Rumor Orlando looking to trade Vucevic and Possibly Payton.

[riverman]

Vucevic can score and rebound but in watching him move around the paint, it looks like he wouldn't average over 1.0 block per game as the only center in an under-6' basketball league at the YMCA.

That's not his game..you need to pair him with a shot blocker but he gives you what Lamarcus Aldridge gave us...only probably more rebounds..to me Vucevic is Kevin Love light without the 3 pt shot but better than Love on D.....20/10 guy is what I see..3rd option so our guards have some energy to play even mediocre defense. I guess I'm mostly high on the guy because I've seen him play enough to admire his skillset...Dame CJ Mo Chief Vuc....lot of options there IF they can work on a string on defense.

 

[Blazinaway]

One shudders at the thought of the defense with Vucevic anchoring the middle.

actually his D numbers are improved a decent bit this yr and I believe he ranks higher than anyone we have and he can score and rebound. I'd rather get a more D oriented C but if we can't he'd be an improvement over the garbage we now have, no I would not give up CJ of Vuc, for Payton and Vuc perhaps and we'd need to add perhaps a guy like Plumlee or Ed.

That's not his game..you need to pair him with a shot blocker but he gives you what Lamarcus Aldridge gave us...only probably more rebounds..to me Vucevic is Kevin Love light without the 3 pt shot but better than Love on D.....20/10 guy is what I see..3rd option so our guards have some energy to play even mediocre defense. I guess I'm mostly high on the guy because I've seen him play enough to admire his skillset...Dame CJ Mo Chief Vuc....lot of options there IF they can work on a string on defense.

agree, we need some consistent offense from the PF/C area, Plums pretty much is a pick n roll threat only and has no low post game and his rebounding is meh. At least VUC can score and rebound and he's on a really good contract at 11-2 mil per for this yr then the next 2 after. Not a perfect choice but way than what we now have IMO and probably reasonably attainable.

 

[BonesJones]

As things stand, the odd game from Plumlee aside (and he will be used at 4 if we replace him), our centers do not offer much defense, scoring or rebounding. Vucevic is not good defensively but at least he scored and rebounds which will naturally improve us.

It won't take CJ, and they won't take Crabbe because they have the same player in Fournier. I think they might take Aminu to rotate with Gordon and Ibaka, could be interested in Plumlee and might be foolish enough to take Meyers. Turner would not be a bad get for them either.

Fournier and Crabbe arent the same player. Fournier is 2 inches taller and can handle the ball and pass. Fournier and Crabbe would be a solid wing group to pair with Ibaka and Biyombo in the frontcourt.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Vonleh, Napier, Leonard, and PORs 2018 pick for Vucevic. Do it.

Probably have to take back Payton also. Not just Vucevic.

 

[Sarni]

Fournier and Crabbe arent the same player. Fournier is 2 inches taller and can handle the ball and pass. Fournier and Crabbe would be a solid wing group to pair with Ibaka and Biyombo in the frontcourt.

They are very similar IMO. Most importantly though, both Fournier and Biyombo make ca. $18M per year, then you are adding Crabbe on the same amount and Ibaka will command close to $20M per season if they extend him as well. That's overkill, none of them (aside from maybe Ibaka at best) are top players.

 

[Sarni]

Actually if we could make it happen, Noel and Vucevic could work together. That would force Noel to play at power forward but he can defend all over the court, he has no mid-range game but that would be compensated by Vucevic being very good from there.

 

[Blazinaway]

Actually if we could make it happen, Noel and Vucevic could work together. That would force Noel to play at power forward but he can defend all over the court, he has no mid-range game but that would be compensated by Vucevic being very good from there.

Noel didn't seem to work well with Okafor when he played PF so I don't know

 

[BBert]

His offense was great but his defense was baaad in those clips. Meyers plays better post defense.

