Very encouraging

[BLAZER PROPHET]

Hickson.. Flynn..... even Babbitt.... I like these young guys. I just don't know if we'll be able to keep Flynn. The guy is a UFA and I don't know what kind of market he'll have.

Hickson is a solid big and those don't just grow on trees.

Flynn has a great feel for the game. I like how he plays, and he's only gotten better with more minutes.

Babbitt is actually looking like a player... who knew?

I'm just wondering how much it would take to keep Flynn or if he even wants to stay here.

Flynn- I too am pleasantly surprised. He has that "it" factor that can't be taught. I'd like to see really have a chance here to see what he can do. I agree that $4 million is too much, but it will also keep him here.

Babbitt- No real surprise. He really isn't all that talented, but if he maximizes what he can do I think he can be a solid reserve player.

Hickson- He plays with attitude and we sure can use that. I really like his game and can see him playing major reserve minutes.

With these guys, two good draft picks and a lot of cap space we are positioning ourselves very well.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I'm shocked that people are shocked that Babbitt can play.

Dude probably only went to Nevada cause he was from Reno. He was offered scholarships by Arizona, Ohio State, Michigan, UCLA, Washington, Gonzaga, USC and UNLV.

[video=youtube;R0_PCqoB0aI]

it's so cool to see him finally coming into his own at the NBA pace. Man, what a difference a coach makes. Err, year. What a difference a year makes.

 

[B-Roy]

Um, no. Hickson would have to accept or refuse the Q.O. prior to the FA period. It's a different time period. You have to offer the Q.O./cap hold before the FA period begins.

Yes, you offer it to make him an RFA for the period in which you're negotiating with Williams. You can also withdraw it assuming Hickson doesn't sign it (you don't want him to). Once (IF) Williams agrees to sign, you withdraw the QO and Hickson becomes unrestricted. I don't think people will stress losing Hickson if we get Williams. We might have some leftover capspace to sign Hickson with anyways.

 

[RoyToy]

The next time you see Babbitt go right will be the first time

 

[Natebishop3]

Flynn- I too am pleasantly surprised. He has that "it" factor that can't be taught. I'd like to see really have a chance here to see what he can do. I agree that $4 million is too much, but it will also keep him here.

Babbitt- No real surprise. He really isn't all that talented, but if he maximizes what he can do I think he can be a solid reserve player.

Hickson- He plays with attitude and we sure can use that. I really like his game and can see him playing major reserve minutes.

With these guys, two good draft picks and a lot of cap space we are positioning ourselves very well.

The real bummer about Flynn is that he's a UFA. Some team could offer him less money, but if it's a team that he wants to go to, we still lose him. We don't have his bird rights so we can only offer him whatever we have under the cap. I'm curious how much cap space we'll have with Batum's cap hold and Hickson's cap hold. It would be nice to have enough to still throw a max deal at Deron Williams, but if that doesn't work, I'd like to see us throw a front loaded deal at Eric Gordon. I think the fact that he plays for the Hornets is an advantage. If we put together a "Wesley Matthews" deal, it could possibly dissuade them from matching. Get Gordon, re-sign Flynn, Batum, and Hickson, and add out draft picks. That's an extremely talented young core to put around Aldridge.

Flynn/Smith
Gordon/Matthews
Batum/Babbitt
Aldridge/rookie?
Hickson/rookie?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Fuck that. Sign Flynn, Hickson, and Batum, then tell Deron that he can either make some extra dough playing for a bunch of losers, or he can make a little less and actually have some talent around him for once.

 

[PapaG]

Yes, you offer it to make him an RFA for the period in which you're negotiating with Williams. You can also withdraw it assuming Hickson doesn't sign it (you don't want him to). Once (IF) Williams agrees to sign, you withdraw the QO and Hickson becomes unrestricted. I don't think people will stress losing Hickson if we get Williams. We might have some leftover capspace to sign Hickson with anyways.

I don't think you understand how the Q.O. process works? It's not just a yo-yo on a string.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

The next time you see Babbitt go right will be the first time

And yet he's still a better ballhandler than Armon Johnson.

 

[Natebishop3]

Fuck that. Sign Flynn, Hickson, and Batum, then tell Deron that he can either make some extra dough playing for a bunch of losers, or he can make a little less and actually have some talent around him for once.

If he's going to sign for less, it will be with Dallas.

