Quick says look for a trade on draft night for a center

[Rastapopoulos]

DeAndre Jordan... man, that would be nice.

Jordan would be a nice get.

I respectfully disagree. Jordan is a bonehead who Vinny Del Negro (Vinny Del Negro) has benched for NOT PLAYING DEFENSE. He's the twin of Javale McGee.

If the GM has SPECIFICALLY SAID we need defense from the center spot, we're not going after Jordan. The Clippers would be very happy to unload him (doesn't he have his current contract because Golden State offered it to him?) but I hope to christ we don't take them up on it.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Jordan sucks. The guy we should go after is Javale McGee. Very talented triple double threat who is still young. He is potential All Star.

They're the same fucking player! How can you like one but hate the other?

 

[Boob-No-More]

The guy we should go after is Javale McGee. Very talented triple double threat who is still young. He is potential All Star.

Learn the game, then post.

Sorry, but seriously stop looking at the stats and watch the guy play. He blocks a ton of shots, but is one of the worst defenders in the entire league. Why do you think he plays so few minutes? If he's so talented, why is he riding the pine behind Kosta Koufos?

There's a reason McGee only plays 18 MPG. He's a freaking defensive liability. He tries to block EVERY shot, even if he has ZERO chance. That means every time someone drives into the paint, McGee leaves his man wide open under the basket. That leads to way too many easy points and offensive rebounds for his opponents. Sure, his individual stats look great (so do J.J. Hickson's, by the way), but check out his on court/off court stats at 82games.com. His team does MUCH worse when he's on the court. His net on court/off court is -6.1. By comparison Kosta Koufos has a net on court/off court of +6.9. That's an on court/off court swing of 13.0 between these two centers, and why Koufas starts and McGee rides the pine. It's not rocket science, but not obvious just by looking at his gaudy individual stats.

There's a reason Washington was so eager to get rid of him and why he's getting limited PT in Denver. If you think J.J. Hickson's individual stats are fool's gold, McGee's individual stats are fool's platinum.

BNM

 

[STOMP]

Hawes plays no defense and is a high post center. Not what we need

as far as offense is concerned, I'd rather add a high post center then someone who can only get it done on the low block as it would allow LA to move back inside. Of course the best would be someone who excels both inside and out which would give Portland more versatility on offense. That said, defense is what I'm most hoping for... two guys that I'd love to see paired with LA are both Brazilian (Nene & Andy).

STOMP

 

[Boob-No-More]

I'd jump on McGee in a heartbeat

So would KingSpeed, but that's not what this thread is about...

BNM

 

[Masbee]

Mediocre rebounder?

He's been a better rebounder than Noah this season. He's been a better shot blocker as well.

I also don't agree that he's a mediocre defender.

He looks that way to me.

Do you have any evidence that he is a very good defender, other than your opinion?

I already pointed out that he is a great shot blocker. You didn't add anything there.

Additionally, this is a great contrast to Noah. Noah is a very good defender and still does very well with blocks. His focus on defense and blocks, explains why his rebound numbers aren't better.

Jordan, 4.6% block %, 5.2% for career; Noah 4.4% block %, 3.8% for career.

Jordan is very good with blocks, but his defense suffers greatly from his obsession with them. He just doesn't have the talent that a few other bigs do to do 2 big chores very well (blocks; defense; rebounds) I think that is a bad tradeoff. And there is NO WAY the coaches are asking him to focus on blocks vs. overall defense.

He has not been rebounding much better than Noah, they rebound at close to the same rate, and Noah is having his worst year rebounding. Regardless, I didn't say Jordan was a bad rebounder Mediocre is not bad. And I never said Noah was a very good rebounder.

 

[PapaG]

I think I could live with Jordan. You'd have to leave him out at the end of games because of his foul shooting, but that's OK, because the Blazers frequently go small and move Aldridge to center in those situations.

In any case, I don't have a problem trading the pick whatsoever; that's all the pick ever represented to me anyway -- more of an "asset" than an actual player.