 

[Sarni]

Noel didn't seem to work well with Okafor when he played PF so I don't know

True. It would be a significant risk since Noel has not worked under similar circumstances before. Even then we would have two different centers to rotate and each of them could clock 25-30 minutes without playing too much together. They are both better than what we have.

 

[Jade Falcon]

I'm totally on the Noel bandwagon. But he got eaten alive by this dude.



Noel didn't look like he had a clue what he was doing.

 

[Scalma]

I'm totally on the Noel bandwagon. But he got eaten alive by this dude.



Noel didn't look like he had a clue what he was doing.

Vucevic is tailor made for Stotts, I'm coming around on the idea. His defense has improved and his rebounding would really shore up another weakness. Not sure who Orlando would want or what vuc' value even is.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Vuc can be our new LaMarcus.
Bring him and then later bring a defensive\dirty work guy.

Vuc for this year's pick (top 3 protected, unprotected next year)+Meyers +Aminu
Noel for Crabbe+Cle 1st

...
FUCK these trades suck.

 

[Scalma]

This is where the Kings come in, because Orlando is evidently interested in Gay. That's a starting point for Vucevic, but obviously Sacramento doesn't need him but they probably would want a shooter like Crabbe or a young PF like Vonleh.

 

[Denny Crane]

What's our record been at acquiring free agents or top talent via trade? Guys we didn't have to develop (e.g. Wes).

I don't think the issue is strictly one for the Blazers.

At least the core of the good teams are home grown.

 

[BonesJones]

What's our record been at acquiring free agents or top talent via trade? Guys we didn't have to develop (e.g. Wes).

I don't think the issue is strictly one for the Blazers.

At least the core of the good teams are home grown.

I mean, we traded Sean Marks and a draft pick for Gerald Wallace. Then we traded Gerald Wallace for Damian Lillard. We traded Hollis-Jefferson for Plumlee.

 

[Denny Crane]

I mean, we traded Sean Marks and a draft pick for Gerald Wallace. Then we traded Gerald Wallace for Damian Lillard. We traded Hollis-Jefferson for Plumlee.

Wallace was a disappointment here, no?

Dame is home grown - that's my point.

 

[Jade Falcon]

I mean, we traded Sean Marks and a draft pick for Gerald Wallace. Then we traded Gerald Wallace for Damian Lillard. We traded Hollis-Jefferson for Plumlee.

Just curious: wasn't Hollis-Jefferson supposed to be a Defense powerhouse coming out of college? And how has he done since we traded him?

 

[Scalma]

Just curious: wasn't Hollis-Jefferson supposed to be a Defense powerhouse coming out of college? And how has he done since we traded him?

I hated that trade when it happened, but looks like Olshey got it right. Doubt RHJ will ever be as valuable as Plumlee, but he should be a solid rotational player. Good on defense, fouls a lot right now but that should improve with more experience. Still can't shoot.

 

[Sarni]

Thinking about this, it more or less has to be a 3-team trade unless they are somehow keen on Turner or Crabbe - which I very much doubt. Plumlee would be a good prospect in that team but salaries won't match, they don't have a real need for Aminu or Davis to be completely honest and Leonard's value is very low.

Noel seems easier to do (for Crabbe) than Vuc although I like Vuc's offensive threat. Maybe do as suggested and send someone to Sacramento so they give Magic Rudy Gay but he's just a 5-month loan. Then again if Magic can make playoffs this season this might be worth a shot, they will have a lot of extensions to do in the Summer anyway with Ibaka also coming to an end of his contract.

 

[Scalma]

Remember that most teams are set at center, so getting equal value back may not happen for a team looking to move one.

 

[BonesJones]

Wallace was a disappointment here, no?

Dame is home grown - that's my point.

Compared to Sean Marks? Wallace was a steal.

 

[Denny Crane]

Compared to Sean Marks? Wallace was a steal.

OK. Neither were exactly a Chris Bosh or LeBron or Durant kind of guy. One who'd put you over the top.

