DO YOU LIKE OUR BLAZERS ROSTER?

[m0ng0]

Trade checker does not factor in the brains of the 3 gm's needed to make this trade work :-/. I notice little is not even in your rotation...weird

[mighty_duck]

Trade checker does not factor in the brains of the 3 gm's needed to make this trade work :-/. I notice little is not even in your rotation...weird

Nas = Nassir Little

[m0ng0]

whoops

[BNM]

Crowder has been a winner wherever he goes. He's also the same age as Dame so it's not like he's over the hill.

Crowder has been fortunate to play for some very good teams - but all of those very good teams had no problem trading him before his contract was up. He's been traded 5 times (not including the draft day deal that sent him from CLE to DAL) and his current team is shopping him again. BTW, none of those 5 teams that traded Crowder got worse after trading him. They were just as good, or better, without Crowder than they were with him.

To me, he's a poor man's Roco who has declined three years in a row and plays exclusively PF in today's NBA, a spot we have covered with Jerami Grant, backed up by Justise Winslow with Jabari Walker waiting in the wings. Crowder seems to be a redundant, less useful player than what we already have.

Jerami Grant is way better offensively, longer and more versatile defensively and 4 years younger than Crowder. Grant is going to get most of the minutes at PF. In addition to Winslow and Walker, Watford and Brown can also play the 4. I wouldn't give up any of our young assets for Crowder at this point in his career.

Here's what CBS Sports had to say about Grant - which I think is spot on:

"Grant was a great role player with the Nuggets, but then he struggled trying to become an alpha with the Pistons. Ideally, he'll land somewhere between those two roles in his first season in Portland, where his efficiency should increase with less burden to create his own offense next to Damian Lillard. Grant was in the 63rd percentile in catch-and-shoot situations last season, per Synergy, and that should only improve with better looks in the Blazers' system. Defensively, he was in the 95th percentile in isolation situations last season, per Synergy, proving that he can still lock down when he's called upon to do that, which is one of the main reasons the Blazers acquired him."

The bolded part is very important. I think playing in DET has caused people to forget what a great 3 and D player Grant was in OKC and DEN. I'd rather give Grant most of the minutes at the 4 and rely on Winslow and the young guys for the back up minutes than give up anything for this version of Jae Crowder.

[BlazersBroncos]

The bolded part is very important. I think playing in DET has caused people to forget what a great 3 and D player Grant was in OKC and DEN. I'd rather give Grant most of the minutes at the 4 and rely on Winslow and the young guys for the back up minutes than give up anything for this version of Jae Crowder.

For sure. I wouldnt move any young guy for Crowder outside Brown. I like the backup PF situation - Winslow gets the initial minutes as the vet and Walker can keep him on his toes hopefully. There should only be about 16-18 minutes in that role regardless. Winslow and Walker with Nas / Watford / Brown should injury demolish us.

I am starting to lean towards bringing Hart off the bench (Ant is a lock to start in the real world). If Nas can replicate his JAN play (31.5mpg, 13.1ppg, 5.7rpg, 1.8apg, 59% TS) we could be looking pretty good. Hart has a surprising handle and the bench is devoid of creators / ballhandlers so allowing him to play 6th man and touch the ball alot is a good compliment IMO.

As of today, I would go w/

G - Damian Lillard (34) / Anfernee Simons (14)
G - Anfernee Simons (18) / Gary Payton II (22) / Josh Hart (8)
F - Nas Little (28) / Josh Hart (20)
F - Jerami Grant (30) / Justice Winslow (18)
C - Jusuf Nurkic (28) / Drew Eubanks + Trendon Watford (20 - Matchup Dependent)

FWIW I think we can get 50ppg from Dame/Simons, 18ppg from Grant and 30ppg from Nas/Nurkic. Thats pretty nice. Bench scoring scares me though outside Hart - but the defense is all + guys.

[GEE]

Legendary coach, and likely the GOAT, John Wooden had the greatest dynasty basketball has ever seen. With two of the best Centers of all time in Kareem and Walton, Wooden was unbeatable in college basketball. But what is most noteworthy to me... He had no true BigMan in his last two seasons before retiring in '75, and still won two more NCAA championships.

Point is... We are still quite small in size if you look carefully, So we damn-well better be prepared for, and planning to play more up-tempo than any other team in the NBA. I mean Hockey-Fast! Revolutionize the game Chauncey and Scotty!

