SG - What to do?

[Fez Hammersticks]

Seeing that Lillard is a capable passer and shooter, who would be the ideal fit next to him?

A scorer like Harden?

A defensive stopper like Avery Bradley?

We'll have close to the max, maybe even the max if we shed a few contracts, to throw at Harden this summer.

I like Wes but IMO he's clearly a 6th man type.

 

[Sinobas]

That looks like our best bet now. I don't see anything else in FA. Yes, I think we should clear some cap space and throw a max offer at Harden. We'll get another year to see how he plays in OKC.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Sign The Beard!

 

[Natebishop3]

I like Harden. I'm not opposed to going after him, but tying our money up in an RFA sure didn't work out for us this last summer. I'm not convinced that OKC will let him just walk for nothing.

 

[Rhal]

I'm all for going after Harden but i dont' think we would be able to get him. I'm liking the idea of going after Josh Smith and having him play the 3 and Batum the 2.

 

[Natebishop3]

I'm all for going after Harden but i dont' think we would be able to get him. I'm liking the idea of going after Josh Smith and having him play the 3 and Batum the 2.

If Batum plays like he did last night, he would be more than capable of playing the two.

 

[NOVoodoo]

I don't understand all of the talk about James Harden on this board. Is a he a really good player? Sure. Is he a great player? Hell no.

If the goal is to build championship teams in a small market, don't throw great player money at a good player. Build through smart, frugal additions and good draft picks.

Let some other team overpay for the James Harden's of the world and have it be their problem. Harden will eventually disappoint for several years and then matriculate to a larger market that can absorb his ridiculously large contract in that team's desperate last ditch effort to be relevant (see: Joe Johnson).

 

[Mediocre Man]

Shabazz Muhammad

 

[Eastoff]

If we were to throw a max contract at Harden, would OKC want to match? Wouldn't they be way over the cap?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

The only way to get Harden would be by trade. I'd say it's 90% likely he re-signs with OKC, but if he doesn't he's either going home to Phoenix or to Dallas.

I suggested trading Aldridge for Harden last season, but I think both sides are even less likely to want that now: OKC because it's invested big bucks in Ibaka and Portland because of how bad Harden looked in the finals.

It's funny how the fortunes of Tyreke Evans and James Harden have gone in opposite directions. I like Harden better, but Evans probably has more raw talent. He's been humbled: I wonder if he'll adapt or slowly drift out of the NBA.

In answer to your question, the player who start alongside Lillard - how about Batum? Put Claver at SF.

 

[blazerboy30]

Seeing that Lillard is a capable passer and shooter, who would be the ideal fit next to him?

A scorer like Harden?

A defensive stopper like Avery Bradley?

We'll have close to the max, maybe even the max if we shed a few contracts, to throw at Harden this summer.

I like Wes but IMO he's clearly a 6th man type.

Should have drafted Waiters! :MARIS61:

 

[HailBlazers]

Let it Bake.

 

[Reep]

A guy who is a solid defender who can hit the three at a good clip. Good basketball IQ would be nice too.

Oh wait . . .

 

[illmatic99]

Ya, I still think Wes is a decent enough SG to start if we have more talent at other positions. If Nic makes that leap from decent starter to fringe all star, and Dame is a top 5-10 PG early in his career, we should be good. Adding another player of that caliber would be gravy.

 

[BoBoBREWSKI]

A guy who is a solid defender who can hit the three at a good clip. Good basketball IQ would be nice too.

Oh wait . . .

Ya, I still think Wes is a decent enough SG to start if we have more talent at other positions. If Nic makes that leap from decent starter to fringe all star, and Dame is a top 5-10 PG early in his career, we should be good. Adding another player of that caliber would be gravy.