I agree with that, but I also don't necessarily like the idea of paying Jordan $11m a year to sit on the bench and only block 1.3 shots per game.

I think his dunks lead to him being massively overrated. He's a career 15 PER player who shoots 39% from the FT line and doesn't really defend.

He basically makes close to what LMA makes, and LMA blocks 1.2/game this year.

 

[PapaG]

Easy, he is not very coachable; he doesn't defend well, despite being a very good shot blocker; he is a mediocre rebounder; he has little offensive game outside of dunks (which he does very well - so that's something); and he can't finish games due to horrible free throw shooting.

He's not even a very good shot blocker, though.

 

[PapaG]

They are out there

Mahinmi is a name no one has mentioned

You shit all over Meyers Leonard on a daily basis, yet you want a 27 year-old Mahinmi, who is arguably a worse player than Leonard right now?

 

[Natebishop3]

Would Chicago trade Noah? I would send them Matthews, draft pick, Leonard, and cap space for Noah.

 

[PapaG]

Would Chicago trade Noah? I would send them Matthews, draft pick, Leonard, and cap space for Noah.

Why on Earth would Chicago make that deal?

 

[Natebishop3]

Why on Earth would Chicago make that deal?

I'm curious if they plan on making another run at LeBron.... I guess if that's the plan, they wouldn't want Matthews' 3 years left on his deal.

Edited: I guess after this year it would only be 2 years, but he still eats up $6+ million per year.

 

[PapaG]

I'm curious if they plan on making another run at LeBron.... I guess if that's the plan, they wouldn't want Matthews' 3 years left on his deal.

Edited: I guess after this year it would only be 2 years, but he still eats up $6+ million per year.

That makes some sense if they are looking for James. I hadn't thought of that aspect of it.

 

[Natebishop3]

That makes some sense if they are looking for James. I hadn't thought of that aspect of it.

I'm not really clear on their cap situation. The thought would be that James would pair up with Rose, but they might be able to do that without trading Noah.

 

[RoyToy]

He's not even a very good shot blocker, though.

#12 in blk%

He's #12 because players like Biedrins, Fab Melo, D.J. White, Bernard James, Hamed Haddadi are ahead of him, and these guys barely play.

Basically DeAndre Jordan is top 10 in blk% this season, so yes, he is a good shot blocker.

 

[RoyToy]

He looks that way to me.

Do you have any evidence that he is a very good defender, other than your opinion?

I already pointed out that he is a great shot blocker. You didn't add anything there.

Additionally, this is a great contrast to Noah. Noah is a very good defender and still does very well with blocks. His focus on defense and blocks, explains why his rebound numbers aren't better.

Jordan, 4.6% block %, 5.2% for career; Noah 4.4% block %, 3.8% for career.

Jordan is very good with blocks, but his defense suffers greatly from his obsession with them. He just doesn't have the talent that a few other bigs do to do 2 big chores very well (blocks; defense; rebounds) I think that is a bad tradeoff. And there is NO WAY the coaches are asking him to focus on blocks vs. overall defense.

He has not been rebounding much better than Noah, they rebound at close to the same rate, and Noah is having his worst year rebounding. Regardless, I didn't say Jordan was a bad rebounder Mediocre is not bad. And I never said Noah was a very good rebounder.

I've seen his post defense on Aldridge and he's able to force Aldridge to take some really tough shots because of his length. He usually guards Aldridge because Blake Griffin isn't big enough.

Aldridge is averaging 15.7pts/G against the Clippers this season while averaging 40min per game in those games. He had a 5-14 games against the Clippers in January.

18.5pts/G last season, but on 42% shooting.

Jordan's length is a problem for teams.

 

[Natebishop3]

I would take Jordan simply because he'd be a pretty big upgrade at that position. It depends on what we give up and who could be available when we pick.

 

[oldmangrouch]

If they can't find the center they need (90% probability) do they simply do nothing? Do they accept a modest upgrade, or founder on with an unprepared pseudo-euro?

