Are the blazers too deep?

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draft
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Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#1 » by draft » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:14 am

Everybody is talking about the blazers and how great they will be, but they have too many players who will need minutes. They can be the youngest team in the league but there's no point if these players are not going to get playing time to develop. Look at their roster:

Blake/ Bayless/ Rodriguez
Roy/ Fernandez
Webster/ Outlaw/ Batum
Aldridge/ Frye
Oden/ Pryzbilla

They also have Koponen who might come over.
It might sound ridiculous, but is it a problem to be too deep? They're going to have to get rid of some of these guys if they can't get them minutes. A guy like Rodriguez has been in the league 2 years and he's just waisting on the bench.
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Ace626
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#2 » by Ace626 » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:16 am

If there lucky , they will have half the players they have right now by the time there contending.
So to answer your question , the answer is no
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#3 » by thegreatblaze » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:21 am

Ace626 wrote:If there lucky , they will have half the players they have right now by the time there contending.
So to answer your question , the answer is no

And why is that?
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#4 » by Narcist » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:23 am

yep their too deep I can see it all ready.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#5 » by B Calrissian » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:25 am

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:
Ace626 wrote:If there lucky , they will have half the players they have right now by the time there contending.
So to answer your question , the answer is no

And why is that?


There aren't enough minutes in a game to give them all enough playing time.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#6 » by Charlie78 » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:28 am

From my perspective I would say that right now it is not an issue. But it could be down the road. The great part about it is that right now we have a lot of good young talent.Typically in a rebuilding situation you have 3-4 good young prospects and if half of them dont pan out you end up in a tradmill situation. For the blazers they have 8-9 good young talents so if only half of them turn out to be quality starters that still gives you a solid 4 man core. Add that to thier salary flexibility in the coming year and you have achance to build a special team. It is still no guarentee but it makes it far more likely. In two to three years it could become an issue if players get egos and start acting out. But I expect within the next two season you will see several consolidation trades that bring in veterans and move out some of the young guys.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#7 » by thegreatblaze » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:28 am

B Calrissian wrote:
OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:
Ace626 wrote:If there lucky , they will have half the players they have right now by the time there contending.
So to answer your question , the answer is no

And why is that?


There aren't enough minutes in a game to give them all enough playing time.


Read the guys origianl quote, he claims that half those players won't even be here by the time we contend. I don't agree with that statement.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#8 » by Twith » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:29 am

If Koponen comes over, he's challenging Bayless for the 2nd PG job, moving Sergio completely out of sight. Batum should only get minutes in scrub time, he's clearly not ready. Here's how it probably should shake out.

Blake 19 / Bayless 11 / Roy 10 / Koponen 4
Roy 26 / Rudy 18 / Bayless 4
Webster 24 / Outlaw 24
Aldridge 30 / Frye 12 / Outlaw 6
Oden 30 / Przybilla 12 / Aldridge 6


Well, I guess it is hard, there is a bit of a jam in the backcourt. Seems like there wont be a ton of time for Koponen, those 4 would probably be better off split between Blake and Bayless.

But yeah, some of these guys will have to go or settle for 0 playing time. Probably ideal scenario would be moving a PG and Webster for a big-time SF, then let Outlaw get all the backup SF minutes and a good chunk of time at the 4.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#9 » by Serpo » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:38 am

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:
Read the guys origianl quote, he claims that half those players won't even be here by the time we contend. I don't agree with that statement.


Maybe not half the guys but at least some of them because there's not enough money to re-sign all that many young guys , especially the way players get overpaid these days. Allen will pay luxury tax when the time is right now question but i really doubt he wants a Mavs , Nuggets , Knicks payroll . Because you won't have much flexibility with a payroll like that to get evetual missing pieces.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#10 » by legacyinthemakin89c » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:38 am

I can see where the argument would be that they are too deep, but eventually something will happen with some of these young guys. Its just the way the nba is. Some of them will be injury prone, some of them will get disgruntled and leave, some just won't be a good fit. I think the advantage has is that Portland can use this year as a test, see who fits best together, who can develop into the core they are trying to build. They may make the playoffs, they may not, that has yet to be seen, but I think this year will be more of an experiment year. They have so many possibilities, give it time before they are too deep.

