SB Nation User Blog: VinnyB

When is it time for CHANGE?

VinnyB — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:18:11 -0000

Its clear to me that something needs to change. It could be anything from tactical (minor) to a trade/firing(major).

After 4 games, its come to light that the best we could hope for is a minor change, perhaps starting Miller for example. But that still won't help us enough on the defensive end. As soon as we lost Batum to injury, Nate lost his reason to start Blake. Webster provides us with the 3pt shooting that we need and since Steve contributes nothing else I see no reason for him playing more than 18 minutes a night. Blake is a career backup and Miller is a career starter but I guess we do things a little backwords. That is probably why Miller is struggling as much as he is. Why the hell did we sign him if Nate was never going to allow him to play his way? Putting restrictions on an uptempo PG is stupider than hell. Bringing off the bench is restricting him as much as playing a slow tempo. But he probably wouldn't help all that much defending the Brooks' and the Westbrooks' of this league.

If KP were to read this(chuckle) I would tell him to trade Blake without asking Nate. We could package him with a player that teams actually believe has talent like Outlaw or even Rudy ( if we could get an established PG). Why in God's name did we not go for Moe Williams when he was still a Buck?

Does KP have the balls to make a trade that will put us over the edge? I know that he's great at drafting and whatnot but he has yet to trade away young talent( without star quality i.e Outlaw) He even failed to trade away our most tradeable player ever, Reaf! How did we end up with a backup PG from RLFEC? That was failure!

What about Nate? He spent the entire Preseason working on the teams defense and its still piss poor for a Playoff team. Spending all that time on the defense has led to our offense to stink just as bad. You can make all aathe excuses you want but the other Playoff teams have similar ones but they are started really well. For example look at Orlando, they lost Lewis for the forseeable future and Carter as well and they still managed to get a 125 -116 win against Toronto with 4 players scoring at least 20 pts. They put up 82 shots and 41 free throws and they managed to shot below 44% and have less than 10 TOs. We will never do that with Nate as head coach. Nate has to be the most stubborn guy ever. For a former PG, he doesn't a thing about what makes a good PG. I'd rather him prove me wrong but I seriously doubt it. I remember in his days coaching the Sonics, he decided to start Ridnour over Watson and he still hasen't learnt.

So when is it time to put the pressure on Nate and the team? Do we stick by him as he guides us to at best another first round exit? It would take an MVP type of performce from Roy to get this team to the Playoffs with home court advantage. Trust me, the PG is that important and we don't have one that is good enough. We might have to give our little T-Rex a chance to save someone's J.O.B!

I 'm beginning to hate Blake

VinnyB — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:02:11 -0000

What I don't understand is why did we sign Miller? Why did we pay $7 million a year for the next 2 years at least for a backup PG? If we wanted a better backup PG than Sergio than we could've just signed Brevin Knight or Anthony Carter for the league minimum and saved a whole lot of money. That's right, we needed a better PG than Blake so we could've used Steve off the bench. So why is Nate so insistent on starting Blake over Miller? To balance the team my a$$. He is the coach so he is the one that has to come up with a way to play the best players from the start and not just play is safe and do what did last season. Did we win the Championship last season? No! So we need change, Miller starting would be the change that we need. With Andre we would be able to run more and get easy baskets but with Blake we would not. Didn't Nate say that he wants the team to run more?And does he not say that every pre-season? Well we never had a true PG until now, and now that he does he seems too scared to implement a fastbraking offense. If only we had traded Blake as well as Sergio than Nate would have no choice but to go with Miller. The reason for my recent dislike of Steve Blake has more to do with all the Blake fans. Blake had one good year last season and you all think that the world shines out of his bum. The guy is so limited that I cringe whenever he is on the court. All he can do is shot the 3 ball and when his shot is not falling then what does he offer the team? At least with Andre he can make plays for his teammates, rebound and play better defense. Blake would not start for any other team in the league but Miller would be starting for more than half of them. I was so looking forward to having better play from our starting PG position this season when we got Miller but just because Nate can't figure out a way to expand his way of thought. My solution is simple, start Miller and play him for the first 5-6 minutes and then rest him till the other starters come off then bring him back to play the second unit. As I remember correctly, last season we had one of the lowest scoring starting units in the league and almost always required that the backups make it up. That had to do with starting Blake, Batum and Pryzbilla. That's why I'm in favor of a starting lineup of :-

