My Blue Print to Keep LA

[cmeese47]

Olshey says he has a plan but what else is he going to say, sell your season tickets cause we are fucked in LA leaves. Well we do not know what that plan is but until LA actually signs elsewhere we should work our ass off to keep him.

PG Lillard is the starter here he is a stud offensively and could benefit from some support defensively similar to what Curry gets in Golden State.

Back Up PG Patrick Beverly This guy plays hard, he gets in your face, tugs your jersey and make your life hell if your the man he is guarding. We need someone like this.

SG CJ McCollum The kid can get his own shot and has some range we need someone like him with some offensive pop. He made big strides in the playoffs now its time to prove he has turned the corner.

SG Gerald Henderson we have him right now but I think we can do better. I would add him as a piece for a salary match.

SG Wesley Matthews can he come back from that injury? Is he for real asking for 15 million? We obviously cannot give him anything close to that figure. As LA's best friend on the team, a great 3 point shooter, and a good defender Matthews has too much value to ignore.

SG Danny Green If Matthews is not healthy I would make a serious bid to sign him from the Spurs. He does everything Matthews does he is a great 3 point shooter and a defender. He might not be the vocal leader Matthews is but he would be a major upgrade over Henderson or McCollum.

SF Demare Carroll this is where the Henderson contract becomes handy. We won't have the cap space to sign him outright if we get Matthews or Green but Henderson and Kaman give us the money needed to sign him. Adding Plumlee or Vonleh could be important here to swing the deal.

PF Lamarcus Aldridge he has to return or this whole off season plan really goes down hill.

PF Joel Freeland he is a quality bench defender and should come cheaply you cant have stars 10 deep in the NBA so having a cheap quality role player will help.

C Noah Vonleh/ Mason Plumlee we will likely need to deal one in order to facilitate a sign and trade for Green or Carroll. I would do the same for the other as well.

C Meyers Leonard the kid can shoot that is certain and guarding the rim he is a plus defender. He needs a lot of work guarding his man away from the basket and in pick and roll but he is not a complete lost cause here. Offense is his true value as a floor spacing big with a terrific outside shot.

C Omer Asik he knows his role and that is to defend and rebound he is very good at both of those areas and he is a terrific rim protector and a true banger someone LA would relish having on his side. Giving up Plumlee or Vonleh to help the salaries match is a gamble but I believe work the risk.

That is my 9 man rotation
Lillard
Beverly
Matthews/ Green
McCollum
Carroll
Aldridge
Freeland
Leonard
Asik

Offensively and defensive there is a lot of talent on this team. We also have plenty of three point shooting with Lillard, Matthews/ Green, McCollum, Carroll, and Leonard. SF depth remains an issue but if Portland looks like a legit threat in the playoffs adding someone just after the trade deadline off the waiver wire is a viable option.

I think we can still make a splash this summer. Hopefully Neil believes so too and gets it done.

Let me know your thoughts on the team, weaknesses of the team, better options etc.

Obviously such a specific plan would be very difficult to pull off but those are the kind of players I value.

 

[Schilly]

That's terrible

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

 

[PDXFonz]

For me there is no easier way for the team to go from an A to an F than picking up Patrick Beverly.

 

[Strenuus]

Where's Mike Conley?

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Go sit on your patio. Drink a solid bottle of wine. Have a stogie. Smoke some blue orca. Drink a big glass of cool water, maybe 2. Get a good sleep, 8-10 hours. Please come back and try again.

 

[cmeese47]

Bitching is easy show me better. I added the leagues best defensive PG, kept a healthy Matthews or replaced him with someone with the same skill set. Carroll is a better shooter than Batum was and an excellent defender making him a good choice to replace him. Brought back LA and improved our rim protection and rebounding by adding Asik.

I fail to see any issue with that team other than the difficulty acquiring all those pieces would present.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Where's Mike Conley?

Conley will be a Blazer soon - we're offering Lillard, Vonleh, and a first.

 

[cmeese47]

Conley will be a Blazer soon - we're offering Lillard, Vonleh, and a first.

At least he won't be giving up 20 points in a playoff game to Beno Udrih.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

If be more concerned about that if Beno didn't destroy us every single time we played him. Like Dragic.

 

[Voodoo]

My plan to keep Aldridge was to offer him more money than the other 29 teams can. I would also point out that the other 29 teams that he could go to suck, including Golden State, what have they done recently?

