What have you learned about the team from this series?

[Natebishop3]

For me:

Harkless is part of the core of this team. We need to keep him. If he could develop a consistent outside shot, he could be an All-Star.

Plumlee is truly valuable. His basketball IQ, versatility, and rebounding have been a revelation. If he could only develop a little mid-range jumper....

I don't care if we let Hendo leave. I like Hendo, but he's too one-dimensional and I would rather have his cap space.

Aminu is someone I'd rather have coming off the bench. He's someone we could plug into a number of holes, which makes him extremely valuable, but I'd rather have Harkless starting and we need a legit scoring power forward.

This team needs one more consistent scorer. Preferably a power forward. We need someone else who can put the ball in the hole, because if a team focuses on Dame and CJ, the rest of the team is extremely iffy.

Lastly..... free throws. These guys need to do nothing but shoot free throws all summer.

 

[THE HCP]

I think Mo is the type of player that you just have to be happy about WHATEVER he gives you. He is that hustle (but much smarter) Ruben Patterson type of guy, that even successful team needs. I don't think you can ever expect him or Plum to develop a consistent shot. Plum has REALLY impressed me with his court vision. He would be a perfect front court mate with a big that has any type of low post game.

I think Henderson is a perfect 7th man though. Come in for a little spark off the bench. He's better than a lot of starting 2s in the game if you ask me.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

For me:

Harkless is part of the core of this team. We need to keep him. If he could develop a consistent outside shot, he could be an All-Star.

Plumlee is truly valuable. His basketball IQ, versatility, and rebounding have been a revelation. If he could only develop a little mid-range jumper....

I don't care if we let Hendo leave. I like Hendo, but he's too one-dimensional and I would rather have his cap space.

Aminu is someone I'd rather have coming off the bench. He's someone we could plug into a number of holes, which makes him extremely valuable, but I'd rather have Harkless starting and we need a legit scoring power forward.

This team needs one more consistent scorer. Preferably a power forward. We need someone else who can put the ball in the hole, because if a team focuses on Dame and CJ, the rest of the team is extremely iffy.

Lastly..... free throws. These guys need to do nothing but shoot free throws all summer.

If it wasn't clear before the series....
We shouldn't trade CJ.
We should re-sign Crabbe to a reasonable contract and not more.
Biebs is useful on a reasonable contract, let him walk if another team offers big $$.

 

[blue9]

Harkless is a player. He rarely does anything stupid, and is always in the right spot on the floor. He's up there with Plumlee in terms of having the IQ to play smart, winning basketball. Also, it seems the more difficult the shot is the more likely he is to make it. He muffs some easies around the rim, but if he's got his body twisted, jumping off the wrong foot, moving away from the rim he'll usually make the shot.

 

[RR7]

I love Plumlee. I've supported him on here all season. I keep seeing calls to upgrade and I don't get it. All of the calls for rim protection, when we do a good job at the rim. I know he's going to get overpowered by some of the bigs in the league, but so are most guys. So I don't want to spend 20 million on Whiteside. I don't think that takes us to like 55 wins from where we are now, versus natural progression.

The only move at C I'd get behind is bringing in Dwight, and shifting Plumlee to PF. He has the quickness to stick on the perimiter with stretch 4s just fine, and I think we'd still run him in the PnR with Dame, where he flashes to the middle, and then his options in th emiddle are kickout on one side for 3, or, for a lob to Dwight. I'd envision he and Dwight also running 2 man game similar to what LMA and Camby used to do Camby offered no floor spacing, but it was still an effective lineup. And I think Plumlee is a better passer, and a much better ball handler. I'd envision a rotation between Plumlee and Howard similar to what we do with Dame and CJ currently. Start together, at 6 minute mark, say, Plumlee goes to the bench with CJ. Then, plumlee comes in for Dwight at C, CJ comes in as PG, etc. They play together a lot, but also share C position in same way Dame and CJ share PG position. Our backup is also our starter.