 

[B-Roy]

The real bummer about Flynn is that he's a UFA. Some team could offer him less money, but if it's a team that he wants to go to, we still lose him. We don't have his bird rights so we can only offer him whatever we have under the cap. I'm curious how much cap space we'll have with Batum's cap hold and Hickson's cap hold. It would be nice to have enough to still throw a max deal at Deron Williams, but if that doesn't work, I'd like to see us throw a front loaded deal at Eric Gordon. I think the fact that he plays for the Hornets is an advantage. If we put together a "Wesley Matthews" deal, it could possibly dissuade them from matching. Get Gordon, re-sign Flynn, Batum, and Hickson, and add out draft picks. That's an extremely talented young core to put around Aldridge.

Flynn/Smith
Gordon/Matthews
Batum/Babbitt
Aldridge/rookie?
Hickson/rookie?

I'd trade Matthews in that situation, maybe with one of our picks to get an established center.

Have Elliot back up the two.

 

[B-Roy]

I don't think you understand how the Q.O. process works? It's not just a yo-yo on a string.

teams may also withdraw an outstanding qualifying offer in which case the player becomes unrestricted. This happened with Toronto and Keon Clark in 2002. The qualifying offer cannot be withdrawn after July 23 without the player's approval.

From the CBA FAQ. I doubt it's changed in the new CBA.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

If he's going to sign for less, it will be with Dallas.

Probably.

I personally don't think we can lure Deron even with a max deal. Of course, after Hedo, I just assume we won't get the FA we're courting.

...speaking of Hedo, doesn't Crawford feel like that alternate universe where we got Hedo and he sucked?

 

[PapaG]

From the CBA FAQ. I doubt it's changed in the new CBA.

That's after the FA period, though. The cap hold still is intact during the summer if you offer the Q.O. Plus, if the idea is to keep RFA rights on Hickson, don't you have to offer the Q.O.? Although reading Larry Coon, even he isn't sure about it. You can't make an offer to Deron Williams with Hickson still under the Q.O.

 

[B-Roy]

That's after the FA period, though. The cap hold still is intact during the summer if you offer the Q.O.

My understanding was that it comes off once they go unrestricted. Feel free to find something that proves me wrong. I can't find anything in the FAQ about it.

 

[B-Roy]

That's after the FA period, though. The cap hold still is intact during the summer if you offer the Q.O. Plus, if the idea is to keep RFA rights on Hickson, don't you have to offer the Q.O.? Although reading Larry Coon, even he isn't sure about it. You can't make an offer to Deron Williams with Hickson still under the Q.O.

You can negotiate with Williams, because once you know he'll sign, you can rescind the QO and get your cap space back. (unless I'm interpreting it wrong) The point is you leave your options open. If Williams comes, great, you lose Hickson. If Williams doesn't come, it's still okay because you can keep Hickson as an RFA.

 

[oldguy]

That is true. He was on the bench because we had three guys ahead of him that were better.

Blaming Nate for player's shooting confidence is ridiculous. These guys are not in grade school. It's not like Nate was screaming at them when they made mistakes. Other coaches are much worse at that.

The bottom line is fans trashed yet another player pre-maturely before he got a chance to play. Young players often get better after 2 years in the league. Not sure why we can't all remember that.

Now I am not saying Babbitt will ever be a starter, but he will have a role as long as he can shoot.

Repped

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I also like how Flynn is looking; although i wouldn't even think of signing him to a contract unless he shows that he understands that a guy with his lack of height and strength has to give a consistent, tough, intense effort on defense. Although maybe it's be better if they only made him show that in practice, to keep his value down. I wouldn't think any club would offer him over 3 million a year.

 

[Tince]

Very happy with the play of Hickson, Babbitt, and Flynn (in that order).

Hickson is playing with a chip on his shoulder after being cut and wanting to earn a decent contract this off-season, so we're seeing his best effort.

Flynn appears to be exactly who we thought he was. A small PG with an ok shot, who's best off the pick and roll or in the open court. I wouldn't want to throw more than 3 years 12 million with a team option on the 3rd year at him though.

Babbitt is the interesting one for me. I think it is somewhat fair to blame some of Babbitts struggles on Nate, but others have pointed out, Nate has played and started rookies who earned it. Let's not forget that Luke played horrible in his summer league appearance and that was against lesser talent and Nate wasn't on the bench. I remember Kenny Vance going off about how Luke Babbitt would never make it in the NBA, but hopefully he was wrong and he can be a solid 6th/7th man for us.

 

[jlprk]

Yep. Was Nate supposed to play Babbitt over Wallace and Batum at SF, or Wallace and LMA at PF?

