If LMA even hinted he was interested in the Rockets that would sure give the Blazers some control in the matter. We don't have cap space so the possibility doesn't even exist unless Portland agrees to a trade. Better to wait on Portland asking if there is any situation he would be willing to do a Snt. Eventually they will. They want something out of his loss. If I'm LMA's agent that's the way I'd play it. All's quiet on the Rockets front. Got to believe with the Dekker pick and the Batum trade the Blazers and Rockets may be preparing.
If Dwight can take having less of the limelight then I agree that LMA would just be behind Harden but I believe HOU would have to give up Ariza (and maybe more) to get LMA which takes away some fairly stout D. If I were HOU, I'd be trying hard as hell to fill that pg hole with some real talent instead of adding to what is a pretty strong frontcourt. Sucks when teams try to get the best player possible rather than the best fit possible. Rarely works out in the end.
UTAH is still better than LA. I agree Dallas is a wild card, but they could potentially have a ton of new players. OKC takes Portland's spot. I don't think Kevin Love is a winner. In the new NBA you need to be able to play defense. He just gets fluff stats on a bad team. Who's gonna protect their paint? There is a reason Cleveland played better with him on the bench all year. I pray that Morey is not going after him. Is Kobe even healthy...
Every year people overrate how hard it is to fit a max player into cap space. Parker, Mills, Green (cap hold), Kawhi (cap hold), Diaw, Anderson and Aldridge would cost about 62.3 million with 5 roster holds. That would leave around $6 million for Duncan and around $3 million for Ginobli with the room exception. Parker/Mills Green/Ginobli Kawhi/Anderson Aldridge/Diaw Duncan/? Isn't as deep as the past few Spurs teams, but is obviously a contender given the "big 3" don't have too steep a drop off. And, of course, they'll have plenty of ring chasing veterans to choose from.
Lmao...no they wouldn't 3 unknowns ,1 all star and 1 player who is about to conclude an injury plagued present. Yeah , they would be in the lottery for sure.
Utah got better. Minnesota got better. New Orleans will be better. I expect Portland and Dallas to fall out but Utah will definitely join the playoff teams. They were beastly once Gobert broke out. Phoenix is on that bubble too so we'll have to watch how their offseason goes to see if they'll be a threat to make the playoffs. The idea that Kobe is coming back healthy is ridiculous. They're going to have all that cap tied up in a guy wearing a suit for the year and the bulk of their talent will be rookies. If they get Aldridge they may edge out a team like Minnesota but I actually think Minnesota will have more talent.
The Lakers were ranked 29th defensively last season. They didn't have a perimeter stopper or a interior rim protector. LaMarcus Aldridge is a gifted offensive player, but only a slightly above-average defender and doesn't offer that much rim protection despite his size. The Lakers are expected to have Kobe, Clarkson and Russel playing heavy minutes. Kobe sucks on defense in his old age. Clarkson wasn't any good on D as a rookie (as expected) and wasn't much of a defender in college. DeAngelo Russell also doesn't have much of a defensive reputation. How are the Lakers going to not suck on D?
They have resources, they are not afraid to pay tax and they will take big contract in a heart beat, as of now, they won't have much cap room, but if they do take on some expiring young contracts, they will go for it. You will not want to see that, they are not the Knicks.
They do have resources and are willing to use the resources. But what defensive talent can they convert these resources into given the constraints of the salary cap? They owe nearly $40M to just Kobe, Randle, Russell, Clarkson and Nick Young-- guys they either want to keep or would have a hard time trading. Adding the nearly $20M offered to Aldridge and there is maybe $7M or less in cap room. What great defender is out there available for this money?
Perhaps, but relying on a player's wilingness to take a paycut is a big risk. Chandler, and every good player, will have attractive offers.
Tyson would only do something like that if LMA or Love came on board and Kobe called to see if Tyson wanted to make another run. A team adding a marquee free agent, two rookie of the year candidates, and as a result a rejuvenated Kobe could be enticing to a vet. Still it's drawing an inside straight on the river, so the chances are really small it would ever happen but sometimes you need luck in roster building (like the Rockets getting Josh Smith for the BAE and hopefully keeping him for that amount again this year).