Agree with you on rest. I want to keep Moe. Henderson...at the right price, sure, keep him around. But otherwise, I feel like you can find a handful of guys to give you what he does. Same with Crabbe. If the price is right, yes. If it gets too high...meh.

 

[illmatic99]

Coming around to Plums as well. The ideal front court mate for Plums is a guy who can block shots and protect the rim, while also being able to space the floor a bit.

Ibaka will be a free agent next summer. Boogie will have one year left on his contract next summer. Al Horford popping up again.

 

[andalusian]

I think it is pretty clear that Moe and Plum thrive in big-game situations, these are the kind of guys you add to the core of Dame and CJ. Aminu is great as well - even if his offense is inconsistent. He is a hard worker and the defense is always there.

The series also showed that Meyers has value - assuming he can be had for a non-crazy amount - his ability to check a beefy center like DJ and spread the floor would have been very useful. I know he can be frustrating at times - but everyone knew he was a project and he has made progress. It is good to have someone like him on the team. The team could really use another 4/5 that has a mid-range jumper - Kaman in game 3 was a nice little release valve. Now imagine someone that can do that consistently for 25 minutes a game - and this team becomes a real headache.

Maybe Vonleh can be this guy in the future, but if there is a target - this is what I will look at - a 4/5 that can make jumpshots consistently - and play a little in the post.

 

[Natebishop3]

Coming around to Plums as well. The ideal front court mate for Plums is a guy who can block shots and protect the rim, while also being able to space the floor a bit.

Ibaka will both be a free agent next summer. Boogie will have one year left on his contract next summer.

I don't think our cap space will survive that long. Dame's contract kicks in. We'll have CJ and Plumlee coming up next summer.

Maybe OKC would trade Ibaka if they get destroyed by SAS?

 

[illmatic99]

I don't think our cap space will survive that long. Dame's contract kicks in. We'll have CJ and Plumlee coming up next summer.

Maybe OKC would trade Ibaka if they get destroyed by SAS?

That would be sick. He looks like he needs a change of scenery.

 

[Natebishop3]

That would be sick. He looks like he needs a change of scenery.

That whole team needs a change of scenery.

 

[blue9]

Aminu is great as well - even if his offense is inconsistent. He is a hard worker and the defense is always there.

As much as I don't like Aminu, and think his defense is overrated, he's certainly improved his defense in the Playoffs. He's made a few terribly bone-headed mistakes on defense, but overall he isn't getting lost like he did all too often during the regular season. But it's crystal clear that he shouldn't be a starter in the NBA. If we keep him as a bench player, fine - but if we trade him to improve the roster that would be fine too.

 

[blue9]

Coming around to Plums as well. The ideal front court mate for Plums is a guy who can block shots and protect the rim, while also being able to space the floor a bit.

Ibaka will be a free agent next summer. Boogie will have one year left on his contract next summer. Al Horford popping up again.

Ibaka is my semi-realistic dream target.

 

[Natebishop3]

As much as I don't like Aminu, and think his defense is overrated, he's certainly improved his defense in the Playoffs. He's made a few terribly bone-headed mistakes on defense, but overall he isn't getting lost like he did all too often during the regular season. But it's crystal clear that he shouldn't be a starter in the NBA. If we keep him as a bench player, fine - but if we trade him to improve the roster that would be fine too.

I think moving him to the bench would be ideal. He's a great utility guy who can come in and defend multiple positions. That's extremely valuable.

 

[blue9]

I think moving him to the bench would be ideal. He's a great utility guy who can come in and defend multiple positions. That's extremely valuable.

Yeah - that, IMO, is the only role he should play. Being able to give one of three starters a breather while putting him on the other team's second-best player would be useful.

 

[illmatic99]

Ibaka is my semi-realistic dream target.

His rim protection numbers correlate well with his raw blocked shot numbers. Kanter's getting buried on the bench with Serge and Adams starting. Perhaps OKC would like to clear the clutter? KD is a FA this summer obviously, but Russ is a FA next summer with Ibaka. Maybe they'll be proactive and try to move Serge now to avoid potentially losing him for nothing?

