Who's in your rotation, now?

[riverman]

Well...I don't think Vonleh deserves a spot in the rotation as of now. Don't see where he'd get any minutes anyway.

Harkless, Layman, Montero and Connaughton....all can play stretch 3 and 3 of them can play the two guard

 

[Blazer4ever]

Dame/Napier
CJ/Pierre Jackson?
Turner/Harkless/Montero
Leonard/Davis/Vonleh
Ezeli/Plumlee/Bachinsky?

 

[Blazer4ever]

Dame/Napier
CJ/Pierre Jackson?
Turner/Harkless/Montero
Leonard/Davis/Vonleh
Ezeli/Plumlee/Bachinsky?

I forgot Aminu but honestly, don't think we really need him. Harkless plays the same role of undersized PF and I don't think we need both of them. At SF I'd rather go with a more skilled player like Turner or Montero and we have enough bigs as it is

 

[Mediocre Man]

My top 9, right now would be

Dame
CJ
Turner
Aminu
Ezeli
Plumlee
Crabbe
Davis
Harkless

That's who should play 95% of the minutes

Pat
Vonleh
Montero
Napier
Layman
Leonar_

That's 15, and 10-15 should be in strict mop up duty and injury fill in

 

[TBpup]

PG - Dame/CJ
SG - CJ/Pat
SF - Turner/Harkless
PF - Aminu/Meyers
C - Ezeli/Plumlee

I think Crabbe might be gone as well unless Olshey has a trade in his back pocket here pretty soon. It also seems there might be a big man on the move as well. Davis and Vonleh get no minutes in that rotation and Meyers has proven over and over again he can not guard '4's. Davis (before Ezeli) was the most rugged, shot blocking center Portland had and Vonleh was the most versatile 'big' defender as he had length inside but could rotate out on smaller players and hedge well against the PnR.

There just isn't room for Festus, Plums, Meyers, Davis and Vonleh especially with Aminu starting at the '4' which has been indicated in the last two press conferences. Taking a guesstimate of how each player ranks on Offense, Defense, Rebounding, Passing, shot blocking and ball handling, this is what I came up with. Defense and Blocks came out the same but left both in because those two areas seem to be of the greatest need to it is weighted a bit more towards that part of the assessment. I also ranked them on ability and not necessarily what they have shown from a production standpoint. For example, Vonleh is #2 in offense. Part of that is because that is a big weakness of most of the other centers and his versatility in that area gives him a bump.



I just don't see room for 5 players at one position and think it's possible either Davis or Plumlee gets moved or Portland doesn't match on Leonard if he gets a huge offer.

 

[Harry's Raincoat]

Lillard, CJ, Turner, Aminu, Ezeli as starters

Turner b/u to Lillard
Crabbe b/u to CJ, some Turner also
Harkless b/u to Turner
Davis and Vonleh b/u to Aminu
Plumlee and Leonard (?) b/u to Ezeli

I don't expect to see Napier, Connaughton, Montero, Layman see the court.

 

[theprunetang]

Lillard, CJ, Turner, Aminu, Ezeli as starters

Turner b/u to Lillard
Crabbe b/u to CJ, some Turner also
Harkless b/u to Turner
Davis and Vonleh b/u to Aminu
Plumlee and Leonard (?) b/u to Ezeli

I don't expect to see Napier, Connaughton, Montero, Layman see the court.

This is what I see as well. Although if we don't match Crabbe, I imagine we'll probably see some Project Pat.

 

[Scalma]

If we don't match crabbe they'll need to find a proven scorer/shooter somehow. That's our sixth man gone. Doubt they just hand the keys over to someone like Connaughton, but we'll see.

PS I'm pretty confident Olshey will match.

 

[theprunetang]

If we don't match crabbe they'll need to find a proven scorer/shooter somehow. That's our sixth man gone. Doubt they just hand the keys over to someone like Connaughton, but we'll see.

Yeah. It has really thrown a wrench into the rotation and game plan. I have no idea what happens, but until proven otherwise, I'll let Olshey do his thing and trust that it will be prudent.

 

[Pinwheel1]

If we don't match crabbe they'll need to find a proven scorer/shooter somehow. That's our sixth man gone. Doubt they just hand the keys over to someone like Connaughton, but we'll see.

PS I'm pretty confident Olshey will match.

