Bring LaMarcus Home

[BlazersBroncos]

Eubanks is 6'9, 245lbs, 6'11 WS

Nurkic is 6'11, 290lbs, 7'2 WS

Looking at the above you have to take into account that Jusuf's weight is an outlier in the league (I think like 2 guys weight more).

But Eubanks size is fine - for example Looney is the same height and 20lbs lighter. In Drew is one of, if not the, heaviest guys in the league when looking at all players in the 6'8-6'10 range. Hell, Aldridge is about the same weight and he has developed into a big dude.

I really dont think size is an issue w/ our backup bigs. I think the lack of a floor spacer at C is more of an issue, but thats a wildly in-demand skill from a C.

Also, Vandy is 35lbs lighter than Eubanks.

IDK how the consensus is that Drew is a stick, he is a freaking beast for his size and 6'9 is fine for a C these days.

[Norm2953]

BB is quite a bit higher on Eubanks than most for the guy rarely got off the bench in SA and was released by'
the Nets. He's okay as a third center but if Nurk goes down to injury, Watford not Eubanks will be the guy
playing 30 minutes/game.

What Portland needs though is a PF for Jerami Grant is a combo forward who will be asked to be the guy he
was in Denver. Not likely he will be agreeable to be that player in his contract season.

[Soulyss]

The responses in this thread are predictable...

LMA is still a pretty effective player on limited minutes. If he was 15-18 minutes a night as the backup center that would be a much, much better option than any of Portland's current options.

I would take him in a heartbeat if he would buy into that role for the next season or two.

[BlazersBroncos]

BB is quite a bit higher on Eubanks than most for the guy rarely got off the bench in SA and was released by'
the Nets. He's okay as a third center but if Nurk goes down to injury, Watford not Eubanks will be the guy
playing 30 minutes/game.

What Portland needs though is a PF for Jerami Grant is a combo forward who will be asked to be the guy he
was in Denver. Not likely he will be agreeable to be that player in his contract season.

I just think he is a fine regular season bruiser. A playoff quality backup C isn’t in the cards, no FA is that guy and I don’t think a trade becomes available to find that guy either. Before people say LMA, he didn’t play a minute against Boston when BRK could have used a boost, and the reason why is bc he is free points for the opposing team when targeted in the PNR. He is Kanter level targetable in the PNR. That bad.

I think the hope would be Watford develops as the year goes on and becomes the switchable, floor spacing small ball C that has excelled in the postseason lately. I think that’s the only hope for a truly legit backup C.

[GEE]

I very much agree he would likely be a better option than Eubanks on the offensive end, but not by a huge amount, cause we don't really need that role-player position to score much at all. On the defensive side of things though, I would have to go with Eubanks, and he also gets the nod for hustle and effort and pure brass.

Watford is, in my view, a obvious Draymond-lite that's getting better every minute he plays. He's also very similar in size compared to DG. Point is... he can also fill either PF or C if we happen to get into a pinch; Foul trouble for instance, or some Covid BS.

So again, maybe if he begged us to take him back on the Twitter, but still... NO. We really needed LMA a few years ago IMO and the opportunity to rejoin us was there... but he chose BKN and now he's hot garbage in their eyes.

I think Chauncey is happy (and I am too) with Nurkic/Eubanks/Watford. Or it may end up being N/W/E, and Eubanks will be the 3rd C. Regardless, I think we'll be just fine without him. Our biggest, and only real challenge next season will be incorporating Dame into the mix. He will definitely need to adjust his game quite a bit IMO, but I also believe he is capable of being deadly if he'd just learn to move without the ball, and play some better D.

I think we will see Dame, Simons & GP2 manning a majority of the PG/SG rotation, with a small army of wings in Hart, Winslow, Grant, Little & Watford holding down the SF/PF positions. We could have ourselves a PLATOON ladies and gents. Old-School: Guards / Wings / Posts. I think we could be very surprised at how good we might be next year, but again it will all largely depend on Dame's accepting and blending in to Chauncey's system. This is now the only thing that still worries me going forward.