Chandler? Lol you should all go to the cousins thread and read the amick article. Its only a matter of time before fegan overides divac and trades cousins to the lakers for two cents. Vivek has already gave in. Mostof the karl saga is made up and orchestrated by the lakers and the agent to get cousins to la. The lakers will probably trade randle clarkson and young. Not even russel.
Nice little Blazers convo and where things stand from Jason Quick of the Oregonian. Spoiler I don't believe LaMarcus has told the Blazers. If LaMarcus was indeed leaving, the Blazers would go to Damian and say this is your team now. Damian has said this has not happened. Same with his agent. Wes said it's all rumors. I believe that. When Neil comes out strong denying it, I believe he has not informed the Blazers. That doesn't mean he isn't leaning towards leaving. I don't think anyone knows. This time last year, he said to everyone in Portland he was coming back. Miraculously, something happened in the last year during a 50-win season that he said "You know what, I don't want to come back." He changes his mind all the time. Anyone who says they know what he's thinking is lying. We have to wait for him to go through the process. How do we know SA is interested in LaMarcus? We don't know. Everyone needs to wait and see how this unfolds. Everyone wants to talk and get the answer but when it comes to LaMarcus, he is one of the toughest guys to read. He's so fickle and changes his mind so often. In a long winded way, I don't believe he has informed the Blazers one way or another. So why is it a forgone conclusion around the league he's gone? I don't know. I don't know who they're talking to or what their motives are. I've been doing this long enough. You see it every year. You see it all the time. LaMarcus also didn't give the best indications towards the end of the season. The way he conducted himself in the Memphis series. Not taking part in late game huddles, flying home separate of the team, showing up late to game five breakfast, last to board the bus. Those are all things that say "I'm not totally engaged with things going on here." Are the things the Blazers are doing now going to convince him to come back? I don't know. Neil has a difficult job right now because he's trying to construct two different teams: one with LaMarcus and one if he spurns them, he has to have a fallback plan. He has to build a team that is flexible if he leaves. Everyone is panicking what the roster looks like right now in June. He has all summer to spend $41-46M, that's a lot of money. People say, "No FA comes to Portland." That is true. Andre Miller is the biggest FA to come to Portland. If you're under the cap, you can absorb contracts. Roy Hibbert will be in play again for the Blazers. Portland can absorb his contract and take him in a trade. There are ways to improve and ways to improve beyond free agency. Neil is the most impressive GM I've worked with. At the press conference, that sounded like a guy under a tremendous amount of stress. You have to understand, that was at 10-something at night. That's the end of a long day, long week and long month. These guys don't sleep. On draft day, it's a draining and exhausting day. His wife is in the hospital. He has all that going on then he comes out and talks to us yahoos. Our market needs to be better from a media standpoint. We're still asking about FA in a public setting. Teams cannot talk about FA before July 1 or they get fined. ... That's where his irritation came from on top of exhaustion, on top of his family issue. It's Neil being Neil. Neil is a fiery guy. He's a tornado of energy every time you see and talk to him. Nothing out of the ordinary. His moves, those moves he made, if you're looking for anything circumstantial with Aldridge, those moves don't make you feel like they'll be bringing everyone back. I don't think they will. Aldridge and Lillard will potentially the only starters back. I don't think Wes is coming back. Money wise, role wise, coming off injury, Paul Allen is not ready to give out $15($50?) million after all the injuries he has paid for as owner of the Blazers. Wes Matthews has played his last game in Portland. No question. Lopez, I don't know where they stand. They want to get more athletic and a better rim protector. Hibbert is gonna be a target for the Blazers. Their perimeter D with Lillard and McCollum potentially, they need someone to reject shots and shy people from attacking the rim. Lets say they go out...how would you feel about Lillard, McCollum, DeMarre Carroll, Aldridge and Roy Hibbert? Playoff team, a 6-7-8 seed. You also have Vonleh on the upswing, Plumlee on the upswing, Myers & CJ trending upwards. You have some sustainability there. I don't know if it'll be possible money wise. It'll be difficult but they can be better than people are thinking right now. This is a guy that got Robin Lopez for Jeff Withey and garbage. He shrewdly gets good players in here. His FA signings aren't blockbuster. Chris Kaman, Dorrell Wright, Steve Blake but they've been smart financially. That's the way he'll go again. Kirk Hinrich, maybe Sergio Rodriguez, Barbosa, J.J. Barea, this is one thing Olshey is looking for to upgrade this team. They need players who can create their own shots. They were easily defendable last year. It's a bunch of spot up shooters. Memphis, who is defensive oriented, they're easily defensible. No one could break them off the dribble. Who could go off the dribble? McCollum. What did he do to the Grizzlies? 