 

[Scalma]

At least he won't be giving up 20 points in a playoff game to Beno Udrih.

Blame stotts for giving the mid range shot

 

[cmeese47]

As an NBA player I would relish a chance to play vs Dame. I know I will have my work cut out for me on defense but I will feast on offense. Life gets a lot harder when your now guarding Lillard and then have Beverly locking you up on D when Lillard hits the pine.

 

[cmeese47]

Blame stotts for giving the mid range shot

I blame Lillard for melting whenever a screen comes his way. Not enough effort on his part to prevent those open mid range J's.

 

[Scalma]

I blame Lillard for melting whenever a screen comes his way. Not enough effort on his part to prevent those open mid range J's.

He's not supposed to prevent the mid range shot, that's the problem with our system against players that feast there like beno, Dragic, and the Morris twins.

 

[cmeese47]

He's not supposed to prevent the mid range shot, that's the problem with our system against players that feast there like beno, Dragic, and the Morris twins.

No but his job is to contest it, we want to push people off the three point line and stop them from getting to the rim. None of that matters though if we allow uncontested jumpers all day,

 

[Schilly]

On all seriousness, the plan Neil is implementing to Keep Lamarcus is way better than yours. I believe what happens from here is we give Lamarcus his max then split the remaining 22ish million between Matthews and a replacement SF for Batum. It's great to have our own.mad scientists ideas of how the team should be built, but it's good practice to actually analyze the moves being made to identify the true direction of the team and the GMs actual plans. An additional part of the equation is identifying the strengths and system of the coach in place.

So here is what I see so far, we moved 2 guys who have a tendency of being too passive, and who don't shoot when open. We have added high motor guys that play hard and attack the basket. Typical analyst knock on the Blazers they are a jump shooting team who doesn't stack the basket. We already have shooters for spacing now we added guys who will use those lanes. But let's go a little deeper....

Vonleh - athletic above the rim player
Henderson - athletic above the rim player
Plumlee - athletic above the rim player
Connaughton - athletic above the rim player

Neil is showing that he is building a team that is athletic and hard working. Guys like Asik don't fit that mold... nor do Kaman and to an extent Lopez.

The Blazers are not extending a qualifying offer to Freeland, so unless he is taking a pay cut he won't be back. It has been rumored that similar money and a starting role will draw him back to Europe. Imo that's a good move for Freeland.

Then we talk about Terry Stotts. Quite simply put we aren't going to be adding offensive liabilities to this team. It doesn't mean we won't add guys who can play D... Henderson, Vonleh and Plumlee all do... but what we won't add are guys that play D but have no offensive game. Sorry Patrick Beverly does not fit with our coach or style, honestly the days of teams that are built on defense 1st are done. The future is teams who score a lot and play good team defense. Demanded Carroll does fit that role. So does Luol Deng.

 

[BonesJones]

No but his job is to contest it, we want to push people off the three point line and stop them from getting to the rim. None of that matters though if we allow uncontested jumpers all day,

Wrong. He's not supposed to prevent mid range shots, he's supposed to prevent 3s. The big prevents layins. You can't contest mid range jumpers when you're trailing from behind

 

[Schilly]

Part of our problem on pick and roll defense is our bigs aren't quick enough to switch and recover. Yes Damian is not a good defender but what we really get killed on is pick and roll, and that's a team defense issue.

 

[magnifier661]

My blueprint to keep Aldridge is as follows:

1.) keep Noah and Plumlee

2.) trade Kaman (5mil after July 1st) and cap space to get Roy Hibbert, leaving us around 14 mil in cap space.

3.) sign Danny Green for 11 mil or offer Deng 9 mil

4.) possibly use Anderson and 3 mil cap space to grab a starting caliber SF or 5 mil cap space and Anderson to get a Danny Green Caliber SG.

 

[cmeese47]

On all seriousness, the plan Neil is implementing to Keep Lamarcus is way better than yours. I believe what happens from here is we give Lamarcus his max then split the remaining 22ish million between Matthews and a replacement SF for Batum. It's great to have our own.mad scientists ideas of how the team should be built, but it's good practice to actually analyze the moves being made to identify the true direction of the team and the GMs actual plans. An additional part of the equation is identifying the strengths and system of the coach in place.