RIP CITY!!!

[Norm2953]

I see what Danny Ainge in short order has done (or is about get done) with the Jazz which is
to trade both Gobert and Mitchell and get tons of draft picks and flexibility

I just wonder why we can't do what OKC, Houston and now SA, Detroit and Utah are doing which
is embrace the rebuild. Instead we seem to go out of our way to pay a 37 year old Dame, $60+
million and discussing whether to bring LA back.

We just seem resigned to be a permanent #7-8 seed in the western conference until all that money
is finally off their books in 2028. I just hate having to wait until 2028, before we finally can
can get the rebuild

[BlazersBroncos]

I see what Danny Ainge in short order has done (or is about get done) with the Jazz which is
to trade both Gobert and Mitchell and get tons of draft picks and flexibility

I just wonder why we can't do what OKC, Houston and now SA, Detroit and Utah are doing which
is embrace the rebuild. Instead we seem to go out of our way to pay a 37 year old Dame, $60+
million and discussing whether to bring LA back.

We just seem resigned to be a permanent #7-8 seed in the western conference until all that money
is finally off their books in 2028. I just hate having to wait until 2028, before we finally can
can get the rebuild

I think there are a few reasons:

1) Cronin doesnt have the resume of an Ainge or Presti - a guy coming in and tearing the whole squad down after like 6 months on the job is a pretty hard sell.
2) Team is for sale and having a decent product to leverage matters
3) Dame - A small market with issues getting much less keeping high end talent and a star who is ingrained in the community and brings in lots of $$$ - hard to convince the bean counters that moving him would be beneficial, hard to convince the fans we should move off a player and human being of the caliber of Dame.
4) Complacenty - The PDX fanbase just wants a decent team, the expectations are not ring or rebuild in Portland, years of being low seed fodder, but with a glimmer of hope, have made us accept the reality of a competitive but not contender type squad

[Norm2953]

They seem content to be the #6 seed

[HoopsFanAZ]

As long as Lillard is on the roster, it's not time for a rebuild down to its young foundation -- he's too friggin' good and a bad Blazers team would achieve around him. In 2015-2016, the Blazers were supposed to be a lottery team IMHO. High pick lottery team. CJ hit. Indications of what he could be on offense hit.

The (practically) all bench team played hard. Kaman was the veteran with 12 years experience. Gerald Henderson (6), Aminu (5), and Ed Davis (5) were brought in ... not quality starters (marginal). Everyone else had 3 years experience or less. They were supposed to lose! A lot! So they made the playoffs as the 5th seed.

Lillard, McCollum, Chief, Vonleh, Plumlee with Crabbe, Meyers, Easy Ed, Mo, Henderson, PatConn, and Tim Frazier ... young.
I get that there are many good teams in the West, today, BUT Dame led that ragtag bunch to 44-38.

Who is new? Jerami Grant, Gary Payton, Shaedon Sharpe, Jabari Walker.
... with the mostly bench guys who were NEW last year who WILL BE getting time on court -- Hart, Watford, Eubanks, Winslow (along with GB3 and Keon) ... and Chauncy Billups and Cronin as GM. [Hughes? Louzada? Williams?]

That leaves Dame, Nurk, Ant, and Nassir as the old guard of Blazers players. I'd say this team is undergoing a renovation that took it down as close to the studs as was doable and reasonable while everyone else was trying to improve their houses, too ... There are choices yet to make when the team actually plays together -- this one really hasn't become a team, yet.

THIS team is not one that's supposed to lose.

[BlazersBroncos]

They seem content to be the #6 seed

They know they are not a contender, thats why they swung big on Sharpe.

Grant and GP2 are to help win now to appease dame, but end of the day you dont take SS if you think you are contending now. The long term play of pick 7 is the real indicator of what the FO thinks of this teams potential, and that is we are middle seed fodder at best in need of a huge hit to come close to being a contender.

Its a reason why I was a fan of the SS pick, swing big if you need big help to get to the next level.