Aside from Nurkic, We have Grant around 6'8/210, Winslow about 6'6/220, Little 6'5, Hart 6'5, Watford 6'8 & Eubanks 6'9. I have to believe that the next greatest addition will be a Starting Caliber PF/C by way of consolidation trade. I think Cronin will monitor the field, and may have his eyes(along with The Scouts) on some potential targets, but it ain't Crowder, or LA, or any of those Blake Griffen ring-chasers. It's just not the time of year to be shopping for one of those "veterans".

Maybe just adding the best Big-Man from camp to Eubanks/Watford will be enough for now.

[Case2012]

I think OG is still the target for the deadline.

[-HB-]

I'm excited to have CJ gone and a team of defenders that will be bought in to Chauncey ball from the git.

[BNM]

Legendary coach, and likely the GOAT, John Wooden had the greatest dynasty basketball has ever seen. With two of the best Centers of all time in Kareem and Walton, Wooden was unbeatable in college basketball. But what is most noteworthy to me... He had no true BigMan in his last two seasons before retiring in '75, and still won two more NCAA championships.

Point is... We are still quite small in size if you look carefully, So we damn-well better be prepared for, and planning to play more up-tempo than any other team in the NBA. I mean Hockey-Fast! Revolutionize the game Chauncey and Scotty!

Aside from Nurkic, We have Grant around 6'8/210, Winslow about 6'6/220, Little 6'5, Hart 6'5, Watford 6'8 & Eubanks 6'9. I have to believe that the next greatest addition will be a Starting Caliber PF/C by way of consolidation trade. I think Cronin will monitor the field, and may have his eyes(along with The Scouts) on some potential targets, but it ain't Crowder, or LA, or any of those Blake Griffen ring-chasers. It's just not the time of year to be shopping for one of those "veterans".

Maybe just adding the best Big-Man from camp to Eubanks/Watford will be enough for now.

Scoring and defense concern me less than a lack of rebounding when Nurk isn't on the floor. The big problem I see is our starting PF is an extremally weak rebounder - historically bad. Grant has shown he can be a very efficient scorer and a great defender, but when he is your PF, it hurts your rebounding - especially if Nurk isn't out there with him.

It looks like we will have to rely on rebounding by committee when Nurk sits. Guys like Winslow, Little, Hart and Payton are above average rebounders for their height, but the problem is their height ranges from 6'3" to 6'6" and they will be battling far bigger players for rebounds when Nurk sits. Eubanks is a decent rebounder, but has other weaknesses and Watford is below average for his size/position. Walker is a wildcard here. He was an above average rebounder his final year in college and rebounding is a skill that generally translates well from one level to the next, but will the rookie even be a regular part of our rotation?

There is a very strong correlation between rebounding and winning. To me, on paper, that seems to be our biggest potential weakness.

Edit: just to emphasize how bad a rebounder Jerami Grant is, his TRB% last season was 6.9. CJ McCollum's was also 6.9 and Damian Lillard has topped 7.0 twice in his career. For the last three seasons, Jerami Grant has pulled down 248, 250 and 191 total rebounds. Last season, CJ McCollum had 269 total rebounds, Damian Lillard's career high is 378 and last season (playing just 26 games) is the first time in Dame's career he has had fewer than 257 total rebounds.

I love Grant as a 3 and D player, but our new starting PF has a track record of rebounding like an undersized guard. He needs to be better! He's 6'8" and athletic. There's no excuse for him to get outrebounded by guards that are 6'2" to 6'3".

[BNM]

I'm excited to have CJ gone and a team of defenders that will be bought in to Chauncey ball from the git.

I'm thrilled to have multiple solid to great defenders on the roster, but keep in mind Ant will be filling the CJ role/minutes and is an even worse defender than CJ.

This is why it makes so much sense to start Hart next to Dame and then run Payton and Ant with the second unit - even though I know it won't happen.

[-HB-]

I'm excited to have CJ gone and a team of defenders that will be bought in to Chauncey ball from the git.

I'm thrilled to have multiple solid to great defenders on the roster, but keep in mind Ant will be filling the CJ role/minutes and is an even worse defender than CJ.

This is why it makes so much sense to start Hart next to Dame and then run Payton and Ant with the second unit - even though I know it won't happen.