So here is what I see so far, we moved 2 guys who have a tendency of being too passive, and who don't shoot when open. We have added high motor guys that play hard and attack the basket. Typical analyst knock on the Blazers they are a jump shooting team who doesn't stack the basket. We already have shooters for spacing now we added guys who will use those lanes. But let's go a little deeper....

Vonleh - athletic above the rim player
Henderson - athletic above the rim player
Plumlee - athletic above the rim player
Connaughton - athletic above the rim player

Neil is showing that he is building a team that is athletic and hard working. Guys like Asik don't fit that mold... nor do Kaman and to an extent Lopez.

The Blazers are not extending a qualifying offer to Freeland, so unless he is taking a pay cut he won't be back. It has been rumored that similar money and a starting role will draw him back to Europe. Imo that's a good move for Freeland.

Then we talk about Terry Stotts. Quite simply put we aren't going to be adding offensive liabilities to this team. It doesn't mean we won't add guys who can play D... Henderson, Vonleh and Plumlee all do... but what we won't add are guys that play D but have no offensive game. Sorry Patrick Beverly does not fit with our coach or style, honestly the days of teams that are built on defense 1st are done. The future is teams who score a lot and play good team defense. Demanded Carroll does fit that role. So does Luol Deng.

Interesting cause I don't see it. We are more athletic that is a given but Vonleh is one still too raw too make an impact, he is 6'10 and shot a dreadful 39% from the field that is not going to help. Henderson has a career 0rtg of 102 and a drtg of 109 which is terrible. He shoots jumpers and makes an occasional drive to the hoop.

Plumlee is a decent addition he can't make a free throw and plays a lot like Deandre Jordan did before Doc Rivers started mentoring him.

Connaughton is not NBA ready simple as that.

Right now we have zero people who can defend on the roster, the guys I added all fill a need and a role.

Beverly is not a good scorer no one will argue that but his presence takes the defensive pressure off of McCollum and his ability to knock down a three will provide floor spacing and an opportunity for CJ to be aggressive with the ball offensively.

Matthews/ Green are great 3 point shooters who play excellent defense both fit Stotts system and are significantly better than Henderson.

We agree on Carroll.

I like Asik and think he adds value with his defense and rebounding but he is not key to this roster and can be replaced by Plumlee.

 

[magnifier661]

Interesting cause I don't see it. We are more athletic that is a given but Vonleh is one still too raw too make an impact, he is 6'10 and shot a dreadful 39% from the field that is not going to help. Henderson has a career 0rtg of 102 and a drtg of 109 which is terrible. He shoots jumpers and makes an occasional drive to the hoop.

Plumlee is a decent addition he can't make a free throw and plays a lot like Deandre Jordan did before Doc Rivers started mentoring him.

Connaughton is not NBA ready simple as that.

Right now we have zero people who can defend on the roster, the guys I added all fill a need and a role.

Beverly is not a good scorer no one will argue that but his presence takes the defensive pressure off of McCollum and his ability to knock down a three will provide floor spacing and an opportunity for CJ to be aggressive with the ball offensively.

Matthews/ Green are great 3 point shooters who play excellent defense both fit Stotts system and are significantly better than Henderson.

We agree on Carroll.

I like Asik and think he adds value with his defense and rebounding but he is not key to this roster and can be replaced by Plumlee.

Although I might entertain the idea to get Beverly, I truly believe he is a very overrated defender. He definitely is a player that gets under your skin and plays physical, but he's not as great as you think guarding someone straight up.

 

[cmeese47]

Although I might entertain the idea to get Beverly, I truly believe he is a very overrated defender. He definitely is a player that gets under your skin and plays physical, but he's not as great as you think guarding someone straight up.

The Rockets were 5 points better per game defensively when he was on the court. He needs to cut down on his fouls and can be over anxious to help on defense which can result in a easy bucket or two. Nobody is a perfect defender but he is great at getting under peoples skin and throwing them off their game. He would pair well with Lillard who would benefit from the rest and extra fouls he would likely draw from people pissed off at Beverly.

 

[BrianFromWA]

On all seriousness, the plan Neil is implementing to Keep Lamarcus is way better than yours. I believe what happens from here is we give Lamarcus his max then split the remaining 22ish million between Matthews and a replacement SF for Batum. It's great to have our own.mad scientists ideas of how the team should be built, but it's good practice to actually analyze the moves being made to identify the true direction of the team and the GMs actual plans. An additional part of the equation is identifying the strengths and system of the coach in place.

