Zombie Time to evaluate

[MARIS61]

Let's be real for a minute here. This team was not built with the intention of making the playoffs this season, Olshey and Stotts have both alluded as such. Making the playoffs was a surprise and very encouraging for the 2nd youngest team and the team with the lowest payroll in the league. This season was a huge success that saw players win awards, Stotts be in the running for COY etc..etc.. But let's be honest. We got through the Clippers in large part because of the injuries they suffered... I'm not saying we might not have won anyway, but having 2 all stars out certainly weighted things in the Blazers favor. On to round 2 and again we are relying on injuries to the other teams best player to keep our hopes alive. This playoffs has been evidence that sometimes it's best to just be lucky. This team though in reality is not built for a legit playoff run, it wasn't intended to be either. So it's hard to take anything away from this season as a collective negative.

The beauty of the playoffs is it exposes everything about a team, character, mental toughness, strengths weakness' etc...etc... I think it's pretty clear that we are sorely in need of a reliable 3rd scorer on this team, either at the PF or SF position. To me our bench is fine, but if you look at GS (Curry, Thompson, Green) or a healthy LAC (Paul, Griffin, Reddick), or the Spurs (Leonard, Aldridge, Parker) they all have at least 3 reliable scorers, but more than that they have experienced players that can settle a game down and keep composure. What I have seen of the Blazers is a lack of that ability. Sure Dame can step up and make big shots but he also takes risky shots trying to get things going. Most of the rest of the team though kinda goes into "pressing" panic mode. You see a lot of out of control play and shots that are long or hit the rim hard because of adrenaline. So much of that is age and experience.

All that said I feel really good about this team. I am very confident in the GM, coach and the core that is here, we need an addition to the mix though. Not sure where that comes from, but if we can keep the core (including Meyers) then I think we are in good shape for the coming years... Hopefully a FA sees that too.

I want a Danny Ainge clone.

We have not had a mosquito-in-your-face rattlesnake-in-your-boot defender score from anywhere push the pace backcourt trapping Tasmanian Devil player since he left.

Probably the most complete guard to ever play the game.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Ryan anderson is the guy i think olshey goes after. He would be a good 3rd scorer but his defense leaves a lot to be desired.

Whiteside would help the team, but we still would have the issue of needing a third scorer. And i dont see us moving on from plumlee anymore.

 

[Natebishop3]

Ryan anderson is the guy i think olshey goes after. He would be a good 3rd scorer but his defense leaves a lot to be desired.

Whiteside would help the team, but we still would have the issue of needing a third scorer. And i dont see us moving on from plumlee anymore.

We probably don't have enough money to sign both Whiteside AND Anderson.

So the question is, can we obtain a scoring forward or a defensive center through trade, and then sign whichever need that remains?

So, for example, could we trade for Millsap and then sign Whiteside? What would it cost to get Millsap? Hopefully Neil can figure out who he wants to acquire in trade before free agency.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

We probably don't have enough money to sign both Whiteside AND Anderson.

So the question is, can we obtain a scoring forward or a defensive center through trade, and then sign whichever need that remains?

So, for example, could we trade for Millsap and then sign Whiteside? What would it cost to get Millsap? Hopefully Neil can figure out who he wants to acquire in trade before free agency.

I agree we dont have enough money for both. I just dont see us moving on from plumlee or davis. So i dont think whiteside is the guy. I think they will give up on meyers and go after ryan anderson, hes a guy they wish meyers would become on this roster.

They could try to sign a cheap hibbert or miles plumlee if they want a 4th big (other than vonleh)

 

[Schilly]

Ryan anderson is the guy i think olshey goes after. He would be a good 3rd scorer but his defense leaves a lot to be desired.

Whiteside would help the team, but we still would have the issue of needing a third scorer. And i dont see us moving on from plumlee anymore.

How much of an upgrade is Anderson over Meyers?

 

[Minstrel]

So, for example, could we trade for Millsap and then sign Whiteside? What would it cost to get Millsap? Hopefully Neil can figure out who he wants to acquire in trade before free agency.

Millsap would be amazing. I suppose the Blazers could try dangling a package like Plumlee and Vonleh and see. If Horford leaves via free agency, maybe they'd do it.

On that note, I'd rather sign Horford than Whiteside. In fact, signing Horford and trading for Millsap would be the perfect off-season. Let's just import the Hawks' front court.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

How much of an upgrade is Anderson over Meyers?

Thats a good question. If you keep meyers youre banking on him continuing to grow and becoming dependable. Anderson has already proven capable of averaging 20ppg. Cant say i see meyers ever getting that high.