Agreed on Hart but I believe Ant has a higher ceiling on defense than CJ.

[BlazersBroncos]

I'm excited to have CJ gone and a team of defenders that will be bought in to Chauncey ball from the git.

I'm thrilled to have multiple solid to great defenders on the roster, but keep in mind Ant will be filling the CJ role/minutes and is an even worse defender than CJ.

This is why it makes so much sense to start Hart next to Dame and then run Payton and Ant with the second unit - even though I know it won't happen.

Agreed on Hart but I believe Ant has a higher ceiling on defense than CJ.

He certainly has a higher ceiling being a far better athlete and having a 6'9 WS vs CJ at 6'6 - but tools mean nothing if you have no instincts and dont give effort. IDK if I can speak on effort, but Ant certainly isnt a natural defender, his instincts suck. And being a plus defender requires toughness, Ant is a great dude but he certainly doesnt exude toughness at all.

But who knows, maybe he can figure it out. Hope he does, such a easy kid to root for.

[Renegade]

Legendary coach, and likely the GOAT, John Wooden had the greatest dynasty basketball has ever seen.

At the college level I would agree with you. However if you include the NBA there is room for discussion:

Red Auerbach 938–479 (.662) 9 championships (8 straight and two additional championships as GM for a total of 11)

Phil Jackson 1,155–485 (.704) 11 championships

I would argue that Auerbach's record is at least on a par with Wooden's.

[GEE]

Legendary coach, and likely the GOAT, John Wooden had the greatest dynasty basketball has ever seen.

At the college level I would agree with you. However if you include the NBA there is room for discussion:

Red Auerbach 938–479 (.662) 9 championships (8 straight and two additional championships as GM for a total of 11)

Phil Jackson 1,155–485 (.704) 11 championships

I would argue that Auerbach's record is at least on a par with Wooden's.

I'm not going to argue with you at all because your points are well made, but the GOAT reference really wasn't the point I was trying to make. It's that Wooden was able to still win two CHIPs while playing quite small.

Point #2: J.Grant is perfect size... for a SF.

Point #3: We will have to play a really fast up-tempo style, until we can find the right solution to add depth at the PF position. Maybe going as far as acquiring a starting PF via consolidation trade, but this I believe, would definitely only happen after we see how the current pieces fit.

Side note: I always liked the look of a Harry Giles III starting next to Nurkic, especially against the bigger NBA matchups. Same with big games against LAC... I'll be cringing a bit when I see Simons starting against Kawhi and PG13. If he could swallow his pride and play 6th man on those occasions, we could be better. Not totally against tinkering with starting lineups is what I guess I'm trying to say.

[Norm2953]

For Portland to be really competitive this season, Grant has to be Portland's version of Paul George. Detroit had doubts he'd be that level of player and he's going to want that $112 milion extension to stay

[GEE]

For Portland to be really competitive this season, Grant has to be Portland's version of Paul George. Detroit had doubts he'd be that level of player and he's going to want that $112 milion extension to stay

How does anyone know this to be true. I only had heard, from Grant's lips, that he really wants to be here, and that I believe was before he even became a Blazer.

Also, PG13 will be in a totally different role next year than he'd been in the previous 2, for obvious reasons. So, not sure what you mean there.

[Norm2953]

Its what he said when he played for Detroit. His agent made it clear to Detroit he would be seeking that $112 max extension he is eligible for. That would be okay if he plays the role Portland needs him to play

It'll be interesting to see version of Grant we see in Portland for he wanted to be a scorer in Detroit and is not likely to be the Pascal Siakum type of PF the team needs.

[DaVoiceMaster]

Not sure why the Blazers have not done something with Hughes. He hasn't shown much so far, kind of like Didi and they got rid of him. I'd rather see someone else in that spot on the roster, particularly a SF size player.

[Decipher]

Just feels like a meh roster

Not good enough to be a contender, not bad enough for a really high pick

[DaVoiceMaster]

I think they are a starting SF away from competing. I wouldn't mind a better backup big either.

PG Lillard / Simons
SG Payton II / Hart / Johnson
SF ??? / Little / Sharpe
PF Grant / Winslow / Walker
_C Nurkic / Eubanks / Watford

I know Simon's will start, but I like both units. Hart could start, but I think they could use his offense with the backup unit, which is not needed as much with the starting unit.

Any guesses who #15 will be?