Does Portland NEED a star wing?

[oldfisherman]

If the team options for our young players is picked up next off-season. NO will be committing $130+ million to only 9 players. Up against the tax with less than 2/3 of a roster.

The following offseason is even worse. $87+ million committed to only 3 players, if Nas's rockie TO is picked up.

Something big has to happen next off-season. This salary situation is not sustainable.

Not going to speculate on which player or players should be traded, or which of our FAs to re-sign to field a competitive team next season.

This season is a one off, go for winning a ring.

It is a long season, and a lot can happen before a trade needs to be made. Enjoy this loaded roster while it lasts.

 

[kjironman1]

If you really want to push this, yeah, Luca really is more a point guard than anything. Why you seem to think this is a "gotcha" moment is weird.

Height doesn't determine the position you play. Magic was 6-9 and no one ever said he was a wing. The smallest guy on your team isn't automatically the point guard.

You understand why they call them wings, right? Because they play on the wing.

A point guard brings the ball upcourt. They facilitate the offense. Who does that for the Lakers and Mavs? Kawhi doesn't do that for the Clippers; he's on the wing and a lot of his stuff is midrange. Harden's like a combo guard who was more a PG now that he's not teamed with Chris Paul, who was in every sense a point guard.

It doesn't matter where the all-star ballot lists him. You know what else forwards do? They play the post. Post players aren't wings. LeBron came up as a 3 and his game has evolved that he now runs the offense from end to end on most Lakers' possessions. He also can post up. So he's grandfathered in as a forward, but that's not what he plays.

The position is what they do. Not what they can do. Not what they might do. What they do.

Anyway, thanks for presenting a case that made Trump's electoral lawyers look competent.

All your talk but it doesn't really seem like you watch the actual games? Anyway i guess in your mind lebron is a point guard. I can live with you being delusional. Sure.

 

[B-Roy]

Arguing positions is like arguing semantics. All that matters is what you can guard on the defensive end.

 

[kjironman1]

Arguing positions is like arguing semantics. All that matters is what you can guard on the defensive end.

Good point.

 

[wizenheimer]

Incorrect.. Our Achilles heal last year was defense. That has been addressed.

Portland was 8th in the NBA in defense in 2018, and got swept by the pelicans in the playoffs. The year before that they were 16th in defense and got swept. The year after they were 8th in defense they ended up 16th again and made it to the WCF....where they got swept

defense doesn't make up for when Dame is taken out of the equation by good playoff teams. For 6 straight years, it's been the offense failing with a below average Dame. That's the Achilles heel.

I hope all you optimists are right and the Blazers have solved their major issues with the additions this time around. I'm skeptical though

 

[Orion Bailey]

Personally, I am all for Derrick Jones Jr. having a breakout year and becoming a star wing.

no way. Trade him for someone legit so they can possibly not fit. Not one bit.
Why bother waiting to see what we actually have?

Shuffleboard is a fun game though... i suppose....

 

[SharpesTriumph]

If the team options for our young players is picked up next off-season. NO will be committing $130+ million to only 9 players. Up against the tax with less than 2/3 of a roster.

The following offseason is even worse. $87+ million committed to only 3 players, if Nas's rockie TO is picked up.

Something big has to happen next off-season. This salary situation is not sustainable.

Not going to speculate on which player or players should be traded, or which of our FAs to re-sign to field a competitive team next season.

This season is a one off, go for winning a ring.

It is a long season, and a lot can happen before a trade needs to be made. Enjoy this loaded roster while it lasts.

Should be fine next summer, DJj and Giles are only potential unrestricted free agents. Its the 2022-23 season that the payroll could be an issue, but the team has until the 2023 trade deadline until luxury tax is set.

Enjoy every year on its own, the roster will certainly be different next year and years after that. How many guys have been on the team more that Kanter last season? Dame CJ Nurk Zach is it.

The team can likely keep any 1 player it wants, but if they all play great we can't keep them all. That will be a good problem to have because it means we are winning now.

 

[e_blazer]

Look at this season’s Laker roster vs last season’s championship team. Wholesale changes were made, but I don’t think many Lakers fans are wringing their hands about the guys who didn’t return. “Dwight Howard, Avery Bradley, Rondo, Javale McGee. Oh no, how will we get by without them?”

 

[Hoopguru]

If the team options for our young players is picked up next off-season. NO will be committing $130+ million to only 9 players. Up against the tax with less than 2/3 of a roster.

