Dude just stop. You were wrong. Move on. Show me where I pointed to LMA's denials as proof of anything. I said you were being ridiculous at the time by believing what was said and proposing to act out of fear instead of treating it as a real business with negotiations when the time is right and letting the money and signatures talk.
Brian, I love your takes and the knowledge you bring to the board. But you were not only 100% sure he said it, but that he would do it. Many here figured he said something about it or felt that way but also figured it was probably out of frustration and if the team turns around and starts winning he will change his tune. So many were factoring in the frustration and you seemed dead set on the idea he was gone no matter what. Is that fair representation of this summer? Edit: BTW I think the current statements are being said in the opposite of frustration (winning euphoria) . . . if I'm betting man, Aldridge doesn't resign if Blazers don't make it past first round.
Yes, once the rumor came out from Bucher on 6/23 saying LMA would be gone by draft day, and I started asking some questions, I was 100% sure that he was gone in 2 years. He'd said so. I didn't know that he'd demanded the trade. Your third sentence is revisionist history, though. Most (including El Pres in multiple posts in the thread) were saying "so what, let him walk if he wanted to walk and we'll get cap space." RR7 in Post 77 said that instead of trading LMA after his comments, that we should trade Wes/Leonard/Claver and Batum instead for a "disgruntled All-Star" that Mags was talking about. BoBo said there was "no substance". It turns out he did, and maybe that's why you heard Ford rumoring that POR was in the running for the #1 pick plus...? It wasn't baseless, and it wasn't an assumption, LMA said it. It's not out of fear, if LMA was the one who said it to the GM. So the "absurd" side doesn't fit, either. There was knowledge (confirmed by LMA, after a summer of people like Olshey lying about it and posters ridiculing it). He stated that he wasn't going to sign, and also had issued a trade demand that I didn't know about. He wasn't 3/4th out the door, he told Olshey he was gone. Hence: I'm glad he's recently changed his mind and would be happy to offer him the extension he didn't sign/wasn't offered this summer. e_blazer was reasonable about it: But we weren't. We had national writers who'd been fed info, and we had people who knew of Exit Interviews that LMA has since confirmed he wasn't open to re-signing and wanted a trade. And to be fair, RR7 clarified: Personally, I disagree, but it's a reasonable, debatable position. And it acknowledges the possibility the LMA said what he said. Others like Rhal and Draco took this tack, in thinking there would be a bigger market later in the year. I think we've shown that I was right on Bullet 1 and 2, and that 3 and 4 are interesting debates. Then BlazerBoy30's thoughts of the consequences if LMA did what he said he would: it goes on, but this is already a tl;dr post. To answer your question, ToB, after asking questions and hearing that he'd said he wouldn't re-sign, I believed it. 100%. If he signs an extension for the next 4 years, that's great. I still submit that if he didn't want to re-sign (much less demand a trade, which I hadn't heard) then this past draft/summer was the best time to trade him, before a Melo/Deron/Dwight situation developed. I have no problem saying that if he rescinded his trade demand and now will sign an extension, it would be foolish to trade him. But I stand by every word I wrote this summer--that since he said he wouldn't re-sign here, that we should trade him at the draft and that Thompson/#1/#19/future 1st? would be better than receiving 16M of potential cap space when he walked.
BrianFromWA needs to be better than David Kahn but sadly he can't admit when he was flat out wrong. A number of us thought trading Aldridge, or any player, for less than fair value because he might leave in two years was extremely stupid. All-star players who really want out of a city make their demands public because it helps get a deal done sooner; it lowers their value which helps their new team retain more talent which give them a better shot of winning. The entire summer Aldridge refuted that he wanted a trade, he said he didn't want to go through a rebuild. Even if Aldridge did say he wanted a trade, it would've been a stupid strategy to hastily make a panic deal for less than full value. If you have followed the NBA for a while and have half a brain you realize there are surprise teams and players that greatly outperform expectations every year. Players like Manu Ginobili become all-stars from the second round. Guys like Pau Gasol become available in trade to the Lakers a few months after Kobe publicly demands a trade. Second round picks like Marc Gasol become the defensive player of the year. Tyson Chandler is available for expiring contracts then leads a defense to a title. How hard was it for the Pistons to get Ben Wallace, or any of their title team starters? Teams can greatly exceed their current expectations in a few years without the #1 pick or the top free agent. It was extremely stupid to think supplementary pieces couldn't be found to pair with what we all agreed were two possible all-star level players in Aldridge and Lillard.
