Woj: Turner to Hawks for Bazemore

[DusterBuster]

I was really excited when I saw the headline, but deflated a bit when I found our Bazemore actually makes more than Turner.

But Turner clearly had to go

I don't know much about Bazemore, but looking at his stats, he doesn't look like anything to be excited about. But he'll be a better fit than Turner. I"d rather find a way to keep Hood though.

You were deflated over 600k dollars of someone elses money?

No, I thought we had cleared enough cap space to get the full MLE, to keep either Hood or Kanter.

That's fair enough.

I didn't find it deflating by any stretch, but I'm with you that it would have been nice if the Blazers could have found a way to dump enough salary to get that full MLE money.

That said, at this point, I think it's becoming pretty clear the Blazers are going to avoid any long-term contracts. I think whatever FA's they sign this summer, they'll all be 1 year deals and I think with Kanter, they're just gonna roll the dice that the FA market is weak enough for him to consider taking their tax-MLE for one year. If he gets a better deal elsewhere, I think they'll be fine with that and just sign some other vet big for part of or all the MLE for one year. I won't even be surprised if the team only offers Aminu a 1 year deal.

[PDXKnight]

You were deflated over 600k dollars of someone elses money?

No, I thought we had cleared enough cap space to get the full MLE, to keep either Hood or Kanter.

That's fair enough.

I didn't find it deflating by any stretch, but I'm with you that it would have been nice if the Blazers could have found a way to dump enough salary to get that full MLE money.

That said, at this point, I think it's becoming pretty clear the Blazers are going to avoid any long-term contracts. I think whatever FA's they sign this summer, they'll all be 1 year deals and I think with Kanter, they're just gonna roll the dice that the FA market is weak enough for him to consider taking their tax-MLE for one year. If he gets a better deal elsewhere, I think they'll be fine with that and just sign some other vet big for part of or all the MLE for one year. I won't even be surprised if the team only offers Aminu a 1 year deal.

Ahem, Ed Davis, ahem

[DusterBuster]

Without Aminu/Kanter I think Stotts runs with something along these lines:

Lillard/Simmons
CJ/Bazemore/Simmons
Bazemore/Little/Trent JR
Harkless/Meyers/Zco/Skal
(Nurk)/Z-CO/Meyers

Is it just me or are we still a few moves away from filling out (especially at wing)? I HOPE we can retain Kanter but that's kind of 50/50, Hood seems like a goner at this point though. Will we retain Aminu or find a cheaper replacement for MLE money? It seems like role players are a heckuva lot cheaper these days especially C's, perhaps offer that MLE to bring back Ed Davis or see if we can't attract someone on the cheap IE Monroe if Kanter bolts?

You forgot Layman, I suspect he'll be back - even if just on his QO. I also don't think the Blazers even bother to spend their MLE the more I think about it. I think the only way they use the MLE is if Kanter bombs in FA and takes that for one year. Otherwise, I think they probably just see who they can get on a near vet min deal as a 3rd string big and guard in case of injuries and probably roll out with this roster next year...

Lillard/Simons/"Vet Min FA"
CJ/Baze/Trent
Harkless/Layman/Little
Aminu/Collins/"Vet Min FA"
Nurk*/Leonard/Skal

I'm thinking Olshey is gonna lean in hard on "internal development" this summer and just cross his fingers what we saw from Meyers is a sign of things to come as opposed to a flash in the pan.

[d-train]

Without Aminu/Kanter I think Stotts runs with something along these lines:

Lillard/Simmons
CJ/Bazemore/Simmons
Bazemore/Little/Trent JR
Harkless/Meyers/Zco/Skal
(Nurk)/Z-CO/Meyers

Is it just me or are we still a few moves away from filling out (especially at wing)? I HOPE we can retain Kanter but that's kind of 50/50, Hood seems like a goner at this point though. Will we retain Aminu or find a cheaper replacement for MLE money? It seems like role players are a heckuva lot cheaper these days especially C's, perhaps offer that MLE to bring back Ed Davis or see if we can't attract someone on the cheap IE Monroe if Kanter bolts?

You forgot Layman, I suspect he'll be back - even if just on his QO. I also don't think the Blazers even bother to spend their MLE the more I think about it. I think the only way they use the MLE is if Kanter bombs in FA and takes that for one year. Otherwise, I think they probably just see who they can get on a near vet min deal as a 3rd string big and guard in case of injuries and probably roll out with this roster next year...

