Blazersland Mailbag March 2021 Edition

The Blazersland Mailbag is back! The March 2021 Edition is here!

Is there any interest in acquiring LaMarcus Aldridge? I hope not. – Lanny

Only if Aldridge is bought out. The Blazers woukd have to give up to many assets to trade for him. Damian Lillard is certainly interested. So, is Aldridge. They want to play together again.

If Dame wants Aldridge back and he is bought out look for Olshey to bring him with the last roster spot on a prorated vet minimum. If Aldridge gets traded, keep your eye out this summer for Aldridge returning to Portland as a free agent.

What’s the odds CJ gets traded at the deadline? – Carlos

Zilch to none. CJ has been having his best season thus far, so if the Blazers were looking to move him, his value has never been higher. But, they aren’t looking to move him and he is working to come back from a fractured ankle.

If he was going to be moved, it probably would have been for Harden earlier this season.

Should the Blazers go after PJ Tucker? For Hood and a pick maybe? – James

The Blazers should move Hood if they can. While it was considerate to resign Hood, $10 million was too much. He’s not worth it right now. Maybe he find his game again, we have seen a few flashes, but players are never quite the same after an achilles injury.

The Blazers should have offered him the minimum and saw where he was after the season. As, it is, if the Blazers can trade Hood and a pick for someone like Tucker, do it. It saves the Blazers a few million, some of which they can use to sign a buyout player to their last spot and still be safely under the tax line.

Tucker has struggled this season shooting only 31% from deep, but a new team could fix that. He would bolster the Blazers front court adding more depth.

But, if the Blazers are looking to add a big man via the buyout, they could trade Hood and a pick for another guard as well. The Rockets might not care to much for Hood, but they are collecting picks (Morey traded most of theirs while he was GM) and Tucker wants out, so hey…win/win.

Should the Blazers go after Aaron Gordon? – Sam

No. Gordon is overated. While he might work well with Dame, the Blazers would have to trade CJ or a hoard of Smaller contracts to get him. It wouldn’t be worth it. The Magic are almost certainly shopping him, and Olshey has long been trying to acquire Gordon, but hopefully Neil let’s this one go.

The Blazers go through a lot of young players. Many don’t ever seem to get the chance to develop before they are included in a trade or are let to walk away in FA. Which of the Blazers current youngs do you see becoming NBA caliber players? Which ones are gonners? – Jake

The Blazers do go through a multitude of young players. Most dont pan out. And, you’re right, many of them are gone before they get much of a chance to develop. That is the reality of the league.

Gary Trent Jr, Anfernee Simons, Nassir Little, and Harry Giles are all young talent that seem like they could be legit players in the NBA.

Trent Jr is already pretty much there. His inconsistenty is the only thing holding him back. He will be getting paid this summer and will be a starter in this league…hopefully for Portland.

Simons has shown improvement. A lot of people are irratated that he hasnt developed quicker. The kid is young. Its only his second season. He came straight out of high school. Part of his slow development might be his misuse as a point guard by the Blazers. The kid is a shooter, meant to play off the ball, but he has shown he shoot off the dribble too. He has a high ceiling, but will take another season or two, to mature.

Nassir Little has seen the floor enough. He should be played more, and Stotts seems to be coming around to that. Little has been hampered by injury and stuck on the bench behind other players (he should be playing ahead of Hood).

Little is going to be one hell of a 3&D in this league. He has a killer outside shot and the Blazers are always bettee defensively when he is on the floor. He will be a perfect role player if not a starter down the road.

Giles has been in the league the longest of the Blazers youngsters, but injury has kept him off the court. We have seen glimpses of the kind of player he will be if he can stay healthy and get minutes. He is one the highest energy players on the team. He is one of those rare players that brings the spark.

CJ Elleby is still to early to call. He is a talented enough shooter and brings a concerted effort to the floor. He had his best game against Philly this season and we got to see a glimpse of what he could bring. Time will tell for the other CJ, if he is still around.

Can we please get an update on Harry Giles? -Jason

That would be nice. Giles strained his calf back in Febuary against the Mavericks (They like to hurt our big men) and was placed in a walking boot that he has since been out of. The nature of his injury is not major. He has been slowly been working his way back. He wants to make sure he is fully healed before returning and we should see him playing again soon.

What do you think about trading Hood and Trent and Giles for Larry Nance? Nance is a good passer, rebounder and I think he leads the league in deflections, very high in steals, decent 3 pt%. He is signed up for two more years after this one. Cleveland needs a big guy as their third guard. While you’re at it, discuss whether we need to trade Trent now because we won’t be able to afford him later. – Ukrainefan

That is a little much for Nance Jr. The Blazers could probably do it with Hood, Giles, and a pick,though Cleveland probably wouldnt go for that. Larry would be a hell of a backup in Portland and soldify the Blazers front court. He might be a little expensive though with Nurkic and Kanter both ahead of him at center. You could play him at power foward and move DJJ or Melo to SF.

The situation with Gary Trent Jr is an interesting one. The thouhght is the Blazers won’t be able to afford to resign him this offseason. He is a RFA, but the fear is other teams are going to throw toxic contract offers at him that the Blazers can’t match.

Trent Jr turned down a $53 million extension the Blazers offered him earlier this season. He is gambling on himself and it might backfire. His inconsistenty so far this season might have hurt what he will be offered in the summer. He still has half a season to impress.

The Blazers have to take stop. Trent is taking the gamble, the Blazers have to decide if they want to stay in the game to and call the bluff, or fold at the deadline and trade him.

The problem is Trent has high value, but his small contract means the Blazers will have to package other players to get his full worth in a trade. Is that worth it? Will he get as big of offers as is thought? Are the Blazers willing to go into the tax next season to resign him (part of why they are working hard to stay under the tax line this season, so they won’t be repeaters next season if they have to do that maybe?) If it means going all in and contending before Lillard’s window is closed?

The Blazers are getting closer to being contenders. It seems throwing in the towl now on Trent Jr might mean giving up on that and taking a step backwards. But, if the Blazers aren’t willing to go into the tax next season, and truly believe they will not be able to resign Trent, then looking for a trade now for him…at least seeing what is out there…may be to the Blazers benefit.

Is Blazer ownership sitting on their hands because Paul is gone? – Natebishop3

The current dyanmic of the Blazers ownership is far different than when Paul was around. If Allen were still here, Olshey or Stotts or both would likely be gone. Paul didn’t put up his team not winning or roster compositions not working.

Paul was a superfan who was always letting his GM know what guys he wanted to go after, his coach what guys he wanted to be played, and both when he wasn’t happy. He had a passion and love for the game, his sister will probably never have.

Jody is more laid back. Whike she has grown to love the Blazers and see them in a new light, she didnt come in as a basketball fanatic like Allen did.

Bert Kolde and Chris McGowan along with the rest of the Vulcan board are in charge behind the curtain, with Jody making most final decisions.

Jody really does want to finish her brother’s dream of bringing a championship to Portland, but it seems she has also adopted the idea that continuity is best, even if the results take time. So, in that respect there does seem to be quite a bit of “sitting on hands.”

 
That is the March 2021 edition of Blazersland Mailbag. If you want to see your questions answered in the next edition, submit them via the mailbag form at Blazersland.com/submit-questions/ -OR- by emailing them directly to mailbag@blazersland.com