Define the core

[Fez Hammersticks]

It's obvious the team needs a consolidating trade. Too many players need playing time. The past two summers KP has collected, collected, collected. I like the talent he's assembled but he's bound to stunt the growth of some of the players.

To improve your game you have to be in real-game situations. Jerryd Bayless is a talent who needs playing time. If he were in Los Angeles (Clippers), Memphis, New York, etc., he'd be a totally different player than he is now.

Rudy Fernandez is a starting SG in this league. Playing him 20-25 min. is not enough. Put him in Chicago or New York, a more prominent role, and he's a borderline All-Star this year.

Joel Przybilla is a starting Center on most teams. With his player option coming up he could easily bolt and leave Portland.

The future starters are set:

PG:
SG: Roy
SF: Batum
PF: Aldridge
C: Oden

Packaging Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, and even Joel Przybilla (?) should land us a very good PG. Andre Miller is 34 and is not a long term answer. Steve Blake is not a starting PG on a title contending team. KP needs to work his magic and land this team a long-term answer at PG. We definitely have the assets to do so.

 

[illmatic99]

I agree about the need for a consolidating trade, but only because of possible PT related chemistry issues, not to fill that hole @ PG.

I can't think of any team has had the same five players (and that too, starters) as part of its core for 5+ years. Even a pseudo-dynasty like the Spurs have interchanged various SGs/SFs/Cs that complement their top 3. I think we can do the same with BRoy/GO/LA.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

It's easy to do that at SF/PF/SG when you have a PG like Tony Parker.

We don't have that. Not even close. And as long as McMillan is the coach, Jerryd Bayless will never be the starting PG on this team.

Maybe if we ran the triangle offense where you don't need a PG (with the offense ran by a ball dominant SG) but I have this weird feeling Nate's going to stick to his 4-play offense playbook.

Ball dominant SG who basically runs the offense, don't we have a player like that already? Like, a two-time all-star with only three years under his belt? Hmm.... Am I on to something here?

 

[Luther]

Rudy Fernandez is a starting SG in this league. Playing him 20-25 min. is not enough. Put him in Chicago or New York, a more prominent role, and he's a borderline All-Star this year.

There isn't a SG in the east or west that Rudy would even come close to in All-Star voting and not because of popularity. He's not even close to an All-Star in any aspect of his game, sorry.

 

[BlazersBlood]

There isn't a SG in the east or west that Rudy would even come close to in All-Star voting and not because of popularity. He's not even close to an All-Star in any aspect of his game, sorry.

I agree. I don't think he could take an 82 game beating while playing 35 minutes per game. He's the perfect spark off the bench.

 

[STOMP]

There isn't a SG in the east or west that Rudy would even come close to in All-Star voting and not because of popularity. He's not even close to an All-Star in any aspect of his game, sorry.

hyperbole much? Tell me what All-Star SG is a better shot then Rudy? Shooting is an aspect of the game right? I'd say he's at least on par with Brandon's passing ability as well.

Thats not to say he's an AS level player, mostly because by NBA SG standards he's an average athlete.

STOMP

 

[Luther]

Ok...Rudy is a better spot up shooter than some of the top SG's in the league. How often do you see Rudy create his own shot though? The elite guys (Kobe, Wade, Roy, TMac, Johnson, Allen, Manu, Redd etc..) can all create their own shot. I don't think you could run Rudy around screens night in and night out and rely on him as your primary scorer. Just my opinion.

 

[ABM]

Ok...Rudy is a better spot up shooter than some of the top SG's in the league. How often do you see Rudy create his own shot though? The elite guys (Kobe, Wade, Roy, TMac, Johnson, Allen, Manu, Redd etc..) can all create their own shot. I don't think you could run Rudy around screens night in and night out and rely on him as your primary scorer. Just my opinion.

For whatever reason, I equate Rudy to a Mike Miller type.

 

[illmatic99]

.... And as long as McMillan is the coach....

You think he's still gonna be here five years from now?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Can you blame Rudy?

Nate continued to use Rudy like he used James Jones. Sit in that corner and wait.

He's also being used wrong.

 

[STOMP]

Ok...Rudy is a better spot up shooter than some of the top SG's in the league. How often do you see Rudy create his own shot though? The elite guys (Kobe, Wade, Roy, TMac, Johnson, Allen, Manu, Redd etc..) can all create their own shot. I don't think you could run Rudy around screens night in and night out and rely on him as your primary scorer. Just my opinion.

that was the point of my post. You were exaggerating when you claimed that all of his skillset is outside of an AS's level, but the sum of his skills is certainly less... mostly because he's an average athlete.

I would point out that average athlete sharpshooter Reggie Miller did all right coming off picks... RIP and Kevin Martin have been doing okay as well. Shooting is a pretty important skill.

STOMP

 

[Luther]

Can you blame Rudy?

Nate continued to use Rudy like he used James Jones. Sit in that corner and wait.

He's also being used wrong.

I agree. I hope he gets the opportunity to show me he is more than I think he is. I would like nothing more than to be proved completely wrong. I just don't know what he would do if he had the ball in his hands in iso situations more often.

