PG Paradise?

it would help if he shot better. Hinrich seems to have overcome the ills that plagued him early. Calderon seems to fit the idea of a prolific scorer at the one position more scoring seems to fit…

FWIW, Harris would be eminently available depending on lottery results….

Harris mostly because of his speed and reputation of being able to bring it defensively. He seems to be Bayless with even more quickness but less strength. I don’t think Harris complements Bayless very well (you wouldn’t need both on the same roster)…..

Calderon/Bayless works…..Hinrich/Bayless works…..Sessions/Bayless??? not so much….

Some sort of Martell/Rubio exchange would appear to fit both clubs….I think Rubio/Bayless works too….

Somehow, I can’t wrap my brain around any of these guys platooning with Miller – except maybe Hinrich

He looked pretty bad at the start of the year, but has been a major player for us the rest of the year. He’s a consumate veteran playmaker. Sessions could possibly have been similar for us, but not as good.

Harris would be great ahem if he were realistically available. Actually, any of the PGs mentioned would probably be pretty good for us, in different ways. But for this year I like Miller.

Without Miller, the Blazers would not be in the playoff hunt this year. And, as far as the PG’s listed, like most, Harris is at the top of the list, although I can’t see how we could get him without giving up someone named Batum, Roy, Aldridge or Oden. It’s a rare day when you can get a starting PG for second team players, and Miller is too old to be trade bait anymore. This leaves Hinrich, Rubio, Sessions, Calderon and Jack. I’d put Rubio in the same category as Harris in terms of a trade, and of the rest, we could’ve had Sessions but KP didn’t value him enough last summer to match his salary, so I can’t see him going there again. Jack would be a retread, and for whatever reasons, KP traded him to get Bayless. This leaves Hinrich and Calderon. Chicago, however, seems to like Hinrich as their 3rd guard, making him expensive, and rumor was that KP would not give up Bayless to get him – meaning we’d have no 3rd guard to trade to get him. Calderon maybe, but is he really the starter we’re looking for? In the end, I suspect that unless lightening strikes, that KP will find it difficult to get any of these players. Perhaps a Webster/Fernandez combo might work in a trade, but that makes us thin at those positions – and we’d have to find replacements there as well.

I suspect that the odds are that we’ll let the pot boil another year with the players we have, and that the following season, as opposed to this one, will be the more likely time when we might make a move. After all, Bayless is very young but improving, and we don’t really have an urgent need to pull the trigger now. We just need to get – and stay – reasonably healthy.

Conley would be my top pick out of everyone. He does not need the ball to be effective, and he can shoot the 3 ball – 43% I think. Also has a friend on the team that we all know and love. Bayless and Conley as our PGs is a nice combo in my opinion. The rest mentioned do not offer an overall better setup than Conley can bring. He would help roy do his thing, spread the floor with that shot o his, keep the big guy super happy, and offer a different style of play that would actually compliment Baylessand Roy. With that said I would like to see what Mills can do for us. I think he has what we need and Nate is just a blind fool. I guarantee that Mills can run circles on Deiner or whatever his name is…. He ran circles around everyone in the olympics.

Calderon, because he’d make Rudy better, for Bayless and/or Webster, maybe Przibilla or Camby if we want to drop one of our centers.

Devin Harris – more of a scorer than a distributor and I’d like to avoid any more injury-prone guys if at all possible.

Kirk Hinrich – valued by fans of the Blazers and no one else. he’s absolutely abysmal on the offensive end of the floor and his foul rate has been increased steadily as he’s aged.

Jack – nice combo guard but he’s essentially an upgraded Bayless.

Calderon – Sergio is happy he’s still in the league as he can point to Calderon when people accuse Sergio of being the worst defender in the league. I think of him as Steve Blake but Spanish. he’ll put up a fantastic assist to turnover ratio which is largely a result of really safe passes. He’s a fantastic FT shooter which is really meaningless given that he gets to the line just about as infrequently as Blake.