PG-MILLER SG-ROY SF-WEBSTER PF-ALDRIDGE C-ODEN

BLAKE FERNANDEZ BATUM OUTLAW/HOWARD PRYZBILLA

I know that Webster might not be able to start right away but he should be able to by late December. This way our shooters will be spread out for both units and we'd play our best players from the start of every game!

Backup PF, WHO?

VinnyB — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:16:08 -0000

Anyone worried to see Cunningham, Pendergraph and Outlaw battling to be LaMarcus' backup. After last season's struggles and KP's inability to find an alternative, I certainly am. We all felt that our Blazers needed someone that could provide some offense and rebounding. The guys that we were looking at were Bass, Millsap and Lee. Lee is still available but as he wants a $10 million a year deal which he won't get. Milsap we can forget about and the same goes for Bass. So who do we have left to choose from:

Lamar Odom - He won't come because he wants to play in a city by the ocean like L.A or Miami.

Glen Davis - He is a restricted free agent and after the Millsap affair, I don't know if I'd want to go through all the waiting around again and have Boston match the offer on the 7th day.

Drew Gooden- The best option left and could be had for under $5 million a year. He has a little toughness about him, he's no Oakley but he'll do. He has a passable offense and defense plus he's tradable if things don't work out.

Joe Smith- He is getting old but he can still play about 15 minutes a game and like Drew, he can contribute on both ends of the court.

Hakim Warrick- A restricted free agent. Enough said! Plus he is so inconsistent and lacking fundamentals.He is athletic though.

Shavlik Randolph- He'd be cheap and gratefull but he is lacking in talent and experience. But what if we gave him the opportunity to play significant minutes? He might be worth it.

Poll

Who would you want?

Lamar Odom at $8 million multi year deal (4-5years)

30 votes

Glen Davis at $5-6 million mutli year deal (4-6years)

26 votes

Drew Gooden at $3-5 million multi year deal (1-4 years)

34 votes

Joe Smith at $2-4 million multi year deal(1-3years)

50 votes

Hakim Warrick at $1-3 million multi year deal(1-3years)

11 votes

Shavlik Randolph at $1-2 million multi year deal(1-3years)

52 votes

203 votes | Poll has closed

What's needed to Win?Defense!

VinnyB — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:17:50 -0000

What's needed to win? Well we need to be in the top 5 in both Offense and Defense. Nate is a defensive minded coach but we have mostly offensive minded players.

Offensive players are : Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, Webster, Bayless, Blake, Fernandez

Defensive players are: Przybilla, Oden, Batum

Both Oden and Batum are inexperienced. Both have the potential to be great defenders but will they improve quickly enough? Its bound to take them a couple of seasons to develop the necessary tricks to defend the league's premier players such as James, Wade and Bryant. By 'tricks' I mean all the uncalled-for holding and tripping that players like Bowen, Posey, Ariza and Battier do all the time. It takes time to establish a familiarity with the referees to pull off those obvious fouls and not get called for them. So if we want to win now, we need a 'veteran' defensive player to take the pressure off of Batum and Oden so they are free to develop their all around game. A veteran defensive player will also be able to help Batum and Oden learn the 'tricks'.

Where our team needs to improve defensively are in 1) Protecting the paint 2) Opposistion fg%3) Creating turnovers 4) Opposistion 3pt%

Last season we were pretty much awfull in all 4 categories. We won't win in the Playoffs, nevermind the title if we don't make it in at least the top 10 in those categories. I believe that the teams goal should be to finish the regular season in the top 5 in overall defense.