 

[GoBlazersGo]

Ugh... McGee and Jordan are both pretty terrible! I'd much rather we sign someone like Samuel Dalembert, or find a way to trade for someone like Robin Lopez, Marcin Gortat, Emeka Okafor, etc. Hell, I'd rather we just sign someone like Mozgov & buy a late first-rounder to draft Dieng, rather than ponying up value for knuckleheads like McGee & Jordan!

I'm not sure what it'd cost us to get Lopez, but I'd think Gortat could be had for Capspace & either Meyers Leonard or our 2013 lotto-pick, knowing how cheap Phoenix has proven to be. I think Okafor would be a good fit, too, though I'm not really sure whether or not the Wizards will be looking to dump him. If they do, he could be a decent solution, assuming they were willing to add some value in order to do so.

 

[ABM]

Jason Quick is my buddy.

 

[Boise Blazer]

This thread got depressing really quick

 

[ABM]

This thread got depressing really quick

(that was my quick reply)

 

[BigGameDamian]

DeAndre Jordan would be nice but my first choice would be Marcin Gortat.

 

[WillG]

Just cant see anything worthwhile going after this off-season.
No to Jordan, No to Gortat, No to R Lopez, No to Varajeo.

As unexciting as it is - I feel the best move for Olshey is to not tie up money long term on a so-so player/signing.

By signing some stop gap measures (Dalembert/Mozgov type player or Rookie big), and letting the young guys develop some more we'll have more $'s to commit to a roll of the dice on the 2014-15 free agent crop.
Only other option is to shop Aldridge?

 

[Blazinaway]

With the Kobe injury what C's may be available just got more interesting IMO. I'm most interested in the ramifications this opens for C's being available as IMO Dwight is now 90% gone from Laker Land and teams like HOU especially and LA Clips as well could be in the hunt, making C's like Asik and Jordan available for capspace and maybe Leonard or pick.

 

[WillG]

Asik IS one guy I'd like to see in a Blazer uni.
The guys a tough player.

 

[handiman]

What about Josh Smith? He'd be pretty expensive and it would be another year of playing a guy out of position, but he brings the defense and shot blocking we're after, is big and strong enough to play most centers, and would qualify as a "big splash" kind of acquisition. Plus, he and LMA are both versatile enough to create a lot of combinations. S&T with Atlanta for our pick (and something else?), since it sounds like they may lose Smith for nothing?

 

[BigGameDamian]

Just cant see anything worthwhile going after this off-season.
No to Jordan, No to Gortat, No to R Lopez, No to Varajeo.

As unexciting as it is - I feel the best move for Olshey is to not tie up money long term on a so-so player/signing.

By signing some stop gap measures (Dalembert/Mozgov type player or Rookie big), and letting the young guys develop some more we'll have more $'s to commit to a roll of the dice on the 2014-15 free agent crop.
Only other option is to shop Aldridge?

Dude your saying no to good centers when it's been a chore that the Blazers find a good center in the past. Not to mention there really aren't that many great centers anyway in the league.

 

[Blazinaway]

I really like Gorgui Dieng and believe he's ready to play now, his D and shot blocking are already NBA starting level IMO, offense is raw but he has some tools and is a very good passer. IMO he's way beyond Leonard in being able to step in and contribute right away. He's smart, not a knucklehood like some of these other Nba C's we are talking about, and he's cheap and will be on a rookie contract.

 

[PapaG]

I really like Gorgui Dieng and believe he's ready to play now, his D and shot blocking are already NBA starting level IMO, offense is raw but he has some tools and is a very good passer. IMO he's way beyond Leonard in being able to step in and contribute right away. He's smart, not a knucklehood like some of these other Nba C's we are talking about, and he's cheap and will be on a rookie contract.

Perhaps the Blazers could petition the NBA to allow Dieng to play on the defensive half of the court, and then he tags Leonard, who plays on the offensive half. Kind of like the old Iowa Girls' Basketball rules.