Portland's Off-Season Has Officially Arrived

[Soulyss]

Bill Simmons podcast briefly discussed Aaron Gordon for CJ.

Bill Simmons is a clown of the 1st order, he just says **** to get a reaction. Nothing intelligent or useful will come out of his dung-hole of a mouth.

[Soulyss]

Plenty of minutes for Zach as we have a 3 man PF/C rotation with Nurk/Zach/Gordon, Aminu plays some situational PF and he and Hark man the SF spot. It might open a trade of Hark or Aminu - perhaps to get under the tax? Intresting idea, however I think an SF similar to talent level of Gordon is a better trade target

Trading CJ for Gordon does not make us better. It's at best a horizontal move. The only reason you trade CJ is if you get a significantly better player (CJ + assets) or you get back two young pieces who could surpass him in value.

[Wizenheimer]

Plenty of minutes for Zach as we have a 3 man PF/C rotation with Nurk/Zach/Gordon, Aminu plays some situational PF and he and Hark man the SF spot. It might open a trade of Hark or Aminu - perhaps to get under the tax? Intresting idea, however I think an SF similar to talent level of Gordon is a better trade target

Trading CJ for Gordon does not make us better. It's at best a horizontal move. The only reason you trade CJ is if you get a significantly better player (CJ + assets) or you get back two young pieces who could surpass him in value.

first off, I'm not impressed with the idea of a CJ for Gordon swap. Maybe I just haven't seen enough of Gordon. I guess I wouldn't object to it much but I think it might be wasting an opportunity, even though I'm not a big fan of CJ's game. Is Gordon the best Portland could do?...maybe, but it seems a bit light

I do think there are more reasons to trade CJ then what you listed though, not the least of which is the very real ceiling I see on the Dame/CJ back court; It's there and they are butting against it, both on the court, and in Portland's salary cap. And the return can take more forms then you mentioned. But Blazers won't be trading CJ for a better player then CJ. Maybe a better fit. But more likely it would be the first step in a remodel. You can't demolish half a kitchen and replace it in the same day. It takes more time and more steps

[Soulyss]

Plenty of minutes for Zach as we have a 3 man PF/C rotation with Nurk/Zach/Gordon, Aminu plays some situational PF and he and Hark man the SF spot. It might open a trade of Hark or Aminu - perhaps to get under the tax? Intresting idea, however I think an SF similar to talent level of Gordon is a better trade target

Trading CJ for Gordon does not make us better. It's at best a horizontal move. The only reason you trade CJ is if you get a significantly better player (CJ + assets) or you get back two young pieces who could surpass him in value.

first off, I'm not impressed with the idea of a CJ for Gordon swap. Maybe I just haven't seen enough of Gordon. I guess I wouldn't object to it much but I think it might be wasting an opportunity, even though I'm not a big fan of CJ's game. Is Gordon the best Portland could do?...maybe, but it seems a bit light

I do think there are more reasons to trade CJ then what you listed though, not the least of which is the very real ceiling I see on the Dame/CJ back court; It's there and they are butting against it, both on the court, and in Portland's salary cap. And the return can take more forms then you mentioned. But Blazers won't be trading CJ for a better player then CJ. Maybe a better fit. But more likely it would be the first step in a remodel. You can't demolish half a kitchen and replace it in the same day. It takes more time and more steps

I guess my point was, you don't trade CJ when you can't concretely say it's a better team. We saw the team defensively improve last year to the point where it's hard to argue CJ/Dame defensive pairing is the issue. You could pair CJ up with picks or young players to try and get a better player, but swapping him for another near-allstar player isn't going to help you. If you trade him for two lotto picks like Ingram/Lonzo for example, that is the kind of gamble you take when trading a CJ, not AG.

[wco81]

I don't think AG is some defensive stalwart. But he has size and athleticism. Could he have fared better trying to defend AD or Mirotic than others on the Portland roster?

I imagine he could be effective in the transition game, if he grabs the rebound, gets it to a guard and sprints down the court, looking for lobs. Or if he could come off his man at the right time to help an possibly contest or block shots, which would lead to turnovers and a transition the other way.

Travis Outlaw used to play like that for the Trailblazers, usually defending the wings with his length and get out on the break. He wasn't a great shooter but for a couple of seasons, he seemed to hit every open jumper.

[Wizenheimer]

I don't think AG is some defensive stalwart. But he has size and athleticism. Could he have fared better trying to defend AD or Mirotic than others on the Portland roster?