How to make it happen? It has been suggested that Houston would be a great trade partner what with having one of the best defensive players in the league. But I would really hate to not only give up our very own Vanilla Gorilla but to then see him at a rival Western Conference team. I am not sure giving up Joel for Battier is our best option. I'd rather offer them a 1st round pick but I know the Rockets are desperately in need of a Center. Perhaps a 3 team trade would be best.A sign and trade with Atlanta's Pachulia would be good for them. Personally I'd rather trade Rudy for Battier and a protected 1st round pick from Houston. Webster can shift over to back up Roy and Batum would backup Shane. We will never be able to keep Rudy for that long anyways, plus his trade value could go down if we don't trade him this summer.

The next move that I'd make would be to get Millsap to sign an offer sheet. Paul is already I really good defender and rebounder. His versatilaty allows him to defend not only Power Fowards but certain Centers(backups) and certain Small Forwards. Wouldn't it be nice to see Millsap guard Artest and Battier guarding Bryant? Roy wanted a physical team and with Battier and Millsap, we'd have one!

Andre Miller or Jason Kidd or Steve Blake?

VinnyB — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 12:40:04 -0000

Honestly I am not very excited by our options. By the way Miller and Kidd are the only All-Star PGs available this summer as free agents. Both are

- old

-above average rebounders

-more comfortable passing and setting up their teammates first

-neither player can shot better from distance than Blake

-not as good defensively as they were when they were younger

-better than Blake but require the offense to play to their strengths

So what do we do? Do we stick with Blake? Remember that this is the last Summer that we are going to be able to spend big on a free agent. It seems to me that the only way to get a better PG is to trade for one NOW! Ideally the player I believe is best suited to our needs is Billups. There is no way we could have him now so its best to forget about him and look elsewhere. So what are we looking for in a PG?Someone who

-can accept being a provider first

-can accept being at best a 3rd option, maybe even a 4th (excludes Paul, DW)

-can defend the quick PG like Parker, Ellis etc

-can spread the floor be shotting well from 3pt land

-has the ability to lead our young group of guys

Can anyone name 3 PGs that match our requirements? All I got is Billups, Calderon and Harris. Neither will be available without sacrificing our big 3.

So if Bayless doesn't improve 'alot' for next season we are going to have to stick with Blake.

Should we trade Outlaw?

VinnyB — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 11:35:48 -0000

Just how valuable is he? Do we have guys that can step up and to the things that Travis does on the court? Can he really be an All-Star player with us? Personnally I think that we should 'LOOK' to trade him for a proper defender like Prince. I know I'm reaching pretty high on that one but it could be done if we give up a 1st round draft pick and maybe even a second round too. Their salaries don't match up so a third team would be included but I think it could be done. Both average around 13 pts and 4rbs but at least Prince can play good defense.

Most of us believe that he won't be an All-Star with us so if we know it then Travis must know it too. I am afraid that Outlaw won't be able to help the team win by starting. Losing the Webman could be bigger than we realize. He has aleady learned to start games and that is very different to coming off the bench. What I could see happening is that Outlaw will finally start to mesh with the starting 4 and Martell will be fit again. What shall we do then? All summer we have read how we might have to lose one, two or all three of Frye, Webman, and Outlaw. If we sign all three then we can't sign a marque free agent. Personally I'd sign Webman to an extention before the season ends. We need a small forward that can shoot the three really well and play good defense. Some of you might think that I am thinking too highly of Martell but so what! Ha Ha! Seriously, we need shooters and guys that are determined to play defense. Travis has not shown any determination on the defensive end. The most annoying thing is that he is the one with the body. I mean the length, you know the fact that he's 6-9 and Martell is only 6-7. Face it guys, we could struggle while the Webman is out, I hope we don't and I would never cheer against Outlaw but I just don't see him as a player that can fullfill his potential with us. We could be better off without him, with the arrival of Rudy and Bayless plus Frye, I believe that 2nd unit will be fine without him.

