Portland - 2016 Offseason

[Wizenheimer]

while I think the potential for stupid contracts is high this summer, if you use RealGM as a source, 75% of free agents this summer are "getting the max". Biyombo is a strong rebounder & shot blocker and he shows very well in a lot of defensive stats. But he has stone hands and can't do a thing on offense. He was also measured as only being 6'8.25 without shoes. That's really short for a C but probably not as critical as it used to be

If Biyombo gets a max it will be an insane summer for sure

Wingspan is way more important than height, and his 7'6 wingspan is about half a foot longer than Mason Plumlee's.

I'd imagine wingspan is a lot more important in perimeter players then in bigs....defending passing lanes. ball defense. Since there's only one ball, divide the differential in half as a pass would go to one side or the other, not both. A big wingspan advantage hasn't done Biyombo much good in steals, he's averaged 0.4 steals/36 while the shorter armed Plumlee averaged 1.2. It's probably a safe assumption you'd see the same differential in deflections

Just from watching him you can tell he doesn't play undersized.

I've watched him before and there have been times he does look undersized. It hasn't been an issue in this year's playoffs. The only big C Toronto has faced was Whiteside and that was for just 2 games until his injury, and Biyombo didn't play much in those 2 games. The rest of the time, it's been Ian Mahinmi/Myles Turner, Luol Deng/Josh McRoberts, Tristan Thompson/Channing Frye. Not exactly a killer's row of traditional C's, and no sign of a low post threat

But maybe Biyombo is developing like Ben Wallace did. He was a short C but it didn't matter

He's a perfect good and bulky center.

yeah, but at 25 million/year?...which is what a max would be and what the discussion was about

Biyombo is a great rebounder and shot-blocker, and he's a good defender. But he's a zilch on offense. He doesn't score except on putbacks and he averages 0.6 ast/36; Plumlee averaged 3.9. He's not good in the PnR because he has stone hands and can't do anything with the ball as a PnR receiver unless it's right at the rim

I'm not saying that trying to build a case that he's a bad player...he's not. It's just pointing out reasons why he shouldn't get a max contract

[Malapropism]

I'm not arguing that Biyombo is worth a max, he isn't. Just debating the notion that he's undersized.

[Jsun947]

Fixed the main page and updated it based on today's news. Shout out to Wiz for the max contract info.

Max contracts are based on a different BRI figure. Lillard at a 30% max would have a contract starting at approx $25,996,066. Its been reported that Lillard agreed to 27.5% on his max deal instead of 30% which means it starts at $23,830,000.

That gets Portland about $2,166,066 more in cap space than we thought.

Thanks Dame!

[Soulyss]

Fixed the main page and updated it based on today's news. Shout out to Wiz for the max contract info.

Max contracts are based on a different BRI figure. Lillard at a 30% max would have a contract starting at approx $25,996,066. Its been reported that Lillard agreed to 27.5% on his max deal instead of 30% which means it starts at $23,830,000.

That gets Portland about $2,166,066 more in cap space than we thought.

Thanks Dame!

In effect Dame gave up about 12 million dollars over the life of this contract to make the team more competitive... That's real money and shows what he's really interested in: Winning

Hats off to Dame...

[Dame Lizard]

while I think the potential for stupid contracts is high this summer, if you use RealGM as a source, 75% of free agents this summer are "getting the max". Biyombo is a strong rebounder & shot blocker and he shows very well in a lot of defensive stats. But he has stone hands and can't do a thing on offense. He was also measured as only being 6'8.25 without shoes. That's really short for a C but probably not as critical as it used to be

If Biyombo gets a max it will be an insane summer for sure

Wingspan is way more important than height, and his 7'6 wingspan is about half a foot longer than Mason Plumlee's.

I'd imagine wingspan is a lot more important in perimeter players then in bigs....defending passing lanes. ball defense. Since there's only one ball, divide the differential in half as a pass would go to one side or the other, not both. A big wingspan advantage hasn't done Biyombo much good in steals, he's averaged 0.4 steals/36 while the shorter armed Plumlee averaged 1.2. It's probably a safe assumption you'd see the same differential in deflections

Just from watching him you can tell he doesn't play undersized.

