Time to blow it up?

[SlyPokerDog]

I don't normally blow her up till the weekend but it's such a nice day out, so what the hell!

 

[3RA1N1AC]

Yet you're keeping the foundation, aren't you, and an expensive foundation in Wallace and LMA. Sounds more like a re-model than a teardown.

If you're really blowing things up, then LMA and Wallace are probably the best pieces to do it.

i never advocated blowing anything up, i said surround our core with all stars, find someone else to have an argument with yourself with

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

I think we need some tweeking.

PG
backup PF
backup SG

My targets? Young vets:

DJ Augustin: durable PG; only missed 12 games in three years | Had a down year from three but has been 40% from three the previous two years | 23 years old

Tyrus Thomas: DRtg 102 | 18.2 PER | 1.6 BPG in 21 MPG | 24 years old

Ben Gordon: Career 40% from three | Instant offense | 28 years old

 

[Shooter]

What are we "blowing up" if we're keeping 40% of our starting lineup?

So you don't think 3 new players in the starting lineup is a "blow up"????

 

[PapaG]

i never advocated blowing anything up, i said surround our core with all stars, find someone else to have an argument with yourself with

Fair enough.

 

[PapaG]

So you don't think 3 new players in the starting lineup is a "blow up"????

The Blazers have one starter left from a 54-win team in 2008-09. Isn't that a "blow-up"? Granted, Batum and Roy are now on the bench, but still, that's 80% of the starters on a team that tied for the 2nd-best record in the West.

Basically, people will whine about anything. The Blazers blew up a 54-win team, for some reason.

 

[STOMP]

oh for petes sake....

miller/wes/crash/lma/oden

roy
rudy
camby
batum

is a pretty decent 9 man rotation

then add in hope as in

hopefully babbitt can play
hopefully williams can play
hopefully armon can play
mills
freeman
claver
koponen
MLE this year
#21, and likely another bought pick or two

the future is still bright, lets please try and win without giving up just because we might not

the big IF is Greg. If he's healthy and his dominant self, the current roster is definitely good enough to be one of the best in the league next season. I would at least wait another year before making any major moves unless a real opportunity presents itself. I happen to think that the current Blazer backcourt will be much more complimentary to his game then the one he played with in past years.

Greg's contractual crossroads may also dictate the club's moves. If he's healthy but wants out of Portland, then what? A S&T would seem the likely solution as few clubs will have the sort of salary available that he'd undoubtedly desire.

STOMP

 

[Draco]

Yes yes yes!! "Blow it up!" Miller, Camby, Roy, Rudy, Patty, Babbit, Mills, Armon, Elliot, Chris J, Barron need to go.

That's over two thirds of our roster.

 

[Rhal]

Yes yes yes!! "Blow it up!" Miller, Camby, Roy, Rudy, Patty, Babbit, Mills, Armon, Elliot, Chris J, Barron need to go.

That's over two thirds of our roster.

Why do Babbit/Armon/Elliot/Chris J need to go?

Elliot would have been a top 5 pick if he didn't need to have knee surgery, Armon showed nice defensive presence but a tendancy to turn the ball over to much for mcmillian and well babbit needs to get on the floor before we can really judge him.
Chris J can be a serviceable backup for 10 to 15m a game, he made some great plays for us when he was on the court and was a non stop energy guy.

 

[Minstrel]

"Blowing up" a team tends to push you further (time-wise) from contention, rather than speeding up the process. The team should always be in the same mode: attempt to use superior talent evaluation (and superior resources whenever Allen's money can be leveraged into an advantage) to upgrade the roster. If that means trading Miller and/or Matthews and/or Batum, fine. If that means trading Aldridge, fine. Even if that means trading FORMER NUMBER ONE PICK GREG ODEN...fine.

There are no "keepers" such that they should be off the table if a good deal for that player comes along. I would say that Aldridge is good enough to be a supporting star on a title contender, Wallace is good enough to be a tertiary star on a title contender and Miller, Batum and Matthews are good enough to be complimentary players on a title contender (though, of course, Miller won't remain at that level for much longer).

So, clearly, the team is missing the big number one star for a title contending team. Roy maybe could have been that guy with two healthy menisci. Greg Oden might be that caliber of player if he can string some semi-durable seasons together. Or Oden might be capable of being a secondary star, if he doesn't reach his perceived ceiling.

So, the main two points in my mind are this: The team has enough talent that starting over doesn't make much sense at all. Oden's future with the team will probably be mapped over the next year and the variability in his possible impact is so high that I don't think any large scale action on the roster should be undertaken until that's been decided.

Now, if a great deal for any player on the roster comes along...take it. But how drastically the team needs to be transformed still, in my opinion, depends on what happens with Oden over the next season.

