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The Orlando Magic cut Bol Bol last night.

Bol Bol is tall. The Blazers are not. Should we take a shot at him?

The Good:
His advanced stats aren’t terrible per basketball-reference…
-Strong Def Rebound rate just under 25%
-TS% just over .600 last year
-He had 2.3 win shares on the year… which considering he came off the bench for Orlando isn’t bad (Simons had a WS of 2.5 last season)
-He had a net positive Defensive +/- rating of 0.9… which would give him the best DPM on the team if we trade Nurk. To be clear, I am not calling Bol Bol a good defender, just pointing out that there are a lot worse in the NBA… and many of them play for the Blazers

The Bad and Ugly:
-He struggles defending against strength and speed in isolation… not super switchable despite his length
-TO rate is so bad it watches Steven Seagal movies
-He clearly struggles to process the game on both sides of the ball as he seems mildly allergic to positioning and rotations.

My Take:
Nurk is likely headed out of town with Dame or sometime soon after… and again, we are short. And we are a professional basketball team. I believe we are supposed to be tall…

This seems like a low risk (dare I say a… manute risk?), moderate reward move. I think Bol Bol has enough talent and upside to be a steady rotation player, and until he reaches that upside, makes enough bone headed mistakes to help any team in tank mode.

Thoughts?

They should imo, but they won’t. This FO seems incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

I'm for it.

Its a no for me. Bol doesnt have the basketball IQ to make it.

DusterBuster wrote:They should imo, but they won’t. This FO seems incapable of walking and chewing gum at the same time.

To be fair, I’m not sure Bol Bol is capable of that either… but your pessimism is well-founded lol.

Blazers need bigs and a tank commander, Bol Bol needs minutes and time to develop his awareness of the game. It’s a perfect fit… *sigh*… which means it has no chance of happening.

Not sure why he hasnt been signed but Paul Reed would be much better.

Start him once Nurkic is moved, move him to the bench when we draft a big in 2024.

If we could re work the Gwar song Gor-Gor it would be marketing genius.

Bol-Bol Bol-Bol comes and sirens wail
Mournful drone of babbling fail
Thunderous gnashing firestorm
Flames illuminate his form Bol-Bol comes and you must die
Swats F-16s from the sky
Admit you crave the gift he brings you
Fall worship tyrant king, you Bol-Bol

Sorry just got me in a flash of stupidity

Portland needs to add legit pieces to go with Scoot/Sharpe.

NO

Could he be a 2 way contract? I don't think there's much chance of him being a useful NBA player any time soon, but if he could play on our g league team for a couple years and our coaches get real use to his abilities maybe we can find a way to work him into our NBA lineup.

We should because….why the hell not? We’re in the exact spot a franchise needs to be in for taking in reclamation projects and hoping. Doesn’t hurt us at all to give him a spot (unless it does, in a way I’m unaware of).

Hell yes! At this point we should sign any big that can catch the ball and dunk. Anything else he can do beyond those 2 things is a bonus.

Would rather bring in a Brooks/Pritchard/Boucher/Bell/Dorsey combo.

JasonStern wrote:Would rather bring in a Brooks/Pritchard/Boucher/Bell/Dorsey combo.

Yeeeeeessss, bring back the Pritch slap!

Jk lol… if it makes u feel better, we are always in the hunt for an undersized guard.

He’s going to be on a minimum contract so wtf not?

JasonStern wrote:Would rather bring in a Brooks/Pritchard/Boucher/Bell/Dorsey combo.

If Dame goes to Miami there’s a decent chance Boucher comes to Portland while Herro goes to Toronto

Bol would be a solid addition on the min

Boucher would be great. Bol Bol is an intriguing gadget guy. I talked to a scout who said John Butler can be Bol with agility and a better motor.

Bol would be a nice addition along with Wood since the Blazers have no size and really no other bigs outside of Nurkic

I like Reath more than Bol

I've never really watched Bol play...so I have no opinion...but injured and getting waived isn't a good look.

The Blazers need elite rim protection/rebounding and 3pt shooting from their cadre of Centers...I have no idea if he provides those.