I was one of the first to argue for CJ as a starter, however I also said I did not care one way or the other as long as he got his 30 minutes. So....if we lose Crabbe maybe CJ becomes our 6th man. A Dame, ET, Harkless trio would not be bad starting. Although you could also start CJ and use ET as our 6th man. Either way one of them could give us a lift off the bench. And they will all get their minutes.

 

[BonesJones]

I was one of the first to argue for CJ as a starter, however I also said I did not care one way or the other as long as he got his 30 minutes. So....if we lose Crabbe maybe CJ becomes our 6th man. A Dame, ET, Harkless trio would not be bad starting. Although you could also start CJ and use ET as our 6th man. Either way one of them could give us a lift off the bench. And they will all get their minutes.

Borderline All-Stars don't come off the bench. And talk about no shooting in the starting lineup...

 

[Orion Bailey]

Sorry, but premature thread. Need to figure out our RFA's first. Alot can still change between now and game one of preseason.

IF we sign Harkless and Leonard though and Crabbe is gone, it would probably be something like this for tip off of game one.

Dame/CJ/Napier
CJ/Connaughton/Montero
Turner/Harkless/Laymen
Aminu/Harkless/Vonleh/Leonard
Plumlee/Ezili/Davis

We have a logjam.

I really like our guard/small forward rotation and I would include Hark and Aminu in that, but one of Vonleh/Leonard/Plumlee/Davis is going to be gone. There arent enough minutes.

Is NO GM of the year if he could swing a Vonleh/Davis plus cash/picks(whatever ever it might take) to nail DMC?'
Is that even possible with all the changes that have happened? Im ignorant about the financial side of things.
Could you imagine the following lineup? Is tghat a contender? I think so.

Dame/CJ/Napier
CJ/Connaughton/Montero
Turner/Harkless/Laymen
Aminu/Harkless/Leonard
DMC/Plumlee

 

[Pinwheel1]

Borderline All-Stars don't come off the bench. And talk about no shooting in the starting lineup...

I don't buy that. ( i.e Iguoadala, Gianobli) If they want to do what's best for the team they do.

As for no shooting.....If you start CJ you would.

If you start ET and bring CJ off the bench.....maybe you start Ezeli, Leonard, Harkless, Turner, and Dame. Substitute Aminu for Leonard when you play smaller teams.

If Vonleh does not look like he will improve then we need to trade for another PF regardless.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Sorry, but premature thread. Need to figure out our RFA's first. Alot can still change between now and game one of preseason.

We know. But the OP says "Now". I am sure this will change multiple times, but there is nothing else to discuss....for at least another 10 minutes. (Game time!)

 

[Orion Bailey]

Borderline Allstars are 6th men in general. So yes, they do come off the bench. Usually at least one per team if its a contending team.

 

[Orion Bailey]

We know. But the OP says "Now". I am sure this will change multiple times, but there is nothing else to discuss....for at least another 10 minutes. (Game time!)

Yeah, good point and I edited to provide more of my opinion on the now.

 

[BonesJones]

I don't buy that. ( i.e Iguoadala, Gianobli) If they want to do what's best for the team they do.

As for no shooting.....If you start CJ you would.

If you start ET and bring CJ off the bench.....maybe you start Ezeli, Leonard, Harkless, Turner, and Dame. Substitute Aminu for Leonard when you play smaller teams.

If Vonleh does not look like he will improve then we need to trade for another PF regardless.

Iggy isn't a borderline all star. Many was for a bit but that's one 6th man out of hundreds that came off the bench as a borderline all star.

Leonard isn't a PF. He can't defend there.

 

[BonesJones]

Borderline Allstars are 6th men in general. So yes, they do come off the bench. Usually at least one per team if its a contending team.

There's 26 all-stars. Borderline all-stars would be about the 27-40th best players. There's 150 starters in the league (5 players, 30 teams). So borderline all stars are generally 6th men? Lol.

There isn't one borderline all star coming off the bench in the NBA. The best bench player is Crawford who isn't even close to being a borderline all-star.

 

[Natebishop3]

I will tell you who's NOT in our rotation next season.

Pat Connaughton
Luis Montero
Jake Layman

 

[BonesJones]

I will tell you who's NOT in our rotation next season.

Pat Connaughton
Luis Montero
Jake Layman

So if a rotation player struggles in our first preseason and should they be taken out of our rotation?

