Exactly! Everyone thinks Kevin Prithchard is a great GM. He hasn't done **** but bring an injured bust onto his team. Sure they have Brandon Roy but that's it. They had a 14 game winning streak last year and still didn't make the playoffs. They won't this year either. Portland will finish 9th or 10th.
Easy, go back and re-read the first page. You'll find that I merely suggested the Rockets get a piece of the action since AI was going so cheaply. My intent was never to derail the thread.
I would take Portland without Oden over Denver. Perhaps you could argue that Denver's starting lineup is better, but Portland's bench is insane with young talent and will only get better as the season progresses. Anything Oden does is a bonus.
Maybe in a few years, but right now they are too young and inexperienced. I also don't think Nate Mcmillan is the right coach for that team.
So when you say something as ridiculous as... You really didn't expect that to agitate a few? Especially on a thread that has nothing to do with T-Mac?
What I don't understand is why Denver does this...they game Camby away to save salary and now they give away an expiring in AI for a much bigger contract...what are they thinking?
Take Portland in a couple of years. They are too young to do anything now. Denver lost Andre Miller, Camby, and still have a headcase in JR Smith.
Portland has a lot of young talent. I just think they have too many young players on there team. They need to make a trade to bring in a proven number 1 guy. I see Brandon Roy as being someones Robin and not Batman.
Agreed. This also makes Denver because now they can play JR Smith starter minutes. He puts up ridiculous numbers in limited minutes, and should be able to score even more now as a starter. Even John Hollinger thinks he's capable of putting up 25pts a game, and he doesn't say that kind of thing very often. With Billups setting up the offense, Melo as first option and Smith bombing away, Denver has a more well-rounded offense. They're still very brittle inside though, so they won't make too much noise if they make the playoffs.
So Far the best analysis, but I have to disagree that Denver is in the league of San Antonio (with Ginobili) and Dallas, but I think this does put them on par or above Portland and gives them a great chance of making it to the playoffs only to be dismantled and abused by the 1st seed whether it be the lakers, rockets or Hornets
Only thing I'm worried about is having two 6 footers on the same backcourt. If we could somehow get a shooting guard or a tall point guard, then I'd be more comfortable with the idea.
thanks, and I agree with the 1st league should be one of those 3 teams. Lakers, rockets, or hornets..
it's official. billups + mcdyess + some rookie center for AI http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3679931
Start a new thread with your thoughts on this deal because I would be interested in hearing your perspective without having to dig through all the trash in this thread. BTW, after giving it more thought, not only do I think Detroit wins this deal, but I think they make out like complete bandits. There will be an adjustment process, and of course it may not work out, but Iverson in the short term this year gives that team more potential to win the East than Billups did. What they were trying wasn't working, so now you take one last major shot at it with the quartet of Wallace/Prinice/Hamilton/Iverson and if it doesn't work out, you can walk away from it this summer. Then of course the real prize is the cap flexibility they now have. Instead of watching Billups age and eat up their cap, they can go out and retool. Total highway robbery by Dumars. Billups, while theoretically a good fit for Denver, isn't what he used to be and is going to be an albatross in a year or so. I honestly don't see Denver making the playoffs this year.
I disagree with 3 of your 4 comments here: - Billups is just fine, and he arguably had his best regular season last year. - That said, he isn't a good fit with the Nuggets. He's a slow-it-down guy. The Nuggets are run-up-and-down team. - Billups should be very productive through the end of his contract. Strong PGs that can shoot it age very well. - Agree, Denver won't make the playoffs.
point taken good fit n the sense that i felt they needed someone to slow it down and be the leader. they weren't going anywhere with that style of play. i disagree. they age well relative to smallish/athletic point guards in the sense that those of the latter variety completely fall off the map with sharp declines whereas the strong pg's can still be serviceable and effective into old age. but it doesn't mean a former star like billups will maintain his star performance. he will decline, though not as sharply as a steve francis, and that contract will be ugly. portland just found it's way in.
My worry is that the rest of the guys are used to playing up and down. How do they adjust to a more half-court oriented style?
