Realistic Wish List???

[PDXKnight]

Id imagine theyre saving room in case someone bites on grant, but wouldn't hurt to load up on a few more training camp guys and le t 1 or 2 duke it ouy not like that's a huge risk anyhow

Hmmm, they could take a 3 for 1 on a Grant trade now. Interesting.

I think as Wiz said, I don't think moving Grant is any kind of a priority. I think Grant even may be less motivated to go somewhere else after the teams moves this summer. The Blazers haven't made a single rebuilding move outside of making a draft pick (which every team does). Every move looks like a move to get better and not just keep tanking unlike, say, the Jazz.

If he stays i hope he balls out for a season and has teams chomping at the bit to add him. Id think 14ppg good defense and efficient scoring would get him to that point, most contenders aren't gonna want him jacking up 20 shots a night. If he plays within himself hes a useful player no doubt but unfortunately most of the time hes been here hes tried to be the man when hes better as a 4th option playing off the ball

[DusterBuster]

Hmmm, they could take a 3 for 1 on a Grant trade now. Interesting.

I think as Wiz said, I don't think moving Grant is any kind of a priority. I think Grant even may be less motivated to go somewhere else after the teams moves this summer. The Blazers haven't made a single rebuilding move outside of making a draft pick (which every team does). Every move looks like a move to get better and not just keep tanking unlike, say, the Jazz.

If he stays i hope he balls out for a season and has teams chomping at the bit to add him. Id think 14ppg good defense and efficient scoring would get him to that point, most contenders aren't gonna want him jacking up 20 shots a night. If he plays within himself hes a useful player no doubt but unfortunately most of the time hes been here hes tried to be the man when hes better as a 4th option playing off the ball

I mean, interesting timing but from literally minutes ago:

Read on Twitter

This reads to me they are find with Grant staying here (which likely means starting).

This also reads, they're just gonna throw the best 5 out there, regardless of development the next year or two. Being a development team is on the backburner now, young guys need to show up or shut up if they want to start.

Unless Sharpe or Scoot have made some crazy jump, the starting lineup feels set to me...

Jrue
Camara
Deni
Grant
Clingan

So yeah, Jerami better ball out and score like crazy. Deni also is going to have to carry a scoring load...

And my "out of pocket prediction" for this upcoming season, Tou is going to solidify himself as the teams best player, even over Deni. Deni is clear Vegas/odds-on favorite, but I'm putting long-shot bets that Camara takes a bigger jump offensively than people think and shows he can be on a Paul George path... Again... out of pocket... so I don't need anyone to tell me I'm wrong since I likely will be with a long-shot bet, but I'll put that money down on it now.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I think as Wiz said, I don't think moving Grant is any kind of a priority. I think Grant even may be less motivated to go somewhere else after the teams moves this summer. The Blazers haven't made a single rebuilding move outside of making a draft pick (which every team does). Every move looks like a move to get better and not just keep tanking unlike, say, the Jazz.

If he stays i hope he balls out for a season and has teams chomping at the bit to add him. Id think 14ppg good defense and efficient scoring would get him to that point, most contenders aren't gonna want him jacking up 20 shots a night. If he plays within himself hes a useful player no doubt but unfortunately most of the time hes been here hes tried to be the man when hes better as a 4th option playing off the ball

I mean, interesting timing but from literally minutes ago:

Read on Twitter

This reads to me they are find with Grant staying here (which likely means starting).

This also reads, they're just gonna throw the best 5 out there, regardless of development the next year or two. Being a development team is on the backburner now, young guys need to show up or shut up if they want to start.

Unless Sharpe or Scoot have made some crazy jump, the starting lineup feels set to me...

Jrue
Camara
Deni
Grant
Clingan

So yeah, Jerami better ball out and score like crazy. Deni also is going to have to carry a scoring load...

And my "out of pocket prediction" for this upcoming season, Tou is going to solidify himself as the teams best player, even over Deni. Deni is clear Vegas/odds-on favorite, but I'm putting long-shot bets that Camara takes a bigger jump offensively than people think and shows he can be on a Paul George path... Again... out of pocket... so I don't need anyone to tell me I'm wrong since I likely will be with a long-shot bet, but I'll put that money down on it now.

I'm with ya DB. I likened Camara to Kahwai Leonard a couple months ago. I wasn't saying he was there or even close, but if he picked up his offensive game, which wasn't all that bad, he could be pretty special.

