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Haie's OFFICIAL Blazer hot talk thread
haie
Member, Swaye's Wigwam Posts: 21,996 
Listening to Cowherd he thinks Portland needs to deal Dame to put people around someone named 'Scoot'
"Portland's only won 4 series in 8 years!"
Yeah but 2 of those came in one year in a finals run that ended to the Warriors. They were 1/1 against the Nuggets although it's looking like Chauncey is a major downgrade from Stotts.
Also, I guess Charlotte fans (?) were booing them for not taking this 'Scoot' kid. But it seems like Portland would be better off with a wing like Miller. This is another redundant guard.
Portland's attempt at getting Bam is dead now? Thank Christ. Maybe they should actually offload Dame but but it's better for business to keep him.
Dame the GM has been way shittier than Lebron the GM.
"Portland's only won 4 series in 8 years!"
Yeah but 2 of those came in one year in a finals run that ended to the Warriors. They were 1/1 against the Nuggets although it's looking like Chauncey is a major downgrade from Stotts.
Also, I guess Charlotte fans (?) were booing them for not taking this 'Scoot' kid. But it seems like Portland would be better off with a wing like Miller. This is another redundant guard.
Portland's attempt at getting Bam is dead now? Thank Christ. Maybe they should actually offload Dame but but it's better for business to keep him.
Dame the GM has been way shittier than Lebron the GM.
Comments
OKC is one of the best run teams in the league, the way they've been able to rebuild while still contending is pretty much unmatched. The Gonzaga kid could end up being a huge injury prone bust though.
Seattle is getting an NBA team in 3-4 years. I don't see the Seattle market being much more of a draw than Portland is to the NBA elite players. There are no longer many opportunities to land big free agent superstars on the open market, ala Shaq to LA back in the day, because of how the collective bargaining agreement is structured to allow the home team to drastically overpay to keep guys on their roster. Of course, what happens 99% of the time (Dame being the exception) is that the home-grown superstar signs the deal for their bag of cash, then promptly forces their way out 1-2 years later (Zion will be next if he stays on the court this coming season).
NBA is a league of guys who want to play in Florida, California, Texas, and maybe NY if the ownership groups get their shit together or change. Denver and San Antonio are outliers because they landed superstar players in Duncan and Jokic who are not in it for the glamour and ego. Wembanyama seems like he might be cut from the same cloth as those guys.
Silver lining for the small market teams is that half of the league's best, young players are foreign-born and seem to have different loyalties than the American kids who are about their brand, agents, etc, first. If Portland had landed Jokic instead of Nurkic they would have a title by now. Imagine having him and Dame, two of the only loyal guys of their caliber in the entire league.
Bleached Anus makes a good point
That's my best Pup.
Pdx never had a problem spending when Paul was alive and if they would sell to uncle Phil that could happen again. Jodi is worthless.
🤣
Rip City baby
It doesn't matter if Portland has owners who will spend or not. Players don't want to go there to play. You see how quick Kawhi left Toronto for LA after winning the title? There is no way for small market teams to sustain winning except the narrow examples I provided earlier.
I think if Paul were alive they capitalize on some of the dumps (KP, Collins, Beale). Whether that is directly or being involved in a 3 way to gain assets. The org has their dick in their hands and I think that has more to do with the Vulcans and Jodi. JMO.
Even more concerning than the GM is that Dame wants to play with his buddies: Jeremy Grant, Bam. I'm not impressed with either of those players.
Simons, who has already made CJ expendable, Sharpe, Henderson and their next top picks have to completely bust out. No GM would give up on that for at least a few seasons.
End of the day, Dame + CJ didn't work and Collins was a bust due to injury. No real shame in that. They got Nurk for nothing and he didn't completely suck until after he snapped his leg. Aldridge leaving was a significant blow and he's stated publicly he regretted that. Spurs were an elite organization at the time.
Losing to Denver in 2021 and firing Stotts was the beginning. Need to get rid of Billups now.
Stotts' teams didn't play defense, but I think that can be blamed more on the GM than Stotts, as Stotts didn't have the personnel to play defense. Nurkic was great being so cheap, but in the end, I think Portland fell into mediocre purgatory. They were never in contention, but just good enough to make the playoffs or be at the back end of the lottery. The only way to get better was to tank or draw free agents. But no matter how beloved Lillard is around the league (which he is), no free agents wanted to play or live in Portland. I don't fucking blame them.
Lillard being as loyal as he was given the shit he's had around him since Aldridge left, is nothing short of incredible. You don't see that in sports today. Lillard will always be beloved by me for that reason, and why I'm rooting for them to find a contender for him, willing to give the Blazers some value. But Portland owes it to Lillard to find the best offer from an actual contender. Sending his ass anywhere but a contender would be shitty as fuck. Normally, I'd say who gives a shit about loyalty, and get the best deal. Not this time, Portland did this motherfucker dirty for years, they fucking owe him.
Nurk is a contract worse than getting nothing back for ... you'd likely need to attach an asset to get that contract off the books.
Thybulle is probably worth matching but the question I'd have is what's the match, what's the term, and if it doesn't match the timeline what type of asset can you get at the trade deadline for him? I'm not sure that you're getting more than a 2nd rounder back for him.
Best case scenario is that Portland is able to get the kind of assets and cap space to be able to think of competing for the playoffs in 3 years. Reality is that it's probably going to be 5 before they are any good.
In the end they have a young core going forward and it's this GM's decisions. Last GM would only have Simons and Little (nothing contract), and Simons is a good piece.
Thybulle is a player you want, you don't sacrifice much for elite defense, and he's a young player. Overall the ages of the roster go pretty well together and you can get a veteran winner to come show them how to be professional.