The following offseason is even worse. $87+ million committed to only 3 players, if Nas's rockie TO is picked up.

Something big has to happen next off-season. This salary situation is not sustainable.

Not going to speculate on which player or players should be traded, or which of our FAs to re-sign to field a competitive team next season.

This season is a one off, go for winning a ring.

It is a long season, and a lot can happen before a trade needs to be made. Enjoy this loaded roster while it lasts.

Seems to be the trend of the league to fill in every year with the players that take up most of the cap.
It reminds me of watching triple A baseball when players change every year for various reasons.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Should be fine next summer, DJj and Giles are only potential unrestricted free agents. Its the 2022-23 season that the payroll could be an issue, but the team has until the 2023 trade deadline until luxury tax is set.

Enjoy every year on its own, the roster will certainly be different next year and years after that. How many guys have been on the team more that Kanter last season? Dame CJ Nurk Zach is it.

The team can likely keep any 1 player it wants, but if they all play great we can't keep them all. That will be a good problem to have because it means we are winning now.

this is what i was saying. We make moves this year to prep for next year and not have that dillema of only being able to keep one.

 

[wizenheimer]

The team can likely keep any 1 player it wants

if Jones has a breakout season, showing he's a great defender and decent on offense, Blazers may not be able to hold onto him in any event. He'd be opting out of a 9.72M salary and Portland could only give him 11.1M to start.

 

[James lamphear]

Two biggest questions for me this year:

1. Can we stay healthy? Nothing else matters. Can we stay healthy? When this team is healthy I think we can hang with anyone in the league.

2. Can CJ run the second unit? We have a ton of talent on the second unit now and we need someone that can distribute the ball. I am extremely skeptical of CJ as a point guard. GTJ can spot up. Melo can spot up. Hood can spot up. All CJ needs to do is fucking look around for the open man. It's not rocket science.

CJ has good player's around him in that group and now CJ has to make up his mind is he going to use them. Friday night it was questionable even though he got 5 assist he still look to score first.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

no way. Trade him for someone legit so they can possibly not fit. Not one bit.
Why bother waiting to see what we actually have?

Shuffleboard is a fun game though... i suppose....

By that logic we would still have Ariza instead of RoCo.

 

[wizenheimer]

By that logic we would still have Ariza instead of RoCo.

same logic meant Blazers would have held onto Crash and not drafted Dame

 

[PCmor7]

Arguing positions is like arguing semantics. All that matters is what you can guard on the defensive end.

That's fair. Except the premise of the thread is you need a superstar wing to win the championship, not someone who can effectively defend one.

You might be right. Then the OP is moot. So why even discuss it?

 

[B-Roy]

That's fair. Except the premise of the thread is you need a superstar wing to win the championship, not someone who can effectively defend one.

You might be right. Then the OP is moot. So why even discuss it?

I think secondary playmaker is the right definition (instead of superstar wing). It just so happens that the best playmakers right now are usually taller guys (wings I guess if you want to argue semantics).

 

[SharpesTriumph]

I don't take stock in these absolute requirements a random analyst throws out.

People said you couldn't win a title shooting jumpers, then golden state did it while racking up the best record of all time.

There are no firm absolutes in what wins a title. Teams have done it with elite defense, elite offense, a combo of excellence on both ends, super star heavy teams with scrubs, deep teams without MVP level stars, guards, forwards, centers. Title teams have had ranges from excellence to bellow average at rebounding, 3's, free throws, interior defense, perimeter defense, jump shots, fastbreaks, steals, blocks, assists, etc.

You need to score more than the opponent, thats it. There are tons of ways to do this.

It takes talent, hard work, some luck. The Blazers haven't had the talent to do it in prior seasons. Maybe they are in the discussion along with some of the top teams this year. The result will be determined on the court, not in some random persons opinion. Enjoy the ride.

 

[Big Dog]

Portland was 8th in the NBA in defense in 2018, and got swept by the pelicans in the playoffs. The year before that they were 16th in defense and got swept. The year after they were 8th in defense they ended up 16th again and made it to the WCF....where they got swept

defense doesn't make up for when Dame is taken out of the equation by good playoff teams. For 6 straight years, it's been the offense failing with a below average Dame. That's the Achilles heel.

