I think Gordon would play well here, but it would be at the expense of minutes for Blake and Rudy, and I'm not willing to take on Gordon for even one year to do that. How much do you think we could limit Roy's minutes? Maybe down to 33 minutes per game IF we are dominating teams.
Blake is a pure point guard with maybe better defense than Gordon but Gordon is a better all around scorer and a bigger body but I believe the same height as Blake which means he wouldn't be getting pushed around by Chris Paul, D. Will and other big guards. It also means that the zone defense would be stronger because there will be less match up problems in the zone on the perimeter. Rudy losing minutes, I'm not really worried about that. He's done nothing to prove that he can play in the NBA. IMO, he has to EARN minutes before we start talking about taking minutes away. Just because his game is similar to Manu's does not mean he is Manu. He's much leaner and doesn't play as well as Manu on the defensive end. Also, just because he's coming to Portland because he wants a lot of minutes does not mean that Nate is going to give them to him. Look what he's done with Sergio and there are reports, not varified through Nate, but they do report that Nate is not into Rudy's style of play. Roy I think could be playing 30-33 minutes a game until Nate and others feel he won't break down. In a lot of threads I see people saying don't bring someone in unless it's an obvious upgrade. The only things Blake has on Gordon is passing, IQ and defense. All are very valuable but would you rather have two leaders in the starting line up with Sergio running things off the bench or have Roy lead the starters and Blake run the bench? IMO, I'd like Blake more on the bench. You have a lot of youth and no leader on the bench since I believe Jarrett Jack will be traded and Jack is more of a locker room leader anyways. And lets remember that just because Ben Gordon would be labeled as the starting point guard DOES NOT mean he will be the one with the ball in his hands. Roy will be the one running the offense.
Pros
More scoring from starters
More money in '09
Better bench
Better zone defense
Takes pressure off Roy from being the only backcourt scorer
More size
True outside scorer
Cons
Less minutes to Rudy (possibly)
Worse man defense from the 1
MAYBE more turnovers, MAYBE
Out for himself
The pros outweigh the cons...pull the trigger!
And this is fun debating about this, thats why I continue LOL
I think we are seeing similar pros and cons, but we are valuing things differently. I think Blake's passing and defense is more important than Gordon's scoring, and bringing in Gordon reduces Blake's minutes too. Even without the trade, I see no problem with Roy or Blake having the ball in their hands. I also don't see Roy cutting out 5-8 minutes per game if we plan on making the playoffs. I think 35 minutes per game sounds about right. Also, you say Rudy has to earn his minutes, which generally I agree, but I think he is going to be good enough to earn 20-30 minutes, probably right in the middle. If Rudy is as good as I think he'll be (which I'm not expecting Manu), then we are going to have serious issues dividing minutes. This team has great chemistry. I don't want to mess that up.
Ok so the question now becomes, are we going to have to move some bench parts in the imediate future. Talking Outlaw, Fernandez, Frye? What if McRoberts developes into what a lot think he will be? A decent post defender and rebounder with a servicable offense? Would you keep Frye or go with McRoberts? Obviously it all depends on if guys accept their roles but I don't know if Outlaw can continue being told that he will be starting at the 3 then Nate starts Martell although Travis outplays him game in and game out. I don't know if Rudy can play second fiddle to Webster, Outlaw, Blake or even Roy if he's coming from Europe and being the best player over there, especially if he believes he's playing better than the majority of the players mentioned. What are we going to do if McRoberts developes and Freeland comes over and becomes a poor mans Dirk Nowitzki? What happens to Blake if Kopponnen (sp?) comes over and outplays him. We can't trade DJ or Westbrook unless they are busts because we know how tenative the trading of newly drafted players are in Portland since the JO deal.
I don't think Freeland or McRoberts will be better than Frye. Freeland has more of a chance, but I don't see McRoberts having a great career. Frye is between starter and bench quality. I don't think McRoberts will ever be good enough to start. Freeland I consider more of a wildcard.
Kopenen still sounds like a wildcard too. He is apparently doing well in his league, but his league isn't suppose to be nearly as difficult as the one Rudy played for.
As for Outlaw vs Webster, I don't want to trade either this year unless we have just a fantastic offer on the table. So without this grade deal, I say wait at least one more year to evaluate which will be better.
agreed. we should try to hold onto both outlaw and webster, even though i think that outlaw will be better in the long run. i also wouldn't mind just keeping both of them for the long term and have them as the franchise small forwards. whoever is better gets start, other gets 6th alongside rudy (if we keep him and he works out/is good).
I don't think Freeland or McRoberts will be better than Frye. Freeland has more of a chance, but I don't see McRoberts having a great career. Frye is between starter and bench quality. I don't think McRoberts will ever be good enough to start. Freeland I consider more of a wildcard.
Kopenen still sounds like a wildcard too. He is apparently doing well in his league, but his league isn't suppose to be nearly as difficult as the one Rudy played for.
As for Outlaw vs Webster, I don't want to trade either this year unless we have just a fantastic offer on the table. So without this grade deal, I say wait at least one more year to evaluate which will be better.
I think McRoberts can be a better ALL AROUND player than Frye but I think Frye will always be the better shooter. McRoberts just looks like he has more the true power foward game down. His defense, rebounding, etc are all very good. Working with Mr. Lucas can improve him in a short time. He'll never be a starter but he will be good. I don't see Frye as a quality starter. He did nothing in New York and in his games in Portland he only benefited off open mid range jumpers and garbage buckets. He doesn't have the defense, strength or aggression to start at power forward. At least in the West. Honestly, I'd love to do away with Webster. I just don't see him ever being the Glenn Rice player that people are talking about unless we're talking about the broken down L.A. Laker version on Glenn Rice here. People say that after a players third or forth year that you'll know what they'll be in the NBA so I guess this is the year we will find out if Webster will ever be a consistant outside shooter.
If I had to choose between trading Outlaw or Webster, Outlaw would stay - I've seen several games this past season, where he was unguardable!!! With Oden and Aldridge in the middle, I really think Outlaw should break out this season. Frye - McRoberts - Freeland.....not sure - right now, Frye is the best of these three........I think McRoberts has the best potential to fill that backup power forward slot.....
Re: Blazers after Ben Gordon?