 

[Blazinaway]

If Nic this season shows more of what we saw in the Utah game then we will then have the flexibility of going after a better player then Wes at either the PG or SF position as Nic could play either. We either use the draft or perhaps use capspace next summer for an FA or lopsided trade. I like Wes but would prefer him as a 6th man and having a better player ahead of him.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I agree with Rasta, the only way the Blazers get Harden is via trade ... and right now they don't appear to have the right assets to get it done.

 

[THE HCP]

I know he's a nut job, but I'd love Tyreke as our starting 2!

 

[Rhal]

I know he's a nut job, but I'd love Tyreke as our starting 2!

Im not a fan of Evans due to us having Lillard. Evans has to have the ball in his hands, that's his game. I don't think he can adapt to playing off the ball and I'd rather the ball is in lilards then Evans.

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[ehizzy3]

Shabazz Muhammad

....

 

[Reep]

Yeah, I would at least like to see a 100% healthy Wes play a few real NBA games before writing him off. I think he will be more solid than people are giving him credit for.

And T. Evans would be a chemistry disaster. I can't believe HCP would want him here.

Next to Lillard you want a good defender and shooter who can move well without the ball. If Wes doesn't work out this year (I think he will), then I would rather move Nic to the 2 and get a stronger 3. A ball dominant, slashing 2 next to Lillard doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

The only way to get Harden would be by trade. I'd say it's 90% likely he re-signs with OKC, but if he doesn't he's either going home to Phoenix or to Dallas.

I suggested trading Aldridge for Harden last season, but I think both sides are even less likely to want that now: OKC because it's invested big bucks in Ibaka and Portland because of how bad Harden looked in the finals.

It's funny how the fortunes of Tyreke Evans and James Harden have gone in opposite directions. I like Harden better, but Evans probably has more raw talent. He's been humbled: I wonder if he'll adapt or slowly drift out of the NBA.

In answer to your question, the player who start alongside Lillard - how about Batum? Put Claver at SF.

If he can continue to play the way he did against Utah I think he could legitimately play SG full-time. He looks like a totally different player with all that movement.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Move Batum to SG and look for a SF. Josh Smith?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Move Batum to SG and look for a SF. Josh Smith?

Strictly a PF.

 

[mook]

Any team that hopes to eventually win a title has to be able to beat Durant and/or LeBron. Running a two-small-forward lineup with Batum and another SF seems like a pretty good start to solving that problem.

PG: Lillard
SG: Batum
SF: Unnamed 6'8-6'10 starting quality SF
PF: Aldridge
C: Leonard

That's a lot of size. If guys develop like we hope they will, that could be the basis for a championship run in 2-4 years.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Chase Budinger will be a free agent.

 

[Denny Crane]

KMart.

OKC likely wont re-sign him. UFA.

 

[Rhal]

KMart.

OKC likely wont re-sign him. UFA.

All kmart can do is score. Would be a great spark off the bench but he will be asking for a lot of money, to much to pay for a sixth man who doesnt pass or play D.
Did Denver give Iggy an extension, if not iv always been a big fan of his and would love to give him a contract.

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[Natebishop3]

All kmart can do is score. Would be a great spark off the bench but he will be asking for a lot of money, to much to pay for a sixth man who doesnt pass or play D.
Did Denver give Iggy an extension, if not iv always been a big fan of his and would love to give him a contract.

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My problem with Martin isn't his play on the court, but his inability to actually stay healthy. The guy has never played an 82 game season in his eight years in the league. Never. That's not good.

 

[Denny Crane]

The question is SG, what to do. There just aren't that many really good SGs. Especially when you take out the older ones on huge contracts, like Joe Johnson.

Johnson, Harden, DeRozen, Evans, Young, Iggy, Ellis, Terry, Crawford, Kobe, Afflalo, Mayo, Allen.

Blazers are in pretty good shape with Batum and Matthews, actually.

Iggy? His scoring has declined year over year from 19.9 -> 18.8 -> 17.1 -> 14.1 -> 12.4. And I think he's been almost exclusively a SF the past several seasons (82games.com says he played 0 at SG, nada, nothing).