33 points in his last game. Neil Olshey is looking for players who are looking for their own shot, to give this offense versatility. What if LaMarcus doesn't come back and no Hibbert? Then where? You're looking at a rebuild. You're turning it over to younger guys. Leonard's probably starting at PF and sharing time with Vonleh and Plumlee becoming your center. You're looking at a 35-37 win season, if that. The following year, the salary cap increases from high $60s to mid $80s. He'll have a ton of money but your again looking at getting FAs to Portland. It's not a super desirable scenario right now. Small Forward is the biggest need. Luckily, that's the broadest pool of FAs. You'll have Carroll, and you'll laugh at some of these: Dunleavy, Aminu, Brewer, Deng, Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza is not a FA but that's the type you can absorb his contract. When I talked about that starting lineup, the problem is you get those guys then you've exhausted all your money and don't have a bench. We've seen that. It doesn't work out well. Is this team next year as good as last year or two? No. They'll take a step back but I still think there's a chance they can make the playoffs. That's not desirable but this team at the end of the day will be young and rebuilding or a fringe playoff team with a ton of upside. ... Step back, look at the big picture, it's probable they take a step back. If LaMarcus leaves, will Paul Allen allow it to be a rebuild and torn down? Will he demand you put together a team to compete for the 7th/8th seed? I don't know if he'll have a choice. He can't give that mandate to Neil. It's hard to get FAs here and absorb as many contracts as they'll need to if LaMarcus isn't here. If he doesn't come, they'll take a big step back, won't make the playoffs, but an enticing young group. That's hard for Portland to swallow. We've gone through 2 or 3 of those in the last ten years. It's a hard thing to do. It's hard to convince [Aldridge] to come back when they'll take a step back even with him. 27M reasons why. It's a ton of money. Will he sign a short team deal? I don't have a good sense of that. His agent is Arn Tellum, who is departing to Detroit. He's not the most open guy. I'll say this: if he signs with Portland, a short term deal rather than long term deal. Kevin Love? I absolutely don't see that happening. Why not? Kevin doesn't want to come back and play here. Playing in your hometown is incredibly overrated. People want tickets, people want this & that. He didn't want to play college here. Why would he want to play pro ball here? Lillard, McCollum, ???, Myers & Plumlee - how many wins? 30 games. Plumlee is a PnR center who can dive to the basket. It opens up their offense a little more. RHJ, zero offensive game. I didn't see him fitting in with Stotts offense. ... My whole thing is don't judge the team right now. Let's talk in a month. Is this a 30 win team or 44 win team? Probably somewhere in the middle there. Olshey was done with Batum? No question. No question he was going to trade him.
Yeah. I call bullcrap. Probably the guy is on the payroll from portland fo or he wants a favor to get scoops. You dont trade batum for a rookie and you dont get a young center if you keep aldridge. I swear some of these "journalists" think that we are blind sheep who eat up everything they say without using our brains.
Man that was a burn. I agree that LMA is leaving, Portland is very close to rebuild mode. Bring on LMA to the Rockets.
The way Batum played last season, and the contract he's on, it's something I would've seriously considered regardless of what Aldridge is going to do. He was a liability for them on the court last season.
Batum was injured for most of the year. After the asw he got more healthy and went bqck to form and started shooting much better. And he expires as well next season. Its not like hiw contract is an albatross for 4 more years. Not to mention that even before the trade they got millions of capspace and matthews and afflalo were free agents.
Not buying that. Sounds like someone holding onto the last thread before it tears. This quote was probably the best (worst) of the bunch.