P.S- Udoka could be a better fit than TO, if we can't get Prince.

Travis vs. Martell ...........

VinnyB — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:50:08 -0000

I have realized that there seems to be a growing support for Travis Outlaw to start at Small Forward next season. Why? I'd like to know why Outlaw would be a better starter then Webster. For the record, I rather have Martell start and Travis come off the bench.

1) Martell started last season and did well not great but a good start.

2) Web have already begun to develop chemistry on the court with Roy and Aldridge.

3) Plus we're going to need Martell's 3pt shooting to spread the floor for our post game. Travis is not likely to become a good enough shooter over the summer to help spread the floor. Not like Martell anyway.

4) We need Outlaw's scoring ability OFF THE BENCH alot more than we need it in the starting 5. Webster still isn't good enough to do that. We can't count on Rudy for that yet either.

5) And lastly, Webster should start over Outlaw because he is a better perimeter defender. He's quicker and a more determined defender.

What happens if we pick 3rd?

VinnyB — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:50:23 -0000

Do we keep the pick and draft big like Lopez or small like Bayless or Mayo?

Or do we trade the pick for oh let's say............Harris or Calderon?

I like the idea of drafting Bayless to play the point. If he isn't an accomplished Point Guard already then he can learn on the job. Roy would not have any problems being the unofficial PG. Bayless could bring the ball up and hand of to Roy to call plays and set the team up. We could then give Jack away and keep Blake to help mentor young Jerryd.

If we decide to go big and draft Brook Lopez, we would have a backup big man all teams would envy. Now before any of you start to laugh, another benefit of having a big man like Lopez on the bench is for trade bait. If we draft him and develop him, we can turn around and trade him when there is a team desparate for a big man. Plus a guy that can post up and rebound is always good. We still don't know how Oden will hold up injury wise. We might have to draft 'Best Player Available'

Trading the pick makes the most sense to me. I'd call New Jersey up and offer Jack and the 3rd pick. That seems fair to me but would need possibly a third team to be invovled. We could also trade the rights to our players overseas..................Oh yeah not including Rudy who as we all know is off limits to anyone.

Another option we have is to trade down in this draft to pick up a guy I would love to have ...............Russell Westbrook. With all the offense we will have, picking up a defender like Russell will be invaluable. Westbrook will be able to help keep Oden out off foul trouble and on the court blocking shots and rebounding and scoring and well DOMINATING! Remember none of our guards are above average defenders so we need one that can be.

The last option we would have is my favorite. TRADING UP! Yeah baby, trading up to get ..... can we all take a deep breath and say it aloud ...............................................Derrick ROSE! It can't be that difficult to trade up one spot right? It will be. But its worth a shot and we got the players teams want. But at what price? Rudy? LMA?Oden?Roy? I guess it will depend on which teams get #1 and #2.

Youth or Experience?

VinnyB — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:10:28 -0000

How good is Outlaw really going to be? and Martell Webster, how good will he be? We all know that Jack is virtually gone but Nate likes him so who really knows?
Personally I don't see them as becoming anything really special. Outlaw just needs to become more consistent and he'll be as good as he can i.e 14pts 2assists 4rbs a game. Sure he might get good enough to put up 18pts 4assists 6rbs but I highly doubt it. Webster has the potential to be an All-Star but will he? Right now he's only a role player on team with plenty of them.
Think about this, next year we have :

--a #1 pick i.e ODEN
--a potential #5 pick i.e RUDY
--and the 13th pick of the upcoming draft.
We already have :
--an All-Star shooting guard in ROY
--a candidate for most improved player in ALDRIDGE
--and a legitimate backup center in PRYZBILLA.

