San Antonio at Portland

[shen]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/draft

[blazerman]

More then just stats. Mathews is the most important player because he is the heart/soul/driving force of this team. LMA can score but as far as leadership goes he just blows. Lillard has the potential to take the tag from Mathews and be THE leader next season and onward. Without Mathews we are hapless on offense and D.

I agree, he has been a leader on the Blazers the past couple of season's and he will continue to be a respected and looked up to player on the Blazers no matter what, he's a good teammate and he plays hard every night.
It's tough to tell what will happen at this point it's possible the only change in the starting lineup will be adding Leonard to it but I think the Blazers would be fools not to try and upgrade his position as well. He is a good solid well rounded player but not an impact player. The Blazers may not even need an impact player but it's highly likely they look to add one at ctr or SG if at all humanly possibly.
I know I'd rather see the Blazers go big and pull down a high caliber player to add to this team whether it be a Hibbert type or a Beal/Ray Allen type and keep that draft pick, move one of our starters to the bench and sign a good vet or 2 to come off the bench as well. The Blazers will get better players on the cheap as backups if they see Portland is about to blowup on the playoff seen.
I cant see guys like Battier,Allen,Lewis and others wanting to come off the bench for a team that is ok in the starting lineup and very young as well.

[RC27]

I have 0 interest in players expected in this years draft. Even loosing in 5 in first round this year would be of more benefit for this team then a player from this draft. Next years is the good one. That is the deep one, the one I want a first round pick.

remember, lillard was a mid to late 2nd round pick this time last year. and there is a handful of good bigs this year.

[RC27]

Isaiah austin or Mcadoo who's stock has dropped a bit would be sweet backing up aldridge. and tony mitchell has range, a bit like aldridge.

[shen]

I was against Beal from day 1. He got so over rated. He is a **** shooter. He is reckless. I came around on Lillard but Beal is garbage.

there are 2 players that will most likely be in the draft that I would like. BJ Young and Mason Plumlee. Young shot over 50% last year and over 40% from behind the arc. He played 6th man at times. He set records in SEC. Young would be a better Jamal Crawford. Plumlee is high % shooter and good rebounder. Both things we need.

I personally just do not believe in the throw a bunch of stars and figure it out. I think that has failed majority of the time in last 20 years. I much prefer the Pistons way when they won. An amazing chemistry first starting 5 with a solid bench. Same way the Mavs finally won a ring.

[RC27]

I personally just do not believe in the throw a bunch of stars and figure it out. I think that has failed majority of the time in last 20 years. I much prefer the Pistons way when they won. An amazing chemistry first starting 5 with a solid bench. Same way the Mavs finally won a ring.

Batum, Aldridge, Lillard, mathews and someone like Mayo or derozen isn't:

Chris paul, blake griffin, billlups, crawford, butler etc
carmelo, amare, chandler
dwill, joe johnson and brook lopez
d12, nash, pau and bryant
Lebron, bosh and wade
russel westbrook, durant, harden, ibaka
Parker, Ginobili, Duncan

and the mavs had stars and signed stars up the yang. JKidd, Marion, Jason Terry, Dirk, Tyson Chandler etc.

then look at the spurs, 3 All stars and plenty of rings.

We arent throwing people out there, but we are looking at what we dont have, what we need, and who fits those roles. we are looking for ONE offensive threat and then couple core bench guys who can rebound and run the offense for 15 min a game. for once it would be nice to have 3 starters on the bench and our offense not go to *****

and pistons were STACKED with talent. Rip, BIllups, Sheed, Ben wallace, Prince, Okur (when he was good).

[shen]

Sorry but at the point he was Kidd was no a star, Terry was not a star, Marion certainly was not a star. They were above average role players when it finally clicked.

[RC27]

I think there is a difference between salary dumping and collecting assets to have 3 or 4 super stars via trade or FA AND having a great core and adding another cornerstone (mayo or derozen) and couple role players.

[RC27]

Sorry but at the point he was Kidd was no a star, Terry was not a star, Marion certainly was not a star. They were above average role players when it finally clicked.

when they got those players they were stars at the time, they did just put stars out there. terry wasn't a star? didnt he win the 6th man the year before? average 16 that year, similar to what derozen? anyways, there were other examples of how our team is not one of those SUPER teams. i agree with you, i never want to be a super team built over night\

and again , dont confuse my disagreement as arguing but just bouncing thought.

[RC27]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gWob...feature=fvwrel

Huge potential. and will be around the 10th pick

in 17 min in his first ncaa game, he scored 22 points on 10/12 shooting and 2 blocks before twisting an ankle.

7'1". great jumper for his size, leaps out of the gym, PF/C combo we can putu behind aldridge and leonard.

his handles are unbelievable for 7'1". and the GOGGLES!!! haha. he will have 4 or so years behind aldridge to learn and develop, then when LA is gone, he can shine. Leonard, Batum, Lillard and him with whoever else, all in their mid 20's.

if he pans out could you imagine an inside out game with two 7'1" guys? batum at 6'8" and lillard? hahaha

[Red Hot Rolllin]

Scoring is not our problem we need stops.

