FanPost

From now to next trade deadline...


Since Aldridge left, we have been in rebuild mode (accumulating assets) to have as many irons in the fire with young players and looking to support the only sure thing at the time (Damian Lillard). Here is what I see that has happened with every player still on the roster since then along with where we stand.

Damian has continued to improve each year (finishing, less turnovers, overall efficiency) but has carried the scoring load at the expense of defense in my book. He will likely never be a great defender but we need his effort on the defense to go up as players around him take more of the scoring load.

CJ has been a revelation offensively. He can get buckets off the bounce and is arguably a top 3 shooter in the entire league when you consider all kinds of shots. He doesn't have great length or athleticism to be a great defender either but has shown signs of improvement. A guy to build around and we are paying him as such.

Nurkic shows great promise and is a reason to be super optimistic. 22 years old, size, skilled and developing. Sample size is fairly small though. We haven't seen him overcome a stretch of bad games in a Blazer uniform or any real adversity since he arrived. This is a huge year for him.

Harkless just turned 24 and is developing into a pretty good player. Continuing to improve his jumper and a little more consistency on defense and you have a really solid starting small forward at a good price. If you could get him from 35% up to 38% from 3, you have a very good player. We got him for nothing.

Aminu is a great guy to have off the bench for scrappy play and defense. We have been playing him 30+ minutes a night when healthy and that is more than he can handle due to offensive limitations. He has value to any contending team at his price and with his skills. Will that contending team be the Blazers or someone else?

Vonleh was a lottery pick that has impressive physical tools. He has steadily improved. He is an asset at his age, skill level and current price.

Leonard has been a disappointment given his draft position and current contract. He is at the absolute basement of his value. You almost have to give somebody something to take him. Could his value go up if he shows anything between now and the trade deadline? Will we wait until the season to find out?

Davis if healthy is on a good contract and is a high motor bench guy that would be valuable to playoff teams (including the Blazers). He should at least be on the roster until the trade deadline to mentor the two rookies, Nurkic and Vonleh. He is expendable if it helps you move a contract or a solid piece if you move others.

Crabbe- He is a knockdown shooter. They didn't want to let him get away for nothing. That skill is valuable but not $19m per year valuable. I'd think they'd like to move him for any kind of asset this season just to stay under the luxury tax.

Turner when healthy fits in with a lot of different kinds of players. He can defend some, he can handle the ball, he can playmake as a secondary option. He is what he is as a distance shooter. I wonder if his value to the Blazers goes down now that we have Nurkic to score and facilitate and Harkless developing into a starter in my view? Is he the glue for a strong 2nd unit with CJ at the point and Crabbe making shots? Ideally he or Crabbe would be a stud defender rather than what they are. Could you get a little better veteran defender off a rebuilding team for him to save $$?

Napier is fine for what they use him for but very replaceable at $2+ million going forward.

Connaughton showed some tools. I think he could play 10-12 min a night on a playoff team. He played solid in limited opportunities. His ceiling is pretty much that it seems like.

Collins and Swanagan mean that you have a logjam of young guys inside. Vonleh, Collins, Swanagan and Nurkic are all assets at their current price/production. Davis is too if healthy. Meyers is not.

It feels like Crabbe, Turner and Meyers are at the trough of their value due to length and size of contracts and production. The question is do you force move them now or grab an opportunity between now and the trade deadline to do something? If you wait, you clog up playing time for other guys but if they start playing any better you can actually move them for something.

I can't imagine the Blazers not doing some sort of deal with a team with cap space that is rebuilding. A 2nd round pick for Crabbe means the Blazers got one year out of him and a 2nd round pick rather than just letting him walk. Same with someone like Leonard.

They now have a lot of young players at various stages of development. It feels like they need to move some of them for cap relief and to focus on developing the guys they want to keep. Last night's draft suggests we are likely to see Meyers, Davis or Vonleh go soon and either Crabbe or Turner if they can find a taker between now and the deadline.

This squad goes as far as Dame, CJ, and Nurk develop along with finding one more guy to blossom. Is that guy on the roster (Harkless?, Collins?, Vonleh?) or do they have to keep searching?