Webster gives Roy the straight talk

[SpanishFly]

Very interesting

http://blog.oregonlive.com/behindblazersbeat/2010/03/portland_110_sacramento_94_bra.html

 

[Natebishop3]

Bout fucking time!

 

[julius]

Shame that Webster can't give himself the straight talk.

 

[The Professional Fan]

Psychologically speaking, this Blazer team seems pretty unstable. We need a traveling team shrink.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

Shame that Webster can't give himself the straight talk.

Indeed. Perhaps he should ask Roy to be "100% Real" back about Martell's own game.

I *STILL* say Webster has All-Star talent, and WHEN he's confident and driven, he's damn dangerous on both ends of the court. I just wish the switch would go off in his head to reach his potential.

 

[shamelessblazer]

Indeed. Perhaps he should ask Roy to be "100% Real" back about Martell's own game.

I *STILL* say Webster has All-Star talent, and WHEN he's confident and driven, he's damn dangerous on both ends of the court. I just wish the switch would go off in his head to reach his potential.

Out of rhythm he has a real hard time because he can't create for himself, but I think in an offense with a little more motion Webster, Rudy, and Batum would all be much more dangerous. Nate just needs to add wrinkles to the plays (back-cuts, off-ball screens, etc).

 

[Minstrel]

I just don't understand this thinking that Webster has some sort of talent to be a good player, let alone an all-star talent. What skill set do you see in him that tells you he's any good? He has decent athleticism. Average body size at best. Has no handle whatsoever. He hasn't even shown an ability to create a shot for himself. No jab-step, no step-back jumper to speak of. Has absolutely no post-up game. Nothing special on the board or defense. People complained about Travis' basketball IQ, Webster's BBIQ is just as bad. No feel for the game. A lot of the time his energy, his running around on offense is just distraction for his own team. The only real skill he has consistently proven is hitting an open outside shot, and he's not even that great at it. Webster has proven that he's a one-trick pony, and his one trick is barely good enough.

Agreed. While Webster may or may not have emotional issues, I think his basketball problem is really just lack of talent. He may have seemed "projectible" as a raw high schooler, but it turns out that he's not really that talented, by NBA standards. He has a smooth looking shot (which isn't exceptionally accurate), sometimes-solid defense and that's about it.

 

[ABM]

Agreed. While Webster may or may not have emotional issues, I think his basketball problem is really just lack of talent. He may have seemed "projectible" as a raw high schooler, but it turns out that he's not really that talented, by NBA standards. He has a smooth looking shot (which isn't exceptionally accurate), sometimes-solid defense and that's about it.

Pretty much the way I see it, as well. Kind of unfortunate, yet realistic.

 

[Sug]

If we had gotten Chris Paul, we would be a lot like New Orleans right now. In other words, not as good as we are today.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Agreed. While Webster may or may not have emotional issues, I think his basketball problem is really just lack of talent. He may have seemed "projectible" as a raw high schooler, but it turns out that he's not really that talented, by NBA standards. He has a smooth looking shot (which isn't exceptionally accurate), sometimes-solid defense and that's about it.

Pretty much.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think, to a certain extent, many fans still have the same problem with Webster that they have with Oden. If they let go of their hopes that he will one day be a good basketball player, they will have to face the realization that we passed on Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant.

 

[Minstrel]

I think, to a certain extent, many fans still have the same problem with Webster that they have with Oden. If they let go of their hopes that he will one day be a good basketball player, they will have to face the realization that we passed on Deron Williams, Chris Paul, and Kevin Durant.

Except Oden really is very good. He's just had non-catastrophic (from a career standpoint) injuries that have shelved him. There's a reason not to "let go" of hopes on Oden...he's got proven major talent.

Webster has stagnated for many years now.

 

[BlazerBeav]

If we'd taken Paul, we wouldn't have the talent that followed, so it's all a moot point.

 

[Natebishop3]

Except Oden really is very good. He's just had non-catastrophic (from a career standpoint) injuries that have shelved him. There's a reason not to "let go" of hopes on Oden...he's got proven major talent.

