I keep trying to remind people who tend towards the…hmmm…ascerbic that they need to be a little more careful for the sake of new folks and the site. Most people have gotten the picture. There are still a few who think that their opinion (launched like a catapult) is more valuable than creating another devoted reader and writer here. Glad you saw past that to the rest of us.

—Dave

Is not a State Golden at all…............and they will fall back into mediocrity for another 20 years.

In that thread about the western conference’s strength the other week that was popular over there, there was a HUGE debate saying Monta was better and worth more than KEVIN DURANT. It was crazy.

It reminded me of someone, somewhere on some pre-Blazers Edge Blazers board, saying that he wouldn’t trade post-micro Z-Bo for pre-micro Amare (meaning, this happened during that gap where Zach had his micro and Amare hadn’t had his yet). INSANITY. No one even knew how bad Amare was at defense yet, and he was coming off his killing of the Spurs and Tim Duncan in the playoffs.

Monta is very overrated over there, even though he’s a fun player. He can score, sure, but he’s a pretty bad PG and is not a good shooter AND is a horrible defender. The best version of him is Allen Iverson, dynamic scorer, but Monta doesn’t have AI’s ballhandling and PG skills.

He’s still really young, and he’s exciting, but he doesn’t do a lot of stuff you want your main star player to do.

Maybe it’s me, but Kevin Durant >>>>> Monta Ellis and it isn’t up for debate. Durant didn’t have a TERRIFIC rookie season, but he was 19 and skinny as a stick and in a bad situation. Oden was the better/right choice and will likely have a better career if healthy, but Durant can also be a once-in-a-generation talent.

Monta is an undersized SG who is forced to be a PG because of his height. Not my favorite type of player, so I am biased. Guys who are great scorers and are good for highlight reels don’t win ya games if they don’t do the rest of the stuff ya need.

This is one reason I like Bayless, because he seems to have a Monta-esque offensive game, combined with PG skills and defense AND a great outside shot. Sign me up for that version!

Mortimer

They just may be relevant again if they can resign Brand and land a motivated Davis. I wonder how Livingston is coming along…....I believe Maggette is a goner. I know he was a favorite of Sterling, but he’s been rumored to be on the block for seems like forever. He has to be tired of it…......he seems like a nice player who gets no coverage for whatever reason.