 

[andalusian]

Compare Rudy's rookie year to Richard Hamilton's 2nd year:

http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=0&p1=fernaru01&y1=2009&p2=hamilri01&y2=2001

Rudy is a year older, but he was a rookie. This was Hamilton's 2nd year - so this seems like a nice compromise - Rudy's rookie year was much better than Hamilton's rookie year, and about the same level as Hamilton's 2nd.

Notice that the main reason Hamilton's PER is better than Rudy is because he assisted a lot more - but also notice that his usage% was a lot higher than Rudy's - so his role in his team's offense was a lot more prominent. I am pretty sure that you will see Rudy's usage% go up this year.

Now look at Hamilton's history as a player:

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/hamilri01.html

Hamilton has been an all-star guard 3 times in his career.

It would not be a big surprise to see Rudy, in his prime, at least as good as Hamilton in his prime, and Hamilton was the primary scorer for Detroit multiple times, in fact, I believe Hamilton is Detroit's all-time playoffs scoring leader, over Isiah Thomas.

 

[Luther]

Rip is a good player to compare Rudy to but Hamilton might be the 2nd best player of all time at running off of screens and moving without the ball (behind Reggie Miller).

 

[andalusian]

Rip is a good player to compare Rudy to but Hamilton might be the 2nd best player of all time at running off of screens and moving without the ball (behind Reggie Miller).

As we have seen - Rudy's rookie year was much better than Rip's, and on par for Rip's 2nd year (although, I suspect that if he was used anywhere near as much as Rip was in his 2nd year - his PER would have been higher - which would probably put him close to Rip's 3rd year - the where Rip was the same age as Rudy was last year).

Compare Rudy and Rip at the same age:

http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=0&p1=fernaru01&y1=2009&p2=hamilri01&y2=2002

You will notice that Rip's PER was at 16.9 - I honest doubt Rudy would have had a problem reaching it if he was used more last year - he is too good of a passer not to close that gap between his rookie year and Rip's 3rd year (same age).

In other words - Rudy is not likely to be a superstar in the Roy mold, but an all-star level guard is not too hard to envision.

 

[Idog1976]

I agree with your assessment of the core and also that this teams greatest need is a pg who fits with our other guys. Bayless could possibly be that guy, but it is far from assured. In my opinion our ideal PG would have the following qualities: tough on man D, Three point shooting threat, can push the break T. parker style, score when he has an opening but most importantly bring up the ball and defer to Roy if the defense is set. I think Bayless could do all those things and might be worth keeping for a bit to see how he develops as his physical gifts and work ethic are out of this world.

That said if a deal for Conley came along and JBay had to be part of the package I would pull the trigger immediately. Conley I think is the ideal PG for this team seeing as Rondo and CP3 aren't going anywhere.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Looking at PG's I have two in mind:

-Mike Conley
-DJ Augustin

Conley has developed into a very solid PG who can push the ball. His shooting has improved as well.

DJ is TJ Ford that can shoot.

 

[Idog1976]

Looking at PG's I have two in mind:

-Mike Conley
-DJ Augustin

Conley has developed into a very solid PG who can push the ball. His shooting has improved as well.

DJ is TJ Ford that can shoot.

I will be honest I haven't followed Augustin's career as closely as Conley's. I suppose size doesn't matter as much at the PG when we have great size at every other position and tons of length. My concern about Augustin was that for every Chris Paul or Damon Stoudamire you have about 25 Taureen Green's. Undersized PG's are semi-legit now with the no hand check rule, but they have to be threats to finish and dish in the paint.

 

[Luther]

I wanted Augustin on draft day so bad. He is a lot of fun to watch.

 

[ebott]

I wanted Augustin on draft day so bad. He is a lot of fun to watch.

It's a damn shame Charlotte took him. The air totally went out of my draft day balloon when they did that.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Packaging Jerryd Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, and even Joel Przybilla (?) should land us a very good PG. Andre Miller is 34 and is not a long term answer. Steve Blake is not a starting PG on a title contending team. KP needs to work his magic and land this team a long-term answer at PG. We definitely have the assets to do so.

So 20 posts and no suggestions. I can't think of a realistic choice either.

 

[Ed O]

I don't think any players NEED playing time. They get what they earn in terms of minutes.

I am all for a consolidation trade, but only if it makes us clearly better now and into the future. That's a very tall order.

At this point I'm comfortable winning with a young team and letting the best payers emerge over time... and waiting as long as is necessary for a young guy like Bayless to earn playing time.

Ed O.

 

[STOMP]

I want to consolidate Travis Bayless & Nate for a new scapegoat... someone we can really focus our collective hate on. Has Terrell Owens worn his welcome out in Buffalo yet? He could have DA's old #1 jersey

STOMP

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I think this years scapegoat will be Nate McMillan.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

So 20 posts and no suggestions. I can't think of a realistic choice either.

DJ Augustin is a realistic option. So is Conley.

Rondo, Harris, etc., are unrealistic, obviously.