Dumbest post of the thread. Every other coach gives rookie 1st-round picks a few minutes per game, nursing them along. Nobody says Babbitt should have started. As usual, you invent a red herring to easily beat.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

You can negotiate with Williams, because once you know he'll sign, you can rescind the QO and get your cap space back. (unless I'm interpreting it wrong) The point is you leave your options open. If Williams comes, great, you lose Hickson. If Williams doesn't come, it's still okay because you can keep Hickson as an RFA.

Hmm--I never really thought about that. I'm pretty sure you're right, and that's really a smart way to go. Repped.

 

[jwhoops11]

Babbitt is the interesting one for me. I think it is somewhat fair to blame some of Babbitts struggles on Nate, but others have pointed out, Nate has played and started rookies who earned it. Let's not forget that Luke played horrible in his summer league appearance and that was against lesser talent and Nate wasn't on the bench. I remember Kenny Vance going off about how Luke Babbitt would never make it in the NBA, but hopefully he was wrong and he can be a solid 6th/7th man for us.

Babbitt seems to have Kyle Korver, Mike Miller ceiling potential, and to be honest I'm alright with that. He's essentially what would be called a one tool player in baseball. If Luke understands his limitations, I think he'll be a nice piece to future team success. It's important though that when he's on the floor he needs to keep his player in front of him on the defensive end, and find the open spot on the floor and spot upon the offensive end. I don't have confidence that he'll ever be a guy you run off a screen for a shot, but if we have drive and dish point guards, (like Flynn has been) Luke should be pretty successful spacing the floor with his deep shooting.

 

[B-Roy]

Babbitt seems to have Kyle Korver, Mike Miller ceiling potential, and to be honest I'm alright with that. He's essentially what would be called a one tool player in baseball. If Luke understands his limitations, I think he'll be a nice piece to future team success. It's important though that when he's on the floor he needs to keep his player in front of him on the defensive end, and find the open spot on the floor and spot upon the offensive end. I don't have confidence that he'll ever be a guy you run off a screen for a shot, but if we have drive and dish point guards, (like Flynn has been) Luke should be pretty successful spacing the floor with his deep shooting.

Luke is a pretty good defensive rebounder actually. Shooting and rebounding could definitely make him a role player in this league for a long time.

 

[PapaG]

Dumbest post of the thread. Every other coach gives rookie 1st-round picks a few minutes per game, nursing them along. Nobody says Babbitt should have started. As usual, you invent a red herring to easily beat.

Well that's just false, and easily beat.

 

[magnifier661]

If we aren't worried about cap couldn't we sign d will to a contract first, then resign Flynn to 3 mil per and finally resign hickson and Batum because we have their bird rights?

 

[BBert]

I guess I can't really blame Nate for not letting Babbitt take 30 footers....

But who knew he could make them so consistently though? Jesus christ!

Everyone who's watched him practice.

 

[BBert]

Luke is a pretty good defensive rebounder actually. Shooting and rebounding could definitely make him a role player in this league for a long time.

Definitely. I think he's got more game than Korver, although he may be a bit slower.

 

[magnifier661]

Definitely. I think he's got more game than Korver, although he may be a bit slower.

If he's playing at the same consistency in march, he definitely is more than a specialist.

 

[Natebishop3]

Well that's just false, and easily beat.

The Blazers love to draft people in the first round with no expectation of playing them or having them come over from Europe.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

It's nice to see people coming around on Babbitt, but people are still selling him short, saying he's a shooting specialist and a one tool player. Dude is only 22 years old, and doesn't lack tools. He can shoot, put the ball on the floor, has a nose for rebounds, has shown good basketball IQ, and he's also shown a few flashes of some nice touch around the basket. That youtube highlight reel I posted shows the tools he has. I think once he gets some experience he'll be able to use most of them in the NBA. As he gets playing time he's gonna grow, get more comfortable, and be really good.

LBFanboy

 

[magnifier661]

It's nice to see people coming around on Babbitt, but people are still selling him short, saying he's a shooting specialist and a one tool player. Dude is only 22 years old, and doesn't lack tools. He can shoot, put the ball on the floor, has a nose for rebounds, has shown good basketball IQ, and he's also shown a few flashes of some nice touch around the basket. That youtube highlight reel I posted shows the tools he has. I think once he gets some experience he'll be able to use most of them in the NBA. As he gets playing time he's gonna grow, get more comfortable, and be really good.

LBFanboy

Well I was definitely one that used to talk mad shit about Babbitt. In fact, I think he was the only player that I absolutely hated coming into the game. With that said, I will admit that I was clearly wrong. Babbitt shows signs of being a decent back-up and role player. He has the tools to rebound, play defense and hit the outside jumper. Those are great tools for a bench player. I'm encouraged every time I see him on the court. He looks as though his confidence is increasing each and ever game.