Hypothetical situation, I expect these guys to still be around when they are consistent NBA finals contenders:

Roy
Aldridge
Oden
Fernandez
Blake
Outlaw
Maybe Bayless
Maybe Pryz

I expect Frye to leave somewhere where he could get the chance to start, which he'll never have in Portland unless Aldridge or Oden go down. Bayless is unproven and who knows what he'll become, so before I say he will be there, I have to see how he competes at the nba level. Rodriguez won't be there. He hasn't gotten minutes and I really don't see him ever getting them. He will be gone soon. Webster I think is just going to be the odd man out. He has more potential then Outlaw, but I think Outlaw is more of a dirty work type player, and I think Portland will value that more then potential with all the potential they already have.

Bayless/Blake
Roy/Fernandez
Outlaw/Veteran
Aldridge/Pure energy guy like Maxiell, Craig Smith, Milsap, Dorsey would fit best here
Oden/Pryz


*my bad
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#11 » by greendevilman » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:44 am

You're mixing up the two guys from Spain- Sergio Rodriguez is the backup who has been in Portland for a while and Rudy Fernandez is the one who is joining them.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#12 » by Blame Rasho » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:53 am

I think it would be wise for us to see several real games before coming up with this question.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#13 » by Schmooftie » Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:59 am

I can see them making a trade next off season for a big name player and shipping off some of their young talent, just as Boston did last off season
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#14 » by Red Robot » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:10 am

First, it's far from a finished team. More a pile of assets that will become something else.

Second, not everyone will pan out. We're dealing with a lot of potential here.

But the roster is definitely too full. They need to make some consolidation trades sooner rather than later, or they won't be able to add and develop young players like they have in the last few years.

I also don't think there's really such a thing as too deep. You start to get diminishing returns, sure. There's nothing that actively hurts the team. If a player doesn't develop because of a lack of PT, it may hurt the player, but it doesn't really hurt the team, who presumably has someone better soaking up the minutes.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#15 » by NO-KG-AI » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:18 am

The team's success is hinged on the development of Oden, Roy, and Aldridge, and no one is taking their minutes, and I think Bayless is going to show enough to earn his spot too.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#16 » by B Calrissian » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:18 am

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:Read the guys origianl quote, he claims that half those players won't even be here by the time we contend. I don't agree with that statement.


Half those players could be gone by then. None of us know what will happen. But as I said before there will not be enough minutes for all of them and I doubt they are just going to let these guys walk. So it would make sense to combine a few of them for a star sf.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#17 » by EGame » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:21 am

Obviously we won't be keeping every single player, but the main core will stay in tact (Roy, Aldridge, Oden, Outlaw, and possibly both Bayless/Fernendez, but I think realisticlaly only one will stay) anyone beyond that still currently on the team is probably willing too take less money, realizing they won't be the man, but can be helpful to possibly help us go deep in the playoffs. But I think a trade is going to happen anyway, so it won't be too much of a problem
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#18 » by Red Robot » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:35 am

OdenRoyLMA2 wrote:Read the guys origianl quote, he claims that half those players won't even be here by the time we contend. I don't agree with that statement.

That actually sounds reasonable to me. Between trades, signings, players not panning out, and the squeeze of a 15-man roster, I wouldn't be at all surprised if well more than half those players were gone in a few years. The current rate of turnover is something like half the team per season. Next summer's cap space plan could shave off 2-4 players just by itself.
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#19 » by thegreatblaze » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:39 am

Could very well be.

Who do you see leaving and going then? I say for the most part the Blazers roster looks pretty solid, we could use a better SF though...
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Re: Are the blazers too deep? 

Post#20 » by King Baller » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:39 am

If all those guys are as good as advertised they will need too much $$$$$ to be on the same team. At some point the redundant players will need to be traded for some role players.

But in the mean time while most of them are on rookie salaries, YAHOO!!!! :D

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