The 2016 Offseason Thread

thamadkant · Post #841 » by **thamadkant** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:12 pm

Blazers are trying to be Warriors v2.0

Backcourt that can flat out score and nail the 3pt shot? Check
A broad range of wing players who can slide down to SG, play SF or move up to PF depending on lineup (Turner, Crabbe, Aminu)? Check

Hustle and energetic big men who can finish above the rim? Check

They see Lillard as a Curry level player and McCollum as a Klay level player.... which isnt far fetch. But Klay is a defensive stopper also.

I think Blazers are similar to 2014 Warriors with lesser defense... but more athletic big men....

sunsbum · Post #842 » by **sunsbum** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:09 am

1UPZ wrote:Blazers are trying to be Warriors v2.0

Backcourt that can flat out score and nail the 3pt shot? Check
A broad range of wing players who can slide down to SG, play SF or move up to PF depending on lineup (Turner, Crabbe, Aminu)? Check

Hustle and energetic big men who can finish above the rim? Check

They see Lillard as a Curry level player and McCollum as a Klay level player.... which isnt far fetch. But Klay is a defensive stopper also.

I think Blazers are similar to 2014 Warriors with lesser defense... but more athletic big men....

We'll they have a rude awakening as a permanent 4-8 playoff team for the next 5 years.

Post #843 » by **bwgood77** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:36 am

sunsbum wrote:
1UPZ wrote:Blazers are trying to be Warriors v2.0

Backcourt that can flat out score and nail the 3pt shot? Check
A broad range of wing players who can slide down to SG, play SF or move up to PF depending on lineup (Turner, Crabbe, Aminu)? Check

Hustle and energetic big men who can finish above the rim? Check

They see Lillard as a Curry level player and McCollum as a Klay level player.... which isnt far fetch. But Klay is a defensive stopper also.

I think Blazers are similar to 2014 Warriors with lesser defense... but more athletic big men....

We'll they have a rude awakening as a permanent 4-8 playoff team for the next 5 years.

Well for many teams that is a good place to be when GS is going to win anyway. Keeps fans excited with hope every year. Most fans and almost all casual fans. The seasons are fun to watch, the arena is full, they make money. If you don't have a superstar it's tough to get much higher.

letsgosuns · Post #844 » by **letsgosuns** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:38 am

Lillard averaged 27 pts, 6 ast, and 4 rbs per game in the playoffs. McCollum averaged 21 pts, 3 ast, and 4 rbs per game in the playoffs. More specifically, Lillard averaged 32 pts, 8 ast, and 4 rbs against the Warriors while McCollum averaged 21 pts, 3 ast, and 4 rbs against the Warriors. How much better can they play than that and they still lost in five games. Plus Curry only played games 4 and 5. Not to mention, but the Clippers were missing Griffin and Paul when they played the Blazers and I highly doubt the Blazers win that series if those guys are playing. Now the Blazers give out enormous money to their core which is okay I guess but they gave out huge money to Evan Turner as well. That guy is not that good. He is a role player and could be a bench player. Does anyone see them getting any better than they already are? I do not. Maybe they still felt the impact of losing Aldridge and believe they have to overpay dramatically to get anyone to sign with them. Who knows. I personally think they will be a perennial first or second round exit for the next five years and that is if they play as well as last year.

Post #845 » by **bwgood77** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 4:09 am

letsgosuns wrote:Lillard averaged 27 pts, 6 ast, and 4 rbs per game in the playoffs. McCollum averaged 21 pts, 3 ast, and 4 rbs per game in the playoffs. More specifically, Lillard averaged 32 pts, 8 ast, and 4 rbs against the Warriors while McCollum averaged 21 pts, 3 ast, and 4 rbs against the Warriors. How much better can they play than that and they still lost in five games. Plus Curry only played games 4 and 5. Not to mention, but the Clippers were missing Griffin and Paul when they played the Blazers and I highly doubt the Blazers win that series if those guys are playing. Now the Blazers give out enormous money to their core which is okay I guess but they gave out huge money to Evan Turner as well. That guy is not that good. He is a role player and could be a bench player. Does anyone see them getting any better than they already are? I do not. Maybe they still felt the impact of losing Aldridge and believe they have to overpay dramatically to get anyone to sign with them. Who knows. I personally think they will be a perennial first or second round exit for the next five years and that is if they play as well as last year.

No, but I didn't expect them to be that good the year they made the playoffs when we almost did, or especially last year. They overachieved like we did in 2013-14 which most people were happy about but they have done much better since then and most of their players have yet to hit their prime. I don't expect them to get much better, and I expect them to be a fringe playoff team, but Olshey is a good GM and Stotts a good coach. Turner was signed mostly for his playmaking skills since their guards are mostly shooters. He averaged 5.5 apg 2 years ago and 4.4 last year when he wasn't a PG. He is 6-7. He hasn't been a great player but he also is still fairly young and Stotts seems to get more out of guys.

Their guards are good enough to get them to be a fringe playoff team, so instead of being the 8th seed they might as well sign guys and try to get better and stay in the playoffs. Plus they couldn't just let assets go for nothing so at least they have them for trade bait later.

Post #846 » by **Qwigglez** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:46 am

Kind of disappointed with Portland actually. I actually expect them to be fighting for a 6th-8th seed this upcoming year. I'm not sure how much they can improve internally. I think they need to have a big season out of Vonleh to make the playoffs.

thamadkant · Post #847 » by **thamadkant** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 7:17 am

Blazer's Overpaid for Turner...

