Who's the missing piece?

[Fez Hammersticks]

We look at free agency and Turkoglu is obviously the cream of the crop based on his performance last season.

But does he fit the long-term window? He's 5 years older than Roy, 6 years older than LaMarcus, 9 years older than Oden, and so on.

The player I'm thinking of is pretty much unattainable but I think he is the missing piece. Last year he committed himself to playing defense and to pass more, and it showed. Not to mention, he's one of the best pure scorers in the game.

Some of you may hate this idea, but this guy is Portland's missing piece:

Yes, it's a pipedream hypothetical, but he's the type of scorer we need to vault us into elite territory.

 

[Mediocre Man]

I don't hate it.


No way it can happen though.



We have youth. Batum, Webster and Outlaw are all young. Bringing in an older SF isn't a big deal.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

They are all young but so is Carmelo.

A Roy/Carmelo 1-2 punch would be pretty hard to beat. Also, LaMarcus goes to a role that I think best suits him: 3rd option.

 

[Minstrel]

The Nuggets wouldn't trade Anthony without getting at least one of Roy, Aldridge or Oden back for him. Roy is better, Aldridge isn't much worse than Anthony and plays a more valuable position and Oden stands to be far more valuable in the future.

 

[SteelBlaze1]

I don't like Carmello that much and I don't think he would fit in here with Roy. He is much better with a passing PG (Billups) that will just keep feeding him the ball.

I would rather have Hedo and yes I think is age is just what we need. We don't have to have everybody the same age on this team.

 

[Da_O]

How about missing pieces? CP3 and Lebron James, make it happen. Is Outlaw and Blake enough for Lebron? I say yes.

 

[Ed O]

I think that if Anthony can be considered the missing piece then we might as well throw LeBron out there as the missing piece.

I'm not a huge Carmelo fan by any means, but there's simply no way that Denver would let him come to Portland.

Ed O.

 

[Ed O]

How about missing pieces? CP3 and Lebron James, make it happen. Is Outlaw and Blake enough for Lebron? I say yes.

Drat. You beat me to the punch!

Ed O.

 

[SteelBlaze1]

I would think that we would have a better chance of getting CP3 and he would fit here SO much better.

 

[andalusian]

I think people really underestimate how good 'Melo is - heck - he is a much bigger impact player than Durant was at a similar age - and he got better with time. But - the fact is that unless KP has compromising pictures of the entire Denver Nuggets FO, ownership group and George Karl - we will only see him 4 times a year in the Nuggets uniform.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Personally I think Deron Williams is the missing piece. And here's why he might be more attainable than other players as good as him:

1. Utah is a small market team, and I don't think a rich one.
2. Its fanatical owner just died. The team stayed in the family, but who knows if they share his commitment?
3. They've got an incredibly overpaid Russian that they might want to dump, and Williams (who earns plenty) might be the sweetener.
4. ..especially if Boozer leaves as a FA and the team starts to suck, and Williams gets despondent.
5. They also have NY's TOTALLY UNPROTECTED PICK in the next draft. Can you say "John Wall"?
6. They just picked a PG... (okay, that's pretty weak.)

 

[OddEnormous]

Yes, it's a pipedream hypothetical, but he's the type of scorer we need to vault us into elite territory.

Why didn't you just say LeBron?

 

[OddEnormous]

Drat. You beat me to the punch!

Ed O.

DAMN IT

he beat me to beat you

 

[oldmangrouch]

Personally I think Deron Williams is the missing piece. And here's why he might be more attainable than other players as good as him:

1. Utah is a small market team, and I don't think a rich one.
2. Its fanatical owner just died. The team stayed in the family, but who knows if they share his commitment?
3. They've got an incredibly overpaid Russian that they might want to dump, and Williams (who earns plenty) might be the sweetener.
4. ..especially if Boozer leaves as a FA and the team starts to suck, and Williams gets despondent.
5. They also have NY's TOTALLY UNPROTECTED PICK in the next draft. Can you say "John Wall"?
6. They just picked a PG... (okay, that's pretty weak.)

