We need

[Mediocre Man]

ironic 80's reference? My older sister had a ton of those back when I was in....4th grade? I think. Not sure. I gave one of them a buzz cut, she did not appreciate.

I can imagine.

An original one in mint condition might get you a small popcorn at the MC

 

[julius]

I can imagine.

An original one in mint condition might get you a small popcorn at the MC

I know. Can you imagine how many toys were ruined by little brothers and sisters (or just the kids themselves) in the name of fun?

My grandparents had bought each of us star wars action figures as kids, and kept a couple extra at their house in case we lost ours or needed to play with one when we visited. One of my cousins kids, many years later, took an unopened Darth Vader toy out of the box and played with it.

I laugh now.

 

[BBert]

I don't think you'll find much strong disagreement with your OP (despite my man mediocre man's rhetoric). This is why many of us wanted Jermaine O'neal (and as a mentor for our developing bigs). Some of us are still scratching our heads as to why the Blazers seemingly never even considered him.

If we could get a Jermaine for a Claver, I think it would be a good idea. Otherwise, the season is long. TRob has a chance to improve during the course of the season leading up to the playoffs, and Freeland is giving us good minutes.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I know. Can you imagine how many toys were ruined by little brothers and sisters (or just the kids themselves) in the name of fun?

My grandparents had bought each of us star wars action figures as kids, and kept a couple extra at their house in case we lost ours or needed to play with one when we visited. One of my cousins kids, many years later, took an unopened Darth Vader toy out of the box and played with it.

I laugh now.

My son has one of these now, and he is determined to keep it in the box hoping it will be worth something one day....truly awesome

 

[Draco]

The bench is actually less important in the playoffs. There are no back to backs and little travel so starters can play more minutes. Freeland and TRob have been decent backups for us, if we brought in someone better they would want minutes. I don't see this team making any roster changes until the offseason unless there is an extended injury.

Even trader Bob said he avoided making trades during the season because with the very limited practice time teams have its very difficult to teach all the concepts to a new player even if they are a bit more talented.

 

[Eastoff]

Freeland has played great, and Robinson has his ups and downs. It's important to get him minutes. It's the only way he'll continue to develop. I don't think he's really hurt us, so I'm not worried about it.

This is the only accurate answer. If someone were to get seriously injured, then we can talk trades. Or if someone is giving away free Dwight Howards at McDonalds, then maybe trade some scraps. Otherwise, we should just ride out this season. I'm getting tired of these Sarah Palin like threads. We don't need drama. Things are going great! Relax and be positive.

 

[Natebishop3]

This is the only accurate answer. If someone were to get seriously injured, then we can talk trades. Or if someone is giving away free Dwight Howards at McDonalds, then maybe trade some scraps. Otherwise, we should just ride out this season. I'm getting tired of these Sarah Palin like threads. We don't need drama. Things are going great! Relax and be positive.

Well, not only would it be a bad idea to make a trade right now, but it would be very difficult to put something together because of how our roster is structured. We have two guys making over 10 million and then the rest are significantly less. We don't have an RLEC that could be paired with some young talent to bring back a good player. We have a lot of reasonable contracts, which is great for our cap, but not great when trying to piece together a trade.

 

[tlongII]

We could use another effective big, but so could a lot of other teams. The question is, how much do you give up to get one? I am not aware of any deals that make sense. In the meantime I would continue to develop Freeland and Robinson and maybe give Leonard some minutes too. I absolutely LOVE what Robinson has been doing. He is always working and he's got crazy athleticism. He doesn't always make smart plays, but the opponent feels him out there.

 

[Pinwheel1]

This is the only accurate answer. If someone were to get seriously injured, then we can talk trades. Or if someone is giving away free Dwight Howards at McDonalds, then maybe trade some scraps. Otherwise, we should just ride out this season. I'm getting tired of these Sarah Palin like threads. We don't need drama. Things are going great! Relax and be positive.

The initial post said someone like Juwan Howard. We did not trade for JH. I believe he is suggesting adding a FA vet, not creating drama and shaking up the roster.