But he actually fits well next to Lillard and McCollum.
He is like their poor man's Draymond Green... in regards to a play making and facilitating forward. Shame he cant play elite defense.
But Aminu can play adequate defense at the SF and PF spot though.. so a combination of both might be effective.

Crabbe is the X-factor... he comes off the bench and provide solid 25-30 minutes as a 3rd shooter and scorer?
If he steps it up a notch, Blazers have good scoring prowess.

Vonleh needs to to show up though.. he has the body and tools to do so... if he can provide solid minutes Blazers can be a deep and versatile team.

Post #848 » by **Qwigglez** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:03 am

Dang I was just wondering, what if ended up with LMA last off-season, do you think we could have been a possible destination for Durant?
Bledsoe/Book/Durant/LMA/Chandler
Archie/Knight/Warren/Mirza/Len

Damkac · Post #849 » by **Damkac** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:36 am

If Suns would advance to the finals and lose in game 7 then I think he would consider going there.

NTB · Post #850 » by **NTB** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 11:04 am

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/757774306763878400[/tweet]

NaturalBuns · Post #851 » by **NaturalBuns** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 12:22 pm

sunsbum wrote:
1UPZ wrote:Blazers are trying to be Warriors v2.0

Backcourt that can flat out score and nail the 3pt shot? Check
A broad range of wing players who can slide down to SG, play SF or move up to PF depending on lineup (Turner, Crabbe, Aminu)? Check

Hustle and energetic big men who can finish above the rim? Check

They see Lillard as a Curry level player and McCollum as a Klay level player.... which isnt far fetch. But Klay is a defensive stopper also.

I think Blazers are similar to 2014 Warriors with lesser defense... but more athletic big men....

We'll they have a rude awakening as a permanent 4-8 playoff team for the next 5 years.

Not true remember when Amare went down and derailed a Suns season? Rose went down. Kevin Durant went down. Westbrook went down. Blake Griffin went down, CP3 went down. Bosh went down. Marc Gasol went down.

Nothing is permanent. I mean nobody can compete with GS at least on paper but you have to see who's healthy on any team come April.

Fo-Real · Post #852 » by **Fo-Real** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 3:17 pm

darealjuice wrote:[tweet]https://twitter.com/APkrawczynski/status/757650674121314304[/tweet]

Replacing DWade with Kobe Wade lol

Oh Jesus, I can picture countless scenarios where Dragic and Waiters get into full blown fist fights. No way those two personalities mesh. Those picks keep looking better.

King4Day · Post #853 » by **King4Day** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:07 pm

Dragic has to be loving what's going on there.

Waiters has to be kicking himself for not accepting the QO. Instead of one year at 6.8 mil, he's playing one year at 2.9.

letsgosuns · Post #854 » by **letsgosuns** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:21 pm

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17142509/oklahoma-city-thunder-now-offer-russell-westbrook-maximum-level-extension

If Westbrook declines to sign an extension, I believe the Thunder will trade him right now. When they could not agree with Harden on a new contract years ago, they traded him before the season started. I think the same thing will happen again if the extension does not get done.

If the Thunder do make Westbrook available, they should be able to get a massive package for him. Even though every now and then superstars are traded, it is rare to have a true top-5 player in the league in his prime traded. I cannot recall a circumstance where that happened in recent memory.

Saberestar · Post #855 » by **Saberestar** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:49 pm

Fo-Real wrote:
darealjuice wrote:[tweet]https://twitter.com/APkrawczynski/status/757650674121314304[/tweet]

Replacing DWade with Kobe Wade lol

Oh Jesus, I can picture countless scenarios where Dragic and Waiters get into full blown fist fights. No way those two personalities mesh. Those picks keep looking better.

I don't think that Waiters is gonna play a lot of minutes. Probably around 18 mpg coming from the bench, he is gonna replace Gerald Green production.

KLEON · Post #856 » by **KLEON** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 5:55 pm

DarkHawk wrote:Dragic has to be loving what's going on there.

Waiters has to be kicking himself for not accepting the QO. Instead of one year at 6.8 mil, he's playing one year at 2.9.

Didn't the Kings offer Waiters 14 million a year?

NTB · Post #857 » by **NTB** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 6:45 pm

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/17131591/2016-summer-forecast-west-standings

14. Phoenix Suns
Proj. record: 26-56
Last season: 23-59

The Suns walked away from the 2016 NBA Draft with two of the top eight picks in power forwards Dragan Bender (fourth overall) and Marquese Chriss (eighth overall). Throw in the 13th overall pick from 2015 in Devin Booker, and the Suns have a trio of players who will be no older than 20 by season's end. The youthful talent is intriguing, and our panel expects improvement from Phoenix, but also knows that inexperience doesn't lead to wins in the NBA.

NTB · Post #858 » by **NTB** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 7:03 pm

Btw, Kyle Kuric has agreed to stay in Gran Canaria. I guess he couldn't get any invite from any NBA team. He had to show something more than elite shooting.

gaspar · Post #859 » by **gaspar** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 7:06 pm

NTB wrote:Btw, Kyle Kuric has agreed to stay in Gran Canaria. I guess he couldn't get any invite from any NBA team. He had to show something more than elite shooting.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IAmDPick/status/757965986192588800[/tweet]

King4Day · Post #860 » by **King4Day** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 7:59 pm

gaspar wrote:
NTB wrote:Btw, Kyle Kuric has agreed to stay in Gran Canaria. I guess he couldn't get any invite from any NBA team. He had to show something more than elite shooting.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IAmDPick/status/757965986192588800[/tweet]

Can't blame him. He probably wouldn't have seen much playing time and his value would have gone down. He's probably getting more money from Gran Canaria.