Wow, just wow. You still don't get it. I don't care what LMA said, or what you thought he said, or what you knew he said. If that was said, he said it without a contract to sign in front of him. Translation: it means nothing. I've negotiated many times with people saying something to be true, but when it comes to signing and actually acting with money involved, what was said is irrelevant. You keep trying to prove that he said certain things, which I'm not arguing one way or another, because I don't care. I care about the actions. You're building a strawman. Maybe you were right about what he said, but you're wrong, very wrong, about the actions we should take. Guess which is more important.
Can you guys take it to the bedroom? The truth is that right now it is all sunshine and unicorns, but nobody knows the future. This team looks to be working very well, but we all know anything can happen and this too could implode. Nobody can say for sure what is going to happen--and what is the point of arguing about it? Nobody [except Mags] foresaw the Blazers starting off like this, which is why LMA feels the way he does now. Drop it and just enjoy the now.
There were others of us telling Brian how stupid his calls for a trade were during the offseason. You are missing the point; that the Blazers are winning now or if they had started the season losing is irrelevant. Trading Aldridge for less than fair value at any point was a bad move. Mags was far from the only poster that saw upside with this roster. I said from the beginning I thought we’d be a 6th seed but could just as easily get a few bounces our way and end up with the 3rd seed or just miss the playoffs as the 9th.
Lots of chest thumping and hand wringing in this thread. 1) He isn't signed. 2) The season is still young. I'm glad that he says he would sign and extension, but I find it humorous that this was said, when he's acting as though this is a done deal. He hasn't signed. This is all talk at this point. A lot can happen in the next six months. We could go on another 13 game losing streak. We could go on to win the championship, but you don't know what will happen anymore than we do. Nobody expected the team to be this good at this juncture. I figured we were good enough to be a top 4 or 5 seed. I still think we might end up around 4th in the west, but most of the talk about trading Aldridge was BEFORE we brought in Mo, Wright, Lopez, and Robinson. I underestimated Olshey. I didn't think he could completely retool our bench like that. The point is; there is still a long way to go, he can't sign an extension until after the season, and a lot can happen in six months. I wouldn't count your chickens before they're hatched.
I'm just glad Olshey didn't panic like most if us in here and do something really stupid. We praise how this team is much different because we don't buckle under pressure, I think Olshey deserves praise as well. Even if the rumors weren't true, he showed that he wants to make his all star happy. If it was, then he did a fine job changing his mind. Regardless, we got a pimp GM that I trust steering our ship!
Paul needs to lock Neil up for a long time. I fear he's going to jump ship for a bigger city when his contract is up.
With respect to mags, I don't think he is a seer who 'foresaw' anything. He chooses to take the road less traveled of extreme optimism and positive thought. And why not? Just happens that the Blazers are exceeding everyone's expectations with their win-loss record so far. So, he was 'right'. Some people act like every game is a loss, until it's a win. Some treat every game as a win until it's a loss. Most of us are in the middle wringing our hands and worrying. Here's to a 78-4 season (hey, we might lose another game, you never know), leading into an epic playoffs.
True, but Mags is the only one who would have gone out on a limb and said 15-3 (although probably not seriously). I think the rest of us were hoping for 3-6 seed at best.
Man, I haven't had that "every game is a win" attitude since the 1999-2000 season. That was probably the best team we've ever had in terms of overall talent. I genuinely thought we would blow every team out of the water. I would love to see old tapes of that team.
HAHAHA! Wow. I've been saying this entire time that we have no idea what will happen. I've said many times I don't know what will happen, so we shouldn't advocate acting out of fear. You're one of the only two posters that was ABSOLUTELY SURE and guaranteed he was leaving. And now you're telling me that "there is a long way to go" and "a lot can happen" and "this is all talk at this point". That flip-flopping is incredibly absurd.
At the time there were reports from Bucher, Quick, and Haynes all pointing to Aldridge wanting out. There were rumors about talks with the Cavs and the Warriors. It sure seemed like he was gone. You're acting like Brian and I pulled that shit out of thin air. There were rumors, so we discussed some possible trade ideas. For some unknown reason that irked the hell out of people like you. I still find it humorous. If he could sign an extension right now, this proclamation of love would mean something, but there's a long way to go before he can actually renegotiate his contract. I would be ecstatic to see him sign an extension because I love our team, but I'm still skeptical. Players say the right things publicly, but it's what they say behind closed doors that matter. It will be interesting to see if Aldridge puts his money where his mouth is.
They were fun to watch, but I loved the blazer team before that. It seemed every player knew their role. That 2000 team had a lot of alpha dogs in it. Alpha dogs that didn't have the clutch 4th mindset. This team "will" surprise you. We know for certain who will be doing the most of the scoring in the 4th. We have an identity. We have chemistry