Isn't that enough to build a Championship team right there? Can we really afford to keep bringing in youth and potential and then wait years till they are ready to produce?
I say we gut the entire team and only keep Oden, Rudy, Roy, LMA and Pryzbilla. I guess we might have to keep Sergio too. The rest can be trade bait. Remember this could be the last summer to trade Webster, Jack, Frye and McRob. Those guys plus Outlaw and Blake could get us some much needed experience to the team.
What we would be then looking for are:

-- a starting Point Guard
like Calderon, Collison, Udrih, Andre Miller, Ford
-- a backup Point Guard
like A.Brooks, Watson, Anthony Johnson, Augustin, Lawson
-- a defensive Small Forward(role player)
like J.Posey, Salmons, Barnes, Ross, Simmons, Batum,
-- a backup 3pt shooter
like Nachbar, Korver, J.Jones, Szcerbiak, Budinger
-- and backup Power Forward
like Bass, Gomes, Moore, Haslem, Diogu, D.Marshall

Those were just examples of guys that we could go after to fill the lesser posistions in the team. We probably couldn't get one of each but IF KP where to fill 3/4 of the posistions then we would have a great summer. We have tradeable pieces in players and draft picks to fill all four but that would require Kevin to get really creative. For example we could trade 2 out of the 4 second round picks for Brooks and the other 2 for Diogu and that's two posistions filled. Brooks is very quick and can be the defensive PG that we NEED! Diogu has not had a good year but is strong and can play, he's not ideal but who else could we get for so little? How about trading Outlaw, Jack and the 13th pick for Calderon? We might not need to offer the 13th pick cause well Toronto might REALLY like fish, I mean Trout? All this AND we get to keep Webster.

New team with experience:
PG- Calderon/Brooks/Sergio
SG- Roy/Rudy
SF- Barnes/Webster
PF- Aldridge/Diogu(?)
C - Oden/Pryzbilla/Raef

Then if we have the 13th pick we could take best available player. I may be living in dream land but losing 4 in a row makes me this way.

Oh, if no one likes Diogu then we could trade up to get Randolph or Griffin. O.k now I'm done!

Jarrett needs to go!

VinnyB — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:25:15 -0000

From the 'recap' :

--Jarrett Jack showed some of his fearlessness by driving into the teeth of the Warrior defense and converting the layups and fouls that have become his bread and butter this season. His scoring game in Roy's absence was good...19 points on 7-13 shooting, 2-3 from distance, 3-3 from the stripe. As long as he was playing off-guard and was on offense he had a great night. When he switched to point, however, the Warriors had his number. They pretty much ate up every scoring pass he tried to complete. Maybe the best way to say it is that Jack can play some point as long as the other team doesn't see it coming. But when they're focused on him he has trouble. Like the rest of the guards he had trouble defending his Golden State counterparts, which doesn't really bother me. However he did look to be giving up on a couple defensive, rebounding, and transition plays. That did bother me a little. 19 points was not too shabby. 1 assist and 4 turnovers was yucky.

Isn't Jack a Point Guard? If he can't handle it when the opposition knows he's the PG then what use is he to us?
I remember when Jack was a rookie how Nate gushed about his defense. You guys remember? Well it turns out that Nate was high as a kite when he said that. Well I hope he was anyway. You know I can't stand it when he has these tpye of games, i.e the bad ones. I also have a hard time enjoying his good games which come around every 5-6 games because it somehow justifies Nate's preception of Jarrett's abilities. I can't accept him as
A starting PG
A backup PG
A starting SG
A backup SG
Some of you might say that Jarrett does play well on occasion as a SG. Not last night! Sure he shot the ball well but where was his defense? Ellis 18pts 6-10 fg. His passing? 1 assist and 4 turnovers. His Rebounds? REBOUNDS? ZERO,NADA ZILCH= 0. By the way Ellis and Davis got 15, let me say it again....................................................15 rebounds! Jack and Blake? How about 1. That's right 1!
That makes me angry and sad.
Maybe Nate needs to bring in a coach to teach them boys to rebound. This is truly sad!