Webster has stagnated for many years now.

And yet every year we hear the same things. "This is Martell's year. This will be the year that he breaks out. Martell looks great this year." etc etc etc.

Some fans just cling to the hope that Martell isn't a catastrophic bust. Similarly, if Oden never does maintain his health through an entire season, he will be a catastrophic bust.

 

[Natebishop3]

If we'd taken Paul, we wouldn't have the talent that followed, so it's all a moot point.

There's no way to know that. Actually, there's a very good chance we'd still have Roy and Aldridge. Probably not Oden, but a team with Paul, Roy, Batum, Aldridge, and Przybilla or Camby would be pretty damn good.

 

[VanillaGorilla]

There's no way to know that. Actually, there's a very good chance we'd still have Roy and Aldridge. Probably not Oden, but a team with Paul, Roy, Batum, Aldridge, and Przybilla or Camby would be pretty damn good.

I don't see how there is a "very good chance" we would have Roy, Batum, Aldridge, and Camby if we had taken Paul.

 

[Natebishop3]

I don't see how there is a "very good chance" we would have Roy, Batum, Aldridge, and Camby if we had taken Paul.

How would we not have Roy? We traded Telfair and Ratliff for the Randy Foye pick, and then Foye for Roy. It's debatable whether we'd be out of the lottery, so who knows if we'd have Aldridge. Batum was a late pick. I don't see how our team would be so completely different if we had taken Paul.

 

[ABM]

Roy brought this same thing up in the post-game interview with MB. IMO, yet another rung in his maturation process.

BTW, the Roy/Miller 2-man game has become a pleasure watching develop over this season.

 

[julius]

How would we not have Roy? We traded Telfair and Ratliff for the Randy Foye pick, and then Foye for Roy. It's debatable whether we'd be out of the lottery, so who knows if we'd have Aldridge. Batum was a late pick. I don't see how our team would be so completely different if we had taken Paul.

A big reason why it's hard to say we'd still have Roy or LaMarcus is because of the improvement that is implied that Paul would've provided. The Hornets improved by 20 games (18 to 38).

We would've had to have stayed around the same winning %'s to be able to get the high lotto pick AND have kept Telfair over Paul's first season. It is incredibly unlikely that the team would've been able to get Roy, and it's almost impossible to think they'd get both Roy and Aldridge.

If Paul is so good, the team would've improved too much to continue being able to get high lottery picks and use them (and their assets) to obtain LaMarcus and Roy, and then later on Oden and Batum.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Roy brought this same thing up in the post-game interview with MB. IMO, yet another rung in his maturation process.

BTW, the Roy/Miller 2-man game has become a pleasure watching develop over this season.

Having a real (high quality) point guard on this team for Roy to learn to play with may end up being one of the most positive developments in his early career. Granted Miller probably only has two more years, tops, of high level play left in him and we'll be looking for PGOTF (tm) but it's a good thing in my mind that he's learning to move without the ball knowing that it will come back to him when the time is right.

 

[Minstrel]

If Paul is so good, the team would've improved too much to continue being able to get high lottery picks and use them (and their assets) to obtain LaMarcus and Roy, and then later on Oden and Batum.

The pick that Portland used to get Roy (by drafting and trading Foye) was picked up in a trade for Telfair, Ratliff and a second-rounder. So he had nothing to do with the team's record at the time.

Batum wasn't a high lottery pick, or a lottery pick at all. He was drafted 25th.

I agree that Portland wouldn't have Aldridge or Oden, if they had taken Paul. I've asked this before, but would you rather the alternate reality where Portland takes Paul? If we assume that the Pritchard moves that didn't require a certain lottery pick would still have happened, it boils down to:

Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless and Martell Webster for Chris Paul, Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and three first-round draft picks.

Would you make that trade today, if it were on the table?

Of course, other things may have changed too...but this is just for fun, so I'm assuming Pritchard would still have wanted to make the moves that would have been possible without the specific lottery picks he had following the Webster draft.