Lillard/Simons/"Vet Min FA"
CJ/Baze/Trent
Harkless/Layman/Little
Aminu/Collins/"Vet Min FA"
Nurk*/Leonard/Skal

I'm thinking Olshey is gonna lean in hard on "internal development" this summer and just cross his fingers what we saw from Meyers is a sign of things to come as opposed to a flash in the pan.

If Kanter takes the MLE this year, why not make it a 1 + 1PO, then re-sign another 1 + 1PO using early-bird? Then, the following year, re-sign with full bird rights. The only real underpay would be the first year.

[Drewskickinit]

I haven't had to many chances to watch Bazemore play outside of when he was on the Warriors but I was never to impressed. I'm never to impressed with Turner though so there is that

[DusterBuster]

Without Aminu/Kanter I think Stotts runs with something along these lines:

Lillard/Simmons
CJ/Bazemore/Simmons
Bazemore/Little/Trent JR
Harkless/Meyers/Zco/Skal
(Nurk)/Z-CO/Meyers

Is it just me or are we still a few moves away from filling out (especially at wing)? I HOPE we can retain Kanter but that's kind of 50/50, Hood seems like a goner at this point though. Will we retain Aminu or find a cheaper replacement for MLE money? It seems like role players are a heckuva lot cheaper these days especially C's, perhaps offer that MLE to bring back Ed Davis or see if we can't attract someone on the cheap IE Monroe if Kanter bolts?

You forgot Layman, I suspect he'll be back - even if just on his QO. I also don't think the Blazers even bother to spend their MLE the more I think about it. I think the only way they use the MLE is if Kanter bombs in FA and takes that for one year. Otherwise, I think they probably just see who they can get on a near vet min deal as a 3rd string big and guard in case of injuries and probably roll out with this roster next year...

Lillard/Simons/"Vet Min FA"
CJ/Baze/Trent
Harkless/Layman/Little
Aminu/Collins/"Vet Min FA"
Nurk*/Leonard/Skal

I'm thinking Olshey is gonna lean in hard on "internal development" this summer and just cross his fingers what we saw from Meyers is a sign of things to come as opposed to a flash in the pan.

If Kanter takes the MLE this year, why not make it a 1 + 1PO, then re-sign another 1 + 1PO using early-bird? Then, the following year, re-sign with full bird rights. The only real underpay would be the first year.

Sure, why not. Just falls on Kanter and his agent really.

[DusterBuster]

I think I'm gonna have ET trade withdrawal. I feel like I've been making trade proposals with Turner's contract for the better part of a decade - I don't know how I'm supposed to go on making up fake trades without his contract to use in them.

[d-train]

You forgot Layman, I suspect he'll be back - even if just on his QO. I also don't think the Blazers even bother to spend their MLE the more I think about it. I think the only way they use the MLE is if Kanter bombs in FA and takes that for one year. Otherwise, I think they probably just see who they can get on a near vet min deal as a 3rd string big and guard in case of injuries and probably roll out with this roster next year...

Lillard/Simons/"Vet Min FA"
CJ/Baze/Trent
Harkless/Layman/Little
Aminu/Collins/"Vet Min FA"
Nurk*/Leonard/Skal

I'm thinking Olshey is gonna lean in hard on "internal development" this summer and just cross his fingers what we saw from Meyers is a sign of things to come as opposed to a flash in the pan.

If Kanter takes the MLE this year, why not make it a 1 + 1PO, then re-sign another 1 + 1PO using early-bird? Then, the following year, re-sign with full bird rights. The only real underpay would be the first year.

Sure, why not. Just falls on Kanter and his agent really.

Blazers are the only team he can do this with. Every other team requires 2 years of underpay or starting with the full MLE or cap room. It's not as far fetched as some believe. The odds aren't great but they are decent.

[d-train]

I haven't had to many chances to watch Bazemore play outside of when he was on the Warriors but I was never to impressed. I'm never to impressed with Turner though so there is that

I haven't seen him since the Lakers and couple time with Hawks. He's a very good role player, perfect for the Blazers. He's like Aminu, a steady high effort player capable of competing against the best players. He won't score much but he will dog our opponents best players and make their life miserable.

[plyrically]

I watched Baze most of last season. He a walking bucket, a pure shooter and a chasedown blocker. He averaged about 1.5 threes and 1.5 steals a game. For most of the season he was a top 80 fantasy player. That’s another brilliant move by Neo, I’m looking forward to July 1st

[Agenda42]

This deal feels great for Portland and ok for Atlanta. Atlanta had too many Bazemore-like guys on the roster, and not enough ballhandlers. Still, I don't really get it for them. Meanwhile, Portland gets the same skill level and the same contract, but with a much better fit. This is the kind of wing Portland needs.

