I think you guys are a little harsh on the roster. They definitely won't make the playoffs in the west, but could make it in the east with Lillard's leadership. The team is young and has some talent, however I agree that all of their young talent (not named Lillard) is definitely NOT all-star potential. Just look at the lineup the OP listed. PG Damian Lillard - Don't really need to say anything here. Cj McCollum - a Jason Terry/Crawford/Foye type. Tim Frazier - No idea who this kid is. SG Gerald Henderson -Pure scorer. Is probably trade bait though. C.J. McCollum Allen Crabbe -meh. SF Al-Farouq Aminu - DEFENSE and REBOUNDING. Moe Harkless - Strong defense as well but has a better jump shot. PF Ed Davis - Same as Aminu, but add some ability to finish at the rim. Noah Vonleh - Lot's of potential to be a borderline all-star but probably won't become one in his career. Hasn't proven anything yet though. C Mason Plumlee - Good role-player center. Meyers Leonard - As above. Blazers have recovered ok. They are still in the mix for a good lotto pick, but the future potential is good with the right allstar additions.
They should be top 5 pick. Philly Minny LAL Nuggets Blazers Right now people should stop considering the Blazers as contenders but as a rebuilding team because that's what it is. A rebuilding team with a young core.
They in all probability are not making the playoffs. They might not even make the playoffs if they were in the Leastern Conference.
Played on Tim Frazier's AAU team. The kid has freakishly long arms and is a crazy athlete. I could see him working out for a team in the near future.
I like their potential a lot, I think they Jazz are better right now and will have more short term success.... But I wouldn't be surprised to see them back in the playoff hunt in 3 years with a good team. They'll probably churn through several players, but I think they got some solid starters in their roster with the right amount of coaching and development.
Lol, so freaking true, I'd be so pissed off if I was a Blazers fan... ****ing passed on MJ and KD.... My god man, if this team had LMA and KD... With a then healthy Brandon Roy, probably could have been pretty exciting, instead they get Mr. Glass. I still don't know how the same franchise ****s up that bad.
Erving said it yesterday in sirius radio. http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/07/16/dr-j-sixers-on-7-year-plan-to-be-good/ the plan is 7 years. Now we enter year 4. And in year 4 again they will be the worst team in the east.
So when Lebron retires basically... That Embiid injury has to really sting. Like you (I'm sensing), I'm prefering the way the Blazers are handling the rebuild. There is a clear sense of direction and play-style. An earlier trade of Lamarcus would have helped a lot. If KLove fetched Wiggins... Lamarcus, after what he did to us in the playoffs, could have netted something pretty substantial. The holes to fill are a lotto pick for a 2 guard and possibly another 4 depending on Vonleh's progression. They have tradeable assets. Two very solid and young bigs in Plumlee and Leonard, and McCollum. But I really like Plumlee's fit on this roster. Look how great Robin Lopez was for them.
Except from Rockets I'm also a Bucks fan so I keep a very close eye on rebuilding teams and their strategies. I feel that Hinkie has taken a step too far and is completely ignoring the human factor. The players are not robots and you can't just put them in the roster and they will develop. The value of vets and chemistry and good examples in a team and STABILITY is completely overlooked with the 6ers. It's also not only Embiid or Okafor , it's how he handled the second round picks he had this year. Exchanged Hernangomez for another two second rounders even further away in the future. Didn't draft a pointguard. The rebuild is put more and more on delay and he can keep selling promise to the fans. If a prospect fails to show star potential in the first year he is sold off for further future picks. It's similar critiques to Morrey but Hinkie has taken it THREE steps further. And he has found a good coach and we will see how long he can take this farce. The Blazers reacted very fast and smartly. They did try to keep LMA but they planned for either event. Batum was expiring and they wouldn't be able to get him to resign to a bad team with so much money in the market next year and such a demand for good wings. They took advantage of a treadmilling win now team with a coach who hates rookies, and got a prospect (even though he is rumoured to not be very smart). Plumplee if used correctly and stays in his role (he did that last year so he knows who he is as a player) can be a very good young center. McCollum and Leonard showed up when it counts, in the playoffs. Now if Leonard learns who he is too, and accepts his role , he's still very young, then he can have a good breakout season next year. I don't think their core is that amazing, but it's only imo the first step in their rebuild. They will get a top 5 pick this year, trade Henderson and use capspace to get a rfa next summer or rent it for picks. Their gm is really smart imo.
I agree on just about all counts. I do think that Embiid's health going forward is crucial for them. He is that guy who has the potential to change a franchise around. Noel and Embiid is "potentially" an elite front court. I'm pretty sure they wanted Deangelo or even Mudiay, but it didn't work out for them. But, we are in the era of the Point Guard, so they could fill that hole. They got a shooter in Stauskas. We'll see what he becomes. Saric's intriguing, but not sure how he'll translate against NBA caliber athletes. A lot of "ifs" besides Noel. ---- You must be excited about the Bucks. Who plays the majority of the minutes at the 2 spot and 4 spot?
Vonleh showing his versatility <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZjeOvgMN8yI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Harkless could flourish in a higher tempo system. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_eqYdY9Q1jo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Yeah. Embiid is the one with the biggest star potential out of all their prospects. But when they drafted, they already knew about his injury (the MRI was done in early May-June) so at least they got Okafor. But Okafor and Noel in my opinion will be a horrible fit. Noel is a true center not a pf, and he has very little hope to ever develop a jumper. But we will see. You found a strange time to ask me this about the Bucks becasue right now I have no clue what the dumb FO is doing. But a very good bet is that they will take a big step back this year. SG should normally have been Middleton and PF should have been GA. That's why a good GM and FO is one of the best assets a team can have, if not THE BEST. And why the Rockets are trully blessed. And also why the Blazers will be back with a little luck soon. They won't be Minny with a decade of lotteries.
Noah Vonleh's 2015 Summer League statistics: I also have a complete understanding that this is just summer league and will likely not translate immediately against NBA caliber players. BUT one can gauge Vonleh's current skillset/comfort level and what the coaches & Vonleh are working on and/or focusing on. ---- Jul 12 vs DAL 13 pts on 4-9 shooting & 5-7 from the line w/ 7 rebs 29 mins | 0-2 from deep | 2 TOs | 3 fouls Jul 14 vs SAS 20 pts on 6-10 shooting & 7-8 from the line; 1-2 from deep w/ 8 rebs 32 mins | 3 TOs | 4 fouls Jul 15 at MIN (against Towns) 16 pts on 7-14 shooting; 1-3 from deep; 1-2 from the line w/ 10 rebs, 6 of them offensive. 1 stl & 1 blk 30 mins | 1 TO | 5 fouls Jul 16 vs BOS 20 pts on 7-10 shooting; 3-3 from deep; 3-4 from the line w/ 9 rebs 24 mins | 2 TOs | 6 fouls
Great write-up done on the BlazersEdge on Portland's young core. How good are the Blazers' young core group
