though it also makes hope they treat LaMarcus with the concern one usually gives an eight-month pregnant woman

it’s officially a trend.

Juwan is probably a better option than Ostertag and co., but I’d still like to have signed a hungry D-league big. Pritchard went with veteran experience, which is understandable.

I would have rather seen Joe Smith or even Mike Ruffin.

He was already bad in Dallas when I had to watch him the last time, he was bad in Charlotte, and he will be bad here. Shavlik would have been a better option. Or almost anyone.

Wow, no love for Juwan. I like the move. Veteran savy. Will help keep defenses honest. Can shoot. Can pass. Can rebound. Only wants/needs a one year deal, and next year Pendergraph will be our man.

we don’t need him to do a whole lot other than play some decent D and rebound a bit, and he can do that. The NBA is so much about the mental game, and he has played for a long time an understands how to play and defend, and is OK with his role as a reserve.

And as was stated above allows for Pendy or whoever to step up next year

at least he won’t make too many bonehead plays or fall for cheap fouls.

even back in the days of the fab 5, he has never turned down a good hard foul. I’ll take his experience and 6 fouls on the Blazer bench, even though I still remember him hurting my beloved DA.
Does this mean Collins and other mystery quests are not coming to work out now?

KP signed him for his experience. A player-coach role so to speak.

the dude’s never been on a good team. Not a huge fan of this move, but I’ll trust KP on this one.

If he arrived Tues or yesterday he apparently looked good enough to make a quick decision (for a 14th player/bench sitter).

At least he’s cheap ($825K. league pays the rest) but that drops our cap space at the start of the year down to $1.9M now.

to be on paper. Just because a guy is a vet doesn’t mean it’s going to rub off on everyone else.

he might teach LMA how to be the next Juwon Howard… and that’s not a good thing.

Nowhere near “That’s Fantastic”, slightly above (or below) “at least they say he is a smart vet who will keep his mouth shut and hide his attitude between his cheeks and the bench”.

So, now that they have added a human paperweight, who are they going to get to play back-up PF that won’t be a huge drop-off from LMA? This move tells me that Outlaw is their choice and will stay with the team. Paragraph will be the 3rd center?

We just basically picked up an Assisstant coach!. Juwan wont get any minutes. He is there just for exp alone. He will be there to mentor and coach our young forwards, Personally, I think this is a great move and that we wont regret it. The only thing that scares me is he is a top five cancer effect for any given team. Lets hope he doesnt effect us this way, lets hope he just brings knowledge, savvy and can be like a cool older brother type. He is a vet and that is something we dont have much of. Im cool with this move.

Now if KP was saying something like JH will come in and play hella minutes this season, I would protest. If he was coming in to play, there were alot of other forwards out there I would rather have. Since hes coming to basically help with mentoring our youth and not really play, great! Thats all we need from him.

You’ll love it here.

I remember watching Howard in many games where I was rooting against him and thinking what a frustrating player he can be. You don’t expect him to be very good, then he comes out and bangs hard, defends hard, takes up space, get some rebounds, and can hit an open elbow jumper or two as well. He is a good insurance policy. He’s a player who’s not going to lay a turd coming off the bench, which our rookies may very well do this year.

Yawn Howard…am I right?

Howard has never been a double-double guy. But he averaged a respectable 17 ppg for 10 seasons. Also remember that Juwan was basically forced into being a first option scorer with the Wizards from 94/95 to 00/01. He’s not really the kind of player (like a Malone or Duncan) who should be relied on to lead a team in scoring. The same thing happened in Denver where they tried to make him the face of their franchise in 01/02 and 02/03. Howard isn’t particularly good on defense either but he’s known to be a very hard worker. Portland is a good fit for him.