Ibaka style player would really help our interior D IMO

LMA needs more D help maybe Hickson will do the dirty work... he is doing the job on the offensive glass so far, gotta love the one year deals

I would love to have a weapon like Kevin Martin off the bench for firepower but in the end I think we need stops to win and that is why I think Ibaka style player, who doesn't give up ANY gimmies would do our team the best.

Develop Leonard ASAP

If we continue to battle we will only get better, and so far I like the effort we are putting out and the Spurs game was a tough pill .500 sounds so much better

that said ... We gotta punk the HAWKs tonight

[Red Hot Rolllin]

First off, Batum is very inconsistent and has never proved to be a go to guy in the clutch or other wise. His best asset is his defense and 3pt shooting. He should improve but just because he inked a big contract doesnt mean much til he shows his worth on the court on a nightly basis.

I seriously hope you dont think Hickson is anything more than a stop gap at ctr. He is a solid backup to Aldridge after this season.

Aldridge is the only star on this team.

Lilliard is gonna be star #2 and I believe he has star #1 potential on this team.

Now Matthews is a nice piece to have and could remain a starter if the Blazers had gotten the big they attempted to get this past offseason. But I assure you if the Olshey could get his hands on a top flight SG, Matthews would be coming off the bench. Personally it's not a shot at Matthews by me but Matthews and Hickson would solidify our bench immensely and Wes would have a good shot at 6th man of the yr.

Keep in mind the Blazers tried hard to move up in the draft to get Brad Beal. I would have loved to get him but had the Blazers moved up in the draft I'd have taken Lilliard anyway. You were dead against Lilliard at draft time, saying the 6 pick was to high to take him.

All in all if the Blazers could have gotten Hibbert we wouldnt be discussion the SG position. You can bet the Blazers will look to improve 1 of those positions before next season and Leonard is the wild card because if he becomes a force and Olshey cant help but insert him into the starting lineup then you can count on him taking that capspace to solidify the backcourt.

Wes isnt a bad option but there are far better I'd insert in his place that could keep defenses off Lilliard and compliment his game better than Wes and Id look for a Ray Allen type to pair with Lilliard (obviously a younger version).

I dont know about others opinions on this matter but I know enough myself to know Olshey wont hesitate to improve those positions if given the right deal or player. I think Matthews and Hickson would be awesome off the bench with what they both bring to the table.

I dont think Ive ever seen a team go into the offseason focused on spending 13 milion in capspace on bench players. Improve your starting lineup and move the previous starter to the bench or trade him for something else that would also improve your team but in Matthews case just move him to the role of 6th man. Cant go wrong with that.

Batum showed sak against Spurs.. attacking paint at will, chipping out to open shooter off the dribble drive..... steals, blocks, 3s are golden goose in the NBA and Batum and Durant were the only players to average at least one per game last year.... I think Batum potential is unlimited and Stotts is going to ride him big time.... .500/.400/.900 6-8 wings don't grow on trees

time will tell but I am drinking the Batum Koolaid I like what I saw against the Spurs... 23 and demanding the ball and pulling up for deep three late had some Roy in him... just saying only 23 and showed sak

[BradyIsTheMan12]

We have to play better defense to beat teams like the Spurs. Way too many perimeter shooters getting great looks, and that was our undoing. Lillard needs to grow as a defender, and I'm sure he will as the season moves on. He wasn't the whole problem, but you can see that he sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Our rebounding needs to significantly improve as well...

[blazerman]

I was against Beal from day 1. He got so over rated. He is a **** shooter. He is reckless. I came around on Lillard but Beal is garbage.

there are 2 players that will most likely be in the draft that I would like. BJ Young and Mason Plumlee. Young shot over 50% last year and over 40% from behind the arc. He played 6th man at times. He set records in SEC. Young would be a better Jamal Crawford. Plumlee is high % shooter and good rebounder. Both things we need.

I personally just do not believe in the throw a bunch of stars and figure it out. I think that has failed majority of the time in last 20 years. I much prefer the Pistons way when they won. An amazing chemistry first starting 5 with a solid bench. Same way the Mavs finally won a ring.

Like I said even if the Blazers had moved up Lilliard was the correct pick but they targeted beal too basically they want to add depth at the SG position and the SG position needs help whether it be a starter or a solid backup that has experience.
Red hot Rollins is right some defense needs to be a focus as well and some capspace or draft pick used on a solid defender hopefully with some offensive game as well would be money well spent.
I do like Matthews game on both ends of the court but I look forward to see what kinda player the Blazers will end up obtaining at the SG position either as a starter or off the bench.
As much as some in this forum think our starting lineup is starstudded I see it as a good solid starting 4 and a fill in at ctr.

Lilliard will help LMA's game, the SG will help Lilliard's game (Matthews or otherwise) and Stotts system is really helping Batum achieve success in his game and Im liking Nic's leave it on the floor style of play this season. Matthews is a very steady piece. All in all your looking at a Pistons style team of a good solid starting 5 nothing overly great. Portland is putting together a very solid starting lineup, 3 spots are already a lock in Lilliard, LMA and Batum. Leonard and Matthews very well may be the other 2 but all options must be explored to put the best product on the floor.

[shen]

Allen wanted Lillard no matter what. After the predraft dinner with him Allen made our first pick then and there. Was never going to be beal. That was all ESPN trying to create hype.