 

[BonesJones]

OK. Neither were exactly a Chris Bosh or LeBron or Durant kind of guy. One who'd put you over the top.

So trading a 15th man for a borderline all-star wasn't a steal then?

And Chris Bosh doesn't put you over the top

 

[Denny Crane]

So trading a 15th man for a borderline all-star wasn't a steal then?

And Chris Bosh doesn't put you over the top

It's fine. It just isn't the blueprint for championship contenders.

 

[BonesJones]

It's fine. It just isn't the blueprint for championship contenders.

Every championship contender needs a lockdown defender.

 

[Denny Crane]

Every championship contender needs a lockdown defender.

Great team defense is where it's at. Good to have two-way players, too. Don't want 4 on 5 at one end of the court.

The Warriors built a contender around Curry, Green, and Thompson. Trade other pieces to build around the core, or select FAs that fit in.

The Spurs built around Duncan, Leonard, Parker, Ginobili, and Green. Ditto.

The exception is LeBron in Miami. He went back to Cleveland after they grew a nice core. Irving, Thompson, and Wiggins (Wiggins for Love), and Waiters. Caves paid a huge tax bill.

 

[Scalma]

Great team defense is where it's at. Good to have two-way players, too. Don't want 4 on 5 at one end of the court.

The Warriors built a contender around Curry, Green, and Thompson. Trade other pieces to build around the core, or select FAs that fit in.

The Spurs built around Duncan, Leonard, Parker, Ginobili, and Green. Ditto.

The exception is LeBron in Miami. He went back to Cleveland after they grew a nice core. Irving, Thompson, and Wiggins (Wiggins for Love), and Waiters. Caves paid a huge tax bill.

Honestly, what the hell are you talking about?

 

[Boob-No-More]

Great team defense is where it's at. Good to have two-way players, too. Don't want 4 on 5 at one end of the court.

I think you must have forgotten how good Gerald Wallace was. He wasn't just 1st team All Defense the season before we got him. He was an All Star who averaged 18.2 ppg and 10 rpg. A guy who
averages 18.2 ppg as the second option on a playoff team is not an offensive liability.

Wallace was a TOTAL two-way player, exactly the kind of two-way player this team needs right now. Seriously, 1st team All Defense and 18.2 ppg. How is that not a two-way player?

The problem was Nate McMillan had absolutely zero clue how to use Wallace and Batum together and, as a result, the performance of both players nosedived after the trade. He saw them as the same player and therefore redundant.

Of course, that shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. Nate completely underutilized Batum's talent the entire time he coached him. He stuck Nic in the corner as a 19-year old rookie and left him there for 4 years.

With Roy injured most of the season, under a more astute coach, Nic could have seen some time at SG, utilizing his playmaking ability to create shots for Wallace, but never in a million years would Nate have considered that. The previous year he refused to have Nic post up Steve Nash in the PHO series because he didn't think Nic could handle the responsibility. Nic's ast/g jumped from 1.4 to 4.9 the first year after Nate was replaced by Stotts and he currently averages 5.8 ast/g as the starting SG in CHO.

In the end, Sean Marks for Gerald Wallace was a steal, even if Nate misused Wallace. He still had enough value to land us the 6th pick in the draft that got us Lillard. So, unless you think Sean Marks would have gotten us the 6th pick, that trade was a huge steal.

BNM

 

[Denny Crane]

I liked it when we got him, but I don't think he lived up to expectations. Regardless of excuses.

Hence my warning that past performance on another team doesn't guarantee you get what you expect. No more all NBA defense teams. No more 18 PPG. 3 point drop in PER. He helped us win 48 and 28 games.

I'm sure Brooklyn was thrilled to give up an early first for him. They got burned.

The steal aspect of the Marks deal is another straw man.

 

[BigGameDamian]

I'm still waiting for Greg Monroe name to get linked with the Blazers again. It's coming guys...