 

[Natebishop3]

So if a rotation player struggles in our first preseason and should they be taken out of our rotation?

You mean guys that have proven that they can contribute on the highest level? Those rotation players?

 

[BonesJones]

You mean guys that have proven that they can contribute on the highest level? Those rotation players?

It's applying the same logic you're using. If these guys struggling in one meaningless game means they shouldn't be in the rotation then why should it be any different fit anyone else?

You're making one game the end-all, be-all. It's ridiculous.

 

[Natebishop3]

It's applying the same logic you're using. If these guys struggling in one meaningless game means they shouldn't be in the rotation then why should it be any different fit anyone else?

You're making one game the end-all, be-all. It's ridiculous.

No. Your logic is that all players should be judged on one game.

I'm saying that I haven't seen anything so far from these players that leads me to believe that they'll be a part of the rotation.

 

[BonesJones]

No. Your logic is that all players should be judged on one game.

I'm saying that I haven't seen anything so far from these players that leads me to believe that they'll be a part of the rotation.

That is not my logic at all. You're saying that these guys won't be in the rotation because of this game and that it makes Olsheys decision harder on whether to match Crabbe. Its one scrimmage lmao....

 

[riverman]

One thing I learned from the first summer league game...we need to keep Mo Harkless

 

[Pinwheel1]

Iggy isn't a borderline all star. Many was for a bit but that's one 6th man out of hundreds that came off the bench as a borderline all star.

Leonard isn't a PF. He can't defend there.

These Career highlights and awards for Iggy suggest otherwise

• NBA Finals MVP (2015)
• NBA All-Star (2012)
• NBA All-Defensive First Team (2014)
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2011)

I agree Leonard is a center, but he can guard bigger slower PF's, which is why I said he could alternate with Aminu depending on who is starting for the other team.....and that was only if we needed Leonard's outside shooting in the starting lineup.

 

[Natebishop3]

That is not my logic at all. You're saying that these guys won't be in the rotation because of this game and that it makes Olsheys decision harder on whether to match Crabbe. Its one scrimmage lmao....

This is a different thread sweetpea. I said they won't be part of the rotation in a thread about the rotation.

Do you disagree?

 

[BonesJones]

These Career highlights and awards for Iggy suggest otherwise

• NBA Finals MVP (2015)
• NBA All-Star (2012)
• NBA All-Defensive First Team (2014)
• NBA All-Defensive Second Team (2011)

I agree Leonard is a center, but he can guard bigger slower PF's, which is why I said he could alternate with Aminu depending on who is starting for the other team.....and that was only if we needed Leonard's outside shooting in the starting lineup.

If we're talking currently? He's not. He was 4 years ago, but not now.

I don't like that idea. Putting CJ on the bench to slide Turner to SG to play Harkless more and counteracting the lack of shooting in the starting lineup by sliding Meyers in against certain lineups doesn't sound good.

 

[Pinwheel1]

If we're talking currently? He's not. He was 4 years ago, but not now.

I don't like that idea. Putting CJ on the bench to slide Turner to SG to play Harkless more and counteracting the lack of shooting in the starting lineup by sliding Meyers in against certain lineups doesn't sound good.

CJ off the bench was only one option. The other was ET off the bench ...if we lost Crabbe and needed a spark off the bench. He was in the top 5 last year in the 6th man of the year voting.

As for Iguodala......of course he not a all star now, because he comes off the bench and he probably isn't even on the ballot. But I think everyone knows his value to that team. Finals MVP speaks volumes. His career has been better than CJ and Turner, so if Iggy can come off the bench, so can they.

It's an option, that's all I am saying.

 

[BonesJones]

CJ off the bench was only one option. The other was ET off the bench ...if we lost Crabbe and needed a spark off the bench. He was in the top 5 last year in the 6th man of the year voting.

As for Iguodala......of course he not a all star now, because he comes off the bench and he probably isn't even on the ballot. But I think everyone knows his value to that team. Finals MVP speaks volumes. His career has been better than CJ and Turner, so if Iggy can come off the bench, so can they.

It's an option, that's all I am saying.

This is what I'd prefer.
Dame (36) / CJ (12)
CJ (24) / Turner (24)
Turner (8) / Harkless (26) / Aminu (14)
Aminu (16) / Davis (22) / Leonard (10)
Ezeli (24) / Plumlee (18) / Leonard (6)