Olshey is really good at this small ball stuff. I wonder what he could do in a town where he could actually get stars.

[Oneluckbox]

Love the trade really. I've always liked Base - although not for the 70m that Atlanta gave him! Think he's a really good fit with Dame/CJ.

I think hes a 20-25min dude who will shoot 36-38% from 3 and give effort on defence. Much more valuable than Turner who absolutely killed spacing and turned it over every 3rd possession. And as others have said, theres every chance he's a decent asset around the deadline, potentially helping the Blazers go after a 3rd star. Nice.

Sent from my SM-G950F using RealGM mobile app

[BlazersBroncos]

While I certainly think this deal was a talent downgrade for ATL, I can see their reasoning. They just drafted a number of swings, while already having young Bembry and Huerter. They needed a backup PG and needed to move Baze as he simply wasn't going to get minutes on a rebuilding team over the young guys. The hard part for ATL would be finding a backup PG that was similarly compensated to Baze, while also bringing in a guy of similar character who will do good in the locker room. I think that's the underlying reason for ATL, they had to move their vet mentor b/c of the minutes crunch, but also wanted a replacement that can fill that role and the needed role of backup PG. ET is ideal for that job.

For Portland, I feel this means we are presuming the insane cap space this offseason leads Hood to a nice chunky deal. That sucks, because Baze cant create like Hood and the last thing this team needs is to loose another shot creator. Honestly, if we lose Hood and don't replace him with a guy that can get his own, it puts even more pressure on young Simons as he is the only guy on this roster outside Dame and CJ that seems to have the natural ability to 'get his'.

I hope I am wrong, and would love to see what return we could get from Harkless and Meyers. But I think that's wishful thinking and agree with the other posters that this move may be the big one of the summer and now its simply a matter of Hood and Curry nearly certainly walking, PDX offering the MLE to Kanter and crossing their fingers and if that doesn't work, dumpster diving for a playable big man. I also think we QO Layman and wouldn't be surprised if Aminu walks as well and we have to replace him with a Vet Min.

It looks like 2019/20 is going to be a season where any improvement in the W/L column will depend on large developmental leaps from Simons and Zach. Its a lot of pressure for the young guys.

The brighter side is that going for short term deals could land us cap space as early as next offseason. Damian, CJ, Nurkic, Zach, Simons, Little, Nicholson and 6 cap holds is about 90M. If the cap goes up a bit, say to 114M, we could have 24M to play with. I have zero faith in signing a big name but we could absorb someone. My math could be completely off though.

[Dame Lizard]

I love this trade. I feel like Bazemore will be a great fit and really fit into the system, not dislike how Aminu fit in nicely when he joined Portland.

Defensive hustle and a capable 3PT shooter - I like it.

[jebdrbhjb]

I can only hope.

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

I think anyone still opining for a Leonard trade are going to be in for a long wait. With how he finished the season and with Nurk out for at least a couple months, they need all the size up front they can get. I think you'll probably be seeing a fairly significant role for Leonard to start the Blazers season unless something crazy unexpected happens. Maybe the Blazers can get lucky with Kanter having a soft FA market and they can bring him back on a one year MLE deal, but I feel like if Rodney Hood has a bigger contract waiting for him somewhere, then Kanter will likely as well.

Leonard is becoming a very accomplished offensive player, the problem with his game now is rebounding and to a much greater extent defense. Now who knows if he can figure those things out but if he does he could go from a bad contract to a great one. As a scorer though I think Leonard might be one of the best big man scorers in the league.

"...the problem with his game now is rebounding and to a much greater extent defense..." Not to nitpick, but that's like 2/3 of what we want out of him.

[jebdrbhjb]

I wonder if Bazemore could withdraw his opt in (with Blazers approval) and sign an extension. Blazers could offer a 3 year $24-25M deal. This would be a better way for Blazers to pay Bazemore $19M + 2.5M + 2.5M, than taking the hit in 1 year. And, it would really endear him to fans.

Edit: The 3 year deal could be $9M + $8.28M + $7.56M

No agent would ever ever EVER advise his client to make that kind of deal.

What's wrong with a 60% pay cut? (insert sarcasm here......)