 

[Denny Crane]

If you want a shot at a guy like Rose, you need several tries at it. You can't do that outside the lottery. While it's great to make the playoffs, I don't see the point in getting older as the team never makes it beyond the 1st or occasional 2nd round, while adding mid to late 1st round picks to bolster the lineup.

[video=youtube;FfoQsZa8F1c]

 

[e_blazer]

Yes yes yes!! "Blow it up!" Miller, Camby, Roy, Rudy, Patty, Babbit, Mills, Armon, Elliot, Chris J, Barron need to go.

That's over two thirds of our roster.

First point: Please point me to the roster in the league that isn't 2/3 comprised of journeyman players. This notion that you need, or can even have, a star-quality player at every position on your starting lineup and a stud backup behind them on the bench is a myth. Contending teams usually have 2-3 star players and a bunch of role players.

Second point: Unless you're willing to cut Aldridge and Wallace, the Blazers won't stink bad enough to get a shot at a reasonable chance at a top 3 pick in the draft. Do you really want to go that route again?

The Blazers have 2 stud players in Aldridge and Wallace. If Oden comes back strong, and I admit that's a huge "if", the Blazers are instantly contenders even if Cho just tweaks a couple of position. I'm not ready to spend another 10 years rebuilding again until that option has been tried one more time.

 

[Draco]

Trading away our 2013 pick defeats the point of blowing things up now and rebuilding. We might as well wait 2 years, see what happens to Oden, see how the new CBA works, see if we can get a lucky draft pick/trade/free agent. Be very cautious in handing out long term contracts to borderline starters like Batum.

At that time if we have a team getting out of the first round you keep fighting to contend for a title; if we can't sniff the second round then we should look at starting a youth movement.

 

[HailBlazers]

I think we need some tweeking.

PG
backup PF
backup SG

My targets? Young vets:

DJ Augustin: durable PG; only missed 12 games in three years | Had a down year from three but has been 40% from three the previous two years | 23 years old

Tyrus Thomas: DRtg 102 | 18.2 PER | 1.6 BPG in 21 MPG | 24 years old

Ben Gordon: Career 40% from three | Instant offense | 28 years old

Now that's rationale. Good Work.

 

[Draco]

First point: Please point me to the roster in the league that isn't 2/3 comprised of journeyman players. This notion that you need, or can even have, a star-quality player at every position on your starting lineup and a stud backup behind them on the bench is a myth. Contending teams usually have 2-3 star players and a bunch of role players.

I was being kind of sarcastic, people were talking about blowing things up but keeping LaMarcus, Gerald, Wes, and Oden..... Blowing it up is when you change your top players. "Blowing it up" to me means we get rid of LaMarcus or Oden plus another starter at the least.

 

[Ed O]

Plus two best players. Blowing it up was trading Rasheed Wallace for scraps, which didn't work, or Zach Randolph for scraps, which worked in terms of fan support and playoff games.

I don't know if you're agreeing with me or not... but keeping our two best players isn't blowing anything up.

Getting rid of old veterans and/or bench players is not blowing anything up, IMO.

Ed O.

 

[Ed O]

I was being kind of sarcastic, people were talking about blowing things up but keeping LaMarcus, Gerald, Wes, and Oden..... Blowing it up is when you change your top players. "Blowing it up" to me means we get rid of LaMarcus or Oden plus another starter at the least.

Exactly. Trading Miller and Camby and Rudy and Patty Mills isn't blowing anything up.

Ed O.

 

[e_blazer]

I was being kind of sarcastic, people were talking about blowing things up but keeping LaMarcus, Gerald, Wes, and Oden..... Blowing it up is when you change your top players. "Blowing it up" to me means we get rid of LaMarcus or Oden plus another starter at the least.

Sounds like we're on the same page then. Unless people are willing to chuck our top players, they're not really looking to blow things up. I've no problem with moving some of the complementary players for better ones.

 

[blazerboy30]

Sounds like we're on the same page then. Unless people are willing to chuck our top players, they're not really looking to blow things up. I've no problem with moving some of the complementary players for better ones.

Which is what almost every team i the league is constantly trying to do. So if we replace "blow it up" in this thread with "do what most teams always do", then yes, I agree.

 

[Nikolokolus]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ba...lan-does-not-like-what-he-sees?urn=nba-wp3414

A really good article by Kelly Dwyer detailing the Blazers' looming roster decisions.

 

[PapaG]

I don't know if you're agreeing with me or not... but keeping our two best players isn't blowing anything up.

Getting rid of old veterans and/or bench players is not blowing anything up, IMO.

Ed O.

We're in agreement. I had posted something similar earlier in the thread where I pondered if the term "blow it up" meant something different these days.

 

[MrJayremmie]

Its funny because we get this thread after every season.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Its funny because we get this thread after every season.

It's sad, because the Blazer "brain trust" doesn't understand why.