Sonny-Canzano

We are set at C/PF/SG, these players are our cornerstones to the franchise. It is important to their development that we bring in some vets who really know how to play.

Shane Battier would be on top of my list of vets to target. He plays great under pressure, very high basketball IQ and is a flat out leader. Right now he's a massive upgrade over our current starting SF. He's a glue player and plays up-in-your-face defense.



Bring in Shane!

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MAS RipCity

We had a slightly less talented version of Battier last year in Ime Udoka...not sure we need Shane with Trav and Tell manning down the 3 spot.

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Sonny-Canzano

Udoka was solid but let's not kid ourselves, Udoka is a very poor man's Battier.

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darkhelmit54

Battier is overrated and contributes almost nothing on offense. I'm much more concerned with having stabilizing forces on offense than more defensive players. I'd say to go after Andre Miller if possible, he's solid on defense, and great on offense, and he could really help our transition game. I would probably try to move up in the draft with Jack and then trade Raef and our pick (8, 10?) to Philly for Andre, or maybe Blake, the pic, and some filler for Miller. Anyways, I'd rather have just Miller here than Blake and Jack and it would clear up our backcourt rotation more, opening up time for Rudy, Sergio, Martell, and Outlaw in the long run. And after Andre expires we would still have our cap space plan intact (infact better w/o the salaries of Blake and Outlaw being renegotiated) and could our future at PG is wide open.

Miller/Rodriguez/Koponen
Roy/Fernandez
Webster/Outlaw/Jones
Aldridge/Frye/Mcroberts
Oden/Pryzbilla/Freeland

of course, if there was any way to swing it, I'd rather still move up in the draft (w/ Jack) to draft Love, and then try to deal him, Blake, and Outlaw for a S&T Iggy. I know that's a long shot, but Love would fit their up tempo style next to Dalembert (who would run up the floor while Love threw an outlet), Mo loves Outlaw (who can create on isos), they have Thad Young developing behind Iggy, AND Iggy is proving right now he is not a first option whatsoever.

He is rather a utility player that can be a lockdown defender (when he gets to put his effort there), a transition king, and a scrappy player in the half-court (offensive rebounds, put backs). If he were willing to concentrate on these things as his focal points (as he always has in the past before being asked to be the first option) he would be a perfect fit here, as they are the things we need the most and Travis is more of an iso guy who is weak on D and not great in transition.

This lineup is killer: (albeit young)

Roy/Rodriguez/Koponen
Iguodala/Fernandez
Webster/Jones
Aldridge/Frye/Mcroberts
Oden/Pryzbilla/Freeland

There'd be more growth needed in that roster and we'd be pretty 'vet-starved' but I think between the maturity of Roy, Iggy, and Aldridge, and the potential of Oden and Webster we'd be alright. Maybe not make a huge jump in wins, but we'd have more potential than any other team in the NBA and really would have a balanced skill-set overall.

but assuming Iggy is an impossibility (we'll find out when they negotiate for a contract) I think we should target Miller for a short term stabilizing fix that still leaves us with a lot of options for the future.

If there's any way to get both of them... (I know, there's not)

Sonny-Canzano

Your mancrush on Iggy is getting a bit disturbing. Philly wont deal him anyways.

Battier is a calming influence and he does a lot more than what shows up on a stat sheet. A young team like ours we needs a player like Battier.

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HispanicCausinPanic

You can't have 5 stars on a team, most of the time not even 3! We've talked about this before, but Ime would be a PERFECT fit to our threesome of stars! I wouldn't mind Shane, but I wouldn't give up too much to get him.

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Sonny-Canzano

Shane is the perfect fit for our club. He's not a star but he is a great role player. He's a better defender than Ime and is a better offensive player, on top of that his leadership abilities are light years ahead of what Ime provided. I know Ime is from Portland but saying he's anything close to Battier is stupid.

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B-Roy

+1 to both statements.

HOWIE

Well geographically he is close, but I get what you mean. I'd move Webster, Jack, and picks to Houston for him, not sure I'd use Outlaw. Let's not forget that Portland has the rights to like 100 players stashed Europe too.

Shane would be a huge upgrade to this team, I doubt that Webster would do as good if he came off the bench behind him, Outlaw plays great coming off the bench, and if James stays he can play spot minutes.

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darkhelmit54

Battier does almost nothing on offense I don't care what anyone says. He's overrated because he's "underrated" by everyone else. He doesn't space the floor that much because he's not that good of a shooter, he doesn't handle the ball hardly at all and get assists, and he doesn't cut backdoor for easy buckets (with a lot of the defense focused on Yao). He plays wonderful defense and mostly stays out of the way on offense, and there's a place for players like that, but I think I'll take Webster's beautiful jumper and young age and hope he develops better on D than a boring and mundane Battier. Ask Houston fans how good he is, you'll get mediocre reviews.

Oldmangrouch

Not to be pedantic, but....

The question ought to be "what will this guy do for us 3 years or more down the road?"

By then Battier will be 33 - and if he loses a step he loses his defense and his only real value! On top of that, adding Battier locks us into a position where we *must* find a scoring PG to compensate for his Joel-like offense.

BTW - consider the vision of Oden getting hurt/in foul trouble, and trying to score with a Battier/Joel tandem on the floor!

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B-Roy

Rudy/Roy/Aldridge/Outlaw/Webster can score as well.

Battier can shoot 3s aswell.

alext42083

Battier is no slouch offensively. While he can't create his own shot, he'd give us basically what James Jones gives us as a deadly spot-up 3-point shooter from the corner.
He's not a total liability, and I think he'd be a perfect fit for us.

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Oldmangrouch