I absolutely love this idea. If KP could pull that off, I would retract every testy comment I have made about him!

 

[Денг Гордон]

Greg Oden developing.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Greg Oden developing.

If he develops the ability to pass the ball to himself in the low-post, I will be *really* impressed!

 

[MAS RipCity]

We have 3 holes, probably only 2 can be filled this summer

Backup PF:
Nick Collison-Thunder-Would have to be traded for
Antonio McDyess-FA
Brandon Bass-FA

SF 3rd Scorer Vet
Hedo Turkoglu-FA
Ron Artest-FA
Tayshaun Prince-Pistons-Would have to be traded for
Shane Battier-Rockets-My personal fv
James Posey-Hornets-Traded for
Stephen Jackson-Warriors-Traded For, maybe our culture could tame him?
Gerald Wallace-Bobcats-traded for

Vet PG to Mentor Bayless
Andre Miller-FA
Jason Kidd-FA
Kirk Hinrich-Bulls-Would have to be traded for
Steve Nash-Suns-Traded for-Would be a clash of playing styles, bad fit


Out of all of that, it seems that upgrading SF has the most options, might be best to stick with Blake at pg if thats all that is out there, and I don't see a great backup 4 unless we could get Collison.

Who I like
Prince-Medium Chance
Battier-Low-None Chance, Houston would be dumb to give him away
Artest-Medium-would love him, but would KP take a chance on him?
Wallace-Medium-Will Char simmer down on how much they wanted for him? Long contract + injury history =?
Hedo-High-Depends on the length of the deal as he has already hit his peak
Miller-High-would his lack of outside shooting hinder our offense or would his playmaking ability surpass all?
Hinrich-High-kinda warming up to this idea, would be cheap to acquire and he plays D
Collison-Medium-Not sure if he's on our radar but seems like the perfect backup 4

 

[B-Roy]

AND

One can dream, can't he?

 

[THE HCP]

Steve Nash! With all the turnover in the last couple days and maybe next couple days, he won't want to finish his career there. Bring him in for 2-3 years to help run this team. He would get the ball to Greg where he needs it and set BRoy up for easy hoops. Also, can you think of a better player to mentor Bayless. I'd love seeing him as our starting PG on opening night.

Back up PF either Mcdyess or Joe Smith

 

[Mediocre Man]

Steve Nash! With all the turnover in the last couple days and maybe next couple days, he won't want to finish his career there. Bring him in for 2-3 years to help run this team. He would get the ball to Greg where he needs it and set BRoy up for easy hoops. Also, can you think of a better player to mentor Bayless. I'd love seeing him as our starting PG on opening night.

Back up PF either Mcdyess or Joe Smith

Nash and Nate would be my favorite thing ever. He turns the ball over, doesn't play defense, and needs the ball in his hands too much for Brandon's sake.



I would love it. It could be the end of Nate. I wonder what the Nate flavored kool-aid drinkers will say when we are still one of the slower paced teams? I mean supposedly for his entire 9 year coaching career he has never had the players to push the ball.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

Ok, new thought..

Package LaMarcus for Carmello

Sign and trade for Andre Miller

Sign David Lee

PG: Andre Miller
SG: Brandon Roy
SF: Carmelo Anthony
PF: David Lee
C: Greg Oden

 

[THE HCP]

Nash and Nate would be my favorite thing ever. He turns the ball over, doesn't play defense, and needs the ball in his hands too much for Brandon's sake.



I would love it. It could be the end of Nate. I wonder what the Nate flavored kool-aid drinkers will say when we are still one of the slower paced teams? I mean supposedly for his entire 9 year coaching career he has never had the players to push the ball.

Wow! Just like that you used my well written synopsis as fuel for your anti-Nate campaign! Damn You MM! I still think it would work!

 

[Mediocre Man]

Wow! Just like that you used my well written synopsis as fuel for your anti-Nate campaign! Damn You MM! I still think it would work!

Despite my alterior motives, I think Nash would be a good fit if Nate loosened things up on offense.

