Cap Space Options

by ericking on Jul 5, 2009 2:43 PM PDT

I returned home from a trip to the beach late last night to see that Turkoglu had changed his mind and ended up signing with Toronto. I'd initially been extremely anti-Turkoglu, but I had started to come around to the idea as he would take pressure off Roy and help Oden get more involved. Now that he's unavailable, what other options are out there and which ones are realistic with our cap space?

I've been a little confused to see all the stories about the Blazers going after David Lee. Maybe I'm missing something here, but signing someone like Lee to a large contract just to play backup doesn't make much sense to me. I feel like we still need to address the PG problem, too, and it seems like that's not a high priority for the Blazers right now. I think Bayless will eventually be the answer, but not this next year. Therefore, here are my cap space ideas. Feel free to disagree or tell me they're not possible, but I want to throw them out there and hear opinions.

1. Sign Ramon Sessions. I think out of every possible PG option, Ramon Sessions is the best option as far as skill vs. cost go. Sure, I'd love to see Rondo or Harris, but I don't want to totally disrupt our team in the process. Hinrich is also a nice option and I thought he would have been perfect with the signing of Turkoglu, but now that that option has passed, I think we need more of a playmaker. Hinrich is a great defender and is a decent spot up shooter, but he's not going to create as much as a player like Sessions will. We need someone who can take their defender off the dribble to take some pressure off of Roy. Sessions can do that and his ceiling is extremely high.

However, the Bucks are looking like they'll want to retain him. This doesn't mean that the Blazers won't be able to steal him away, but it means it will be more difficult. How much should the Blazers offer for Sessions so that the Bucks won't match it, but so that we still have extra space to sign a back up PF (reminder: the Gilbert Arenas rule is in affect here for Sessions)? This brings me to my next suggestion.

2. Sign Brandon Bass. Bass seems to be a fan favorite here on Blazer's Edge and I think he could be a great fit. He is a much more realistic option than Lee or Millsap, too, as he is cheaper and probably wouldn't demand as many minutes. However, many teams are interested in him and will we have enough cap space left over after signing a player like Sessions?

3. The above two options would solve our biggest needs. At this point, though, I'd want to do a trade of Blake, Outlaw, and maybe one of our recent draft picks for a starting SF. Here's where I'll leave it up to suggestions. I'd love to have a Gerald Wallace, Shane Battier, or Caron Butler, but I think those 3 are a little unreachable. Any other suggestions for someone that could start for us for the next year while Batum gets a little more experience? What about Grant Hill?

In summary, we'd be signing Sessions and Bass while trading Blake and Outlaw for Hill (lopsided trade to clear up cap space). The 2010 lineup would look like this:

Sessions/Bayless/Mills

Roy/Fernandez

Hill/Batum/Webster

Aldridge/Bass/Pendergraph

Oden/Pryzbilla

Tweet Comment 18 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

I like your ideas and whole-heartedly agree that Bass fills one of our biggest needs...

…but it’s hard to say that Ramon Sessions is an answer to our point guard position. He may be eventually, but I don’t think you can say that he definitely is right now.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."

by GonzoFan on Jul 5, 2009 3:58 PM PDT reply actions

And by saying "Bass fills one of our biggest needs"...

…I mean being a tough banger who won’t demand or expect a lot of minutes.

"The Edge... there is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over."

by GonzoFan on Jul 5, 2009 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Neither of those options bring what we need most

EXPERIENCE

McD and if we add a point he had better be a massive upgrade to our already solid PG.

Nash, Kidd

by rythemjones on Jul 5, 2009 4:11 PM PDT reply actions

a good article was just posted on Bust a Bucket about this

http://www.bustabucket.com/articles/july-2009/my-take-on-hedo.html

It basically says that Roy, Aldridge, and Pryzbilla are experienced enough now that we don’t necessarily need any more veterans. Besides, I did include adding Hill to the team as part of my post, which would definitely bring in some good experience.

by ericking on Jul 5, 2009 4:29 PM PDT up reply actions

I love Sessions.

