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Wes Mantooth said:
Just saw the contract. I disagree. They just made the Western Conference Finals without Nurkic, have two stud guards in a guard dominated league, will now get Nurkic back, dumped Turner, added C depth with Whiteside, and have a possible young stud in Simon as well as other young talent like Collins, Skai, Little and Super Mario. Losing Aminu will hurt, maybe a lot, and I’m not crazy about their 3/4 look but they’re far from mediocre and with one move (trade Whiteside or Nurkic), could be a 56+ win team and make the Finals.
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I feel like the Blazers regressed this offseason. They lost a lot. Aminu and Harkless were their best multi-positional versatile defenders. They were able to hide Dame and CJ a lot defensively because of those guys. Those guys were also good at switching defensively and guarding the pick and roll. Who provides that now? Hezonja? Rookie Nassir Little? Then I look at the efficiency that they lost offensively and it's kind of shocking...

Outgoing
Aminu- 43.3% FG, 34.3% 3FG
Kanter- 54.9% FG, 29.4% 3FG
Curry- 45.6% FG, 45.0% 3FG
Turner- 46.0% FG, 21.2% 3FG
Harkless- 48.7% FG, 27.5% 3FG
Layman- 50.9% FG, 32.6% 3FG
Leonard- 54.5% FG, 45.0% 3FG

Replaced With
Whiteside- 57.1% FG
Bazemore- 40.2% FG, 32.0% 3FG
Hezonja- 41.2% FG, 27.6% 3FG
Tolliver- 38.2% FG, 37.7% 3FG
Gasol- 44.7% FG
Little

Bazemore and Hezonja are so much more inefficient than Aminu/Curry/Turner/Harkless/Layman. An older Tolliver is a downgrade from younger Leonard. Gasol is looking washed. Whiteside is a total flake that I wouldn't rely on. The Heat are a good organization and he completely gave up there.

56+ wins and a Finals appearance? Nahhhh. They are still a good team by NBA standards. But I got them 8th in the West. I dont see them getting out of the first round.
 
Hornacekamania said:
I was just going to post this. I don't think the Lakers are going to be going too far this season.
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Definitely hurts their depth, but I don't think they were counting on Boogie to be anything but a role player this season. If they still have AD and LBJ, they're still a threat. Just means they'll need Kuzma to really step it up this season.
 
TheStormofWar said:
Definitely hurts their depth, but I don't think they were counting on Boogie to be anything but a role player this season. If they still have AD and LBJ, they're still a threat. Just means they'll need Kuzma to really step it up this season.
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It forces Davis to play center, which he doesn't like to do. I mean you CAN start Javale McGee, but he will get worked in the Western Conference. Other than Johnathon Williams and I guess, LeBron, who else do they have as legitimate bigs? Kuzma ain't going to be out there defending anything. They are one more injury away from total disaster.
 
framer said:
It forces Davis to play center, which he doesn't like to do. I mean you CAN start Javale McGee, but he will get worked in the Western Conference. Other than Johnathon Williams and I guess, LeBron, who else do they have as legitimate bigs? Kuzma ain't going to be out there defending anything. They are one more injury away from total disaster.
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Is it just me or is McGee incredibly underrated?

I mean, he's not great, but he's not the scrub most people will make you believe he is.
 
Archie Moses said:
Is it just me or is McGee incredibly underrated?

I mean, he's not great, but he's not the scrub most people will make you believe he is.
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For an Ed Davis role? He's superb. As a starting center that needs to play a ton of minutes? You might be in trouble. Especially as you will need to play Davis more minutes to compensate.

Ed Davis is fantastic. I don't want him starting games for us.
 
Archie Moses said:
Is it just me or is McGee incredibly underrated?

I mean, he's not great, but he's not the scrub most people will make you believe he is.
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I like McGee, and he's a great energy guy who can give you 15 excellent minutes, but I don't think he can play a bunch of minutes.
 
hgb said:
I like McGee, and he's a great energy guy who can give you 15 excellent minutes, but I don't think he can play a bunch of minutes.
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This. I see this causing a whole domino effect with the Lakers. AD winds up playing way more minutes as a C then he would want to and getting hurt. That causes Lebron to play more as a PF, while still being a point forward and causing him to break down. He's no spring chicken any more. And with them having to rely more on Rondo and Bradley, that's not a good thing.
 
DasJazz said:
Sucks for him and the Lakers but at the same time helps the Jazz by limiting LA's depth.
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There is a problem with this though... it forces AD to play at center, where he is best, and likely forces LeBron to play more at the 4, where he is best.

If Cousins was fully recovered he would help them and raise their ceiling. The Cousins I saw last year would only hurt the Lakers.

Tough luck for Cousins... being out here in Sacramento I heard some stories of him being a world class *******... he also did a lot in the community... he’s a complex dude to understand. It must be reallllly frustrating and I feel for him.
 
Hornacekamania said:
This. I see this causing a whole domino effect with the Lakers. AD winds up playing way more minutes as a C then he would want to and getting hurt. That causes Lebron to play more as a PF, while still being a point forward and causing him to break down. He's no spring chicken any more. And with them having to rely more on Rondo and Bradley, that's not a good thing.
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I don’t know that playing a certain position will cause injuries or additional fatigue. Their best lineup this year was always going to be LeBron at the 4 and AD at the 5... and now they will figure that out sooner.

The depth is an issue.
 
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