 

[Denny Crane]

The Nuggets wouldn't trade Anthony without getting at least one of Roy, Aldridge or Oden back for him. Roy is better, Aldridge isn't much worse than Anthony and plays a more valuable position and Oden stands to be far more valuable in the future.

You are kidding, right?

 

[Mediocre Man]

You are kidding, right?

I think Roy is better than Melo also. Not by a lot though. Aldridge is close ish....sorta kinda.

 

[Minstrel]

You are kidding, right?

Anthony: 19.0 PER (age 24)
Roy: 24 PER (age 24)
Aldridge: 19.1 PER (age 23)

Anthony is about a 20-21 PER player, if you take more of his seasons into account. With Roy and Aldridge, it is perfectly reasonable to use their latest seasons because they've been improving each season...Anthony has plateaued over the past four seasons.

So, no, not kidding at all. Roy cleanly surpassed Anthony this season. Aldridge was actually dead even with Anthony this year and his current level is only slightly behind Anthony's established level over the past several seasons.

Anthony is a very good young player but his lack of progression from when he was 21 has prevented him from attaining superstardom. He's a star, Roy is a borderline superstar and Aldridge is a borderline star. Thus, my appraisal was quite spot-on, in my opinion.

 

[Denny Crane]

I think Roy is better than Melo also. Not by a lot though. Aldridge is close ish....sorta kinda.

I'm not a homer for either team (Denver, Portland). I think Melo is a cut above Roy and quite a bit better than Aldridge.

Melo's teams have never been sub .500, and they've been 50 game winners enough. He's proven to be a 30 PPG scorer (contender for scoring title) if the team asks him to. And I'm certain Melo showed himself a better player in the playoffs.

Aldridge? He's a career 15/6 at PF.

 

[Sinobas]

Are you questioning that Brandon Roy is better than Carmelo? Come on, don't be stupid like Jason "I'll go out of my way to not look biased, no matter how dumb it is" Quick.

Anthony may rate just a tad above LaMarcus right now, but I think Carmelo has reached his peak. He's a good scorer, but LaMarcus could be a flat out DOMINANT player. As McMillen said, he has the ability to dominate on both ends of the floor. Whether or not he'll ever fully develop is another story. But we already have guys on this team that have enough potential to dominate.

I also don't like the idea of having a great volume scorer at SF. We really need a defensive role player who can hit the 3 (like Batum). Watching Team USA barely beat crappy Euro teams should show you that having to many one on one scorers isn't good.

 

[Denny Crane]

Are you questioning that Brandon Roy is better than Carmelo? Come on, don't be stupid like Jason "I'll go out of my way to not look biased, no matter how dumb it is" Quick.

Anthony may rate just a tad above LaMarcus right now, but I think Carmelo has reached his peak. He's a good scorer, but LaMarcus could be a flat out DOMINANT player. As McMillen said, he has the ability to dominate on both ends of the floor. Whether or not he'll ever fully develop is another story. But we already have guys on this team that have enough potential to dominate.

I also don't like the idea of having a great volume scorer at SF. We really need a defensive role player who can hit the 3 (like Batum). Watching Team USA barely beat crappy Euro teams should show you that having to many one on one scorers isn't good.

Could be.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Personally I think Deron Williams is the missing piece. And here's why he might be more attainable than other players as good as him:

1. Utah is a small market team, and I don't think a rich one.
2. Its fanatical owner just died. The team stayed in the family, but who knows if they share his commitment?
3. They've got an incredibly overpaid Russian that they might want to dump, and Williams (who earns plenty) might be the sweetener.
4. ..especially if Boozer leaves as a FA and the team starts to suck, and Williams gets despondent.
5. They also have NY's TOTALLY UNPROTECTED PICK in the next draft. Can you say "John Wall"?
6. They just picked a PG... (okay, that's pretty weak.)

If they traded Deron then they might as well sell the team. Because no one would show up. He is their franchise and everyone in Utah knows it. No way in hell would they trade him unless it was the last year of his contract and and he emphatically demanded it. And even if that happened, Portland would be the last team they would trade him to unless we gave them Roy.

Bottom line.... Don't waste too much time with this fantasy. But I agree, he would be the final piece.