[Oneluckbox]

While I certainly think this deal was a talent downgrade for ATL, I can see their reasoning. They just drafted a number of swings, while already having young Bembry and Huerter. They needed a backup PG and needed to move Baze as he simply wasn't going to get minutes on a rebuilding team over the young guys. The hard part for ATL would be finding a backup PG that was similarly compensated to Baze, while also bringing in a guy of similar character who will do good in the locker room. I think that's the underlying reason for ATL, they had to move their vet mentor b/c of the minutes crunch, but also wanted a replacement that can fill that role and the needed role of backup PG. ET is ideal for that job.

For Portland, I feel this means we are presuming the insane cap space this offseason leads Hood to a nice chunky deal. That sucks, because Baze cant create like Hood and the last thing this team needs is to loose another shot creator. Honestly, if we lose Hood and don't replace him with a guy that can get his own, it puts even more pressure on young Simons as he is the only guy on this roster outside Dame and CJ that seems to have the natural ability to 'get his'.

I hope I am wrong, and would love to see what return we could get from Harkless and Meyers. But I think that's wishful thinking and agree with the other posters that this move may be the big one of the summer and now its simply a matter of Hood and Curry nearly certainly walking, PDX offering the MLE to Kanter and crossing their fingers and if that doesn't work, dumpster diving for a playable big man. I also think we QO Layman and wouldn't be surprised if Aminu walks as well and we have to replace him with a Vet Min.

It looks like 2019/20 is going to be a season where any improvement in the W/L column will depend on large developmental leaps from Simons and Zach. Its a lot of pressure for the young guys.

The brighter side is that going for short term deals could land us cap space as early as next offseason. Damian, CJ, Nurkic, Zach, Simons, Little, Nicholson and 6 cap holds is about 90M. If the cap goes up a bit, say to 114M, we could have 24M to play with. I have zero faith in signing a big name but we could absorb someone. My math could be completely off though.

Yeah agree on the Turner point. That's the only reason they go for this trade, otherwise what would be the point (I guess other than saving 600k?) Spot on with the Hood creating his own shots point too. He was fairly reliable at just going and getting a bucket, either in the mismatch in the post or just off a dribble drive pull up. He was doing it all series long against Denver. Baze can't really compete with him in that regard which is a shame. Maybe Baze is better in transition? The Blazers hardly run anyway so that probably doesn't matter.

I have a feeling Simons will come in and be good, at least on offence - he's going to get cooked on the defensive end. Maybe that's wishful thinking or the hype I've got for him is a bit too high. I just like the look of his game. Seems so smooth and effortless. Hopefully he can springboard off the back of the Sacramento game, summer league and the fact that seemingly everyone in the organisation believes in him.

I'm keen for Collins too. The 3rd season is often the make-or-break year for bigs. If he doesn't really flash and improve a decent amount it'll be pretty concerning. Dude could be so good if he could develop a consistent 3pt shot and learn to defensive rebound (oh and not foul haha).

[bigdavid]

My day is ruined. I really liked ET. I could never understand why he was so hated in Portland. Yes I know he made too much money but is that a reason to hate him? He played hard did not complain and rarely missed a game. Who else on this team had back to back triple doubles?

I believe he would have been a good mentor for Little. Unless you watched every game it was hard to see how much he contributes.It is my belief with two of the best scoring PG's in the league he had no reason to take a ton of shots.

Good Bye Evan Turner. I hope you are able to resume your career like you did in Boston, where by the way fans loved you. Of course you made less money which is how many on this board rate you.

[zzaj]

Out of town for a bit and just now catching up...

I agree that Baze fits better with the Stotts offense than Turner. Turner had been relegated to backup PG, but so much of what Stotts runs has the offense starting with the PG getting free off of screen penetration or beating the defender off of dribble penetration--Turner was too slow to do either. He was just never a good fit.

With the way that the NBA is moving more out to the perimeter, teams can never have enough perimeter defense, and this is a big reason for Baze over Turner.

[Wizenheimer]

My day is ruined. I really liked ET. I could never understand why he was so hated in Portland. Yes I know he made too much money but is that a reason to hate him? He played hard did not complain and rarely missed a game. Who else on this team had back to back triple doubles?

I believe he would have been a good mentor for Little. Unless you watched every game it was hard to see how much he contributes.It is my belief with two of the best scoring PG's in the league he had no reason to take a ton of shots.

Good Bye Evan Turner. I hope you are able to resume your career like you did in Boston, where by the way fans loved you. Of course you made less money which is how many on this board rate you.

oh for chrissakes...

