What we want in a Free Agent

[ppilot]

Ok then, Let's do nothing and lose in the first round again. Get another shitty draft pick. Let all of the other teams in the WC improve. Watch another TD go by with nothing done.

Wow....you have absolutely no faith in the current players do you? That's good to know.

 

[Tince]

Wow....you have absolutely no faith in the current players do you? That's good to know.

We should he?

Being the 2nd youngest team in the league last year and improving from 41 to 54 wins is no reason to believe this team could continue to get better.

Clearly the majority of our players have peaked and are already on their decline.

 

[Idog1976]

We should he?

Being the 2nd youngest team in the league last year and improving from 41 to 54 wins is no reason to believe this team could continue to get better.

Clearly the majority of our players have peaked and are already on their decline.

Obviously you were being sarcastic, but equally obviously we can't afford to decide just to stand pat. If there is truly nothing worth getting out there fine. But if he has any shot at alot of the guys MM mentioned KP should go for it. If we're absolutely convinced that Bayless is the future the lets trade Blake and outlaw for a backup vet pg and a vet starting SF or PF.

I'm not one of the "up on a ledge" folks who thinks we're doomed. Far from it. Even if we stand pat we will improve, possibly greatly, but that is not a good reason why we should avoid doing a consolidation trade/lopsided trade and add talent.

 

[Minstrel]

I get the horrible feeling that Odom would be an absolute bust and has only been playing for a contract.

He's been as good as or better than 2008-09 for the past six seasons.

 

[Tince]

Obviously you were being sarcastic, but equally obviously we can't afford to decide just to stand pat. If there is truly nothing worth getting out there fine. But if he has any shot at alot of the guys MM mentioned KP should go for it. If we're absolutely convinced that Bayless is the future the lets trade Blake and outlaw for a backup vet pg and a vet starting SF or PF.

I'm not one of the "up on a ledge" folks who thinks we're doomed. Far from it. Even if we stand pat we will improve, possibly greatly, but that is not a good reason why we should avoid doing a consolidation trade/lopsided trade and add talent.

I agree with you. If we can get one of those guys for a good price, then we should try to improve the team. However, signing a guy to a horrible contract just so we can say we didn't waste our capspace would be a short-sided move for a team with long term aspirations. I don't want to have a guy like David Lee with 3 years, $30 million+ left on his contract after we've used him as a backup and nobody wants to take that contract off our hands.

Other people (not you) are going full doom and gloom with this team and it's a bit much.

 

[Idog1976]

I agree with you. If we can get one of those guys for a good price, then we should try to improve the team. However, signing a guy to a horrible contract just so we can say we didn't waste our capspace would be a short-sided move for a team with long term aspirations. I don't want to have a guy like David Lee with 3 years, $30 million+ left on his contract after we've used him as a backup and nobody wants to take that contract off our hands.

Other people (not you) are going full doom and gloom with this team and it's a bit much.

Totally agree with you on all points. I'm only high on Lee if he is part of a further trade such as Przybilla + Outlaw for Battier and Landry.

I for one feel we pulled one of these when we didn't sign Turkoglu.

 

[ppilot]

I agree with you. If we can get one of those guys for a good price, then we should try to improve the team. However, signing a guy to a horrible contract just so we can say we didn't waste our capspace would be a short-sided move for a team with long term aspirations. I don't want to have a guy like David Lee with 3 years, $30 million+ left on his contract after we've used him as a backup and nobody wants to take that contract off our hands.

Other people (not you) are going full doom and gloom with this team and it's a bit much.

I completely agree. I really think that our team should be around the 56 win mark this year which should be good for the third o fourth seed. Besides the Spurs and the Lakers, none of the other western conference team have gotten any better and in fact, Houston looks to be significantly worse. So the doom and gloom crowd seems to be overreacting.

I honestly think the blazers are going to to make a move, but it may not occur for while.

 

[B-Roy]

Raptors sources call it too early to say how the mechanics will work out with rumors that Shawn Marion could be part of a sign-and-trade deal through Orlando for Turkoglu, with Portland being a possible end destination for Marion. The Blazers have opened talks with Marion and Andre Miller according to sources, and are rumored to be open to a discussion with Knicks free agent David Lee. The one "named" player the Blazers have not been linked to is Paul Millsap, although sources close to his camp say there has been contact, it's just not clear if there is enough mutual interest to move things to the next level.

-Hoopsworld

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I saw that Hoopsworld thing and it did not make me happy AT ALL. Two players who are anything but good lockerroom guys.

 

[B-Roy]

I saw that Hoopsworld thing and it did not make me happy AT ALL. Two players who are anything but good lockerroom guys.

