This is the team I am most afraid of right now, even ahead of the Lakers or Celtics. They were a playoff-caliber team last year. And now they are pretty much adding Oden, Bayless, Rudy Fernandez, Diogu, and possibly Batum to the mix next year.
I think both sides are too extreme here. I think the Blazers have done excellent moves. I think Bayless is a great compliment to Roy. I like there front line potential too. However I agree with the sentiment to compete towards the West elite they need a franchise player. Perhaps they can be the Pistons part 2, but not many teams achive that. They are at risk for being the recent Bulls. Good players all around and deep, but no one to take them to the next level when things really get tough. I think they have a decent chance to break into the lower seeds of the WC. I like them better than GS and we will have to see what Dallas & Den and maybe Utah does this offseason.
oh man the blazers are stacked literally they've totally changed their franchise around. the only problem will be in a few years when pretty much everyone on their team will be up for a new contract and they may need to let one or two people walk. but then they also have started the tradition of the spurs of having players in europe develop and have them come over when they are ready. but if Paul allen is willing to spend his money on the luxury tax (which he can afford to do, and probably will make all that money back from the increased revenue of a successful franchise/potential perennial contender) man Bayless could be their missing piece. I've watch bayless play pretty often during his one year in the Pac-10 and that guy is legit. I dont see why indiana makes this trade at all to be honest. because #11 pick>#13 and imo Diogu=Jack (who i think is terrible) and McRoberts (yet to play but marginal player imo again) Diogu was a former #9 pick who had some injuries but can be a very productive bench player who does have freakish long arms. man but with bayless running the show with roy, alridge, webster and oden? DAMN only thing holding them back really is experience and how soon they develop chemistry. Oden yeah hasnt played a game yet but with the other four on the court he wont need to score at all (havent seen too much of his offensive game yet because of his broken right hand) just the occasional rebound put back will really suffice, he will just need to be a terror on the boards and defensively blocking shots protecting the paint which he can do. now with guys like blake, outlaw, frye, diogu,pryzbilla, fernandez coming off the bench????? and batum if he comes over this year as well. that team is STACKED but just young thats all. they have the potential to be a top 4 team in the west if not the league if they can get their stuff all together
Whoever the guy is behind the Portland management, he/she is good, I mean very good... I think four teams stood out in the league in term of obtaining talents and building a franchise team: 1) Portland 2) Toronto 3) Rockets 4) Celtics
krockets, Funny how the team you ranked 4th overall just won a championship lol. Still I've never seen a front office as active and effective as the Blazers. How many great moves have they made in just the past 3 seasons alone?
I think the Blazers need to package Outlaw or Webster for an experienced SF and they can make a solid playoff run. As a whole, the team is still too young.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Blazers look awesome on NBA Live right now, but so did the Bulls last season. They might make the playoffs. Too much love for the Blazers!
(1) They were 41-41 last season and I think it is doubtful that 50 wins will be needed again next season. (2) Another year of experience for Roy, Aldridge, Webster, Outlaw will be huge. (3) Adding Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless and (esp.) Greg Oden will obviously help. IMO, those three things by themselves should be enough to get them the 8th seed. If Pritchard can package either one of Outlaw or Webster to get an experienced SF, they will make the playoffs comfortably. But as I said before, their season depends on Roy being healthy. He's earned Sarge's complete trust and is the leader of that team. Without him, they struggle. With him on the floor playing while hurt, they are fair. With him on the floor playing athletically, they can be very good. Another key guy is LaMarcus Aldridge. I'm not saying he was a slug at 18/8 last season, but the next step for him is to bring it every single night. If he becomes the kind of offensive player that torches defenses when they don't focus on him, watch out. But L.A. disappeared a few too many games for my taste. Blame it on youth, maybe. He easily has the talent to be a 22/10 guy for several years, but does he want it bad enough? The Blazers won't be the Bulls because Sarge isn't Scott Skiles and the Blazers players are closer to each other than the Bulls were at the beginning of last season.
How many players in their rotation will be first, second, or third year players; all of them looking to showcase their skills for their first big payday. Are there enough shots to go around, and what's the pecking order? Those two questions will hover over that team until they decide which players to keep and which to jettison. I don't think their future is quite as bright as it's being made out to be.