I imagine he could be effective in the transition game, if he grabs the rebound, gets it to a guard and sprints down the court, looking for lobs. Or if he could come off his man at the right time to help an possibly contest or block shots, which would lead to turnovers and a transition the other way..

pre-draft measurements....

height without shoes: Gordon 6'7.5....Al-Farouq Aminu 6'7.25
wingspan: Gordon 6'11.75''....Al-Farouq Aminu 7-3.25
standing reach: Gordon 8'9.00''....Al-Farouq Aminu 9'0.5

Gordon is a hybrid PF like Aminu; Aminu just has quite a bit more length in wingspan and reach. Gordon may be less equipped to defend players like AD and Mirotic than Aminu is, and for sure, Aminu is a much better defender at this point

Gordon is a better player than Aminu, but I don't know that there is a significant enough gap between them to justify a CJ trade

[Blazers98]

Travis Outlaw used to play like that for the Trailblazers, usually defending the wings with his length and get out on the break. He wasn't a great shooter but for a couple of seasons, he seemed to hit every open jumper.

I think I remember Outlaw's shooting differently than you do.

[wco81]

Well he seemed to hit all the shots against the Warriors at least.

[deanwoof]

Travis Outlaw used to play like that for the Trailblazers, usually defending the wings with his length and get out on the break. He wasn't a great shooter but for a couple of seasons, he seemed to hit every open jumper.

I think I remember Outlaw's shooting differently than you do.

I should ask him personally. He or his father lives behind me in Hillsboro

[DusterBuster]

Plenty of minutes for Zach as we have a 3 man PF/C rotation with Nurk/Zach/Gordon, Aminu plays some situational PF and he and Hark man the SF spot. It might open a trade of Hark or Aminu - perhaps to get under the tax? Intresting idea, however I think an SF similar to talent level of Gordon is a better trade target

Trading CJ for Gordon does not make us better. It's at best a horizontal move. The only reason you trade CJ is if you get a significantly better player (CJ + assets) or you get back two young pieces who could surpass him in value.

I disagree. I think it makes the Blazers considerably better, maybe only mildly better in the immediate, but I think it makes them considerably better long-term. Makes their offense far more versatile and athletic.

[DusterBuster]

Still, the bidding war among Boston, Philadelphia and the Lakers never materialized. The Los Angeles Clippers, Denver, Phoenix, Portland, Toronto and Washington are among teams who've talked with San Antonio, league sources said.

As examples, no Blazers package includes Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum, league sources said. Because Leonard is a player teams fear could be a one-year rental, many offers are modified.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24121241/sources-san-antonio-spurs-kawhi-leonard-considering-participation-usa-basketball-minicamp-las-vegas-next-week

[Wizenheimer]

not only will Kawhi almost certainly be a 1 year rental for any team but the Lakers, he also has health concerns; and the way he handled this last season is pretty disturbing. Maybe his uncle isn't as bad as Levar Ball but it sounds like he's close to as bad.

if he wanted to torpedo his own trade value, he couldn't have done a more thorough job

[HoopsFanAZ]

With Jerry West working with the Clippers, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get Kawhi in trade as the rumored offers are understandably underwhelming. However, it takes just one GM willing to roll the dice. It's not a matter of desperation as it is one GM deciding that getting fired if it goes south isn't as bad as the slow death of being a middling playoff team.

[DusterBuster]

With Jerry West working with the Clippers, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get Kawhi in trade as the rumored offers are understandably underwhelming. However, it takes just one GM willing to roll the dice. It's not a matter of desperation as it is one GM deciding that getting fired if it goes south isn't as bad as the slow death of being a middling playoff team.

I don't think they get him in a trade considering how few assets the Clippers have, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him sign with them next summer.

[DusterBuster]

not only will Kawhi almost certainly be a 1 year rental for any team but the Lakers, he also has health concerns; and the way he handled this last season is pretty disturbing. Maybe his uncle isn't as bad as Levar Ball but it sounds like he's close to as bad.

if he wanted to torpedo his own trade value, he couldn't have done a more thorough job

I'm a bit more open to the idea of rolling the dice on a 1 year FA pitch like the Thunder did on PG. I think the health thing is probably a bigger hangup than even the FA issue (or at least they're equal). He's still gonna be a really good player, but there's serious questions if he's ever gonna be the Kawhi of old... and if he's not gonna be that, he's not gonna be worth paying an astronomical price for.

