OT Minnesota progressing on contract buyout with former No. 1 pick Anthony Bennett.

[Wizard Mentor]

Great Avatar!

and name to go with it...

 

[Natebishop3]

Ya'll noobies acting like Norman Dale is new here.

 

[riverman]

Ya'll noobies acting like Norman Dale is new here.

It's not the years, it's the miles

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Has anyone noticed the teams "insiders" have offered nothing to this rumor?

Quicker has fallen off the face of the earth.

 

[julius]

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Ya'll noobies acting like Norman Dale is new here.

Newbie? I've been nettin' about the blazers since your granddad NateBishop the 1st!

 

[dviss1]

Yeah, and it would suck to cut Frazier because that's Dame's best friend on the team.

After losing 4-5 starters, I think that's overrated. Dame knows this is a business and that to be a leader he needs to take the young-uns under his wing. If Frazier is let go, it won't have much of an effect on Dame IMHO.

 

[Natebishop3]

After losing 4-5 starters, I think that's overrated. Dame knows this is a business and that to be a leader he needs to take the young-uns under his wing. If Frazier is let go, it won't have much of an effect on Dame IMHO.

Maybe he needs it now more than ever? With so much change, it's probably a good thing to have some guys that he's comfortable with.

 

[riverman]

You mean best friend like Dorell Wright, Mo Williams, Jared Jeffries and Will Barton? Dame will be fine

 

[dviss1]

Maybe he needs it now more than ever? With so much change, it's probably a good thing to have some guys that he's comfortable with.

Fair enough. I think he's strong enough mentally to handle it though. After Summer League, I'm not sure Frazier may be in our long term plans since Pressey has been getting a strong look.

 

[riverman]

Fair enough. I think he's strong enough mentally to handle it though. After Summer League, I'm not sure Frazier may be in our long term plans since Pressey has been getting a strong look.

From what I saw, Pressy will take the job from Frazier

 

[Pinwheel1]

You mean best friend like Dorell Wright, Mo Williams, Jared Jeffries and Will Barton? Dame will be fine

Yeah Dame doesn't seem to have a problem making friends. Which is certainly a positive for various reasons.
I am sure he hates seeing them go, but I am also sure he understands it is part of the business. Hopefully at some point there will be some stability with the roster, so it will make it more difficult for him to leave when his contract is up. But we have a few years to worry about that.

 

[Natebishop3]

Fair enough. I think he's strong enough mentally to handle it though. After Summer League, I'm not sure Frazier may be in our long term plans since Pressey has been getting a strong look.

Frazier definitely doesn't look like NBA talent. There's a reason why there aren't many "pass first point guards" in the league anymore. Most of them can't shoot, and to make it in the NBA these days you have to at least have a passable three point shot. Steve Blake is a perfect example. Not a guy that's going to light the nets on fire, but he could hit an open three (or at least he could at one time.)

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I certainly don't get all of the Frazier hate, but then again, I don't know what it has to do with Bennett.

 

[Natebishop3]

I certainly don't get all of the Frazier hate, but then again, I don't know what it has to do with Bennett.

Presumably we'd have to cut someone. Frazier could be the guy.

It's not really hate, he just hasn't really shown an ability to score, and that's a problem at this level.

 

[dviss1]

Frazier definitely doesn't look like NBA talent. There's a reason why there aren't many "pass first point guards" in the league anymore. Most of them can't shoot, and to make it in the NBA these days you have to at least have a passable three point shot. Steve Blake is a perfect example. Not a guy that's going to light the nets on fire, but he could hit an open three (or at least he could at one time.)

That's always been a weird thing to me. You'd think these cats would shoot 500+ a day to gain that muscle memory.

 

[dviss1]

I certainly don't get all of the Frazier hate, but then again, I don't know what it has to do with Bennett.

I don't think he's getting hate. It's true that he can't shoot though which is the main problem in Stott's offense. The reason why we're talking about Frazier is because acquiring Bennett could potentially displace him from the team.

 

[Reep]

That's always been a weird thing to me. You'd think these cats would shoot 500+ a day to gain that muscle memory.

Good point. How can a guy not spend hours each day working on this when they know it can make them millions per year if they can figure it out. Just wide open threes, that's all they need to be able to hit.