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

Millsap is really the best fit for our team thats out there (except age wise). I would be ecstatic if we put him with a lillard, cj, aminu, millsap, ? Starting 5

 

[B-Roy]

Thats a good question. If you keep meyers youre banking on him continuing to grow and becoming dependable. Anderson has already proven capable of averaging 20ppg. Cant say i see meyers ever getting that high.

Meyers is out till December. I think it's almost a guarantee he takes the QO at this point.

 

[Natebishop3]

I also like Mahinmi and he's a UFA. Might be cheaper than Whiteside or Horford.

Two guys that I like are Mahinmi and Evan Turner, but that doesn't solve our frontcourt scoring issues. I feel like we need to either keep Plumlee or Davis. I don't see either of them as starting material, so I'd really like to deal one in a package for a scoring forward.

Plumlee+Aminu+Vonleh for Millsap.

Sign Horford or Mahinmi or Whiteside (whichever one Neil thinks he can get).

Sign Evan Turner, re-sign Crabbe/Harkless/Meyers/Roberts

Dame/Roberts
CJ/Crabbe
Turner/Harkless
Millsap/Davis
Horford/Leonard

Our defense would be vastly improved, that's for sure. Our frontcourt scoring would also be extremely improved.

 

[PCmor7]

Is Plumlee small though? The NBA predraft camp measured him at 6'11" in barefeet and 7'0.5" in shoes. He doesn't have long arms, just average, and still has a good leap.

It's not his height. It's his frame. He lacks the bulk and muscle to go up against true centers.

Leonard has that, and he seems to like going against the really big guys in the low post. Meyers confounds me. I think he has the agility and strength that he should be able to defend inside and out. What I always felt he lacked was good instincts more than anything.

 

[Sinobas]

I think Portland should go small for this series. Start Aminu at center. Henderson and Harkless at forward.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I think Portland should go small for this series. Start Aminu at center. Henderson and Harkless at forward.

Our most clever lineup last night had Robertson at PG, CJ at SG, Henderson at SF, Harkless at PF, and Aminu at C; it totally confused Kerr for two full minutes.

 

[theprunetang]

Meyers' game is perfect against some teams and others not so much. The Ws are a team he could thrive against for sure.

That's the funny thing though. Meyers can really help us against certain teams and not so much against others. Strangely enough, most of the teams that he matches up well with are playoff teams. I think Dallas is the only team in the western conference playoffs that he wouldn't really be needed. Does this carry more weight?

 

[worldbarrow]

I think Portland should go small for this series. Start Aminu at center. Henderson and Harkless at forward.

That is how GS beat Cleveland last year. Bogut barely played in the series.

 

[Stevenson]

Meyers' game is perfect against some teams and others not so much. The Ws are a team he could thrive against for sure.

You called it. Totally disagree. Myers is a one-trick pony.

We also need to have Harkless play the 3 and replace Aminu with a bruiser at the 4.

 

[B-Roy]

That is how GS beat Cleveland last year. Bogut barely played in the series.

Difference is they had Draymond Green at center. One of the highest BBIQs in the league. Aminu's BBIQ is..............not so great.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

It's not his height. It's his frame. He lacks the bulk and muscle to go up against true centers.

Leonard has that, and he seems to like going against the really big guys in the low post. Meyers confounds me. I think he has the agility and strength that he should be able to defend inside and out. What I always felt he lacked was good instincts more than anything.

Meyers is not agile, nor is he actually that strong. And there's maybe three big guys in the league that he's actually good at defending.

 

[Pinwheel1]

I think Boogie gets dealt to LA for the pick.

The Pick and what else? I think Mychal Thompson was talking to him and he said Vlade just laughed at his ideas. and if you think about it..... he is right. Who on the Lakers would you even want? They are all good bench players, but average starters. Even with the pick. How does Sac benefit from that?

I still say Boston has the most to offer.

 

[theprunetang]

His wingspan is 6'10. That is laughably short and shorter than guys like Harkless, Aminu, Batum and a ton of other players. We have seen enough of him getting stuffed at the rim, having trouble finishing, or losing contested rebounds to longer guys to know that his size is definitely a disadvantage.

This is to no fault of Plumlee, dude balls out on every possession. If you could give him Meyers Leonard's body then maybe we would have something here.

This is all true, however, I still think some of his perceived length problems are actually something else in disguise, especially in regards to getting stuffed in the paint. One of the tnt announcers pointed out that Plumlee needs to take another dribble closer to the basketball ring before elevating for his shot. I had never thought about that before and started paying attention to that detail. And it is totally true. He is taking off from the ground entirely too early and this is making him jump more horizontally than vertically. And this leads to not as much lift and consequently getting his shot eaten alive. This is a teachable moment for him if they look at film. Will this make his arms grow? Nope. But, I think he could measurably increase his chances of successful drives.

