Quite a lot changed: Blake and Pryz had career years. Roy turned into a bonafide star. Fern and Batum had more than solid rookie seasons and are both on track to perform at higher levels sooner than expected. IMO Aldridge is going to bust out with a consistently All-Star level season. Oden, towards the end of the season, displayed signs that his abilities were returning. All the signs are pointed at "contention". This must be why they so badly wanted Turk and were willing to spend so much on Millsap. PORs philosophy = Win now without sacrificing our future
Very possible. I look at the future of the NBA and have a lot of questions about how things will look five years from now.
If that was a possibility, why wouldn't the team have had that as their plan before? Why wouldn't EVERY team have that as its plan? Ed O.
Typical small town attitude=LONG TERM PLAN! You got the richest owner in sports. You think the red sox and yankees sit around and say LONG TERM PLAN? Please erase this thread.
It's interesting to see how quickly and often the Blazer front office changes their projections. So much, you'd halfway suspect them to be slightly incompetent. Publically promoting the good promises of free agency. Identifying the wrong teams that will be our primary challengers for the next decade(New Orleans, Utah). Marketing Oden as a primary ticket draw. Abandoning the long-term plan mantra from their forecasts given thru the media. Not that it's a bad thing or that it does show incompetence to be flipping statements so quickly and often. Just interesting and evidence their projections arent bulletproof--for better or for worse. I agree with most the comments made in the thread. Roy has become a legitimate superstar and I seriously doubt they projected that for him. Otherwise, you grab him at #2 in the 06 Draft, ensuring he's not stolen later. The West is definitely weaker and more ripe for the taking. Utah and New Orleans arent ready to replace the incumbent, aging elite teams, leaving just us. Looking past the 54 wins and the 2nd best record....look at the way the team played the last third of the season. They were crushing teams and looking elite-level dominant, at a point in the season when you're getting every team's best effort. That isn't mentioned nearly enough. So, for these reasons I agree the timeline Should have been moved up. With so many people in this thread agreeing we can win now, I'm surprised there is so much clamoring on this board to make personnel changes. IMO you only make a move if you are nearly certain it will improve the overall team. The perfect fit to use a Pritchard line. I dont think I've heard one rumor or potential free agent signing that would indisputedly improve the team. There's room for criticism and reasonable skepticism for all of proposals in my opinion. I'm surprised their isnt a larger voice for staying status quo. Unless it's just me, and I'm too critical of what's out there as free agent and rumored trade fodder.
My opinion: Long term plan was scrapped (or better said: timeline shortened) due to the rapid decline of Phx, SAS, NOH, UTH. We're poised to make a significant move in personnel that takes us right to the WCF. If we added Chauncey Billups to this team for just bench players this offseason - we'd be in the WCF without a doubt! We're that close. The Lakers are the team of the WC for the next year or two IMO, but after that we want to poised to take over/break through. Carpe Diem! Cap space goes away in 6 months. Need to add that additional player(s) to make the difference even if they aren't the "perfect fit" but are a trading piece for the future. Do it.
If their timeline has moved up, I don't see any evidence their plans have changed at all. Other then failing to land even a decent free agent they don't seem to be doing much of anything. So really, they are letting it bake by default since they are unable to get anything else done.
Let me offer this scenario: When the next CBA comes up the NBA is going to have to push for two things- a hard salalry cap and some sort of non guaranteed contracts. Even though the economic necessity of both are fairly evident, the players union is going to strongly resist as both priorities takes money away from players. But with so many NBA teams losing money and with what we're seeing with the economy in general and what promises to be 8 long years of dramatic tax hikes against the "wealthy", owners are not going to make it. Add to that, the values of their franchises are probably going to go down. That makes me thing we're heading into what could be a very prolonged NBA player strike that could easily take a season or two away or even end the NBA as we know it if the players start their own league. Now, if we continue to try and build a cohesive team and can make a serious run at a title, if not win one, when & if the strike ends, we're going to be in a very enviable position. Also, if this scenario plays out, PA may have only 1 more year to win a title, so he pushed hard. Anyway, just some speculation.
A) Not all teams try to win. Do you honestly think Sterling or Heisley give a flying fandango what their team record is, as long as they are in the black? B) Some teams are just plain dumb about where to spend, and where to pinch pennies. They don't want to invest in scouts or assistant coaches to develop young players. In extreme cases (Suns) they abandon the draft entirely! There was no real reason the Suns HAD to implode the way they did. They had their chances to add fresh talent into the pipeline. Instead, Bob Sarver is sitting in a hot-tub full of Paul Allen's money, listening to an endless loop of the Divinyls' "I Touch Myself." In other words, you present a false choice.
It's human nature to be impatient and greedy, which is why nearly all rebuilds through youth fail. Management never follows through in the end, which is why I was against blowing up the team when they did. When KP took over, it seemed like the plan was genuine and that he had enough power to make it work. But it seems Nate has usurped much of that influence with Paul, and KP is being told to keep Nate happy. Nate never wanted youth, is inept or uninterested in teaching youth, and just wants a ring so he can retire in 2 years with his many millions.
Are you posting from the future, MARIS? If so, your post might make some sense. In that case, can you tell me what date the Blazers will blow up the team, and tell me who wins the World Series so I can make some cash later this year? Ed O.
As the adventures of Marty McFly taught us - nothing good can come from attempting to bet on future sporting events. Even in a movie that contradicts itself within the first thirty minutes.