 

[riverman]

Basically we have CJ trying to learn the pt guard position, Montero, Frazier and Pressy. Pressy is more in control than Frazier or Montero but Montero is a lot taller and although raw, he's young and has a huge upside especially on the defensive side of the ball. I actually hope we keep Montero around and develop him into a decent pt guard

 

[Natebishop3]

That's always been a weird thing to me. You'd think these cats would shoot 500+ a day to gain that muscle memory.

I think they do, but for some reason shooting in practice is different than shooting in the game. I remember watching Sebastian Telfair shoot hundreds of three pointers in practice, and he'd make most of them, but when game time rolled around he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It seemed like a mental issue. He couldn't hit the three, but if he stepped inside the line a foot, he could hit the shot. Made no sense.

 

[riverman]

I think they do, but for some reason shooting in practice is different than shooting in the game. I remember watching Sebastian Telfair shoot hundreds of three pointers in practice, and he'd make most of them, but when game time rolled around he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. It seemed like a mental issue. He couldn't hit the three, but if he stepped inside the line a foot, he could hit the shot. Made no sense.

Wes used to say Victor Claver couldn't miss from deep in practice and was way better shooting the ball than the small sample size we say in 2 minute stretches of games

 

[Natebishop3]

Wes used to say Victor Claver couldn't miss from deep in practice and was way better shooting the ball than the small sample size we say in 2 minute stretches of games

It's mental. Sadly, some of these guys psych themselves out. There's so much pressure to perform that they choke when they time PT. That's why it's important to give the young guys minutes so they can play through it, but when you're fighting for a playoff spot, or for HCA, it's hard to let a young guy play through his mistakes and jitters. Case in point: Jermaine O'Neal.

 

[dviss1]

All this said, I hope Bennett is not picked up. I'd rather pay the other guys extra.

 

[riverman]

All this said, I hope Bennett is not picked up. I'd rather pay the other guys extra.

I think if we're going to use some cap space and have to drop players, we could do better by getting another wing instead of a tweener big

 

[Natebishop3]

All this said, I hope Bennett is not picked up. I'd rather pay the other guys extra.

The only reason why I would consider signing him at this point is that he could be a trade chip. Or maybe he makes someone else expendable. We just suffered a complete teardown for the most part, and this team needs assets.

With that said, I really like our young bigs. I'm a fan of Vonleh, and I think Plumlee is extremely underrated. Meyers showed a lot of promise as well. Davis is a bit of an unknown for me. I hardly watched any Laker games last year. If Bennett could play small forward I would be a much bigger fan of this move.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think if we're going to use some cap space and have to drop players, we could do better by getting another wing instead of a tweener big

But maybe we could turn around in a couple months and trade him to the Raptors as part of a package for DeRozan? He's only a couple years removed from being the #1 overall pick. He has value. If we can pick him up without giving anything other than money, that's a pretty good investment.

 

[Reep]

Basically we have CJ trying to learn the pt guard position, Montero, Frazier and Pressy. Pressy is more in control than Frazier or Montero but Montero is a lot taller and although raw, he's young and has a huge upside especially on the defensive side of the ball. I actually hope we keep Montero around and develop him into a decent pt guard

Montero may have a real advantage here in that neither Frazier or Pressey can shoot from long range. Montero is thin and young, but he can already shoot the long ball, and will likely always be a better defender than the other two because of his length. The big question is his ball handling under pressure and his ability to initiate and play within the offense.

 

[dviss1]

Montero may have a real advantage here in that neither Frazier or Pressey can shoot from long range. Montero is thin and young, but he can already shoot the long ball, and will likely always be a better defender than the other two because of his length. The big question is his ball handling under pressure and his ability to initiate and play within the offense.

Call me crazy but getting rid of him for someone I think is a bust and costs too much wouldn't make me feel well. He has a much higher upside IMO.

 

[Natebishop3]

Montero may have a real advantage here in that neither Frazier or Pressey can shoot from long range. Montero is thin and young, but he can already shoot the long ball, and will likely always be a better defender than the other two because of his length. The big question is his ball handling under pressure and his ability to initiate and play within the offense.

Montero is very intriguing. Reminds me a bit of a VERY raw Penny Hardaway. I think he's very worth the time and effort to develop him. He could be the perfect backcourt mate with Dame.

 

[Sinobas]

Claver seemed like he should have been a decent player what they call a "3/D" guy. He seemed to be active and alert on defense, had good size, but never got PT>