 

[blue9]

Ryan Anderson would be awful. We'd be even more of a one-trick-pony team. Stotts would love it, but it'd be awful in the POs. The only thing he has over Meyers is the ability to put the ball on the floor - something I believe Meyers could do if he puts in the hours of practice necessary.

One guy who use to get mentioned all the time, but hasn't in ages, is Taj Gibson. I'm not sure why he fell off the radar (injury? got old fast?), but I think he'd be just about perfect and could probably be had cheaply (Vonleh?).

 

[oldfisherman]

You guys have done a good job covering the better ideas to fill in the rotation holes. I am going make a suggestion to fill in the other end of our bench, spot 15.

FA Dewayne Dedmon, 7’ Center, will be signed by someone for next to nothing. He went undrafted, bounced around the NBA & D league for a couple of seasons. He was very raw and needed a lot of development. Then he spent two seasons with the Magic.

Fast forward to today. He has now played in 148 games for the Magic, starting 41 of them. He has made good progress, but is only 26 years old with room to grow. He is not ready to start for a playoff team, but probably would do fine in certain situations off of the bench.

I would consider him as our 3rd center on the cheap to replace Kaman. His low cost vs ceiling is worth the gamble.

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2580913/dewayne-dedmon

 

[Natebishop3]

I think Portland should go small for this series. Start Aminu at center. Henderson and Harkless at forward.

Exchange Crabbe for Hendo. We need shooting badly.

 

[Natebishop3]

The Pick and what else? I think Mychal Thompson was talking to him and he said Vlade just laughed at his ideas. and if you think about it..... he is right. Who on the Lakers would you even want? They are all good bench players, but average starters. Even with the pick. How does Sac benefit from that?

I still say Boston has the most to offer.

If it's the number one pick, I think Simmons or Irving are more valuable than anyone on Boston. The Celtics best player is someone that Sac cast off.

 

[B-Roy]

Ryan Anderson would be awful. We'd be even more of a one-trick-pony team. Stotts would love it, but it'd be awful in the POs. The only thing he has over Meyers is the ability to put the ball on the floor - something I believe Meyers could do if he puts in the hours of practice necessary.

One guy who use to get mentioned all the time, but hasn't in ages, is Taj Gibson. I'm not sure why he fell off the radar (injury? got old fast?), but I think he'd be just about perfect and could probably be had cheaply (Vonleh?).

Gibson is an name that I haven't heard around here but he's interesting. He's on a very team friendly 9 million next year and is an expiring, despite being 30 years old. Great defensive player and has the ability to shoot the midrange jumper. I think if you grabbed Monroe, you can theoretically play Gibson alongside him as someone that can space the floor a bit and cover up some defensive weaknesses.

 

[Pinwheel1]

If it's the number one pick, I think Simmons or Irving are more valuable than anyone on Boston. The Celtics best player is someone that Sac cast off.

LA has the 2nd best odds of getting the #1 pick. But Boston is right there with the 3rd best odds...... PLUS the 16th and 23rd picks.
And with Bradley and Thomas at guards, they can afford to include Marcus Smart in the deal. (Who I think is better than D'Angelo)

 

[Natebishop3]

LA has the 2nd best odds of getting the #1 pick. But Boston is right there with the 3rd best odds...... PLUS the 16th and 23rd picks.
And with Bradley and Thomas at guards, they can afford to include Marcus Smart in the deal. (Who I think is better than D'Angelo)

Yeah, I guess it just depends on where the chips fall, and how deep this draft is. If Boston doesn't get top 3, is it still enough to get Boogie?

 

[Sinobas]

Ryan Anderson would be awful. We'd be even more of a one-trick-pony team. Stotts would love it, but it'd be awful in the POs. The only thing he has over Meyers is the ability to put the ball on the floor - something I believe Meyers could do if he puts in the hours of practice necessary.

One guy who use to get mentioned all the time, but hasn't in ages, is Taj Gibson. I'm not sure why he fell off the radar (injury? got old fast?), but I think he'd be just about perfect and could probably be had cheaply (Vonleh?).

Anderson is a much better player offensively than Leonard. It's not even close.

 

[BonesJones]

What about Gasol and Noah? Gasol is a good 2way player and Noah is still a great rim protected. It'd leave us with some money for a SF especially if we traded Aminu

 

[Natebishop3]

What about Gasol and Noah? Gasol is a good 2way player and Noah is still a great rim protected. It'd leave us with some money for a SF especially if we traded Aminu

Noah is a shell man. He didn't play much in Chicago. His minutes were the lowest that they've been since his rookie year.