Met JJ Hickson in ATL

[blazedanugz]

Incredibly nice guy..

Talked to him about a couple different things. He said LMA is good as gone and is suprised he is still here now.
Thought the moda center was a terrible name. DUh
Thought mo Williams was the steal of the summer. Thought if we had him we would have been much better last year.

 

[Natebishop3]

Incredibly nice guy..

Talked to him about a couple different things. He said LMA is good as gone and is suprised he is still here now.
Thought the moda center was a terrible name. DUh
Thought mo Williams was the steal of the summer. Thought if we had him we would have been much better last year.

Not saying that I disagree, but I'm wondering how close JJ and LMA really are. Is he going off of Aldridge at the end of last season, or more recent info? A lot has changed since the end of the season.

 

[Denny Crane]

The thread about how the Blazers defend the PNR got me thinking what if the Blazers used the same scheme as New Orleans did with Lopez for JJ?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

He said LMA is good as gone and is suprised he is still here now.

More info, please! Can you give an EXACT TRANSCRIPT of the conversation?

 

[BBert]

LaMarcus was probably 'good as gone' at the end of the season, hence JJ is surprised he's still here. With the changes the Blazers have made, who knows if it has changed LaMarcus' perspective any?

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

tell me about his penis

 

[Sedatedfork]

tell me about his penis

Undersized, but gets the job done inside.

 

[yenniedn]

Undersized, but gets the job done inside.

Nice! Rep worthy!

 

[jlprk]

Incredibly nice guy..

Talked to him about a couple different things. He said LMA is good as gone and is suprised he is still here now.
Thought the moda center was a terrible name. DUh
Thought mo Williams was the steal of the summer. Thought if we had him we would have been much better last year.

Who met JJ? Can you link me to the article?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Nice! Rep worthy!

JJ appreciates your assessment of his penis.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Not saying that I disagree, but I'm wondering how close JJ and LMA really are. Is he going off of Aldridge at the end of last season, or more recent info? A lot has changed since the end of the season.

People can't have it both ways. When someone says anything, remotely, negative about the tam, people scream that they aren't connected to the team. Now an actual teammate says something people don't want to hear and they say the same thing. ANY player is more connected to his teammates than any announcer or beat writer. if Hickson really did say that, it holds more water than anything said previously

 

[HailBlazers]

People can't have it both ways. When someone says anything, remotely, negative about the tam, people scream that they aren't connected to the team. Now an actual teammate says something people don't want to hear and they say the same thing. ANY player is more connected to his teammates than any announcer or beat writer. if Hickson really did say that, it holds more water than anything said previously

Don't disagree in the slightest, but at the same time. Hickson just came off arguably the best year of his career and the Blazers just said "meh" and let him roll elsewhere. Willing to bet there is a tad of bitterness there.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Don't disagree in the slightest, but at the same time. Hickson just came off arguably the best year of his career and the Blazers just said "meh" and let him roll elsewhere. Willing to bet there is a tad of bitterness there.

It's possible. On the other hand, they gave him a ton of minutes when another team WAIVED him and as a result he secured a $5M/yr. deal with the Nuggets. He should be grateful.

 

[Eastoff]

It's possible. On the other hand, they gave him a ton of minutes when another team WAIVED him and as a result he secured a $5M/yr. deal with the Nuggets. He should be grateful.

NBA players are not always reasoned with when they are just millionaires in the 20s.

 

[mook]

It's possible. On the other hand, they gave him a ton of minutes when another team WAIVED him and as a result he secured a $5M/yr. deal with the Nuggets. He should be grateful.

$5 mil was all he got? That's a very nice contract the Nuggets signed. I'm no huge fan of Hickson, but he's a serviceable PF even with all his defensive flaws.

 

[Sedatedfork]

$5 mil was all he got? That's a very nice contract the Nuggets signed. I'm no huge fan of Hickson, but he's a serviceable PF even with all his defensive flaws.

Depends on your perspective. Brandon Roy made that last year I think. AK47 opted out and got less than that. I don't think there were a lot of big guys available this offseason. Dwight Howard, Robin Lopez, Pekovic, Oden come to mind, but JJ is not a Center. After Josh Smith, Millsap, David West, Hickson might be the next guy. Millsap and Smith changed teams. Millsap was twice as expensive and Smith was almost three times as expensive (and for more years). It's probably about where his value was. Who would you rather have? Millsap at 2 years, $19 mill, Smith at 4 years, $54 mill, or JJ at 1 year, $5 mill? I suppose it depends on which direction your team is headed and where you spend your money. I think I would take Smith's deal, then JJ's deal, and then Millsap's deal.

Edit: Yeah, I kind of think JJ got screwed a bit here. He should get at least $6.5 or $7. Didn't the Nets pay that to Outlaw?

 

[Natebishop3]

People can't have it both ways. When someone says anything, remotely, negative about the tam, people scream that they aren't connected to the team. Now an actual teammate says something people don't want to hear and they say the same thing. ANY player is more connected to his teammates than any announcer or beat writer. if Hickson really did say that, it holds more water than anything said previously

That's not what I'm saying though, is it?