Eh, well what they did was collect assets. Young, up-and-coming players are always good assets to have for a team.
Blazers have Raef Lafrentz's expiring fat contract next season (12 mil), and I think Darius Miles comes off the books. So they're in excellent position to acquire that kind of proven player if they want. The Blazers improved 11 games in '07 and 9 in '08. If they follow that improvement curve they'll be close to 50 wins. After Steve Francis's giganto 17 mil comes off after next season then they can resign Roy and some of their other players...Hopefully they dont pull a Bulls and tank going for the money
I think they are still a couple years away. We could have won a title before that if everything clicks. It'll be a while before Oden can stand toe to toe to Yao.
If...yeah. Each 9 game improvement is a LOT harder, especially in the west. It's gonna be a really tough job just coaching them, with all the talent and people wanting shots. You can't go the Golden State approach to get everyone more shots because of Odom. (It would be a really bad idea to have him flying up and down the floor too much next year) And like you and someone else mentioned - what happens when you have to pay the piper? Brandon Roy - max contract. Aldridge - min $9 million per for a quality young big - or he goes elsewhere. Greg Oden - max contract. We'll see how it all plays out.
Sometimes i wish i was a Portland fan No, but seriously: Considering everybody stays healthy, at least all key players, i see this team getting as far as the NBA Finals. Maybe if they land one key all star / veteran to help them out, they can become NBA Championships in 2008-2009 imo. This team scares me the most of all coming into next season because we haven't seen them in full force yet and hopefully (not just for them but for the NBA) Oden will be great center. That would be another great match-up for us with Yao & Deke !! A bit like Yao /Shaq in 2002-2003 only less hyped of course. Look out, the Blazers are coming and I hope, I reall do hope, they will win a championship one of these years. They have had amazing talent in the past and were so close a few times. Respect to the one behind building this young team. A+ !!
I still think they could share the Bulls problem the last couple of years, no MVP caliber playmaker when it all bogs down against the elite. Will Roy be a Paul, Wade, Kobe, Lebron, Deron, Nash, Dirk, Duncan type player in this league? Not sure. Detroit is really the only team without one to have major playoff success, and they don't play in the West, and again they are the exception who did break through when the played great defense.
If IF IF he stays healthy, yes. This thread is interesting and shows how knowledge of players is based on how often they are on national TV. It also doesn't help that he laid two stink bombs against the Rockets. In crunch time during 4th quarters (when he was healthy), Roy was spectacular! There is no other way to put it. The player he reminds me of is Wade. When Roy made up his mind to attack the basket to draws FTs or get an "And 1", nobody could stop him. He has the quickness to get around people and the hops and nose for the rim. When teams don't close hard he throws it down on them. Like Wade, for some strange reason, Roy can clank jumpers all game so bad the rim needs to be painted but in the 4th quarter, a switch goes on. I saw this many times last season. Let me finish this by saying he obviously isn't as good as Wade or the others above, yet. But I would already trust him as much as Dirk with the game on the line. Let's compare them to the Bulls, another team I watch a lot. Roy is so much smarter than Ben Gordon it ain't funny. Gordon can torch a team all game long but when the opposition clamps down hard on him late in games, he makes very bad decisions. Roy is the opposite and tends to make very good decisions with the ball under stress. The chemistry of the Blazers team is total opposite of the Bulls. The Bulls had no lockerroom leader that everyone looked up to and they had a coach who they disliked and who returned the favor. Sarge has the attention and respect of the Blazers' youngsters. He is a longtime hardball who relaxed a little bit last year for the first time. In addition, he and Roy are 100% on the same page. That is the kind of glue the Bulls lacked. So there are several ways the two teams are different, all in favor of the Blazers: (1) Much better coach. (2) A true star player that (3) is the heartbeat of the coach and has the respect of the players. (4) A true low post threat in L.A, who can also drill the mid-range jumper (maybe a little too much). The Blazers won't contend next season because they are too young. Growing pains will gnaw at them. If they don't start this summer, a some of their players will be traded during next season. I can think of a couple of guys who won't make their rotation. I predicted the Bulls wouldn't snap out of their poor start after it happened. Skiles just lost the team and Boylen isn't head coach material. If Roy has a healthy season, the Blazers will make the playoffs.