Ramon Sessions – i just haven’t seen much of this guy’s game to be honest. Sue me for not using the NBA package to watch Bucks game last year or W-Wolves games this year. ;) – no opinion

Conley seems to function quite well as a distributor in an offense that has multiple scorers. he’s also shown the ability to both run the fast break and a slow half-court set. he didn’t look very adept trying to defend miller in the post and he got his pocket picked in that 3rd quarter a few times.

I’m not sure i see him enough to say i’m sure his defense is bad but at a glance it appears pretty suspect. however he has radically improved his 3 pt shot which means defenses can’t sag off of him.

Of everyone on the list he seems like the most reasonable fit although why would memphis want to deal him?

KP is going to make a deal with NJ — if he guarantees them the #1, they’ll trade Harris for Miller (for salary matching), Rudy, and our first round pick. KP uses his powers to warp time and space to win the lottery for the Nets.

Harris will come to Portland, start at PG, and not be able to hit the 3. Everyone knows hitting the 3 is crucial for the PG in Nate’s offense. But you see, KP is tired of Nate’s offense. We will lose some games, even with everyone healthy, and finally Paul Allen will get tired of it, and tell KP, “Fire Nate, his offense reeks.”

KP will say, “But who can we get that would be better? Quality NBA coaches don’t grow on trees, you know.” Paul will say, “I don’t care. You do it, you know a few things about basketball.” KP will say, “I’m willing to try, if that’s what you want.” Paul says, “Do it.”

KP gets off the phone, yells “YES, YES, YES!!!!” Then, he calls Nate into the office, and says, “Nate, this really hurts, but Paul just called me. I’m sorry, Nate. I didn’t want it to come to this.”

Nate says, “Kevin, first you got Miller, and then you got Harris. Neither were a good fit, Kevin. That’s why we are where we are.”

KP says, “You’re probably right, Nate. I’m not sure what to say.”

Nate looks at him and says, “Who is the new guy? Someone from within, or an outside guy?” KP says, “From within,” and Nate says, “Monty will be so pleased. He deserves it.”

KP says, “Nate, it isn’t Monty, but I’ll keep him on if he’ll stay.”

KP scraps the whole offense, institutes SSOL, runs subs in and out like crazy, and we average 25 point victories the rest of the year, going 4-4-4-4 in the playoffs, and never lose another game. Harris and Roy are the best backcourt in the league, Mills and Bayless platoon behind them and run teams ragged, with Batum/Webster/Cunningham at the 3, LaMarcus/Marcus at the 4, and Greg/Joel/Jeff at the 5.

I have been really impressed with Andre – clutch, opportunistic, steady, hard worker. The only thing I don’t like about his game now is his occasional ‘aw, shucks, I can’t make this shot but I think I’ll shoot it anyway.’ I’d like to have him around for a few years if/when our center(s) return. Having said that, I don’t want Jack back. Most of the other players mentioned still need seasoning…It’s nice to have a guard who really knows the ropes.

i loved dj augustin in college, and the dude had a a really good rookie year where he shot over 40 from behind the arc. He can drive, he can pass, has a mid range game and is more of the pure point guard mode. His defense isn’t all that great and he’s a bit on the smaller side, but he’s definitely a better blake and I could see him playing real well along side brandon. DJ would be able to knock down those 3s that blake use to hit.
The problem, or reason why he is available is that his sophomore year he has been awful and he’s fallen out of favor with larry brown. I’ve completely given up on jerryd bayless ever being a point guard and would trade him straight up for augustin, in hopes that by being on a new team dj would be able to find his game again.

The only three that I could see as blazers are Jack, Conley and Hinrich.

Harris isnt going anywhere. Plus he is a little too much of the ballhandler/playmaker type for what the blazers need. Id think long and heard before giving up Andre for him.

Conley seems like…. I dont want to say a bust, but doesn’t it seem like there are many young PGs that are already better than him? I know its early, but how many times have you watched him in Memphis and said “now THAT’s what I want from my PG?” Not many.

I still don’t get why we traded Jack for Bayless. He has gotten better in IND and TOR, no question. When he was here I loved JJ and Roy’s chemistry and Jack always seemed to hit the clutch three, something that Bayless probably wont do for another 3 years. That being said, JJ still commits dumb TOs and is a combo guard at heart…. At this point Bayless gives you basically the same things, but with more athleticism and less shooting.