I've watched him before and there have been times he does look undersized.

If Biyombo is undersized (which I definitely don't think he is), then Plumlee is very undersized. Biyombo has a 9'3.5" standing reach, 3.5 inches larger than Plumlee's. At the end of the day, standing reach is what demonstrates your defensive height. Biyombo isn't lacking in the strength category either, particularly with his low centre of gravity.

[Butter]

Wingspan is way more important than height, and his 7'6 wingspan is about half a foot longer than Mason Plumlee's.

I'd imagine wingspan is a lot more important in perimeter players then in bigs....defending passing lanes. ball defense. Since there's only one ball, divide the differential in half as a pass would go to one side or the other, not both. A big wingspan advantage hasn't done Biyombo much good in steals, he's averaged 0.4 steals/36 while the shorter armed Plumlee averaged 1.2. It's probably a safe assumption you'd see the same differential in deflections

Just from watching him you can tell he doesn't play undersized.

I've watched him before and there have been times he does look undersized.

If Biyombo is undersized (which I definitely don't think he is), then Plumlee is very undersized. Biyombo has a 9'3.5" standing reach, 3.5 inches larger than Plumlee's. At the end of the day, standing reach is what demonstrates your defensive height. Biyombo isn't lacking in the strength category either, particularly with his low centre of gravity.

https://www.google.com/search?q=king+hippo&oq=king+hippo&aqs=chrome..69i57.7189j0j4&client=ms-android-att-us&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#imgrc=Ik-IYwhlvEAfCM%3A

[GreenRiddler]

No way the next CBA lets the Media determine how much players make, AD lost himself some change. Probably would've never got there anyway cause he was injured, but if it was Harden who lost a contract booster (or any other All NBA contender) there would've been hell to pay.

[Downtown]

Yeah, I didn't even think about how the awards tie into contract extensions. Something's not right when your full contract amount isn't in your hands or the team that's negotiating with you.

There's quite a leap of faith to think about how many millions it could cost you if they picked a guy over you even if you may have been as deserving.

[Blazer50]

Blazer's need to come out of this off season with the best possible New Starter they can get. Whether it is Free Agency with Cap Space or through a trade, relying on the development of their current guys will not get them into serious contention. Olshey should not be overly ambitious in his pursuit - Horford is probably not coming to Portland if he wants a Dominican community. One Center Court has to be spot on to utilize their resources to their best advantage this year.

The culture that they have built will probably buy the Blazers a little time - maybe Crabbe Delays accepting a sheet so we can offer the cap space and then match, but we can't live with the mistakes of the past (Turgolu) if they are going to capitalize on this opportunity.

It's clear that several of the current Blazers do have a chance to develop and be major contributors in a serious run, but this is the off season they need to bring in a substantial talent to improve their chances of reaching their goal. Even with the increased revenues and cap space, the Blazers will tap out with their own players resigning in the near future.

I would like to see the Blazers identity the one best target they can sign and go get him (like Al Farouq last year).
Whether it's Horford, Whitesides, Monroe, DH12, Harrison Barnes, Ezeli, DeRozan or whomever, we need to put that New Upgrade in place and move on from there.

[skoharry]

this is the final thing I am going to say on this matter.
henderson, leonard, & crabbe go elsewhere.
harkless is re-signed
we trade alexander, $ & picks for Monroe
we sign Evan Turner
we sign JJ Hickson
we sign Tim Frazier

so our team would be this
PG - Lillard/Frazier/Montero
SG - Mccollum/Turner/Connaughton
SF - Aminu/Harkless
PF - Monroe/Hickson/Vonleh
C - Plumlee/Davis

not a bad team if you ask me!!!!!!!!!!

Good god not Hickson again.