[HoopsFanAZ]

They seem content to be the #6 seed

They know they are not a contender, thats why they swung big on Sharpe.

Grant and GP2 are to help win now to appease dame, but end of the day you dont take SS if you think you are contending now. The long term play of pick 7 is the real indicator of what the FO thinks of this teams potential, and that is we are middle seed fodder at best in need of a huge hit to come close to being a contender.

Its a reason why I was a fan of the SS pick, swing big if you need big help to get to the next level.

I agree with most of what you've said. BPA if that is BEST enough is THE optimal strategy. Otherwise, if it's win, now, [and/or no "best player" is really there], trade the pick, other players, and future pick(s) to get that guy [OG] whose cost is a seller's market. Pay up. I realize that saying this actually supports your argument about how management sees the team -- even OG and Grant wouldn't get them to contention [maybe ... IMHO, they would have been]. However, Sharpe is supposed to be BPA. Best in class as a prep. Judged by Calipari as a Top3 if not best in next year's lottery.

So, while I agree with your conclusions about the Blazers' ceiling this year AND taking the best shot for the future, I also am pretty optimistic about this team. I don't see the team as content to be the #6 seed, and Dame won't be good with one and done.

[m0ng0]

The other side of the coin is we could have swung REALLY big traded Dame probably got a Gobert sized haul, possibly got in the top 3 and drafted a potential stud along with Sharpe and probably had 2 more firsts next year, not traded for Grant and had crap tubs of cap space and have a year of development under our belts and use potentially 2 or 3 picks next year to leverage our way into next years draft and potentially get that missing piece.

We hired 2 highly thought of draft gurus to help make the right choices. Assuming we got one of the big 3 this year we would have potentially been a bubble team? Bubble team 6th seed whats the difference? The difference this young core of players would have a year of feeling things out and have a better idea of what next year's draft will look like and build upon the chemistry built this year.

The sale of this team is no longer a thing,. Would you rather have a middling team with an aging SUPERSTAR who is on a bloated contact or a vibrant young team with a low cap figure and so much potential for the future?

I believe we made the wrong decision.

[Norm2953]

One can look at all the young talent in OKC and Houston and see their future for they still have
all kinds of draft capital to get better.

The Pistons now have Cunningham and seem enthused about adding Ivey and Duren. Utah and SA
dumped Gobert, Mitchell and Murray and got tons of draft capital. Even the Pelicans still have
assets from the AD trade and will now add Zion to CJ and Ingram.

I do think the swing big with SS is the correct course but the problem is we need several of these
lottery draft picks to build up the team. Fortunately for us, we are sitting in a very tough
western conference and its no certainty we'll get out of the play in round for we might be the
underdog against teams like the Lakers if they add Kyrie to Lebron and AD.

[BlazersBroncos]

The other side of the coin is we could have swung REALLY big traded Dame probably got a Gobert sized haul, possibly got in the top 3 and drafted a potential stud along with Sharpe and probably had 2 more firsts next year,

1) The organizational hit we would take trading a loyal, coming off injury Dame would push our franchise reputation into the gutter.

2) The haul we would get for a coming off injury Dame would not be Gobert level. He needs to play well and prove health for a big haul.

[DaVoiceMaster]

One can look at all the young talent in OKC and Houston and see their future for they still have
all kinds of draft capital to get better.

The Pistons now have Cunningham and seem enthused about adding Ivey and Duren. Utah and SA
dumped Gobert, Mitchell and Murray and got tons of draft capital. Even the Pelicans still have
assets from the AD trade and will now add Zion to CJ and Ingram.

I do think the swing big with SS is the correct course but the problem is we need several of these
lottery draft picks to build up the team. Fortunately for us, we are sitting in a very tough
western conference and its no certainty we'll get out of the play in round for we might be the
underdog against teams like the Lakers if they add Kyrie to Lebron and AD.

The Blazers tried that once. Remember Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rusy Fernandez, Nicholas Batum, and several other young guys?