Either way there is no one out there that will help.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

Is chuck hayes still around?

 

[Natebishop3]

We could use another effective big, but so could a lot of other teams. The question is, how much do you give up to get one? I am not aware of any deals that make sense. In the meantime I would continue to develop Freeland and Robinson and maybe give Leonard some minutes too. I absolutely LOVE what Robinson has been doing. He is always working and he's got crazy athleticism. He doesn't always make smart plays, but the opponent feels him out there.

There is one trade that could work, and wouldn't mess with our chemistry, that I can think of.

Channing Frye. He is a guy that I really don't think would mess with our chemistry. He always struck me as a really good guy, he's played here before, he loves the city, and he knows LMA. He can play both positions, he can spread the floor, and he's capable of playing in the paint. The problem is that he's making a little over 6 million, so we would have to send out at least three guys to match his contract.

 

[crandc]

Jermaine O'Neal is injured and hasn't played

I still vote for Jason Collins, and he's an FA so won't cost a player.

 

[Natebishop3]

Jermaine O'Neal is injured and hasn't played

I still vote for Jason Collins, and he's an FA so won't cost a player.

Collins was horrible. He's done as a player in the NBA, and it has nothing to do with his announcement.

 

[tlongII]

There is one trade that could work, and wouldn't mess with our chemistry, that I can think of.

Channing Frye. He is a guy that I really don't think would mess with our chemistry. He always struck me as a really good guy, he's played here before, he loves the city, and he knows LMA. He can play both positions, he can spread the floor, and he's capable of playing in the paint. The problem is that he's making a little over 6 million, so we would have to send out at least three guys to match his contract.

That kind of scuttles that deal right there imo. I also don't think Channing Frye provides any inside presence which is what we need. We have plenty of 3 point shooters which is Frye's forte' now.

 

[Natebishop3]

That kind of scuttles that deal right there imo. I also don't think Channing Frye provides any inside presence which is what we need. We have plenty of 3 point shooters which is Frye's forte' now.

Oh, well you just said "effective," and Channing is effective

There's a couple other names out there... guys like Bass, Hawes maybe, or I bet you could get Reggie Evans from the Nets.

 

[HailBlazers]

We need Leonard to develop asap.

That said, I don't think this is our year to contend anyway, despite how good we're playing. I see us getting some extremely valuable playoff experience, and then making moves over the summer with an eye on next year or the year after for contention.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Maybe we can bring Joel Przybilla back from the dead.

 

[OneLifeToLive]

Oh, well you just said "effective," and Channing is effective

There's a couple other names out there... guys like Bass, Hawes maybe, or I bet you could get Reggie Evans from the Nets.

This.

We have a big on the bench that needs to realize his talent and potential

 

[Natebishop3]

This.

We have a big on the bench that needs to realize his talent and potential

I think we can be patient with Leonard because of the emergence of Freeland. If Joel had not taken a step forward, and played the same as last season, I think we would be in a much bigger rush to bring along Leonard.

Still, I'm not very encouraged by Leonard. He has barely seen the court this year and he doesn't seem to be even remotely bothered by it. He's our 11th pick from a year ago and we have almost no faith that he'll turn into something special.

Also, it's very discouraging that he's spending so much time working on his outside shot. That's probably the most maddening part of the whole thing.

 

[e_blazer]

We need Leonard to develop asap.

That said, I don't think this is our year to contend anyway, despite how good we're playing. I see us getting some extremely valuable playoff experience, and then making moves over the summer with an eye on next year or the year after for contention.

This has been my assessment so far this season and I think it is what Olshey had planned as well. If the Blazers keep playing the way that they have so far this season though, I think that he might decide to accelerate things even more and look for a trade that would push the team into true contention this season. It would probably mean giving up a young talent like CJ and maybe Joel Freeland to look for a deal that would bring back a better big man. Then again, if Joel can keep improving his game, there may not be a need to make a move.

 

[Natebishop3]

This has been my assessment so far this season and I think it is what Olshey had planned as well. If the Blazers keep playing the way that they have so far this season though, I think that he might decide to accelerate things even more and look for a trade that would push the team into true contention this season. It would probably mean giving up a young talent like CJ and maybe Joel Freeland to look for a deal that would bring back a better big man. Then again, if Joel can keep improving his game, there may not be a need to make a move.