He’s had some tough years injury-wise as well. Last year he only played 3 games and the year before that he played in 50. There are some valid concerns about his age. He’s 36 and will be 37 in 2/2010. But I really think one of the Blazers goals this year is for LaMarcus to become an all-star. Granted that Howard was only named to the all-star team once, but once is once and he did that in only his second season. This past season was LaMarcus 3rd without an all-star appearance. Howard will help LaMarcus with his game and he’ll REALLY help Pendergraph. Provided that Pendy works out, it seems obvious that Howard can be a player/coach for the young fella. More so than a younger LaMarcus can right now. Maybe the Blazers are thinking long term and want a veteran guy to improve LaMarcus and get Pendy ready to back him up in 10/11.

Simply put, I don’t expect a ton from Howard this year. But I do believe if he stays healthy and especially if Outlaw is traded, he could end up averaging 10-12 minutes a game and provide some stability at the 4. Channing never really fit that bill and Outlaw isn’t a true power forward. Howard’s true upside is on the practice floor with our second unit. Remember that most guys in this league (especially forwards) don’t last after 35. So, for the Blazers to sign him, I see it as a clear indication that they think he can do much more for the team than just play.

Hee hee hee!

I am so disappointed. We keep bringing in low-maintenance veteran guys who aren’t superstars but who just might help the team. This is not Lebron at all!

I am so furious.

• “Wasn’t the point of bringing on all of these Vets to add some players and have anyone actually get excited about big plays, about playing period? I’d trade Malik Allen, Magloire, Juwan Howard, and Antoine Wright for Darrel Armstrong right now.”
• “so if we want to add Cassel or another scorer, i say we waive Juwan Howard…”
• “If Dirk or one of the other bigs goes down for an extended period will Juwan Howard really help? No”
• “He just seems grumpy all the time”

Charlotte:

• “12 — Juwan Howard — He has no future on this club, as a player.” David Arnott, editor, Rufus on Fire (their “Dave”)
• “Juwan Howard — Cut by Denver in a roster crunch. They chose to keep Steven Hunter instead, even though Hunter had a sore knee that turned out to be so damaged, the surgery to fix it could have ended his career.” – Article “The Bobcats Bench of Washouts”
• http://www.rufusonfire.com/2008/12/insert-joke-about-juwan-howard-here.html

If only for the fact that it is new news.

Narcoleptic robot is the essence of internet hilarity. Love it.

And Juwan Howard significantly takes away from our character, but he also is not very good or young and is one of the few black guys who looks like out of place WITHOUT a high-top fade. All reasons sit on my hands sullenly when he is introduced. Actually I’ll boo, once, then poor whiskey from my flask into my coke, then I’ll offer that to whoever took me to the game, then shrug when they decline and say “hey, more for me…. jerk”.

We didn’t really just sign the Juwan Howard I’m thinking of, did we?

Is it 1996 again?!

Anybody else think that it sounds horrible?

…
awkward

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/WSB/1996.html

This solidifies Outlaw’s permanence as back-up PF. No way Howard is getting any of those minutes (unless it’s a total blowout.) Plus it makes trading Travis impossible unless some team is willing to part with their banger PF in exchange…. I doubt that. I know that probably makes a few Outlaw haters unhappy to hear, but I’m telling you, Travis is core.

I love the team. LOADED. Quality back-ups at every position, versatility, inter-changeability, youth, maturation, with a touch of veteranship. Need it be said all quality humans as well?

I really feel that 15th guy is going to be a center.

Explained.

if we also bring in Jimmy King and Ray Jackson.

“Can anyone explain this?”

Dub Tee Eff?
-————

As for Howard, I don’t expect him to play much but he could be a good situational backup 4.
Hopefully his veteran xp will help in the locker room while still allowing the young leaders to ‘run’ the team (alongside Andre who I expect to co-run the team with Roy. LA, and Blake.)

This isn’t a big deal one way or another.

Even so, this is the day I end my love affair with the Blazers, because they signed Juwan Howard. The man is human filth and I hope he commits vehicular homicide AGAINST HIS OWN FACE.

No way I’m rooting for a 14th man like him. NEVER.

Mortimer