...you will never be a worse coach than Kevin Pritchard or Mo Cheeks. I mean, I think you're a chump but even I think you'd be better than them!
Honestly we need to find a player we can build around. Right now we have a bunch of role players with a couple of players who could potentially be huge impact players. I'd search the teams that have cheap owners, teams that are looking to rebuild and or potential stars who aren't fitting in on their teams. Team/rosters I'd look hard at are the Clippers, Memphis, Houston, Golden State, Minny, Phillly and Charlotte. Honestly at this point it doesn't matter what position we go after it just needs to be a significant upgrade of a player. At least border line all star. I would be shocked if Cho doesn't make a deal by the trade deadline. We cannot afford to let another expiring contract be wasted again.
Anybody that thinks trying to rebuild is too big of risk and thinks we just need that "one trade" that goes in our favor is overlooking a couple of things in my opinion. Teams that add that one missing piece are usually somewhat set for a run and usually have at least one or two all-star caliber players on their roster with the last move being just the thing to push them over the top. As far as risk goes, there really is none. Joel is going to be a free agent, Miller and Camby will also be free agents (and really old) when the lockout ends and the supposed cornerstones of this team aren't looking so stable. Maybe Lamarcus is worth holding on to, but even then he's probably never going to be an elite level player. All that's left then is frittering around as a mediocre 40-42 win team for a few years, trying to hang on to just being 'respectable' or you can embrace the reality that this team as built might need to be torn down and overhauled -- for me, a team is either chasing a championship or they aren't and I would much rather see the team attempt to go back to the drawing board, so to speak, by attempting to acquire elite talent (probably through the draft since this is not a free agent hotbed) than screw around in the middle of the standings for five years.
Cheeks was a horrible coach for sure, but I always chuckle when someone brings him up as a shitty coach because his Blazers winning % was .538, compared to Nate's Blazers winning % of .483.
It seems to me many people are forgetting about the Salary cap albatross named Brandon Roy that will be here for the next 4 years. Top it off with the fact that free agents do not find Portland a desirable place to play, and to me that all says build through the draft.
I think the reason why it's so hard for people to grasp the idea of rebuilding because they don't want to let the idea go that we will be contending for a championship. Hell, three years ago we thought we would win multiple championships with Oden and Roy, now we're staring at a nearly complete rebuild. That's a pretty sobering thought, and I think a lot of fans aren't ready to face it.
I think that is a great point, and I think a lot of the blame should fall on the Blazers. The Blazers oversold this team to their diehard fans, and now those fans refuse to believe they were fed a pile of crap. even with supreme health, this team was going to have to fight tooth and nail to get into a possition to win a title.
This team isn't going to fully tear down and build through the draft without trying to build through trades first. Unfortunately, we are going to have to wait for other teams to get worse this season to find the right trade partners. Philly turning down Batum/Joel for Iguodala shows that some teams aren't desperate enough and we'll have to wait until around the deadline for anything of value.
It all hinges on Oden. The team used Oden as a marketing tool to bring back the season ticket holders, and rebuild the fanbase. They hedged all their bets on their #1 pick and unfortunately they busted out. It was a gamble worth taking, but KP just kept checking and calling, never raising the bet. Finally he was left holding a four of clubs and two of spades. Not enough to win the pot.
I really doubt that a total rebuild from the ground up via the draft is the direction that Cho and Paul Allen have in mind at this point. First, while I don't disagree that championship teams generally are built around two or more elite-caliber players, those elite players are usually in the prime of their careers, not rookies fresh out of the draft. Second, as we have just witnessed with Roy and Oden, the only thing certain about taking a dip into the lottery as a way of building a contending team is having to endure several years of ugly basketball in order to do it. Given Paul Allen's age and health, I don't see him looking to take that route again after it just blew up in his face. Instead, I see a plan more on the order of what was done with the Whitsitt-era Blazers. I see the remainder of this season as the evaluation phase to see if Aldridge can be promoted to the central role that Rasheed played on that team (minus the crazy). I think they'll re-sign Oden and hope that they can get some mileage out of him. Roy's not going anywhere soon, but he'll probably have to accept a sixth man role. I think they'll look to surround Aldridge with other pieces that fit with his speed instead of the slogging offense that has been the norm with Roy's prior role. Can Cho find enough other vets at the end of their careers to make the model work the way Whitsitt did, and will the new CBA allow for it to happen? I think that the jury's out on those questions, but I just don't see a total rebuild happening in the next few years.
