Zombie How much should the Blazers offer Gerald Henderson?

[BlazerCaravan]

Hendo is underrated. I still like Crabbe better because he's younger, but Hendo is more consistent.

... Because he's older.

Crabbe and Hendo fill the same role, though I like Crabbe backing up/taking over for Aminu. At the moment, I would move Aminu, Plumlee, and Harkless to get the most amazing guy I could get at PF, and start Crabbe/Davis next year. But that could change tomorrow.

 

[jlprk]

Still the question remains, how much do you pay a 6th man, even in the new cap environment? $10m/year? $12m? With a supermax PG, a max SG (after summer 2017), and another 3-D wing in Crabbe who's likely to be overpaid to the tune of $10m+/year?

Henderson is not 3-D. He's also a dribbler and an inside scrapper. If McCollum goes down for a season, Henderson, not Crabbe, is good enough to start for a season.

Crabbe fits the window better, but he is missing that swagger that CJ and Hendo possess. Honestly I think that's the attribute that's holding him back. To be a really good two guard in the NBA, you HAVE to have confidence. I've just never really gotten that vibe from him. He doesn't have that attitude like he can score on anyone. That concerns me.

The cause is that Henderson's an excellent dribbler and Crabbe isn't.

 

[blue9]

I do go back and forth on whether to keep both Crabbe and Henderson or both Harkless and Aminu? All 4 can play 2 positions. But I don't think you can ever have enough shooters. So I have to lean towards keeping Crabbe/Henderson

So who do you put with Crabbe at SF? Aminu or Harkless? Aminu is longer and can back up the PF position a little more often.
So as much as I hate losing Harkless, I think he is once again the odd man out.

Yes, these guys all can slide between positions, but they don't all have the same overlap. I see it as:

Henderson: SG only (by only, I mean SF only in rare situational match-ups)
Crabbe: SG / SF
Harkless: SF / PF
Aminu: SF / PF

Henderson and Crabbe are the best of the bunch. Between Aminu and Harkless I think Aminu has trade value, and Harkless can be retained for cheap - so for me it's an easy decision to trade Aminu and re-sign Harkless (for less than Aminu's current contract?). Harkless also has more raw talent than Aminu, and therefore has the potential to be a much better player...all he needs is a consistent role to develop consistency. Heck - he doesn't even need to be consistent to be better than Aminu, because Aminu is wildly inconsistent.

It will definitely be interesting to see what changes we make this summer. I have a feeling that Olshey really likes Aminu, but hopefully he sees him for who he is because starting SF is our biggest need, IMO.

 

[illmatic99]

Here's a position PT breakdown this season as per bbref.

Henderson: 83% SG, 17% SF
Crabbe: 53% SG, 47% SF, 1% PF
Harkless: 3% SG, 79% SF, 18% PF
Aminu: 68% SF, 32% PF

 

[Pinwheel1]

I agree there is not much overlap as they all do different things well.

I like Henderson and Crabbe as they are the most well rounded in terms of offense/defense.
But Aminu is so versatile defensively I would hate to lose him. With a 7'3 1/4" wingspan (and 9'. 1/2" standing reach) he is ideal to have coming off your bench. And I like Harkless' energy, but how do you keep him happy with so few minutes?

Again this is all based on us not signing a free agent SF who would start, which is a strong possibility, but I think you keep keep Henderson and Crabbe if you can.
Maybe you keep all 4........ injuries do happen.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I agree there is not much overlap as they all do different things well.

I like Henderson and Crabbe as they are the most well rounded in terms of offense/defense.
But Aminu is so versatile defensively I would hate to lose him. With a 7'3 1/4" wingspan (and 9'. 1/2" standing reach) he is ideal to have coming off your bench. And I like Harkless' energy, but how do you keep him happy with so few minutes?

Again this is all based on us not signing a free agent SF who would start, which is a strong possibility, but I think you keep keep Henderson and Crabbe if you can.
Maybe you keep all 4........ injuries do happen.