[PDXKnight]

I think as Wiz said, I don't think moving Grant is any kind of a priority. I think Grant even may be less motivated to go somewhere else after the teams moves this summer. The Blazers haven't made a single rebuilding move outside of making a draft pick (which every team does). Every move looks like a move to get better and not just keep tanking unlike, say, the Jazz.

If he stays i hope he balls out for a season and has teams chomping at the bit to add him. Id think 14ppg good defense and efficient scoring would get him to that point, most contenders aren't gonna want him jacking up 20 shots a night. If he plays within himself hes a useful player no doubt but unfortunately most of the time hes been here hes tried to be the man when hes better as a 4th option playing off the ball

I mean, interesting timing but from literally minutes ago:

Read on Twitter

This reads to me they are find with Grant staying here (which likely means starting).

This also reads, they're just gonna throw the best 5 out there, regardless of development the next year or two. Being a development team is on the backburner now, young guys need to show up or shut up if they want to start.

Unless Sharpe or Scoot have made some crazy jump, the starting lineup feels set to me...

Jrue
Camara
Deni
Grant
Clingan

So yeah, Jerami better ball out and score like crazy. Deni also is going to have to carry a scoring load...

And my "out of pocket prediction" for this upcoming season, Tou is going to solidify himself as the teams best player, even over Deni. Deni is clear Vegas/odds-on favorite, but I'm putting long-shot bets that Camara takes a bigger jump offensively than people think and shows he can be on a Paul George path... Again... out of pocket... so I don't need anyone to tell me I'm wrong since I likely will be with a long-shot bet, but I'll put that money down on it now.

Maybe thats the starters, id definitely believe the jrue part. In terms of jerami im not so sure he starts, I could just as easily see some alternation of jrue-sharpe-deni-camara-DC and jrue-scoot-deni-camara-dc if jerami continues to dog us like he did last season.

Definitely agreed on Camara, when youre naturally that good defensively i think even if he gets up to a modest 20 ppg in his prime he could effectively be considered our "best player" even if he isnt leading in scoring as he does so much defensively and id imagine even as scoring increases he wjll be efficient offensively. I like Deni and wouldn't go out of my way to trade him but if we cash in our chips for a superduper star i do think Camara is the one to keep. Perhaps Deni is the sexier pick to other teams anyhow, and he relies more on scoring vs camara doing a lot more things besides scoring so it may be a win win.

[dckingsfan]

I think as Wiz said, I don't think moving Grant is any kind of a priority. I think Grant even may be less motivated to go somewhere else after the teams moves this summer. The Blazers haven't made a single rebuilding move outside of making a draft pick (which every team does). Every move looks like a move to get better and not just keep tanking unlike, say, the Jazz.

If he stays i hope he balls out for a season and has teams chomping at the bit to add him. Id think 14ppg good defense and efficient scoring would get him to that point, most contenders aren't gonna want him jacking up 20 shots a night. If he plays within himself hes a useful player no doubt but unfortunately most of the time hes been here hes tried to be the man when hes better as a 4th option playing off the ball

I mean, interesting timing but from literally minutes ago:

Read on Twitter

This reads to me they are find with Grant staying here (which likely means starting).

This also reads, they're just gonna throw the best 5 out there, regardless of development the next year or two. Being a development team is on the backburner now, young guys need to show up or shut up if they want to start.

Unless Sharpe or Scoot have made some crazy jump, the starting lineup feels set to me...

Jrue
Camara
Deni
Grant
Clingan

So yeah, Jerami better ball out and score like crazy. Deni also is going to have to carry a scoring load...

And my "out of pocket prediction" for this upcoming season, Tou is going to solidify himself as the teams best player, even over Deni. Deni is clear Vegas/odds-on favorite, but I'm putting long-shot bets that Camara takes a bigger jump offensively than people think and shows he can be on a Paul George path... Again... out of pocket... so I don't need anyone to tell me I'm wrong since I likely will be with a long-shot bet, but I'll put that money down on it now.

Damn, that would be awesome. Think of Deni's trajectory and then Camara exceeds it. Those two alone would be a solid base for a playoff team. And I don't think it is out of the realm - his TO% has gone down as his usage has gone up - that is a really nice trend. And it isn't like his 3 ball hasn't gotten better...