It doesnt always work.

[BlazersBroncos]

One can look at all the young talent in OKC and Houston and see their future for they still have
all kinds of draft capital to get better.

The Pistons now have Cunningham and seem enthused about adding Ivey and Duren. Utah and SA
dumped Gobert, Mitchell and Murray and got tons of draft capital. Even the Pelicans still have
assets from the AD trade and will now add Zion to CJ and Ingram.

I do think the swing big with SS is the correct course but the problem is we need several of these
lottery draft picks to build up the team. Fortunately for us, we are sitting in a very tough
western conference and its no certainty we'll get out of the play in round for we might be the
underdog against teams like the Lakers if they add Kyrie to Lebron and AD.

The Blazers tried that once. Remember Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rusy Fernandez, Nicholas Batum, and several other young guys?

It doesnt always work.

Ya, but was well worth the try. Not all teams that rebuild and end up with talent see 2 of the top 3 suffer catastrophic injuries that kill their careers before age 26.

If that core stayed healthy we would have some banners, or at the very least been very close to a few.

[DaVoiceMaster]

One can look at all the young talent in OKC and Houston and see their future for they still have
all kinds of draft capital to get better.

The Pistons now have Cunningham and seem enthused about adding Ivey and Duren. Utah and SA
dumped Gobert, Mitchell and Murray and got tons of draft capital. Even the Pelicans still have
assets from the AD trade and will now add Zion to CJ and Ingram.

I do think the swing big with SS is the correct course but the problem is we need several of these
lottery draft picks to build up the team. Fortunately for us, we are sitting in a very tough
western conference and its no certainty we'll get out of the play in round for we might be the
underdog against teams like the Lakers if they add Kyrie to Lebron and AD.

The Blazers tried that once. Remember Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rusy Fernandez, Nicholas Batum, and several other young guys?

It doesnt always work.

Ya, but was well worth the try. Not all teams that rebuild and end up with talent see 2 of the top 3 suffer catastrophic injuries that kill their careers before age 26.

If that core stayed healthy we would have some banners, or at the very least been very close to a few.

Agreed, but that's the problem... they didnt stay healthy. There's no guarantee it'll work out, even with the #1 pick. I'm glad they stuck with Lillard, but a youth movement could be exciting, as well. Honestly, looking at the roster, they're kind of in a youth movement now with a couple of veteran players.

[HoopsFanAZ]

The Blazers tried that once. Remember Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden, Rusy Fernandez, Nicholas Batum, and several other young guys?
It doesnt always work.

[...]

Agreed, but that's the problem... they didnt stay healthy. There's no guarantee it'll work out, even with the #1 pick. I'm glad they stuck with Lillard, but a youth movement could be exciting, as well. Honestly, looking at the roster, they're kind of in a youth movement now with a couple of veteran players.

Average age 24 / Average age of starters 26.4 (or 27.4 with Hart)

Lillard 32
Simons 23
Little 22
Grant 28
Nurkic 27

Hart 27
Payton 29
Winslow 26
Eubanks 25
Watford 21
Sharpe 19
Walker 19
Johnson 20
Brown 20
Louzada 23

[skoharry]

IDC what you guys say, but I would gladly welcome Dwight Howard, Whiteside, cauley-stein, or trading for Moritz Wagner

[DaVoiceMaster]

[...]

Agreed, but that's the problem... they didnt stay healthy. There's no guarantee it'll work out, even with the #1 pick. I'm glad they stuck with Lillard, but a youth movement could be exciting, as well. Honestly, looking at the roster, they're kind of in a youth movement now with a couple of veteran players.

Average age 24 / Average age of starters 26.4 (or 27.4 with Hart)

Lillard 32
Simons 23
Little 22
Grant 28
Nurkic 27

Hart 27
Payton 29
Winslow 26
Eubanks 25
Watford 21
Sharpe 19
Walker 19
Johnson 20
Brown 20
Louzada 23

Winslow is only 26? It seems like he's been around a long time.