I've always liked the idea of having a 9 man rotation with 5 guys who are primarily one position, and 4 tweeners filling the gaps. Gives the most options to the coach for mixing/matching lineups to create advantages and mitigate disadvantages. At the moment, that's basically what we have.

PG - Lillard
PG/SG - McCollum
SG - Henderson
SG/SF - Crabbe
SF - Harkless
SF/PF - Aminu
PF - Vonleh
PF/C - Davis
C - Plumlee

Ultimately, I would seek to keep that same balance, seeking opportunities to upgrade. For instance, if we can sign Parsons, then it's OK to renounce Harkless. Derozan coming? Either Henderson/Crabbe goes. Can we get Horford? Then deal/demote one of the bigs. The main thing is to preserve the flexibility and opportunity to compile the best group of 9 possible, and I think it's pretty likely that Henderson is part of that, if we can keep him.

 

[tester551]

I've always liked the idea of having a 9 man rotation with 5 guys who are primarily one position, and 4 tweeners filling the gaps. Gives the most options to the coach for mixing/matching lineups to create advantages and mitigate disadvantages. At the moment, that's basically what we have.

PG - Lillard
PG/SG - McCollum
SG - Henderson
SG/SF - Crabbe
SF - Harkless
SF/PF - Aminu
PF - Vonleh
PF/C - Davis
C - Plumlee

Ultimately, I would seek to keep that same balance, seeking opportunities to upgrade. For instance, if we can sign Parsons, then it's OK to renounce Harkless. Derozan coming? Either Henderson/Crabbe goes. Can we get Horford? Then deal/demote one of the bigs. The main thing is to preserve the flexibility and opportunity to compile the best group of 9 possible, and I think it's pretty likely that Henderson is part of that, if we can keep him.

Very solid post here. Agree completely.
The biggest hole in this lineup in my opinion is Harkless, followed by Vonleh.

 

[Chris Craig]

I'd pay him good money over Leonard

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Iman Shumpert money would be fair.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

I'd pay him good money over Leonard

Unless Leonard unexpectedly pulls his head out of his @$$ and becomes a consistent contributor, I'm pretty sure he's gone.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Unless Leonard unexpectedly pulls his head out of his @$$ and becomes a consistent contributor, I'm pretty sure he's gone.

If his price is brought down to ~10m per year, Meyers is staying imo.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

If his price is brought down to ~10m per year, Meyers is staying imo.

Too high for the inconsistency... but I admit I'm operating under the old cap's sizing.

 

[Natebishop3]

Too high for the inconsistency... but I admit I'm operating under the old cap's sizing.

It's gonna be hard to swallow a contract paying Meyers more than $10 million per year..... and I'm not even paying the money!

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I'd pay him 5/$40mil

It's gonna be hard to swallow a contract paying Meyers more than $10 million per year..... and I'm not even paying the money!

Maybe pull a JJ Hickson and sign him to a very large one year deal?

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Too high for the inconsistency... but I admit I'm operating under the old cap's sizing.

10 wouldn't be so bad after the cap shoots up. I think the goal should be to get Hendo+Meyers for a total of ~23mil per year combined.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

10 wouldn't be so bad after the cap shoots up. I think the goal should be to get Hendo+Meyers for a total of ~23mil per year combined.

I wonder what the cap will look like in five years; TV is moving away from monolithic cable deals, and cord cutting might affect how much money the NBA can get for their game broadcasts. It's definitely going to have an effect down the road, but hopefully it'll be after the next CBA.

 

[Natebishop3]

Man... some idiot team is going to max him and then we're going to be in the same situation that we put OKC in last summer.

 

[Strenuus]

Man... some idiot team is going to max him and then we're going to be in the same situation that we put OKC in last summer.

But we wouldn't match.

We have a smart GM.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

I wonder what the cap will look like in five years; TV is moving away from monolithic cable deals, and cord cutting might affect how much money the NBA can get for their game broadcasts. It's definitely going to have an effect down the road, but hopefully it'll be after the next CBA.