Can't disagree with you at all on the starting lineup either. I am super hopeful Scoot, Sharpe and Thybulle are ready to play - because if there is limited drop-off when Deni & Camara come out of the lineup - sheesh.

And then, kind of the wildcard is how much Clingan improves as a defensive anchor.

And since we are still in the wish thread - I hope that Rupert takes enough of a leap to be a serviceable second level backup. And Yang gets it together offensively to at least partially negate the glaring defensive liabilities (kinda why I wanted a defensive minded forward for the BAE).

Of course, it could all go south as well. All it would take is a regression from Scoot but I just don't see that happening.

[DaVoiceMaster]

With Jrue here and Lillard back on the roster, does Grant perk up and return to form? It's not a great form, but should be better than what he showed last season.

[DusterBuster]

If he stays i hope he balls out for a season and has teams chomping at the bit to add him. Id think 14ppg good defense and efficient scoring would get him to that point, most contenders aren't gonna want him jacking up 20 shots a night. If he plays within himself hes a useful player no doubt but unfortunately most of the time hes been here hes tried to be the man when hes better as a 4th option playing off the ball

I mean, interesting timing but from literally minutes ago:

Read on Twitter

This reads to me they are find with Grant staying here (which likely means starting).

This also reads, they're just gonna throw the best 5 out there, regardless of development the next year or two. Being a development team is on the backburner now, young guys need to show up or shut up if they want to start.

Unless Sharpe or Scoot have made some crazy jump, the starting lineup feels set to me...

Jrue
Camara
Deni
Grant
Clingan

So yeah, Jerami better ball out and score like crazy. Deni also is going to have to carry a scoring load...

And my "out of pocket prediction" for this upcoming season, Tou is going to solidify himself as the teams best player, even over Deni. Deni is clear Vegas/odds-on favorite, but I'm putting long-shot bets that Camara takes a bigger jump offensively than people think and shows he can be on a Paul George path... Again... out of pocket... so I don't need anyone to tell me I'm wrong since I likely will be with a long-shot bet, but I'll put that money down on it now.

I'm with ya DB. I likened Camara to Kahwai Leonard a couple months ago. I wasn't saying he was there or even close, but if he picked up his offensive game, which wasn't all that bad, he could be pretty special.

I jumped on this island at the end of last season. I had a lot of advanced stats thrown my way why this was wrong, and maybe thats right, but I'm sticking to it. I think the advanced stats revolution of the mid-late 2010's lost sight of the eye-test / feel part of evaluation. I feel like this forum gets too aggressive in that aspect of player evaluation.

Camara passes the eye test. Yes, he's an older "young" player, I also don't believe that puts a glass ceiling on a player. Camara has the mentality and drive of players who become all stars and he's consistently shown improvement... and not an up and down improvement, clear improvement. Rookie to 2nd year all-defense. Don't doubt a player like that until the give you a reason. His offense - which was his biggest question of his rookie year - improved. I just don't believe I have a reason to cap Camara's potential yet. So until that, I'll keep believing him.

Feel the same about Deni, but Deni is now working on more the edges of his skills to refine those, not still having necessarily "untapped" potential which I believe Tou still is.

[Wizenheimer]

Dame's contract counts against the cap and he's one of 15 allowed players. He is not a 2-way player; not with a 3 year MLE deal. There will be no medical hardship because Dame wasn't injured as a Blazer; he was injured under contract to Milwaukee.

Portland has 14 players which is a legal roster. They might sign a 15th player but I'd bet against it

[wco81]

Serious new owners would probably consult with basketball people, to get an informed opinion of the roster, the moves the GM has made.

Unless they're Matt Ishbia, who thinks he can run his team like fantasy basketball.

[DusterBuster]

Serious new owners would probably consult with basketball people, to get an informed opinion of the roster, the moves the GM has made.

Unless they're Matt Ishbia, who thinks he can run his team like fantasy basketball.

Ishbia consulted basketball people, but that was Isiah Thomas, soooo

[BlazersBroncos]

I wish I had the same confidence in Camara leveling up but unless his handle improves dramatically in a single offseason I can’t see it.

I do think he can be a Tayshawn Prince / Jerome Kersey level guy.

[zzaj]

I wish I had the same confidence in Camara leveling up but unless his handle improves dramatically in a single offseason I can’t see it.