A better big man? Do you mean a center? Who do you think would push us into contention?

 

[BBert]

Jermaine O'Neal is injured and hasn't played.

Perfect! Vet leadership and mentoring without upsetting the apple cart or taking minutes away from our developing young bigs.

 

[BBert]

We need Leonard to develop asap.

That said, I don't think this is our year to contend anyway, despite how good we're playing. I see us getting some extremely valuable playoff experience, and then making moves over the summer with an eye on next year or the year after for contention.

A cinderella season is in the back of all our minds, but your scenario is more realistic and very necessary. Every championship team needs some playoff seasoning (the 1977 Blazers notwithstanding). Bringing in a single long-in-the-tooth vet with playoff experience isn't going to translate to the whole team through osmosis. There is no substitute for experience. This year, we gonna get some!

 

[Mediocre Man]

Jermaine O'Neal is injured and hasn't played

I still vote for Jason Collins, and he's an FA so won't cost a player.

Collins is horrible. *Deleted*

 

[RR7]

There is one trade that could work, and wouldn't mess with our chemistry, that I can think of.

Channing Frye. He is a guy that I really don't think would mess with our chemistry. He always struck me as a really good guy, he's played here before, he loves the city, and he knows LMA. He can play both positions, he can spread the floor, and he's capable of playing in the paint. The problem is that he's making a little over 6 million, so we would have to send out at least three guys to match his contract.

Don't need 3, depending on who to send out. Robinson and Leonard gets it there.

 

[Natebishop3]

Don't need 3, depending on who to send out. Robinson and Leonard gets it there.

Sending out TRob is much too much. I'm down with sending out Leonard, Crabbe, Barton, or Claver, but giving up CJ or Robinson seems like a huge gamble for a bench vet.

 

[e_blazer]

A better big man? Do you mean a center? Who do you think would push us into contention?

I don't totally dismiss MM's take that the Blazers are an injury to Lopez away from being in pretty bad trouble. Freeland is doing a good job, but he doesn't have the bulk to bang with starting centers. If Leonard ever learned how to play "D", this wouldn't even be a point of discussion, but then if he could do that Freeland wouldn't be getting any minutes. The Blazers have a glut of guys who can play the 2G spot, so it would probably be wise to look to make a move that would add some strength at the C spot. Asik? I don't think that the Rockets would be willing to move him to a team in the West even if the Blazers had a package that they'd be interested in. Probably going shopping for somebody off of a team in the tanking mode would be the likely route. Varejao, Hawes, maybe Andray Blatche?

 

[Boise Blazer]

Take your pick, centers sorted by RBND% but you can also see defensive rating and played at least 10 games

Or here is just bench players

 

[Nikolokolus]

We need Leonard to develop asap.

That said, I don't think this is our year to contend anyway, despite how good we're playing. I see us getting some extremely valuable playoff experience, and then making moves over the summer with an eye on next year or the year after for contention.

Good luck with that.

The rest of your post seems reasonable, but I'm not sure where the needed extra firepower is coming from. Trades I guess?

 

[Natebishop3]

I don't totally dismiss MM's take that the Blazers are an injury to Lopez away from being in pretty bad trouble. Freeland is doing a good job, but he doesn't have the bulk to bang with starting centers. If Leonard ever learned how to play "D", this wouldn't even be a point of discussion, but then if he could do that Freeland wouldn't be getting any minutes. The Blazers have a glut of guys who can play the 2G spot, so it would probably be wise to look to make a move that would add some strength at the C spot. Asik? I don't think that the Rockets would be willing to move him to a team in the West even if the Blazers had a package that they'd be interested in. Probably going shopping for somebody off of a team in the tanking mode would be the likely route. Varejao, Hawes, maybe Andray Blatche?

It's just not realistic.

Varejao makes 9 million.
Hawes makes 6 million.

Blatche is cheap but I doubt New Jersey trades him.