If the NBA wants to stay ahead of the curve they will eliminate blackouts on LP and turn it into a primo streaming service that can be played via roku, ps4/Xbox, chromecast, etc. that would probably bank them a lot of money with the whole cord cutting thing going on.

 

[selloutking]

If the NBA wants to stay ahead of the curve they will eliminate blackouts on LP and turn it into a primo streaming service that can be played via roku, ps4/Xbox, chromecast, etc. that would probably bank them a lot of money with the whole cord cutting thing going on.

I know I would spend the money every year if that were the case

 

[Draco]

I've always liked the idea of having a 9 man rotation with 5 guys who are primarily one position, and 4 tweeners filling the gaps. Gives the most options to the coach for mixing/matching lineups to create advantages and mitigate disadvantages. At the moment, that's basically what we have.

PG - Lillard
PG/SG - McCollum
SG - Henderson
SG/SF - Crabbe
SF - Harkless
SF/PF - Aminu
PF - Vonleh
PF/C - Davis
C - Plumlee

Ultimately, I would seek to keep that same balance, seeking opportunities to upgrade. For instance, if we can sign Parsons, then it's OK to renounce Harkless. Derozan coming? Either Henderson/Crabbe goes. Can we get Horford? Then deal/demote one of the bigs. The main thing is to preserve the flexibility and opportunity to compile the best group of 9 possible, and I think it's pretty likely that Henderson is part of that, if we can keep him.

I don't like this positional list or 9 man concept at all. Way too strict of an analysis. It looks great when creating a fantasy team, or playing a video game. But long-term NBA success is about having a group of players who provide skills to get the ball in the hoop on one end and prevent it from going in the other. It doesn't matter what one or two positional flags fans attach to a player. There doesn't need to be such a tight limit of a 9 man rotation; this year's lack of injuries is very unusual. Maybe we trade a big for small or small for big.

Focus on getting players based on what abilities they have now, how much they will improve, how happy they will be with this team, and the cost of their contract. Dame and Meyers are the only guys with more than two full years experience on the team. Apparent roles this summer could be very different than opportunities one, two, three years from now. When acquiring players worry about what value they will provide in the long term. The coach sets the best 9 man rotations in the short term.

 

[Rhal]

Man... some idiot team is going to max him and then we're going to be in the same situation that we put OKC in last summer.

I would love for someone to Max Meyers. We get to let him go without much thought and he gets paid and is a burden on someones cap in 3 years.

 

[Draco]

10 wouldn't be so bad after the cap shoots up. I think the goal should be to get Hendo+Meyers for a total of ~23mil per year combined.

Gosh I hope not! Hendo is a quality backup and Meyers we hope becomes a good backup. Lillard and CJ will get around ~$50 million combined on max deals starting next summer. That leaves ~$30mil for the other 11 players? We still need 3 more starters, 3 backups and 5 third stringers. I'm for spending $23 million on another high quality starter; but not two backups with questions. Hendo is athletically declining and Meyers hasn't been good yet.

We got Aminu & Ed, who are both superior, for $14mil. If we give Hendo & Meyers such big contracts that leaves only $16 million for a roster needing 2 starters and 2 backups. Plumlee will be eligible for a new contract at that time. That will be a year from this summer when CJ's max/near max contract is kicking in. Vonleh will be eligible for an extension then too. The cap is projected to start going down the year after.

We can go a few bucks over the cap for our own free agents but is that what we want to do with no additions to this roster? So far CJ and Dame are the only proven legit long term core pieces of our team. Ed Davis is the for sure long term role player. Everyone else has value but questions; so unless we're adding a long term starter we should keep flexibility for roster tweaks. The consistent problem teams have made over the years with contracts is overpaying for bench players. I hope we keep Hendo on our bench but it shouldn't be part of a $23 million extension with Meyers.

 

[MickZagger]

Stay far far away