I don't think they need to build up from the ground.... Matthews\Batum are two pieces they could keep (Matthews for sure).... Aldridge's play of late has been an eye opener, and if he can continue and build on that I certainly wouldn't deal him for anything short of spectacular.... Oden, wait and see what happens...doubt any good offers come in, and no way you let him walk until you see how he recovers... Other than that? Up for grabs...starting first with Przybilla, Camby, Miller & Rudy....
He can't defend from the bench unfortunately. Right now his shoulder has to be a huge concern for the team. They simply cannot afford to invest in another player who will be in and out of the lineup due to injuries. I like Nic and want him to succeed but I don't think you can build a team with him as a big piece of the puzzle.
You might be right, but I really hope that management isn't going to adopt the model you're advocating; funding a luxury tax team that is battling year in and year out for a low playoff seed ala the Pacers for the last 7 or 8 years (ie. using a "good but not great" player as the foundation to build around). As for the notion that you don't build around rookies fresh out of the draft and that it's stars in their prime that matter, I'd say that's mostly true, but look at the last 20 years of championship teams, almost all of them drafted a star or two and surrounded them with vets to ease their growing pains (Jordan, Duncan, Kobe, etc.) until they were in their prime. The real shame in KP's approach was that there were too few veterans (or real pros if you prefer) on the team when he drafted Roy, Oden and Aldridge and if they were there he exchanged them for younger unproven players (Shipping out Z-bo in favor of Channing, Ime in favor of Martell and Travis, Jack in favor of Jerryd, etc.) Some of that was necessary and unavoidable, but some of it wasn't. If the team rebuilds again hopefully they'll keep enough veteran guys around to help guide whatever young hopeful stars they add to the roster. Luckily they have some guys like Aldridge and Matthews with either have enough experience or natural leadership qualities to help hold guys accountable on the court and/or shoulder a good chunk of the load. Ultimately, the idea of a "rebuild" is on a continuum; we may see a combination of moves exchanging youngsters for a veteran and aged guys like Miller, Camby, etc. moved for prospects -- it doesn't have to be all one way or another.
If I was the GM. I would go into a dark cave and hide. The dream is over. I have very incomplete information about the state of the team, it's players, it's coaches and the NBA with the upcoming lockout and new CBA. So a detailed plan is out of the question. Some assumptions: Roy is untradeable right now for any kind of positive value. Oden is untradeable right now for much positive value. There will be a lockout and a shortened season next year. McMillan has no interest in even a partial teardown and will flip every time a vet is traded. Paul Allen is still willing to spend money on the team, within limits. No going over the lux tax most years. The Blazer braintrust will not sign off on any plan that is obvious tanking, nor taking chances on too many talented but troubled projects. After the retreat in the cave, I would come back and make secret plans to turn the team upsidedown and inside out.
Plans would be fluid and with the idea to "retool" not "rebuild". There is no "capspace plan". The Dallas model is followed. Keep trading. Sometimes going young. Sometimes old (in our case not too old). Whenever an improvement is part of the deal. Players are salary slots as well as production on the floor. Can't make trades if you don't collect players when you can. The first main action is to hire a new training staff as soon as possible. Eventually, all trainers, workout guys, physical thearapy folks, medical staff, surgeons - everybody - canned. Replaced by the very best that are available that have a proven track record of results with the very hardest cases. Additionally, the lead surgeon and the lead trainer, should be in charge of everyone else. Chain of command. Orders followed. Patients and Athletes should not be given or follow adivce from different people at different times. You don't want more than one chef in the kitchen. If the guys the Blazers have been using in recent years are incompetent with the hardest cases, or snakebit - I DON'T CARE. Any management with a damn shouldn't either. Just get them the hell out of the building. At the end of the season - fire all the coaches. Replace with the best coach you can hire that is happy to jump into the current mess. It may not be a great coach. You hope it is, but the idea here, is mostly fresh blood. That and you can't as easily "fire" the players. During this season put Joel, Andre and Camby on the trade block. Trade them if we can get younger, even at the risk of a downgrade in production. We have to take that chance now as the trade value shelf life of these guys may be about to expire. But, do not trade them for meager value. No player on this team is a cornerstone player. There is no real "core". Aldridge is the closest, yet he has failed to improve very much in the last several years, and his perception as a core player was always tied to be such a solid fit beside Oden and Roy - not how he stands on his own. Be open to moving anybody on this roster for the right offer in order to improve the talent level. Without a forthcoming top pick; With no stomach for tanking; With no ability to lure a top tier free agent; the team needs to do whatever it can to try to obtain more talent, that is trade for better assets, and use those assets in a year or two to try to make a blockbuster trade.
