Kurt Thomas to Portland

[Blaze01]

Given the free agent choices out there, not a horrible signing....rather ho-hum...The logic of him over Pendergraph is kind of odd.....

 

[mikeg]

I like how we pass of Faried at rookie dollars and spend more money to sign a guy who could be Faried's dad. Nice front office, Portland.

 

[Ed O]

His PER is irrelevant because his ugage is so low. 10 PER with 9.4 usage is productive in a specific role.

Usage and PER are not that directly related. 10 PER sucks in any role (except for, perhaps, defensive stoppers like Bruce Bowen), especially for a guy who's supposed to be a rebounder and a bit of a shotblocker.

Thomas is old and he's been a sub-par player for a few years. He's unlikely to stay healthy and, if he's healthy, he is unlikely to make a difference on this team. At the veteran's minimum, it's a fine move, but I would rather the team get someone who is less likely to be on the down side of his career.

Ed O.

 

[BrianFromWA]

unless you're taking a chance on some unrevealed upside (like maybe Chris Johnson or Thabeet ), I'm of the opinion that the team is better off with solid veteran bigs who suck than unproven youngster bigs who suck. I'd take Juwan Howard over Pendergraph, and I don't even like Juwan that much. I'll take Thomas over Earl Barron. I'd rather have Brian Scalabrine than Steven of Nazareth. I'll even take one-legged Joel back over some training camp fodder that's being tossed around.
There's something about knowing how the game is played, what you can get away with, the "little veteran" moves like screens, tough fouls,etc.

 

[magnifier661]

unless you're taking a chance on some unrevealed upside (like maybe Chris Johnson or Thabeet ), I'm of the opinion that the team is better off with solid veteran bigs who suck than unproven youngster bigs who suck. I'd take Juwan Howard over Pendergraph, and I don't even like Juwan that much. I'll take Thomas over Earl Barron. I'd rather have Brian Scalabrine than Steven of Nazareth. I'll even take one-legged Joel back over some training camp fodder that's being tossed around.
There's something about knowing how the game is played, what you can get away with, the "little veteran" moves like screens, tough fouls,etc.

Especially for big men...

 

[Pinwheel1]

I like how we pass of Faried at rookie dollars and spend more money to sign a guy who could be Faried's dad. Nice front office, Portland.

So you are saying you are not too high on Nolan Smith? It will be interesting to see how they both turn out.

 

[BrianFromWA]

I'm pretty high on Smith, but I think our needs were for a backup PF that wouldn't kill us if he had to spot-start with LMA at C.

I haven't seen enough from Smith to tell me he was the clear BPA. That doesn't mean that he won't, and now that that bridge is burned, I hope he becomes an All-Star.

 

[Trader Ed]

as a friend mentioned.... this is a possibility...

Blazers sign Thomas for a bit more than Barron... by about $250,000
Blazers could end up waiving Barron since he is not guarneteed money

You just made a big upgrade for $250,000....

Blazers still have FA money to sign someone else

 

[magnifier661]

Thomas can give you very servicable minutes at PF/C. Personally I think it's a decent move for the money. Of course this isn't some "Answer"; but I still think Portland is hoping Oden somehow comes out of this "setback" thingy and we see him this season. Regardless, I like the position Portland is going at this season. We have many new faces and new potential. We truly weren't able to incorporate Wallace and his talents last season. Wes is in his third year and should get better. Batum has supposedly gotten much better, more hungry. Lets focus on this and have some cap flexibility this summer to either land some free-agents to fill voids, or use our cap space to get some great draft picks.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I'm pretty high on Smith, but I think our needs were for a backup PF that wouldn't kill us if he had to spot-start with LMA at C.

I haven't seen enough from Smith to tell me he was the clear BPA. That doesn't mean that he won't, and now that that bridge is burned, I hope he becomes an All-Star.

I havn't seen enough of either to know for sure, but if Smith does turn out to be pretty good, it is a lot easier to find a short PF who can't shoot, but who can play D and rebound, than a Pg with skills. But that of course hinges on whether or not Smith has skills......

 

[gatorpops]

I havn't seen enough of either to know for sure, but if Smith does turn out to be pretty good, it is a lot easier to find a short PF who can't shoot, but who can play D and rebound, than a Pg with skills. But that of course hinges on whether or not Smith has skills......

I read somewhere yesterday that they were/are saying the same thing about Nolan that they said about Roy when Roy was coming into the NBA. "He is NBA ready" I hope that translates to the kid.

 

[gatorpops]

unless you're taking a chance on some unrevealed upside (like maybe Chris Johnson or Thabeet ), I'm of the opinion that the team is better off with solid veteran bigs who suck than unproven youngster bigs who suck. I'd take Juwan Howard over Pendergraph, and I don't even like Juwan that much. I'll take Thomas over Earl Barron. I'd rather have Brian Scalabrine than Steven of Nazareth. I'll even take one-legged Joel back over some training camp fodder that's being tossed around.
There's something about knowing how the game is played, what you can get away with, the "little veteran" moves like screens, tough fouls,etc.

I agree with this. Especially this shortened season. We just don't have time to get raw players into NBA mode. Just not enough time.

 

[Denny Crane]

You can't cut Earl Baron. He's either an Earl or a Baron, or both, befitting Blazer royalty.

 

[gatorpops]

You can't cut Earl Baron. He's either an Earl or a Baron, or both, befitting Blazer royalty.

We could crown him a king and then cut him (i.e. cut off head)