cmeese47
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2013
- Messages
- 1,889
- Likes
- 86
- Points
- 48
Congratulations Portland on winning your first playoff series since 2000. Now you got some difficult decisions to make concerning this team.
Issue #1 what to do with Lamarcus Aldridge?
Option 1: Pay him, there has been a lot of speculation that it will take 127/5 contract to keep LA in town. LA will be able to sign a 4 year deal as free agent in the range of 88-92 million with another team. That would presumably give Portland the advantage because they can offer him 35 million more and a 5th year. However, assuming LA signs in Texas, LA after taxes would only be leaving around 85,000 a year on the table. An amount he could surely make up in endorsements. The question then becomes is LA your guy? If he is then you got to bite the bullet and pay him 25 million a season.
Option 2: Trade him, LA will draw significant interest if he is placed on the trade block. Cleveland has shown repeated interest in LA and have a shiny package of the #1 pick in a loaded draft and pieces to offer. A potential deal of Varejo, Thompson, Waiters, and #1 for LA and Wright would be intriguing.
#1 overall Portland could take Embiid but considering Lopez's play and their history drafting centers he might not be the best option. They could also draft Jabari Parker his game is very polished for his age but he might not be athletic enough to dominate the NBA like he did college. Last option would be Andrew Wiggins, he is an athletic freak and has perhaps the highest ceiling of the group. How hard is willing to work will go a long ways in determing his overall success.
Decision: Trade LA and draft Wiggins. I considered Embiid a lot here considering Portland's wing depth with Batum, Matthews and Waiters would be pretty strong. However, considering how raw he still is an with the increased expectations on this team after reaching the second round waiting on him to develop did not seem like an option. Wiggins athleticism and potential as a disruptive defender gave him the nod over Parker on my board.
Issue #2: Rebuild the Bench
Option 1: With resigning LA the team would have very little cap room to deal with. Resigning Mo and bringing in someone like Thabo Sefolosha would keep the bench from being a complete liability assuming Robinson, Barton, McCollum, Freeland and Leonard can continue to develop.
Option 2: The trade with Cleveland fixed a lot of these issues. Portland would have Lopez, Leonard and Varejo at C. Thompson, Freeland and Robinson at PF. Batum, Barton and Wiggins at SF. Matthews, Waiters and McCollum at SG. Finding a back up PG for Lillard would be the main weakness. Portland could bring back Mo, sign someone like Patty Mills, Luke Ridnour or Ramon Sessions.
Decision: Making the decision to trade LA was a big one and I am not comfortable just making that deal and only adding a back up PG. Therefore, I am going to make a few additional moves.
SG
I am not sold on Waiters he is aggressive with the ball in his hands but his defense is lacking and he is sloppy with his ball control. However, I think his aggressive play would make him a solid 6th man. Plus his contract is small enough to take a chance on him. I have no problem with Matthews but I think the team can do better. Matthews has not shown the ability to be a great bench player and eventually I believe that with the drafting of Wiggins that would be his role.
I would love to see Portland sign someone like Lance Stephenson this summer. To do so Portland would need to trade Wesley Matthews. As an expiring contract with 3 and D skills Matthews would be an easy piece to move. He could easily net us a future first round pick. I would offer Lance Stephenson a 4 year, 46 million dollar deal if he signs elsewhere keeping Matthews would be a solid plan B.
Okay this is getting much longer and more complicated than anticipated so I will post more later.
Issue #1 what to do with Lamarcus Aldridge?
Option 1: Pay him, there has been a lot of speculation that it will take 127/5 contract to keep LA in town. LA will be able to sign a 4 year deal as free agent in the range of 88-92 million with another team. That would presumably give Portland the advantage because they can offer him 35 million more and a 5th year. However, assuming LA signs in Texas, LA after taxes would only be leaving around 85,000 a year on the table. An amount he could surely make up in endorsements. The question then becomes is LA your guy? If he is then you got to bite the bullet and pay him 25 million a season.
Option 2: Trade him, LA will draw significant interest if he is placed on the trade block. Cleveland has shown repeated interest in LA and have a shiny package of the #1 pick in a loaded draft and pieces to offer. A potential deal of Varejo, Thompson, Waiters, and #1 for LA and Wright would be intriguing.
#1 overall Portland could take Embiid but considering Lopez's play and their history drafting centers he might not be the best option. They could also draft Jabari Parker his game is very polished for his age but he might not be athletic enough to dominate the NBA like he did college. Last option would be Andrew Wiggins, he is an athletic freak and has perhaps the highest ceiling of the group. How hard is willing to work will go a long ways in determing his overall success.
Decision: Trade LA and draft Wiggins. I considered Embiid a lot here considering Portland's wing depth with Batum, Matthews and Waiters would be pretty strong. However, considering how raw he still is an with the increased expectations on this team after reaching the second round waiting on him to develop did not seem like an option. Wiggins athleticism and potential as a disruptive defender gave him the nod over Parker on my board.
Issue #2: Rebuild the Bench
Option 1: With resigning LA the team would have very little cap room to deal with. Resigning Mo and bringing in someone like Thabo Sefolosha would keep the bench from being a complete liability assuming Robinson, Barton, McCollum, Freeland and Leonard can continue to develop.
Option 2: The trade with Cleveland fixed a lot of these issues. Portland would have Lopez, Leonard and Varejo at C. Thompson, Freeland and Robinson at PF. Batum, Barton and Wiggins at SF. Matthews, Waiters and McCollum at SG. Finding a back up PG for Lillard would be the main weakness. Portland could bring back Mo, sign someone like Patty Mills, Luke Ridnour or Ramon Sessions.
Decision: Making the decision to trade LA was a big one and I am not comfortable just making that deal and only adding a back up PG. Therefore, I am going to make a few additional moves.
SG
I am not sold on Waiters he is aggressive with the ball in his hands but his defense is lacking and he is sloppy with his ball control. However, I think his aggressive play would make him a solid 6th man. Plus his contract is small enough to take a chance on him. I have no problem with Matthews but I think the team can do better. Matthews has not shown the ability to be a great bench player and eventually I believe that with the drafting of Wiggins that would be his role.
I would love to see Portland sign someone like Lance Stephenson this summer. To do so Portland would need to trade Wesley Matthews. As an expiring contract with 3 and D skills Matthews would be an easy piece to move. He could easily net us a future first round pick. I would offer Lance Stephenson a 4 year, 46 million dollar deal if he signs elsewhere keeping Matthews would be a solid plan B.
Okay this is getting much longer and more complicated than anticipated so I will post more later.