I do think he can be a Tayshawn Prince / Jerome Kersey level guy.

Yeah, agreed here. It takes years of skill work starting at a very young age to be able to have a reliable, second-nature handle at an NBA level against NBA defenses and defenders, and that's completely ignoring the fact that you have to be REALLY good...like 99th percentile of professional basketball players in the world...to get NBA coaches' blessing to self-create at an NBA level on a decent team within an offense.

Now obviously Camara can improve, but a massive jump in self-creation via an improved handle is most likely not going to happen. More likely, based on how the SF position works in the Blazer offense, will be improvement in straight-line wiggle, finishing and decision making attacking closeouts.

[BlazersBroncos]

I wish I had the same confidence in Camara leveling up but unless his handle improves dramatically in a single offseason I can’t see it.

I do think he can be a Tayshawn Prince / Jerome Kersey level guy.

Yeah, agreed here. It takes years of skill work starting at a very young age to be able to have a reliable, second-nature handle at an NBA level against NBA defenses and defenders, and that's completely ignoring the fact that you have to be REALLY good...like 99th percentile of professional basketball players in the world...to get NBA coaches' blessing to self-create at an NBA level on a decent team within an offense.

Now obviously Camara can improve, but a massive jump in self-creation via an improved handle is most likely not going to happen. More likely, based on how the SF position works in the Blazer offense, will be improvement in straight-line wiggle, finishing and decision making attacking closeouts.

Yep.

PG13 had a tremendous handle coming into the NBA for a player his size. He also had a effortlessness to his game that Camara doesnt pass going on the eye test.

Leonard was a bit of an outlier, he developed both a handle and a shot in a way that is quite rare. His year 23 to year 24 jump is a huge rarity (Basically going from elite role player to #1 option). It happens, but its SUPER rare.

Anything is possible, but I think Camara hitting the 'Kawai before his statistically anomalous Y23 to Y24 jump' is a great target for Camara (IE that Y23 season where Leonard was posting 16ppg / 7rpg / 2.5apg / 3 stocks). Dont see Camara hitting those stock numbers but otherwise I can see it.

Leonard had outlier athleticism and hands which helped. Camara is a good athlete but no Kawai (Or PG13) level.

[Walton1one]

Read on Twitter

?s=46&t=EMPyn6S6ZWmrFTD1kXeMkA

[Norm2953]

I wonder if the Wesley contract is for guaranteed money in case something else comes up?

Presumably a vet min contract that still keeps them under the tax line.

[zzaj]

I don't really see the point of adding Blake Wesley...I don't know much about him as a player, but he appears to be a SG/SF type that isn't much good at anything and likely isn't an NBA player.

I would think a small-ball C or PF type would be more useful on the roster than a player who will be behind Camara/Matisse/Deni/Murray/Jrue/Sharpe.

[Walton1one]

Wesley's contract is guaranteed for next year. With Dame out it makes some sense as a 3rd PG I guess?

The lack of any kind of press conference with Jrue Holiday is odd IMO, they showed him at the practice facility, but very little outside of that clearly PR piece. I do believe he would rather not be here and has probably told Cronin that, and they might just be keeping things under wraps until they can trade him either before the season starts or maybe he starts the year on the team and is dealt at the trade deadline.

[Pattycakes]

Jrue
Shae
Toumani
Deni
DC

Feels so much better and balanced. We’re literally handicapping our whole team for the sake of Jerami Grant. I can’t be the only one incredibly disappointed by that being a serious strategy for this franchise.

[dckingsfan]

I don't really see the point of adding Blake Wesley...I don't know much about him as a player, but he appears to be a SG/SF type that isn't much good at anything and likely isn't an NBA player.

I would think a small-ball C or PF type would be more useful on the roster than a player who will be behind Camara/Matisse/Deni/Murray/Jrue/Sharpe.

Yep. A bad signing, IMO.

[DusterBuster]

Jrue
Shae
Toumani
Deni
DC

Feels so much better and balanced. We’re literally handicapping our whole team for the sake of Jerami Grant. I can’t be the only one incredibly disappointed by that being a serious strategy for this franchise.

Why I was (and really still am) pro-buyout for Grant.

And do be fair, I don't think that's a "strategy" for them, just the situation they find themselves in if they won't buy him out. Less strategy, more of the consequences of their own actions.