Regarding the handling of his injury thing, I don't know really who's to blame with all that between his camp and the Spurs.

[Village Idiot]

not only will Kawhi almost certainly be a 1 year rental for any team but the Lakers, he also has health concerns; and the way he handled this last season is pretty disturbing. Maybe his uncle isn't as bad as Levar Ball but it sounds like he's close to as bad.

if he wanted to torpedo his own trade value, he couldn't have done a more thorough job

I agree. The situation is so strange. The potential salary loss is massive and his reputation has taken a massive hit. He's about the most introverted NBA player out there so its really hard to see any enough incremental sponsorship money being there in LA to offset all the salary he's pissing away. He seems to be getting a lot of really bad advice or he must really be homesick.

[PDXKnight]

not only will Kawhi almost certainly be a 1 year rental for any team but the Lakers, he also has health concerns; and the way he handled this last season is pretty disturbing. Maybe his uncle isn't as bad as Levar Ball but it sounds like he's close to as bad.

if he wanted to torpedo his own trade value, he couldn't have done a more thorough job

I agree. The situation is so strange. The potential salary loss is massive and his reputation has taken a massive hit. He's about the most introverted NBA player out there so its really hard to see any enough incremental sponsorship money being there in LA to offset all the salary he's pissing away. He seems to be getting a lot of really bad advice or he must really be homesick.

I think the one aspect of this all that MIGHT make me willing to take a risk is the advantages a team that holds a player's bird rights has. Obviously right now he's looking like he's all la but I still think there's a shot when it comes down to it the fact that he could have another year (a po fifth year) and 8% increases is a selling point. It might not be enough to get a deal done necessarily but hey it's a shot in the dark that could pay dividends.

Nobody thought pg would stay in okc a year ago, he was all la supposedly but okc took that risk and paid more doing so with sabonis and oladipo. Now understand the fear of giving up Cj for nothing and I think the risk is something to at least consider. I don't know if I'd do Cj for kawhi but it's at least intriguing to think about hat lineup in Portland

[Village Idiot]

not only will Kawhi almost certainly be a 1 year rental for any team but the Lakers, he also has health concerns; and the way he handled this last season is pretty disturbing. Maybe his uncle isn't as bad as Levar Ball but it sounds like he's close to as bad.

if he wanted to torpedo his own trade value, he couldn't have done a more thorough job

I agree. The situation is so strange. The potential salary loss is massive and his reputation has taken a massive hit. He's about the most introverted NBA player out there so its really hard to see any enough incremental sponsorship money being there in LA to offset all the salary he's pissing away. He seems to be getting a lot of really bad advice or he must really be homesick.

I think the one aspect of this all that MIGHT make me willing to take a risk is the advantages a team that holds a player's bird rights has. Obviously right now he's looking like he's all la but I still think there's a shot when it comes down to it the fact that he could have another year (a po fifth year) and 8% increases is a selling point. It might not be enough to get a deal done necessarily but hey it's a shot in the dark that could pay dividends.

Nobody thought pg would stay in okc a year ago, he was all la supposedly but okc took that risk and paid more doing so with sabonis and oladipo. Now understand the fear of giving up Cj for nothing and I think the risk is something to at least consider. I don't know if I'd do Cj for kawhi but it's at least intriguing to think about hat lineup in Portland

It looks like Kawhi is going to Toronto for DeRozen, Poetl and a very highly protected 1st. Maybe we should have put CJ on the table but if Leonard bolts to LA next year this deal doesn't turn out very good for Toronto. Also surprised to see San Antonio being willing to take on DeRozen with that contract. Maybe Pops sees an opportunity but I don't consider this a very good return for a guy who was a top 5 player a year ago.

[Masterfully]

It’s a win for both teams. Toronto gets out of that awful Derozen contract. And who knows, maybe Leonard resigns. Stranger things have happened.

San Antonio made the playoffs without KL. Now they traded him for a solid starter. They have improved over last year. Yeah the contract sucks, but they can ride out Derozen, Aldridge and Gasol for one last gasp of a run until they all expire.

[Oneluckbox]

Looks like a dump of the DD contract for sure. Run with Kawhi and Lowry for a season with the young guys developing around them. See what noise they can make in a LeBron-less East. Then 2019-20+ they roll with the young guys with Lowry as an expiring.