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Should be mentioned that this will be Tolliver’s triumphant return to Portland. Let us never forget those amazing 4 minutes he played 10 years ago!

Piston fans seem legit bummed to be losing him, so could be an underrated move.

DusterBuster wrote:Piston fans seem legit bummed to be losing him, so could be an underrated move.

Yep that's encouraging.

At first I was utterly underwhelmed based on looking at his stats, but it seems like the general consensus is that he's a reasonable player. Rebounding looked to be a concern, but if he plays next to Whiteside that shouldn't be an issue.

Dame Lizard wrote:

DusterBuster wrote:Piston fans seem legit bummed to be losing him, so could be an underrated move.

Yep that's encouraging.

At first I was utterly underwhelmed based on looking at his stats, but it seems like the general consensus is that he's a reasonable player. Rebounding looked to be a concern, but if he plays next to Whiteside that shouldn't be an issue.

His overall stats weren't impressive, but when I say his 3pt %, it was clear why Portland wanted him.

Like everyone here, I have zero insight into locker rooms, but off the top of my head, would have preferred, O'Quinn, Joakim Noah, Boban, Vonleh (potentially) for the vet min...hopefully Tolliver proves me wrong.

Yeah I don't understand why Olshey was in hurry to add such a mediocre and aged performer right now.

zzaj wrote:Like everyone here, I have zero insight into locker rooms, but off the top of my head, would have preferred, O'Quinn, Joakim Noah, Boban, Vonleh (potentially) for the vet min...hopefully Tolliver proves me wrong.

Blazers still have an open roster spot; two if they rescind Layman. So, any of those players are still options

I think the last big group of minor dominoes might be waiting on Kawhi. I think most of the league-wide cap-space is gone now, But between the Lakers and the Clippers, there is somewhere around 70-80 million in space. I think a lot of guys who might be headed for minimum deals, are maybe hoping to get a little larger deal from an LA team depending on Kawhi's decision. If Kawhi returns to Toronto, those two LA teams will be spending a lot of money on lesser players

I like that signing a lot. One dimensional but can easily change the momentum of a game with his shooting ability.

DusterBuster wrote:Piston fans seem legit bummed to be losing him, so could be an underrated move.

Pistons fans? He played for the T-Wolves last year.

This is the type of player you sign at the end of summer because nobody else is likely to sign him.

He doesn't penetrate (44 total 2PT FGA of 258 total FGA), he doesn't play much defense and he doesn't rebound.

I do not understand this signing unless he wanted a deep bench backup shooter and Olshey didn't think he could get anybody else.

Love the signing - perfect fit

Wickzki wrote:

DusterBuster wrote:Piston fans seem legit bummed to be losing him, so could be an underrated move.

Pistons fans? He played for the T-Wolves last year.

This is the type of player you sign at the end of summer because nobody else is likely to sign him.

He doesn't penetrate (44 total 2PT FGA of 258 total FGA), he doesn't play much defense and he doesn't rebound.

I do not understand this signing unless he wanted a deep bench backup shooter and Olshey didn't think he could get anybody else.

He spent 2 1/2 years in Detroit, 14/15, 15/16, and 17/18.

Also this idea that he doesn't play defense doesn't seem to jive with fans of the teams who actually watched him play on their squads. Pretty much everyone in the GB thread about the signing who's watched him over the last few seasons made a point to mention his defense. I simply don't know enough about it to slam him as a non-defender because I can probably count on one hand the amount of minutes I've actually watched him play.

You're right, he doesn't penetrate or rebound, but I don't think that's why the Blazers brought him in either.

At the end of the day, he's a bench guy who is probably only getting 10-15min per game max.

I am fine with this, but think we still need a true backup Center to ensure Zach is playing most minutes at PF, which is the only spot where he has a future on this team.

Noah or Boban would be tremendous. Noah especially is just made to be our high post passing backup C. Get him.

DusterBuster wrote:He spent 2 1/2 years in Detroit, 14/15, 15/16, and 17/18.

Also this idea that he doesn't play defense doesn't seem to jive with fans of the teams who actually watched him play on their squads. Pretty much everyone in the GB thread about the signing who's watched him over the last few seasons made a point to mention his defense. I simply don't know enough about it to slam him as a non-defender because I can probably count on one hand the amount of minutes I've actually watched him play.

You're right, he doesn't penetrate or rebound, but I don't think that's why the Blazers brought him in either.

At the end of the day, he's a bench guy who is probably only getting 10-15min per game max.

That's 2 seasons removed when he starts with us. 32 to 34. Loss of athleticism and quickness. His defensive metrics

The Wolves don't miss him.

He had a negative VORP last season. The fourth time in his career. His career WS/48 is under the league average.

I know Philadelphia were initially interested in him last year - before he signed with Minnesota - but were ultimately turned away because of defensive issues.

He'll be good for a couple 3's a game in <10 mins. Already an upgrade over Meyers.

Masterfully wrote:Should be mentioned that this will be Tolliver’s triumphant return to Portland. Let us never forget those amazing 4 minutes he played 10 years ago!

We all thanked him for his 1 rebound with the team.

Shem wrote:

Masterfully wrote:Should be mentioned that this will be Tolliver’s triumphant return to Portland. Let us never forget those amazing 4 minutes he played 10 years ago!

We all thanked him for his 1 rebound with the team.

that's 12reb/48....nice

Honestly, when he played on that 10 day contract I was bummed that he wasn’t kept around. Kinda followed him a bit sense. I just don’t think he’s big enough physically to be what we need during the regular season... However add a healthy Nurkic to this team and this could be one of those signings that we celebrate in the playoffs...

So far, I've been really liking Olshey's moves... especially getting involved in the Butler trade and snatching Whiteside from Miami... Simply a brilliant maneuver, but this move to sign Tolliver really puzzles me.

Hopefully we aren't done making the roster. I see a pretty glaring hole at the 3rd PG spot. I guess Olshey wants as Tolliver for guys like Millsap and Draymon which makes sense, if he's the guy you really want. Seems like there better options available, but Olshey seems confident by not waiting, that Tolliver IS the right fit.

Collins/Skal/Hoard
Nurkic/Whiteside/Tolliver

... this could be really fun to see next year

I am fairly convinced that Tolliver was signed for the below reasons:

1) Good, actually, great locker room veteran presence.
2) Emergency rotation guy if Layman and/or Mario cant secure the backup PF minutes.
3) Never can you have enough shooters.

I am assuming that the team is transitioning Skal from PF to C for the upcoming season, and I think he is going to be a rotation player. Probably only 12-18mpg, but he should be getting minutes IMO. Neil doesn't make throwaway trades, when he dealt Swanigan for Skal, he was making a move for a player he believed could help this team. For better or worse, I really think Skal will be the primary backup for Whiteside.

We do need another big-big man IMO. Salah Merji would fit the role of 'go hack 6 times' quite well IMO.

PG -Damian Lillard / Anfernee Simons
SG - CJ McCollum / Rodney Hood / Gary Trent Jr
SF - Kent Bazemore / Rodney Hood / Mario Herzonja / Nassir Little
PF - Zach Collins / Jake Layman / Anthony Tolliver
C - Hassan Whiteside / Skal Labassiere / Vet Min Big

IR - Jusuf Nurkic
2-Way - Jaylen Hoard