He's only 26. Damn. I'm getting sold. Zach Lowe even mentioned our possible interest in Ibaka for next summer.

Serge Ibaka looms as interesting possibility in the summer of 2017, and Olshey surely has targets in mind for the interim.

 

[BigGameDamian]

I've

As much as I don't like Aminu, and think his defense is overrated, he's certainly improved his defense in the Playoffs. He's made a few terribly bone-headed mistakes on defense, but overall he isn't getting lost like he did all too often during the regular season. But it's crystal clear that he shouldn't be a starter in the NBA. If we keep him as a bench player, fine - but if we trade him to improve the roster that would be fine too.

If Blake Griffin was 100% healthy he would be destroying Aminu at the offensive end. Would be making him look like even more of a bone head.

 

[blue9]

If Blake Griffin was 100% healthy he would be destroying Aminu at the offensive end. Would be making him look like even more of a bone head.

Quite possibly.

 

[Natebishop3]

If Durant leaves, I would toss an offer of Vonleh/Davis at them and see if they bite.

 

[Orion Bailey]

I've learned that this team can make us fans go fucking nuts!!!!

And I don't really have anything more to say that hasn't already been addressed above.

 

[Shaboid]

As much as I don't like Aminu, and think his defense is overrated, he's certainly improved his defense in the Playoffs. He's made a few terribly bone-headed mistakes on defense, but overall he isn't getting lost like he did all too often during the regular season. But it's crystal clear that he shouldn't be a starter in the NBA. If we keep him as a bench player, fine - but if we trade him to improve the roster that would be fine too.

One attribute that I feel is underrated for Aminu is his experience as a leader for the Nigerian national team. Weird how sometimes it can benefit a player (Aminu) and with others (i.e. Batum) it is more of a detriment.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Quite possibly.

What do you mean quite possibly? Blake Griffin may be a bone head at times but he's still one of the most dominant bigs in the league. He can score at will on anyone.

 

[Natebishop3]

He can score at will on anyone.

Well that's not true, because he clearly wasn't scoring at will on our team.

 

[BigGameDamian]

Well that's not true, because he clearly wasn't scoring at will on our team.

I said when he's 100% healthy.

 

[Natebishop3]

I said when he's 100% healthy.

How often are people 100% healthy in the NBA?

 

[BigGameDamian]

How often are people 100% healthy in the NBA?

The Blazers team send to be healthy.

 

[SheedSoNasty]

I learned that this team has even more fight in them than I had previously imagines. They dig deep and fight hard.

 

[Shaboid]

I learned that Hark has a very effective spin move going towards the basket. NBA level for sure.

 

[blue9]

What do you mean quite possibly? Blake Griffin may be a bone head at times but he's still one of the most dominant bigs in the league. He can score at will on anyone.

Yup, but he's not healthy so he's not scoring at will.
I'm not a fan of Aminu, but I can't knock him for playing good defense on a hobbled player. Not his fault that Griffin was injured. If Griffin was healthy and torching Aminu then I'd be all over him.

 

[Stevenson]

Myers, Vonleh, and Henderson are expendable.

 

[tester551]

I don't think anything has changed in my mind about what the Blazers need...

1) Someone with some semblance of a post game (at the SF, PF, or C)
2) We need a BIG strong body (aka - a goon). Meyer's can fill this role when he wants to, but doesn't do it quite frequently enough for my taste.
3) We need more ball handling / creating ability on the wing (Henderson gets a B- but Aminu gets a C while Crabbe / Harkless get a C- or below).
4) We need better defense at PG/SG. Ideally, it would be a tall player who could form a 3 man rotation with Dame/CJ/ TBD to cover all the minutes at those positions. I like the idea of Turner, but he doesn't shoot well enough.

Ideally we get someone to upgrade from the Crabbe/Henderson rotation.