LOL, my thoughts exactly!

i don't know what your problem with hickson is. he was a good hustle guy, even though he was playing out of position

[Dame Lizard]

In terms of value for money, I'm all aboard the Cole Aldrich train. He is at a great age as well.

Biyombo has gathered serious interest from this playoff series, and my previous hope for us to sign him somewhat cheaply has probably diminished. I'd still love him on the team, but we'll have to wait and see what kind of offers he gets.

[Norm2953]

Blazer's need to come out of this off season with the best possible New Starter they can get. Whether it is Free Agency with Cap Space or through a trade, relying on the development of their current guys will not get them into serious contention. Olshey should not be overly ambitious in his pursuit - Horford is probably not coming to Portland if he wants a Dominican community. One Center Court has to be spot on to utilize their resources to their best advantage this year.

The culture that they have built will probably buy the Blazers a little time - maybe Crabbe Delays accepting a sheet so we can offer the cap space and then match, but we can't live with the mistakes of the past (Turgolu) if they are going to capitalize on this opportunity.

It's clear that several of the current Blazers do have a chance to develop and be major contributors in a serious run, but this is the off season they need to bring in a substantial talent to improve their chances of reaching their goal. Even with the increased revenues and cap space, the Blazers will tap out with their own players resigning in the near future. .

I would like to see the Blazers identity the one best target they can sign and go get him (like Al Farouq last year).
Whether it's Horford, Whitesides, Monroe, DH12, Harrison Barnes, Ezeli, DeRozan or whomever, we need to put that New Upgrade in place and move on from there.

The thing we need to do is find another player that is better than CJ for most of us understand a team with
Dame and CJ as our best players is not going to be challenging in the playoffs. We could seriously overpay
for a free agent if we believe the team that made the second round is ready for bigger things but I suspect
NO will continue with the plan to build around the prime of Damian Lillard and will be looking for 1-2 players,
not necessarily marquee players who will offer skills not currently on the roster.

I think its really possible Portland kicks the tires but ends up more or less standing pat even if that puts
Portland back in the lottery. The 2017 draft is looking really solid.

[Case2012]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/5/24/11723372/portland-trail-blazers-free-agents-trades-neil-olshey

[bob2]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/5/24/11723372/portland-trail-blazers-free-agents-trades-neil-olshey

The free agents list doesn't even include Aminu and Ed Davis (who had a PER of 18.8).
This shows how accurate this article is.

[mactrapper10]

http://www.blazersedge.com/2016/5/24/11723372/portland-trail-blazers-free-agents-trades-neil-olshey

That article does a great job of looking at moves in a vacuum, without regard to context at the time. I still frequent Blazersedge and appreciate it as a hub for Blazers related material/topics/resources, but it has slipped quite a bit in the last few years and I don't read as much of the content there. It's a shame.

[Downtown]

I see that Austin Rivers and Wesley Johnson have opted out of $3.3mil and $1.2mil respectively. I'm not saying they should be targets but as fall back players if Henderson, Crabbe, and Harkless all leave because of contract offers that Olshey might not want to match.

Austin Rivers gets a lot of criticism for whatever reasons but the guy is a good player. If Crabbe ends up getting a crazy offer Rivers might not be a bad option to look at.

[Case2012]

LOL Austin Rivers probably thinks he's a max player too.

[Downtown]

I'd take him as the third guard behind Lillard and McCollum if he cost no more than $5mil. I think he'd do okay. Not great, but okay. I posted on the trade board that Portland paid Steve Blake $5mil and Rivers is younger and quicker.

A two year deal with a team option is okay with me.

[Wizenheimer]

I'd take him as the third guard behind Lillard and McCollum if he cost no more than $5mil. I think he'd do okay. Not great, but okay. I posted on the trade board that Portland paid Steve Blake $5mil and Rivers is younger and quicker.

A two year deal with a team option is okay with me.

Portland never paid Steve Blake 5 million. They paid him 4.2 million but that was 8 years ago when he was 27

Portland paid him 2 million last year

[Downtown]

I thought he got $just under $5mil.