So here is what I see so far, we moved 2 guys who have a tendency of being too passive, and who don't shoot when open. We have added high motor guys that play hard and attack the basket. Typical analyst knock on the Blazers they are a jump shooting team who doesn't stack the basket. We already have shooters for spacing now we added guys who will use those lanes. But let's go a little deeper....

Vonleh - athletic above the rim player
Henderson - athletic above the rim player
Plumlee - athletic above the rim player
Connaughton - athletic above the rim player

Neil is showing that he is building a team that is athletic and hard working. Guys like Asik don't fit that mold... nor do Kaman and to an extent Lopez.

The Blazers are not extending a qualifying offer to Freeland, so unless he is taking a pay cut he won't be back. It has been rumored that similar money and a starting role will draw him back to Europe. Imo that's a good move for Freeland.

Then we talk about Terry Stotts. Quite simply put we aren't going to be adding offensive liabilities to this team. It doesn't mean we won't add guys who can play D... Henderson, Vonleh and Plumlee all do... but what we won't add are guys that play D but have no offensive game. Sorry Patrick Beverly does not fit with our coach or style, honestly the days of teams that are built on defense 1st are done. The future is teams who score a lot and play good team defense. Demanded Carroll does fit that role. So does Luol Deng.

That's a helluva post, Schilly.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

get one of the star centers. gasol preferably. jordan as a fall back. LMA stays for sure.

and thats a big three that durant would have to seriously consider next year.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

On all seriousness, the plan Neil is implementing to Keep Lamarcus is way better than yours. I believe what happens from here is we give Lamarcus his max then split the remaining 22ish million between Matthews and a replacement SF for Batum. It's great to have our own.mad scientists ideas of how the team should be built, but it's good practice to actually analyze the moves being made to identify the true direction of the team and the GMs actual plans. An additional part of the equation is identifying the strengths and system of the coach in place.

So here is what I see so far, we moved 2 guys who have a tendency of being too passive, and who don't shoot when open. We have added high motor guys that play hard and attack the basket. Typical analyst knock on the Blazers they are a jump shooting team who doesn't stack the basket. We already have shooters for spacing now we added guys who will use those lanes. But let's go a little deeper....

Vonleh - athletic above the rim player
Henderson - athletic above the rim player
Plumlee - athletic above the rim player
Connaughton - athletic above the rim player

Neil is showing that he is building a team that is athletic and hard working. Guys like Asik don't fit that mold... nor do Kaman and to an extent Lopez.

The Blazers are not extending a qualifying offer to Freeland, so unless he is taking a pay cut he won't be back. It has been rumored that similar money and a starting role will draw him back to Europe. Imo that's a good move for Freeland.

Then we talk about Terry Stotts. Quite simply put we aren't going to be adding offensive liabilities to this team. It doesn't mean we won't add guys who can play D... Henderson, Vonleh and Plumlee all do... but what we won't add are guys that play D but have no offensive game. Sorry Patrick Beverly does not fit with our coach or style, honestly the days of teams that are built on defense 1st are done. The future is teams who score a lot and play good team defense. Demanded Carroll does fit that role. So does Luol Deng.

Yes, I agree that is what is happening. I think that olshey, like most of us, looked at how we failed in the playoffs and what the teams that succeeded were doing; it was obvious we needed more toughness, athleticism and defense. As for magnifier, I don't think hibbert fits the plan.

 

[magnifier661]

Yes, I agree that is what is happening. I think that olshey, like most of us, looked at how we failed in the playoffs and what the teams that succeeded were doing; it was obvious we needed more toughness, athleticism and defense. As for magnifier, I don't think hibbert fits the plan.

I would agree if we know Aldridge will leave. But if Aldridge is requesting Hibbert, he becomes part of the plan. Pure and simple...

 

[cmeese47]

With the Suns rumored to be looking to deal Bledsoe maybe we can swing a deal for him. He would be a viable replacement for Matthews.

 

[Pinwheel1]

With the Suns rumored to be looking to deal Bledsoe maybe we can swing a deal for him. He would be a viable replacement for Matthews.

How is a 6'.1" PG a replacement for Wes? I would love to get him though.