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Zach Lowe: Timing is everything. Look at the team that has Lopez now, Portland. Portland is a team that absolutely should consider flipping first round pick. If they can get a first round pick and like, I’m just making this up: Meyers Leonard, minimum salary if you need it for Wilson Chandler. Beef up you bench and be a wing player that can play 20 minutes maybe it gives you a little more versatility to play small ball when Aldridge sits if the match-up dictates it. Like, that’s an asset play that makes sense because Portland has a chance to win a championship. All their guys except for Lillard are prime age and Lillard is basically in his prime anyway. That’s a timetable asset play that makes sense in a way that New Orleans didn’t quite make sense. I think Portland will sniff around deals exactly like that by the way. Portland’s good. Portland has won me over.
Bill Simmons: I like Portland as well. They are the number one Jeff Green candidate for me. That’s kind of the perfect Jeff Green spot right. We need you to play 25 minutes, you’ll never have to shoot a shot in the last 90 seconds of a game if it’s tied and we’re down one. And he’ll be like that sounds awesome. I hate shooting in the last 90 seconds. Can I just shoot when we’re up 10? He’ll be great. He’ll be perfect.
ZL: It’s tough for them to carve out. They can do it. They can cobble together enough salary. It’s just I wonder if they look at Jeff Green…The Chandler/Jeff Green…Jeff Green’s played almost all the 3 at small forward this year for Boston. Some teams look at him as more of a 4 or a hybrid and they just don’t want small ball fours because LaMarcus doesn’t mesh well with those guys. He wants a 5 next to him.
BS: That’s interesting.
ZL: Portland will sniff around for sure.
BS: So LaMarcus doesn’t like the small ball fours?
ZL: That’s been an issue. He’s always said I want a banger next to me. When they used to play Gerald Wallace at the four and LaMarcus at the five they would kill teams. And he would say “I don’t like taking the banging, I’d rather have a big time center or a big body next to me.” That’s why they went after Hibbert, they got Lopez, that’s their M.O. I don’t see them really downsizing but yeah if they could add a wing player that can kind of take the CJ McCollum, Will Barton, Steve Blake at the 2 minutes and kind of upgrade them that’s powerful.
BS: They have the (Thomas) Robinson and (Dorell) Wright expiring contracts which gets them almost seven million. Then they have Joel Freeland at 3 million expiring. Meyers Leonard is two years left at cheap money and McCollum.
ZL: Did you see he took seven 3′s last night?
BS: Who did?
ZL: Meyers Leonard.
BS: Really?
ZL: He can shoot. He’s a good shooter. Seven 3′s is a little bit much.
BS: You mentioned how they can upgrade the Steve Blake spot. Steve Blake’s been prominently involved in this Blazers season. I wasn’t prepared for that. I thought he would have been more likely to see him on Cassidy Hubbarth on the ESPN NBA show at 12:30.
ZL: He’s okay. This is like his 19th time playing for the Blazers. They love him there. He’s probably got four second homes there.
BS: Some guys, one team is the right team for them and that’s it and can’t play for the other 29. For whatever reason one team is the right fit. Maybe that’s one.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=12072736
Bill Simmons: I like Portland as well. They are the number one Jeff Green candidate for me. That’s kind of the perfect Jeff Green spot right. We need you to play 25 minutes, you’ll never have to shoot a shot in the last 90 seconds of a game if it’s tied and we’re down one. And he’ll be like that sounds awesome. I hate shooting in the last 90 seconds. Can I just shoot when we’re up 10? He’ll be great. He’ll be perfect.
ZL: It’s tough for them to carve out. They can do it. They can cobble together enough salary. It’s just I wonder if they look at Jeff Green…The Chandler/Jeff Green…Jeff Green’s played almost all the 3 at small forward this year for Boston. Some teams look at him as more of a 4 or a hybrid and they just don’t want small ball fours because LaMarcus doesn’t mesh well with those guys. He wants a 5 next to him.
BS: That’s interesting.
ZL: Portland will sniff around for sure.
BS: So LaMarcus doesn’t like the small ball fours?
ZL: That’s been an issue. He’s always said I want a banger next to me. When they used to play Gerald Wallace at the four and LaMarcus at the five they would kill teams. And he would say “I don’t like taking the banging, I’d rather have a big time center or a big body next to me.” That’s why they went after Hibbert, they got Lopez, that’s their M.O. I don’t see them really downsizing but yeah if they could add a wing player that can kind of take the CJ McCollum, Will Barton, Steve Blake at the 2 minutes and kind of upgrade them that’s powerful.
BS: They have the (Thomas) Robinson and (Dorell) Wright expiring contracts which gets them almost seven million. Then they have Joel Freeland at 3 million expiring. Meyers Leonard is two years left at cheap money and McCollum.
ZL: Did you see he took seven 3′s last night?
BS: Who did?
ZL: Meyers Leonard.
BS: Really?
ZL: He can shoot. He’s a good shooter. Seven 3′s is a little bit much.
BS: You mentioned how they can upgrade the Steve Blake spot. Steve Blake’s been prominently involved in this Blazers season. I wasn’t prepared for that. I thought he would have been more likely to see him on Cassidy Hubbarth on the ESPN NBA show at 12:30.
ZL: He’s okay. This is like his 19th time playing for the Blazers. They love him there. He’s probably got four second homes there.
BS: Some guys, one team is the right team for them and that’s it and can’t play for the other 29. For whatever reason one team is the right fit. Maybe that’s one.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/grantland/player?id=12072736
