Woj: Hassan Whiteside for Meyers & Mo

[d-train]

99.9% of the success of this offseason will be determined by how well Whiteside plays. The other acquisitions combined don't amount to much. A lot of what we want out of Whiteside is baked into the cake. We know he will rebound, block shots, and finish well around the basket out to 10'. We don't know if he will move without the ball and be an outlet for Lillard to find passing lanes. And, we don't know if he will play team defense.

So far, it's called the Butler trade. It will be interesting to see what the trade is called in 3 years.

I mean, basing off of how Whiteside played last year in a limited role for the Heat, the numbers say he should be an amazing fit for Portland. He led the league or was top 5 in a ton of stats and was just behind Lillard for PER.

Blocks Per Game, #7
Block Percentage, #2
Offensive Rebound Percentage, #3
Defensive Rebound Percentage, #1
Total Rebound Percentage, #1
Player Efficiency Rating, #16
Defensive Rating, #1
Defensive Win Shares, #12

Stats aside, the Blazers need Whiteside to move without the ball (roll hard) and play great team defense. These are areas of Whiteside's game that are big question marks.

[d-train]

Blazers also need another step up in Collins's progression as a player.

[DusterBuster]

Blazers also need another step up in Collins's progression as a player.

Agreed, but when I was pouring over the stats from last year, the bar for Collins to just match Aminu's production is pretty low. My biggest concern with Collins is his foul proneness. If he can get that under control, I think he'll replace Aminu with not much trouble.

[d-train]

Blazers also need another step up in Collins's progression as a player.

Agreed, but when I was pouring over the stats from last year, the bar for Collins to just match Aminu's production is pretty low. My biggest concern with Collins is his foul proneness. If he can get that under control, I think he'll replace Aminu with not much trouble.

I don't really care if Collins improves his stats. He needs to be a tough hard nosed defender with enough offensive skill to be a threat anywhere on the court. I'm not convinced Collins can be our primary defender to defend players like Durant, Giannis, George, LeBron, Aldridge, Millsap, and ... you get my point. Aminu had an important role and I'll be satisfied with Collins when he proves he can replace what Aminu gave us. Not just in one game but over a variety of opponents.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Going back and forth on the T&T forum about trading for Gallo at the deadline. I said I would not include a pick and they act like I'm nuts cuz Gallo is this great player and Whiteside isn't. Am I nuts?

[d-train]

Going back and forth on the T&T forum about trading for Gallo at the deadline. I said I would not include a pick and they act like I'm nuts cuz Gallo is this great player and Whiteside isn't. Am I nuts?

Yes you are nuts, but the T&T forum is more nuts. Gallo would not help our team unless someone else was here to do the rebounding, shot blocking, defending the basket, and low post defending. Gallo doesn't have the skillset to replace what we need Whiteside to do. Gallo doesn't even have the skillset to replace the loss of Aminu.

[DaVoiceMaster]

They were talking a trade deadline deal when Nurk is supposed to be back. I dont wanna give up a pick for a 2 month rental.

[DusterBuster]

They were talking a trade deadline deal when Nurk is supposed to be back. I dont wanna give up a pick for a 2 month rental.

I mostly agree with that, but it really depends on the situation. If the Blazers are a top 3 or 4 seed by the deadline and within striking distance of #1, then fine - give up the pick for a rental. The pick won't be all the valuable anyway considering how high a playoff seed the Blazers would be in that situation.

Now if they're in the 5-8 seed and fighting in that clear 2nd tier of teams, than yeah... not thanks to giving up a FRP for a half-season rental.

[d-train]

They were talking a trade deadline deal when Nurk is supposed to be back. I dont wanna give up a pick for a 2 month rental.

I don't want to give up a player that does so many important things for a player that doesn't add to our team's capabilities. I would rather have both Whiteside and Nurkic so we can always have their needed skills available. I'm not against acquiring Gallo but it would be difficult with his contract and what we would have to give up to make a trade CBA legal. I like Whiteside, Nurkic, and Bazemore better than Gallo. And, I don't like Gallo enough to trade all our players on smaller contracts

[Wizenheimer]

Going back and forth on the T&T forum about trading for Gallo at the deadline. I said I would not include a pick and they act like I'm nuts cuz Gallo is this great player and Whiteside isn't. Am I nuts?

after seeing you post for 13 years, I can definitely say you are nuts...it's a done deal

but you're not wrong about this. No way I'd give up a pick for Gallo; besides, he'll probably be injured by the deadline

I'd give up a pick for somebody like Otto Porter

[DusterBuster]

Going back and forth on the T&T forum about trading for Gallo at the deadline. I said I would not include a pick and they act like I'm nuts cuz Gallo is this great player and Whiteside isn't. Am I nuts?

after seeing you post for 13 years, I can definitely say you are nuts...it's a done deal

but you're not wrong about this. No way I'd give up a pick for Gallo; besides, he'll probably be injured by the deadline

I'd give up a pick for somebody like Otto Porter

Agreed on everything in this post.

The more I think about it, I take back what I said before. Even if the Blazers were close, he's not a guy I'd include a pick for. In order to get him, the Blazers would need to move Baze or Hassan and I'm not adding a pick on top of one of those two for just Gallo. That's an awful move.