolph goes, he may have matured on the court, and in the locker room. But he's still the same strip club going, pot smoking, couldn't be bothered to work in the off season Zach Randolph.

On the court he's a workhorse. He's going to get a couple of offensive boards every night, and he's going to work for his points. Defensively speaking, I think a sack of potatoes would play better help defense. He can't rotate for the life of him, and faster PF's always blow by him, and he relies on his 5 man a lot to pick up his slack.</div>
I don't see Frye as an all-star especially with Aldridge and Oden likely taking away time from him. But like I said, Frye is a very hard worker so that's always a plus. At best, I see Frye averaging around 16 points and 7-8 rebounds. Not really all-star numbers, those are solid role player on my team type of numbers. But it's hard to say what kind of money he can get. Remember, Roy, Aldridge, and Oden are going to want lucrative contracts as well, so that might limit Frye's next contract if he chooses to stay with Portland. But assuming he improves significantly over these next seasons, I would say anywhere between $35-40 million. But he is a big man with a rare ability to shoot the basketball exceptionally well, so he might be looking for more money.

I thought Randolph put in work during the offseason. I remember reading an article (here) how he was always working hard on his game despite smoking weed and going to strip clubs and such.

 

[Voodoo Child]

Yeah, smoking pot and going to strip clubs doesn't exactly take away from your game on the basketball court. People always think he's lazy because he's a bit chubby and has a babyface, but the same's true with Deron Williams. Both players have been that way since high school, and it's just their build. Both have actually been able to use their size to their advantage.

I agree with dallasdude in that I'm an outsider in the situation, but if Randolph wasn't on bad terms with his teammates and coaches, then the Frye trade will go down as one of the worst in NBA history. Frye's a good pick-and-pop power forward, but the Blazers already have a decent high-post bigman in LaMarcus Aldridge. I can understand trading Randolph for an equally talented wing, but for a less talented jump shooting post player?

Five players averaged 20/10 last season - Kevin Garnett, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan, and Zach Randolph. Say what you want about his defensive game, but he's one of the best rebounders in the league, not just statistically speaking but in terms of the way the guy positions himself under the glass ala Chuck Hayes. He's always been a smart player offensively, but playing under Tom Izzo really made him the rebounder he is today, which is a very fundamentally sound one.

Point is that talent-wise, there's really no comparison between the two, and you'd hope if trading Randolph was absolutely necessary, the Blazers at least shopped him around a lot more before pulling the trigger on the Knicks deal, because you'd think that they could have gotten a lot more in return.

 

[rafy]

<div class="quote_poster">MrJ Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">
I thought Randolph put in work during the offseason. I remember reading an article (here) how he was always working hard on his game despite smoking weed and going to strip clubs and such.</div>

Well, yes, you're right. Obviously I was exaggerating. But I don't remember ever him actually coming into the season in basketball shape. He has a nasty habit of taking offensive and defensive possessions off. Especially on the defensive side of things. If he put in half the work that they say he did in the article, I'll eat my hand. How can you "live for basketball" and not even be in basketball shape.

And yes, he could also do with losing some body fat. I mean, for Christ's you're in the NBA and your getting paid a ridiculous amount of money.

He's really quite similar to Shaq, as in he carries a lot of weight, but he's quick like a cat. He's very agile coming off his feet, and he has a surprisingly quick drop step. But I just can't help imagine if he was more like a Malone or a Ben Wallace. I think he'd be much more effective if he added more muscle as opposed to fat.

<div class="quote_poster">Voodoo Child Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, smoking pot and going to strip clubs doesn't exactly take away from your game on the basketball court. People always think he's lazy because he's a bit chubby and has a babyface, but the same's true with Deron Williams. Both players have been that way since high school, and it's just their build. Both have actually been able to use their size to their advantage.
</div>

I'd rather have fly-fishing Frye than pot-smoking Randolph. Also, there is big difference between Deron Williams and Zach Randolph. Deron doesn't have a weight problem. Deron is just perfect, he's big enough to back down other guards, and he's quick enough to keep up with the fastest of them. Zach....not so much. He can back down other 4's, but he can't guard. He's just too slow, too tired, and too lazy. I think he'd be well suited if he went the Jerome Williams route.


He did get along with his players and coaches. But Portland is building a new team, and along that a new image and character. Frye apparently fits in perfectly with that. He's a low key, humble and hard working guy. He fits in perfectly with Oden and Roy.

Obviously, as of right now, Randolph is much better than Frye. But with our youth movement, he was really expendable. And TBH I wouldn't be too thrilled if we traded Z-Bo straight up to the Nets for RJ. I'd much rather take the cap relief from Francis's soon expiring deal to resign the plethora of talent that will need extensions.