REGULAR SEASON:

PER:

Damian Lillard 23.7
Enes Kanter 23.5
Jusuf Nurkic 23.4
CJ McCollum 17.0
Meyers Leonard 15.8
Zach Collins 13.5
Jake Layman 13.5
Al-Farouq Aminu 13.2
Maurice Harkless 13.2
Evan Turner 11.6
Seth Curry 11.4
Anfernee Simons 11.1
Rodney Hood 10.9

TS%:

Meyers Leonard .675
Enes Kanter .614
Seth Curry .595
Jake Layman .594
Damian Lillard .588
Jusuf Nurkic .570
Al-Farouq Aminu .568
Zach Collins .562
CJ McCollum .553
Rodney Hood .549
Maurice Harkless .547
Nik Stauskas .545
Anfernee Simons .535
Evan Turner .504

winshares/48:

Damian Lillard .205
Enes Kanter .196
Jusuf Nurkic .189
Meyers Leonard .164
Al-Farouq Aminu .121
CJ McCollum .114
Maurice Harkless .114
Jake Layman .111
Zach Collins .104
Seth Curry .082
Rodney Hood .077
Evan Turner .060
Nik Stauskas .055

box plus/minus:

Damian Lillard 5.5
Jusuf Nurkic 5.1
Enes Kanter 2.3
Maurice Harkless 2.2
Meyers Leonard 1.4
Al-Farouq Aminu 0.9
CJ McCollum 0.3
Zach Collins 0.1
Jake Layman -0.3
Seth Curry -1.3
Rodney Hood -1.7
Evan Turner -1.8
Nik Stauskas -2.8

PLAYOFFS

PER:

Damian Lillard 20.6
CJ McCollum 17.9
Meyers Leonard 17.1
Enes Kanter 17.0
Maurice Harkless 14.4
Zach Collins 14.4
Rodney Hood 14.0
Al-Farouq Aminu 11.0
Evan Turner 9.0
Seth Curry 8.3

TS%

Meyers Leonard .616
Rodney Hood .606
Zach Collins .592
Damian Lillard .566
Enes Kanter .555
Maurice Harkless .537
CJ McCollum .527
Seth Curry .518
Al-Farouq Aminu .473
Evan Turner .409

winshares/48:

Meyers Leonard .154
Damian Lillard .119
Rodney Hood .117
Enes Kanter .109
Maurice Harkless .098
Zach Collins .091
CJ McCollum .079
Al-Farouq Aminu .052
Seth Curry .044
Evan Turner .035

box plus/minus:

Damian Lillard 4.8
Maurice Harkless 3.1
Zach Collins 2.2
Meyers Leonard 1.8
CJ McCollum 1.2
Rodney Hood 0.4
Enes Kanter 0.3
Al-Farouq Aminu 0.0
Seth Curry -0.2
Evan Turner -1.9

he also ranked 421st in the NBA in Real Plus/Minus

(you have to hand it to Olshey: he liked Turner so much he signed Stauskas so Turner wouldn't be the last in every category)

to say the reason so many Blazer fans "hated" Turner was because of his contract is about 90% bull$hit. Sure, there was a component of that. But the main reason he was viewed so negatively is because he generally sucked. His inability to shoot left his 4 on-the-floor teammates always dealing with 5 defenders. He couldn't space the floor to save his life. And I could post the same lists, with the same kind of results for the previous 2 seasons. Even his defense was overrated. He was ok against size, but he had no chance defending players with speed and quickness

now, you could probably argue that the Stotts offense was just about the worst system for him and that wasn't really his fault. And for sure he's a high character guy and a great locker room presence. But that didn't translate to on floor production or impact

Kent Bazemore is a below average player. He's below average in PER and RPM. He's well below average in TS%. He's a weak rebounder and below average in assist/turnover ratio. But just about every Blazer fan is really happy to be landing a below averge player for Turner. That's not becuae of salary, Bazemore makes more. It's because just about everybody is sick of seeing Turner in a Blazer uniform, and that's because of what he has done for 3 years, on the floor, while wearing that uniform

now bigdavid, I know you like Turner. And I imagine this post seems like an attack. Sorry about that; but I'm really sick of the narrative that the reason Turner is disliked is because of his contract. It doesn't help the situation, but Turner was signed to help the team and take pressure off of Lillard. He didn't help the team and if anything, him on the floor made things harder for Lillard. He failed because he was a square peg in a round hole world. Sorry, but good riddance