My point is that Hickson could be going off old information, which would have been concrete a few months ago, but might not be accurate now.

I definitely think there was some discontent, and possibly Aldridge made it known that he wouldn't mind being traded, but that would have been in April. It is now August, our team has a completely new bench, and a starting center. How do we know that Aldridge hasn't changed his mind? We have no idea when Hickson and Aldridge spoke last.

Do I think Aldridge wants out? I'm still leaning towards yes, but I also think he's probably happy with the moves that were made and if the team performs he might be convinced to stay.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

$5 mil was all he got? That's a very nice contract the Nuggets signed. I'm no huge fan of Hickson, but he's a serviceable PF even with all his defensive flaws.

Be honest: do you think he'll make any impact on their win/loss %? And he'll be earning FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. That's kind of insane.

 

[Draco]

Be honest: do you think he'll make any impact on their win/loss %? And he'll be earning FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. That's kind of insane.

I'd much rather have him than Joel Freeland at $3 million. $5 million is very reasonable for a rotational player with some positives and negative who would excel in a role off the bench.

I don't think he necessarily helps the wins/losses of the Nuggets since they already have a garbage man PF and traded their starting center for a PF. That team has an idiot owner as the GM. But for a team that could use a big man off the bench Hickson has value and yes could be the difference in a number of wins over 82 games.

 

[blue9]

Hickson at $5M is a tremendous value signing. Similar to what we got with Mo. Difference is we got our value player at a position of need, whereas Denver didn't.

 

[Draco]

I'm a big TRob fan and excited we got him but I got to say I'd take Hickson over TRob for that backup PF spot next season. Both guys ended up costing $5million but we didn’t know that would be the case at the time. Hickson doesn’t have as much long term upside but he is a proven contributor. JJ really helped open up our offense last season as defenses couldn’t double off him to defend LaMarcus or Damian. His rebounding and efficient inside scoring was as good as anyone in the NBA. If we just had a defender like Lopez to bang a few minutes here or there Hickson would’ve been great in a 3 way big man rotation. I hope Thomas can carve out a role that provides as many positives as JJ contributed last year.

 

[Draco]

Hickson at $5M is a tremendous value signing. Similar to what we got with Mo. Difference is we got our value player at a position of need, whereas Denver didn't.

Yes. Paul Millsap was a great signing as well, I can't believe anyone mentioned his deal negatively in this thread. He is better than Al Jefferson and nearly half the price. Only two years has little downside if for some reason he is a bad fit the team can dump him as an expiring contract next season.

 

[Sedatedfork]

Yes. Paul Millsap was a great signing as well, I can't believe anyone mentioned his deal negatively in this thread. He is better than Al Jefferson and nearly half the price. Only two years has little downside if for some reason he is a bad fit the team can dump him as an expiring contract next season.

I didn't mean to say that the Millsap signing was bad, but that comparatively if you were a particular team how much would you want to pay for each player? 2 year, $19M ($9.5 M a year) for Millsap, 4 years, $54M ($13.5 M a year) for Smith, or 1 year, $5 M for JJ Hickson? I was using the deals to compare what JJ got under the current CBA.

 

[Natebishop3]

I'm a big TRob fan and excited we got him but I got to say I'd take Hickson over TRob for that backup PF spot next season. Both guys ended up costing $5million but we didn’t know that would be the case at the time. Hickson doesn’t have as much long term upside but he is a proven contributor. JJ really helped open up our offense last season as defenses couldn’t double off him to defend LaMarcus or Damian. His rebounding and efficient inside scoring was as good as anyone in the NBA. If we just had a defender like Lopez to bang a few minutes here or there Hickson would’ve been great in a 3 way big man rotation. I hope Thomas can carve out a role that provides as many positives as JJ contributed last year.

I personally think TRob has a way higher ceiling than Hickson. I liked JJ, I thought he was a good player and will be a good bench forward, but Robinson has the potential to be a star.

 

[blue9]

In terms of value I'd go Hickson > Millsap > Smith. In terms of actually running a team, I'd probably go Millsap > Hickson > Smith.

 

[Draco]

I would definitely take Millsap and that contract over JJ or Josh and its not even close.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I'd much rather have him than Joel Freeland at $3 million.

Well, duh.

 

[jlprk]

Be honest: do you think he'll make any impact on their win/loss %? And he'll be earning FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. That's kind of insane.

Hickson made an enormous difference in our record. With only Leonard and Freeland at center, we would have been historically bad.

 

[Darkwebs]

I'm a big TRob fan and excited we got him but I got to say I'd take Hickson over TRob for that backup PF spot next season. Both guys ended up costing $5million but we didn’t know that would be the case at the time. Hickson doesn’t have as much long term upside but he is a proven contributor. JJ really helped open up our offense last season as defenses couldn’t double off him to defend LaMarcus or Damian. His rebounding and efficient inside scoring was as good as anyone in the NBA. If we just had a defender like Lopez to bang a few minutes here or there Hickson would’ve been great in a 3 way big man rotation. I hope Thomas can carve out a role that provides as many positives as JJ contributed last year.

Actually, Robinson is getting paid $3.5 mil this coming year, so we do get a bit of savings.