Analyzing Trail Blazers trades and free agent moves

The Portland Trail Blazers made three significant moves on the first day of 2020 NBA Free Company: Business The edges of one, Re-signing Rodney Hood, And Derrick Jones, Jr. signed a free agent contract. Take a look at the dynamics of each contract here, with the changes each player brings to the team.

Mario Hesonza To The edges of one

This deal is not just about who, how. Hesonza Must be the lowest spinner in Portland. He doesn’t always look pretty doing it. When he announced on Monday that he was taking the second year of his warranty deal, the news met with more outcry than Sears.

Turns out, the blazers covered it. The rest is left to deal with with the help of a trade exception Kent Bassmore Last season, sent to Portland Hesonza To Memphis Chrysalis. In return, got Edges From the third partner in the contract, The Boston Celtics. Blazers created something that was nothing, a Neil Olsha special.

Edges Portland is also a favorite of former fans. No one will forget how he helped the Blazers to the Western Conference Finals in 2019 NBA Playoffs When Joseph Noorkik Injured. In the post-season run he filled 28.8 minutes per game, scoring 11.4 runs with 9.7 rebounds. He’s not bad at security either.

Edges This is the only acquisition in the off-season that violates the safety-first mandate established by the Blazers. He … is not big on that end of the floor. But for Portland it was more important than his regiments Noorkik. Condor does not have the skills or abilities of the Bosnian beast, but he can score outside the 20-foot range, deliver offensive attacks, and he will not change the basic structure in such a way as to make it a more classic hub. Throw in a pair of screens, and the blazers are set. If they need a more mobile, defensive center they will call Zack Collins. Otherwise, Conder fits the bill.

The Blazers traded to a player from the back end of their spin, who would be firm in the middle, with a trade player exception and a salary of about 3 million. In any book it is an absolute success.

Re-signing of Rodney Hood for 2 years, M 10 million per

Again, the secret sauce in this deal comes around the edges. The Blazers re-signed a player of their choice, maintained wing depth, and gave the hood a huge boost while staying at the luxury tax threshold. Signing checks many boxes at a reasonable price.

Hood has not played since tearing his Achilles last winter. The symptoms are beautiful, but you never know. We know his absence will have a hole in Portland’s lineup. Signing Derrick Jones Jr.. And with Nasir Little Both are fine, but neither of those guys is going to light it off the bench. Hood can. He can also play some defense and only one of these three players can come close to being described as “two way”.

Without the hood, the Blazers would have relied Gary Trent Jr.. Hide levels two and three from the bench, perhaps with Robert Covington Becomes smaller from power. One of them is not a natural fit. Hood is not, but at least he can deliver standard minutes there, allowing Portland the luxury of operating three guard lines without using a line of three guards at once.

Of the three “new” acquisitions, Hood is the only reliable three-point shooter. That is what makes him a natural, seamless fit.

Finally, re-signing Hood protects his contract and pay space for commercial purposes. The Blazers would have lost both if he had happened. Above the cap, they cannot use the money for anyone other than the minimum level player. Trade outperforms 10 million futures trades over 1 million in foreign exchange.

A player who fills shots and minutes using their money could not have spent it any other way, making this deal another easy win.

Derrick Jones, Jr. with mid-level exception

This is very speculative in Portland’s moves. Jones, Jr. Young and Athlete. If he had grown into a well-rounded player, the Blazers would have captured one of the most exciting opportunities in the league. He is not there yet.

Jones, Jr. can defend. He’s got the Al-Farooq Aminu gene, begging to defend the best player under 7 feet on the opposing team. He can swing to the perimeter or stand firmly equally easily. He will fight with Covington for the name of the team’s best clean defender. A month ago, Blaser’s Edge writer Corey Randall quoted footprints on Jones’ defense. He makes a good number of thefts and restarts a little forward. There is nothing to hate at that end of the floor.

Jones also instantly becomes one of the team’s best athletes. One of the side effects of better defense is that if the team can ever get out at intervals, Blazers fans will watch the 2020 NBA Slam Dunk Champion fall.

This is where the story ends … for now. Jones is not a talented attacker anywhere outside the restricted area. He especially looks like Steve Kerr in the three-point curve, even with Govindon, Aminu and Mo Herkles. He is not an excellent graduate either. His entire offensive game should develop as well. The ability to strike any position will make up for three more consecutive full sins. Portland hopes this will develop quickly.

That too may be the case. Jones, Jr. is 23. He is entering his fifth season and is theoretically ready to become his early prime minister. He and Portland will consider his two-year contract friendly. If he falls in the face of the earth, he still gets 20 million, while the Blazers quickly get out of duty. If he thrives, they will get him back in two years at close to a star-level salary. No one can be lost. The important question is whether one will win.

Unlike the Condor and Hood contracts, this signature is not a brainstorm. The cost of this action will be determined by the other players signing up for the MLE after this point. There is no guarantee that the Blazers may have convinced anyone to come to Portland, but if more talented players go for the same price, the pressure on Jones, Jr. will increase, which should come quickly, which is not considered a lost opportunity … close to the last moment Damien LillardPrimary.

Overall rating

If we describe these moves in one word, it is “depth”. Portland doesn’t get a real starter here, at least not in a classic, 35 minute game sense. By default, Hood, Covington or Jones, Jr. will start small forward, but they will all mix levels and share minutes.

The Blazers are not getting what they want this off-season: a bank, big minute, two-way player. Hood and Covington are approaching. Jones could become a junior. None of them are guaranteed. Most likely, Portland will bring more crime Or Security for the game, they have to compensate whichever way they go. As they have done for the past few years, they will tie layers of players together, believing that the mix will become stronger.

Dismissal is a big advantage of the layered approach. In Portland it is more now. When Noorkik Sit down, Cantor and Collins will fill. Dig down the hood and you will come across Jones, Jr. (or vice versa). Collins and Covington pronounce each other in four places, and Covington may play five or three for a brief period. You can’t dig the Portland spin without coming up against a legitimate, occasionally intimidating, NBA player. For years blazers did not have that luxury.

These are not Olshi’s new moves. These are the classic “blue” trends up to 11.

This will not be a new Portland team. Give or take the best close outs for some forced turnover and perimeter, Portland doesn’t make much of a difference. Instead they retained the ability to play their preferred style for long periods of time, adding or maintaining compatible skills at each level between the shooting guard and the center. You can see what you get used to seeing from the 2020-21 blazers, for longer lengths, with shorter intervals, and overall performance.

The team ducks again under the luxury tax, returning to a sensible price to win rate after last year’s ugly.

The new Blazers do not dominate the league. Reasonable opportunity to support each other, level-headedness, ability to fill in personal weaknesses and hide with extra depth.

If all of this works, Blazers will be able to show a reliable footage in the playoffs, perhaps occasionally plagued by the need to choose between crime and defense. If this does not work, they will be exempt from these contracts or will be in a position to trade them for more impactful players.

Questions about who else they might have gotten with the MLAs (or drafted with their 2021 first-rounders in the Govindon deal) have nothing to hate about these moves. We can discuss how effective they are in the long run, but in the microcosm of this moment, the Blazers did themselves better at a reasonable price.

(Socialist Party They can still use the backup point.)