Big men who can shoot the three and stretch the floor are not only rare in the NBA but are vital to a teams success especially in the playoffs where the ball tends to slow down and half court execution becomes the norm.
Just look at how the Mavs have been successful throughout the years with Dirk Nowitzki spacing the floor and dropping bombs from long range. It has been a nightmare for opposing teams even at this point in the Big German's career.
With that being said, Spencer Hawes enters this summer's 2014 NBA free agency as one of the more coveted big man in the league with his Dirk-like style of game. Among the numerous teams who are in pursuit of the Cavs center, the Trail Blazers seem to have a strong interest with Hawes according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski:
"Portland GM Neil Olshey met with free agent Spencer Hawes and his agent, Greg Lawrence, tonight in Los Angeles, sources tell Yahoo.
Spencer Hawes might also be intrigued with the prospect of playing for the rising Trailblazers as a source with information of the meeting exclaimed that it "went very well". The source also revealed that Trailblazers head coach Terry Stotts outlined how Hawes would be an ideal fit to his flow offense during their pitch.
The 7-foot-1 26 year old Hawes is an exceptionally talented shooter and passer, especially for a big man, with high basketball I.Q. He averaged 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists, while shooting 42 percent from beyond the arc season for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
And if their is a man who can maximize Hawes unique talents, that would be Terry Stotts. Stotts was the assistant coach of the 2011 Mavs who won their first NBA championship. He knows how to utilize the flow offense using a stretch big man in Dirk Nowitzki and the world witnessed its true potential when the Mavs dismantled the Heat in the 2011 NBA finals.
Money, however, can be an issue for the Blazers in their pursuit of the shooting big man. Hawes made $6.5 million last season and considering how steep the competition is for his talents, it would take much more than $5.3 million - the most the Blazers can offer - for Portland to lure him in.
But who knows, Spencer Hawes might just be looking for a chance at an NBA title at this point in his career more than landing a big contract. He was, after all, impressed on how Stotts outlined his potential and how it would be an ideal fit to the Blazers free flowing offense.
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