Hinrich is the best fit. Hits the open three and still can play great D (remember the CHI/BOS playoff series?) Who cares if he is more expensive? Isnt that why we have Paul Allen’s $$$?

I think Miller has two more good seasons in him.

My hope is Blazers find a PG in the draft who proves to have the talent to be Miller’s successor.

I realize this year’s draft is thin on PGs but since there were a boatload of them in last year’s draft the demand for PG’s probably isn’t going to be that big either, so if there are 2 or 3 good PG’s out there maybe the Blazers will be able to snap one up with their 1st round pick.

I would go with the best defensive point guard of the bunch. Hinrich is a hard-nosed point guard that will play team ball. He has shown a willingness to sacrifice his ego for the good of the team and has been a “good soldier” for Chicago.I think he would fit great with Roy because Hinrich has a decent shot and would fit into Portland’s championship window.

If we had played the Sixers on that trip and hadn’t already signed Andre Miller over the summer, we would be demanding that Andre is the perfect fit for this team, and that KP needed to make it happen today.

This post is making me re-evaluate the time I spend on this site.

we would trade Miller at this point. Or Bayless for that matter. Miller has been a massive asset to this team. I think you try to keep Miller for as long as possible, that guy makes things happen. Bayless is so young and is promising, I think you have to stick it out to see how he develops. In a couple of years if Bayless isnt performing at the level we want you drop him…. but keep Miller

None. Absolutely not.

BLAKE? People are mentioning BLAKE?! My god, just stop.

as long as we are theorizing, why not Collison? Where is he going to find minutes when CP3 gets healthy?

He is currently as good in most situations as any of the PGs listed, but he is getting older as well. If I had my druthers I think I would go with Mike C for a few reasons. He is one of the youngest, he has a strong relationship with one of our key players of the future, and he seems like a solid guy on and off the court. He has the physical tools to become a upper level PG in the NBA. I would do a Martell & Bayless package for him without even thinking twice.

Trade Roy for one of them if we can. Even throw in Webster. What is the point in having Roy to grind it out when the rest of the team is geared towards the up and down game?

He’s young, cheap, and GOOD

One question that probably ought to be considered before trying to judge the PG situation:

To what extent do you want a pure PG style of play where you have a classic PG who runs the court.

The other alternative is to spread out the distributor role among several players. For example Batum’s ability to generate assists suggests that he may have some ability to play a point forward role.

If it is your team strategy to spread out the distributor task among several players, let us say Roy, Batum, Bayless, then you don’t mind if your PG is not as much of a classic PG.

On the other hand, if you have a good classic PG like Miller as your starter and a “not really a PG” guy like Bayless as your backup PG, I don’t know how easy or hard it is for players to adjust back and forth between a single-guy PG style and a team PG style.

3 combo guards and a point forward…you may have heard of them: Rudy, Roy, Bayless, and Batum….I really like the Rudy, Roy, Batum combination as starters since any one of those three guys can perform the necessary functions of a point guard, and Rudy and Batum would be great perimeter options as Roy drives and kicks. Then I like Bayless coming off the bench to provide energy and scoring, things that he can clearly do.

I know that this would not be as “stable” as having Andre Miller in the game short-term, but I think the long term payoff would be far superior. Plus, I think both Rudy and Bayless have the desire to get better and to help this team win, so I think this summer Bayless could definitely improve his outside shot, and Rudy could definitely improve his ball-handing and moves driving to the hoop.

Also, I think that if we really committed to the 3 guard rotation of Rudy, Roy, and Bayless, Rudy and Bayless could get the playing time needed to continue improving and I think they would become more consistent. It’s an easy formula (minutes = consistency). I could envision diving up the 96 minutes per game at the two guard positions in this way: Roy (36 minutes), Rudy (30 minutes), Bayless (30 minutes).

I know many of you will be skeptical, but let me just say, “don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it”….I really think it will work, but if we legitimately tried it and it didn’t work, I’d shut up.

P.S. I’m not talking about doing it this year, I’m talking about next year. Clearly this year we’re going to try and ride the veterans to the playoffs.