Yeah. Same here.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Dimitris Diamantidis

I now have a serious mancrush:

[video=youtube;seA_wEZdX50]

Also:

The phenomenal Dimitris Diamantidis
One of the great European players of this decade is Panathinaikos point guard Dimitris Diamantidis. The 28-year-old is a true phenomen, a one-of-a-kind player who has virtually no weakness in his game. He is the face as well as the core of Panathinaikos, immovable, a coaches dream and subsequently the player that averages the most minutes on his team by far: 30:57 in the Euroleague on this packed roster says it all.
Regarding his abilities, we start with defense. Diamantidis won the Defensive Player of the Year award in each of the last four seasons. He is a great on the ball defender, takes advantage of his quickness, size, long and quick arms, excellent footwork and outstanding basketball-IQ. He is a fantastic help defender as well, possessing outstanding instinct for where help is needed, great anticipation, timing and over par athleticism for European standards that helps him block shots when rotating over, even against strong big men. He has a habit of flying out of nowhere to deny the fastbreak layup, as Alex Acker and Chris Paul might want or not want to tell you first hand. Most importantly, he organises Panathinaikos’ whole defense unit like a headcoach.
Rebounding is another area where Diamantidis excels. 5.3RPG is an outstanding number for a point guard on a European powerhouse such as Panathinaikos, where individual numbers are historically rather low. Diamantidis anticipates extremely well on both ends of the court and is not afraid to clean the boards in heavy traffic.
On offense, he is one of the premier playmakers in the Euroleague. Some people get carried away with his defensive skills and fail to give him the credit he deserves for his abilities on the offensive end of the court, but make no mistake, Diamantidis is an excellent playmaker, possessing outstanding court-vision and displaying a pass-first mentality to the degree that he is sometimes accused of being too unselfish. Truth to be told, Diamantidis is a master of the penetration and kickout. He alwasy finds his way inside on either the high pick and roll or the postup and is able to perform the perfect kickout under high pressure, always knowing where the ball has to go. Having said that, it is true that in some cases the aggressive finish is the better choice than the kickout but Diamantidis seems to have found a healthy balance this season. As for his shot-making abilities, those are underrated as well. He can do a lot of damage in the post with spinmove + layup, the turnaround jumber belonging to his arsenal as well as the jumphook with both hands. Three-point-shooting is very solid (7/13 in the Eurolague this season, 43.5% last year), and he seems to have developed an interesting fallaway jumper. Quite appropriately, he would probably get a lot of attention if he used it more, but he only does in situations when it is necessary, as he is constantly looking for better, high-percentage solutions in normal play.

He's under contract for the next season (at a hefty 2.1M Euros) but Spanoulis, who played in 2006 for the Rockets, got out of a contract with the same club to do it. However, it might be because he had built-in opt-outs in his contract. Also Diamantidis has claimed never to be interested in the NBA. But I really wish/hope the Blazers would give it a try.

 

[Ed O]

I saw that Hoopsworld thing and it did not make me happy AT ALL. Two players who are anything but good lockerroom guys.

It would be a very nice pair of additions, IMO.

But I would think that, wouldn't I?

Ed O.

 

[mook]

It would be a very nice pair of additions, IMO.

But I would think that, wouldn't I?

Ed O.

Either individually would be a nice addition. I'd like three point shooting out of more than one position in our starting lineup though, so I'd rather not get both.

I'd be happy with, say, Marion and Hinrich or Kidd. If we get Andre Miller, I'd prefer we just keep the Batum/Outlaw/Webster lineup, as I can't think of any really good SF's who might be available who can hit a three pointer.

 

[glazeduck]

I think it's important to not JUST look at players on paper to decide who would/wouldn't be good for us.

Case in point: on paper/face value, Turk was perhaps an above-average 30 year old riding a very solid playoffs. But when you start to talk about how he would've meshed with this team, it's obvious that he would've been a nice addition.

So who else can we say that about?

I think, on paper Sessions looks better than Felton, however, how would they play w/ the rest of our squad? Felton is a better defender, which will help GO and LA stay out of foul trouble. Sessions is the better ball handler/distributor, but Felton, while not as good, certainly has those skills as well, and is a much better shooter from distance, especially in catch and shoot scenarios.

I think, next to BRoy, Felton would be a pretty solid "pg", but would need a sf that is a playmaker.

As for SF, if we can't get Prince, I honestly think it's time to let TO do what he can to boost his value as much as possible, and take the best deal at the deadline for an established SF.

I was thinking about it this morning... IT's really too bad that Stephen Jackson is such a nutcase... He's the exact SF we need.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Totally agree with you on all points. I'm only high on Lee if he is part of a further trade such as Przybilla + Outlaw for Battier and Landry.



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That's kind of the whole point. It would enable the Blazers to make another move because they would have additional assets. (Although I am not in favor of moving Pryz this year until Oden proves he can stay healthy)