The Missing Piece?
by 'till you're satisfied on Jan 4, 2009 4:02 PM PST
Email
PrintIt seems that a lot of people are interested in what borderline All-Star Portland can acquire with the cap money that will be available in the next few seasons, or via a trade using RLEC + a promising young piece or two as trade bait.
But, when looking around at the League and what it takes to win a title, I think the notion that the Blazers need/should bring in another borderline All-Star player to put us over the top is both wishful thinking, and may do more harm than good in the process.
The historical trend in winning NBA titles is to have 2--or 3-- stars and then a team of well-constructed role players to surround them. Well, Portland has its 'big 2' (or 3, when/if Oden fully develops), so what would bringing in another big-time player who demands the ball (not to mention key salary cap room space) do?
So, what will it take to get this current Blazer team over the top, besides just growing as a team, and as individual talents, over the next few years? I would argue that the Blazers would be well served to go out and get a lock-down perimeter defender who can guard the likes of Kobe, T-Mac, et al. come playoff time, and knock down some opportune threes on offense. Defense wins in the playoffs, and the Blazer's perimeter defenders are lackluster at best currently. Now, maybe eventually Nic Batum could be that guy, and this point will be moot. But if that guy is out there, I think he could be the missing piece to help Portland contend for the title in 2-3 years (think: James Posey).
Thoughts?
14 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
i think i agree with you
which means that i don’t have a strong opinion. not about imaginary players we don’t have
batum and bayless and oden and fernandez are all promising rookies, etc. i’m not at all sure about what martell will contribute if and when he returns.
everything looks sort of uncertain right now. it’s ‘wait and see’ time for a while.
ignacio
thanks
very much for that. I’ve seen it all over and even scoured search engines for it but couldnt find it.
I'm sorry
but the missing piece is a PG. Blake is not gonna take us to the promise land. Between, Oden, Pryz, LMA, Webster, Batum, Outlaw, we have big guys out the wazzu….two sweet scorers in B-Roy and Rudy…….We have one insanely frustrating erratic PG in Blake, one spastic Spaniard with no defense, and a rookie with limited expirence…….PEOPLE we need a scoring-slashing-pass happy- general to distribute the rock to all of our big men. Blake is a great off the bench PG, NOT a starter.
"RIP: UserID: 553"
The Blazers already live in Promise Land.
Blake is not gonna take us to the promise land.
"Now with a non-provocative footer!"
Not that I'm advocating this...
One name nobody has really mentioned is Wally Szczerbiak’s. His contract expires at the end of the season and he is a former All-Star…perhaps who Barrett was talking about. I’d probably rather have Caron Butler though. I personally think that PG is where we are still lacking. PG and backup PF are areas I’d like to see improvement in. I was hoping Bayless was going to be our instant answer, but he needs some time and some confidence to get to where I think we’d hope he will be.
Can I buy you a fish sandwich?
Not sure we're missing a peice...
I kind of tend towards the other extreme of thinking we may have a piece too many, at least at the Small Forward. I think if we can move one then whoever is left will have more solid minutes per night and be able to get a rhythm going down the stretch of the season – assuming we make a trade before the deadline.
As far as the much debated need for a PG, I think we’ve got a guy who can be that in Bayless. But again, his development will take patience. I think the team can afford to be patient, even if we as fans don’t want to be.
If the David Lee Talk
is legit, I can see us spending some of our cap space this summer on resigning him. He would complete our front line rotation with LMA, Oden and Pryz, and bring toughness and energy off the bench. I also believe we will either trade for or sign a pg this summer, (off topic a bit here, but did KP really miss the boat on Billups or what? I would think Detroit would have rather taken some young talent and RLEC than AI. What a perfect fit gone to waste) .
detroits still trying to win
i dont think they would have wanted much of what we’ve got
December 18, 2008.
"Roy is Roy, and if I were to bet my life on a game of 5-on-5, I’d bet on whichever team Roy was playing on." by HurraKane212
What do we need in a point guard really?
Speed, defense, slashing ability, and knows when to pass or shoot. I think we have that in Bayless… eventually. I also think that I’m willing to wait for him to develop. Brandon Roy handles the ball in crunch time, he’s led our team in assists 3 years straight, and any PG we get won’t change that. Think the Lakers, a quality PG paired with two/three stars.
Now I'm not counting my eggs...
but think Caron Butlar, he’s a good defender, can handle the ball, and if we give up travis to get him he can become the lead dog in the second unit… just imagine
The Missing Piece
great album by Gentle Giant. – Elgin
It doesn't mean you should just because you can. Like Abraham and Ishmael, fighting over sand - it doesn't mean you should just because you can. That is a fact of life. - Adrian Belew
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