But I think Nash would make us Champions!!! David Lee to me IS a perfect fit because he’s a banger and one of the hardest working rebounders in the league, he imo would be a great compliment to our existing group.

by blaze1 on Jul 5, 2009 4:21 PM PDT reply actions

I agree that Lee is a good rebounder

but we’d be paying him a starting salary to play backup minutes to LA. I don’t really understand this “take the best FA available” mentality. Bass would be a much better fit and at about half the price. Plus, Lee’s numbers are inflated by playing on a less than stellar team.

by ericking on Jul 5, 2009 4:26 PM PDT up reply actions

No, he would actually be a bad compliment

We can’t play him, and he is really below average on Defense.

My avatar is 3 years into the future for sure...

by Taskmaster on Jul 5, 2009 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions

I would throw every available dollar at Lamar Odom

In all likelihood, that wouldn’t be enough to get him to leave LA, but I’d give it a try.

by jksnake99 on Jul 5, 2009 4:53 PM PDT reply actions

i like that

lamar odom would be solid.
he can do some great things on the court and he’s got the experience that we need.

by thoffman on Jul 5, 2009 5:27 PM PDT up reply actions

Yes!

Worst case is we can’t spend out cap $ for a week, we get matched but LA has to spend a lot more on Odom which is doubled because they are into the luxury tax.

by Blazer Fan in Chicago on Jul 5, 2009 6:03 PM PDT up reply actions

if for no other reason than the Lakers do not win a title without Odom.

by PoliSam on Jul 5, 2009 6:12 PM PDT up reply actions

This would be a great short-term fix

but experience is really what is needed on the team. Bass is one of my favorite choices to bring in on the second-string PF position. As far as a starting PG and SF goes, we need experienced players for Nic and Bayless to develop under.

"Everyone knows who you are; but only your friends know why."
- Rich Amato

by CoRBBall on Jul 5, 2009 5:06 PM PDT reply actions

grant hill was mentioned...

by dew0lfe on Jul 5, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions

ramon sessions = bayless

to me, sessions is essentially the same package as bayless.

both can attack the rim very well. both need some work on the ole’ jumpshot as well.

sessions is a proven distributor though, while bayless needs to work on that a little more.

bayless is 20. and sessions is 23. i think jerryd has time to learn and develop his passing, shooting and decision making.

i’d rather get a defensive minded point guard that can hit the open 3.
and right now that seems to be hinrich only. (being a KU fan, I’m more than fine with that.)
bayless is an attacking machine,
In due time, he will develop nicely into either a starter or solid contributor.

i honestly think we should save money on the backup PF by going with pendergraph. he can be a great hustle guy that can clean the glass well and get putbacks.
i think the blazers really like him. the 31st pick.
what if pendergraph had been taken is the first round? maybe even the 30th pick? i think many people would psychologically look at him differently.
telling themselves that he’d be good simply becasue he’s a first rounder.
well boys,
he’s good. and he’s a second rounder.
besides he’s only getting 12 minutes a game probably we dont need to pay someone 5 millions to do that.

small forward:
stand pat as well.
batum will be getting better.
i have faith in martell!

by thoffman on Jul 5, 2009 5:25 PM PDT reply actions

Young players learn by doing, and Rex will...

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Jul 5, 2009 5:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Remember, most of the media is centered in NYC... And David Lee's agent has it in his interest to create the illusion that the Blazers are in pursuit over the MLE.

There are TWO, count them, TWO legit possibilities for someone other than the Knicks to pay Lee more than the MLE, as I understand it — Blazers and OKC.

So trust me, you are going to see lots and lots and lots of rumors about the Blazers, even if KP has (lamentably, I might add) shown ABSOLUTELY NO indication of wanting Lee or desiring to pursue Lee…

I think Lee would make the front line of PDX a force of nature — take THAT, Western Conference! — but I just don’t see them dropping that much cash for a backup.

"A bizarre and extremely rare hybrid Blazer/Laker fan, Timbo has always struggled to contain the Beast Within, like Dr. Jekyll, Bruce Banner, or Ted Kennedy." — Miled Animal

by timbo on Jul 5, 2009 5:28 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs

The voice of reason

I’m going to start my own blog and call it:

“I just make stuff up”

Then I’ll only post stuff from agents trying to get their clients more money. It will be virtually identical to ESPN when it comes to the free agent signing period.

by baduk on Jul 5, 2009 7:10 PM PDT up reply actions