 

[julius]

The pick that Portland used to get Roy (by drafting and trading Foye) was picked up in a trade for Telfair, Ratliff and a second-rounder. So he had nothing to do with the team's record at the time.

It had to do with the team wanting Roy so bad (or the pick that could get him) that they'd take on Raef's contract. It's also assuming that they would've kept Telfair that year.

Batum wasn't a high lottery pick, or a lottery pick at all. He was drafted 25th.

We also don't know if they would've been in a position to trade for Batum.

The Hornets (who had one of the picks we traded for Batum) might not have been in the same situation where they would sell that pick, or even have that pick still. They might've kept it.

I agree that Portland wouldn't have Aldridge or Oden, if they had taken Paul. I've asked this before, but would you rather the alternate reality where Portland takes Paul? If we assume that the Pritchard moves that didn't require a certain lottery pick would still have happened, it boils down to:

Greg Oden, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless and Martell Webster for Chris Paul, Jarrett Jack, Josh McRoberts and three first-round draft picks.

Would you make that trade today, if it were on the table?

Of course, other things may have changed too...but this is just for fun, so I'm assuming Pritchard would still have wanted to make the moves that would have been possible without the specific lottery picks he had following the Webster draft.

 

[hasoos]

Good job Martell. That is why I wish we had a more vocal leader on this team.

 

[Minstrel]

It had to do with the team wanting Roy so bad (or the pick that could get him) that they'd take on Raef's contract.

Yes...they thought he was talented enough to be worth LaFrentz's contract. I don't see why that would have changed.

It's also assuming that they would've kept Telfair that year.

I suppose. I think it's a likelier default that they would have kept Telfair for one year, at the very least as a backup to Paul.

We also don't know if they would've been in a position to trade for Batum.

The Hornets (who had one of the picks we traded for Batum) might not have been in the same situation where they would sell that pick, or even have that pick still. They might've kept it.

All possible, which I stipulated. Things other than team record may have changed. But as a base expectation for the sake of discussion, it seems reasonable that Roy and Batum would still have been quite attainable even if the team had been better with Paul. In my opinion, anyway.

 

[Natebishop3]

It had to do with the team wanting Roy so bad (or the pick that could get him) that they'd take on Raef's contract. It's also assuming that they would've kept Telfair that year.


We also don't know if they would've been in a position to trade for Batum.

The Hornets (who had one of the picks we traded for Batum) might not have been in the same situation where they would sell that pick, or even have that pick still. They might've kept it.

We could play this game all day

If Sabonis had come over earlier in his career, we would have at least three championships.

If we had drafted Jordan... he might have been injured his whole career and never won a thing.

I think there's just as good a chance that we would still have, at least, Roy and Batum with Paul.

 

[handiman]

I've asked this before, but would you rather the alternate reality where Portland takes Paul?

The obvious solution would have been to stash CP overseas for a year, thus duplicating Webster's impact on the team and keeping us on track to draft Roy/LMA/Oden.

 

[Minstrel]

The obvious solution would have been to stash CP overseas for a year, thus duplicating Webster's impact on the team and keeping us on track to draft Roy/LMA/Oden.

Good point. The non-Euro Eurostash. That would be pretty cutting edge.

 

[Natebishop3]

We could have just faked an injury and red-shirted CP3 for a year.

 

[andalusian]

We could have just faked an injury and red-shirted CP3 for a year.

Or D-Leagued him for the year.

 

[STOMP]

Some fans just cling to the hope that Martell isn't a catastrophic bust. Similarly, if Oden never does maintain his health through an entire season, he will be a catastrophic bust.

Martell has already blossomed into a passable NBA rotation player and is only 23, by draft history standards he isn't a catastrophic bust for where he was selected. I'd place the odds of Greg staying healthy for more then a few years pretty high. Injuries happen to almost everyone, thankfully his shouldn't affect his longterm abilities

STOMP