I hope all you optimists are right and the Blazers have solved their major issues with the additions this time around. I'm skeptical though

lol, getting swept in the WCF isn't equivalent to getting swept in the first round. Even this year we were eliminated in 5 games in the first round, but that was to the eventual champs. It was inevitable that every team the Lakers played was beaten decisively by the Lakers this past season, but who knows, maybe we make it to the WCF if a different route was given and only played the Lakers in the WCF. Even Miami would have lost in the first round if they played the Lakers.

 

[Tince]

lol, getting swept in the WCF isn't equivalent to getting swept in the first round. Even this year we were eliminated in 5 games in the first round, but that was to the eventual champs.

Truth!

You'd swear some people here would rather lose in the 1st round in 7 games to a team that gets swept the next round, than make it to the WCF and get swept. Even the context of the sweep matters (Portland lead game control in the GSW series). How far you get, who you lost to, and game control all matter when evaluating the success of a playoff run.

 

[Orion Bailey]

By that logic we would still have Ariza instead of RoCo.

Hmm?

how so? Ariza is a known commodity and we knew exactly what we had. We dont know yet what we have with djj.

 

[wizenheimer]

Truth!

You'd swear some people here would rather lose in the 1st round in 7 games to a team that gets swept the next round, than make it to the WCF and get swept. Even the context of the sweep matters (Portland lead game control in the GSW series). How far you get, who you lost to, and game control all matter when evaluating the success of a playoff run.

this place is great...people quote parts of posts then go off on tangents that have almost nothing to do with what was posted

when I posted that earlier, it was specifically about the assertion defense was Portland's Achilles heel, rather than Dame being taken out of the equation. Portland got swept in the first round when they had the 8th ranked defense. They made it to the WCF, where they got swept, when they had a defense ranked in the bottom half of the league (16th).

defense hasn't really been Portland's ultimate issue in the playoffs. Rather, it's been what happens to Portland's offense when Dame's scoring and playmaking are throttled by a good team

 

[Big Dog]

this place is great...people quote parts of posts then go off on tangents that have almost nothing to do with what was posted

when I posted that earlier, it was specifically about the assertion defense was Portland's Achilles heel, rather than Dame being taken out of the equation. Portland got swept in the first round when they had the 8th ranked defense. They made it to the WCF, where they got swept, when they had a defense ranked in the bottom half of the league (16th).

defense hasn't really been Portland's ultimate issue in the playoffs. Rather, it's been what happens to Portland's offense when Dame's scoring and playmaking are throttled by a good team

The year we went to the wcf we had to beat good teams to get there. Why posters continually down play any succes this team achieves can be mind boggling.

 

[BonesJones]

They still need a wing who can be a playmaker when Dame gets trapped in the Playoffs. For all the defensive improvements RoCo and DJJ bring, neither approaches that.

Disagree. They don't need that to beat a trap.

 

[Tince]

this place is great...people quote parts of posts then go off on tangents that have almost nothing to do with what was posted

when I posted that earlier, it was specifically about the assertion defense was Portland's Achilles heel, rather than Dame being taken out of the equation. Portland got swept in the first round when they had the 8th ranked defense. They made it to the WCF, where they got swept, when they had a defense ranked in the bottom half of the league (16th).

defense hasn't really been Portland's ultimate issue in the playoffs. Rather, it's been what happens to Portland's offense when Dame's scoring and playmaking are throttled by a good team

The beauty of a free-flowing discussion.

I have a question about your last statement, but I'm not sure if it's within the context of the original point of this thread.

 

[Tince]

The year we went to the wcf we had to beat good teams to get there. Why posters continually down play any succes this team achieves can be mind boggling.

The overachieving of that WCF run gets downplayed so much and somehow gets spun into another failure.

We have not had a top 2 roster heading into the western conference playoffs for 20 years, yet the expectation seems to be that we get that far and win games. This year is no exception.

 

[Big Dog]

The overachieving of that WCF run gets downplayed so much and somehow gets spun into another failure.

We have not had a top 2 roster heading into the western conference playoffs for 20 years, yet the expectation seems to be that we get that far and win games. This year is no exception.

Yep, another issue is posters tend to get over enamored with end of the bench players that often times don't stick in the league.

 

[SharpesTriumph]

Yep, another issue is posters tend to get over enamored with end of the bench players that often times don't stick in the league.

Yes, many are harping on that potential type of player as a third string PG this year making some huge difference when its so irrelevant.

 

[wizenheimer]

The year we went to the wcf we had to beat good teams to get there. Why posters continually down play any succes this team achieves can be mind boggling.

as opposed to quoting people in order to argue against something they didn't say?