THIS IS NOT A BITCH THREAD I say that because it may come off that way in parts. Let me start by saying I don't think he has done a poor job. That being said, outside Lillard, he has swung and missed a few times. That pick has been amazing, but his other two lottery picks have been less than good. He tried hard to get Roy Hibbert, who has turned out to be less than his contract is worth. He took gambles on an oft injured center and twice traded rookie and won, but even he has stated he didn't expect as much from either of them as he got. Mo Williams, Dorrell Wright and Earl Watson were obvious upgrades, but they were less productive than he hoped. Stotts has been a solid hire, but is he the right hire to go deep into the playoffs? I am posting this for discussion to see what others think. Am I wrong? Does he need to to something this off season to make you believe? Thanks
As would I. But he has said he was not expecting what he got from Lopez. Almost more lucky than good.....which is important
i think you have to take into account how qiuckly he has done this as well tho. he definitely needs to do more to get this to a championship level team. i think the way we use our MLE this summer will be key in how we continue to progress. you could get a a great bench piece for the MLE
Solid post. I didn't think it came off bitchy at all. The Leonard pick has always been a head scratcher. It made sense because he's tall... but beyond that, it didn't. With hibbert, are you saying we got lucky we didn't get him but we were bad for going after him? I mean, he had shown that he can be dominant, with a huge emphasis on had. Lopez is the perfect fit for this team right now... but to me, just like Stotts, I think we need an upgrade to get us to the next level. That said, I want Lopez on my bench at worst... if he's starting, I'm totally okay with that. We would just have to plug up the holes elsewhere.
The draft is such a crapshoot. Leonard just had really good athletic ability but little skill, Henson or even Zeller would've been a better pick probably. Last year drives me crazy now to think that we passed on Carter-Williams and the Greek Freek but we still have yet to see what McCollum can really do. Olshey has done really well in FA/trades in my opinion. Getting T-Rob and Lopez for peanuts looks good and signing Mo/Wright for low contracts were good moves even if they under preformed.
Carter Williams had said outwardly that he didn't want to play for us. http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/6/2...michael-carter-williams-doesnt-sound-thrilled
54 wins and getting to the second round of the playoffs has proved to be more of an accomplishment than the last 3 GMs. Still feeling good from this season as a whole so Olshey already has me believing (Of course if they miss the playoffs next year and lose LA, it could be a what have you done for me lately kind of attitude from me.)
I think I can give a better guess on him after this offseason is over, to determine his vision for the guys he has here currently and where he goes from here. Does he pull off some big swap to put us over the hump? Does he add a solid 6th man with the MLE? Or, does he "let it bake" and push Barton, CJ, Robinson and Leonard to have bigger roles?
He inherited a team that lost Roy and Oden and won 33 games. Put the right players together to win, but not enough depth. That will come. The whole vision got you further than expectations.
I think Mo Williams performed as expected and was a fantastic pickup for the amount of money we had to offer. We paid him $2.6mill last season. I'm not sure where he ended up but for the majority of the season he was top 5 in assists and steals off the bench. He provided steady ball handling to give Lillard a rest or to allow him to slide into the SG position. If we can him re-sign for the same amount of money you have to take a serious look at that. Wright was a disappointment and underperformed for his $3mill contract. Unless a trade happens he'll be back next season but only for the $3mill again. More of a misstep than a mistake. In two years Olshey solidified the two positions that have given the Blazers the most problems in seasons past, point guard and center. Let me say that again, the two positions that have been the hardest to find solid long term answers have been point guard and center. He has solved both of those. Blazers also made the 2nd round of the playoffs and expectations have been significantly raised for the team. Olshey has done a very good job.
He's also a horrible shooter. That would not go over well. He is doing well because of the situation he was put in... he would get grilled out here if he was our backup PG... if he even played at all.
Lopez was Plan C. Everyone forgets that after the Pacers decided to re-sign Hibbert, Olshey made an offer to Tiago Splitter. The Spurs gave him a raise, our offer amount. Another thing we have forgotten: One year before Robin Lopez, we went after Brook Lopez (per Mark Stein). http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...cats-wise-to-offer-brook-lopez-an-offer-sheet
But Splitter looks like a good signing too. Roy Hibbert was as well until he lost his brain. I believe he's still salvageable. There's no way a 27 year old all-star center in his prime suddenly forgets how to play basketball without something going on in the back.
I have faith Olshey will do what is necessary to improve our bench and led by an improved Damian Lillard, we will challenge for 60 wins.
Last summer was interesting. When Neil first showed up, he talked about moving the needle. When you watched each move go down, The moves that were made at least from my perspective didn't move it at all. They were toeing the line kind of moves of making the playoffs or missing the playoffs. My impressions were then that he was trying to bring some help to the bench to appease star LA but not enough to push them to the next level. I felt they were positioning themselves for this years lottery. My question is, did the moves he made get them where they ultimately wanted to get to at seasons end or did the winning season totally blow him and the rest of the organization out of the water and catch them by surprise? I'm not sold they were aiming to win this year. But they did, so I just wonder if that killed their plans for this off season? I like him. I'm hard on him with his seemingly lack of creativity when working the drafts. But maybe thats a strength. Just keep it simple. I think he and his aura is one reason why this organization is on the right path. He' confident, determined, and it exudes off of him. The players and the team pick up on that. So I give him some credit for the winning landscape around here. Does he have more to prove? Yes, I think so. But I would give him a B to this point.
I'd say not getting him after missing on Hibbert is a failure. Beyond that, the team is much better since he took over. 'Nuff said.
