The whole league has gone mad with terrible contracts. Not Olshey. His strategy is to attempt to put the topper on the cake next summer while retaining the assets we have, and he's not deviating from that plan. Good for him.
Not necessarily. Maybe at the trade deadline if Wright doesn't have a better year. I was supremely disappointed in Wright last season, but with a different offensive flow, I'm willing to give Wright a clean slate on the start of next season.
It's isn't the white guy Blake backing away from a fight: [video=youtube;zo5nRPC6uw8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo5nRPC6uw8[/video]
Somebody remind me where we are with the roster? We were at 15, Earl gone, Mo gone, we added Kamen and Blake, so 15 again? Or am I forgetting something? barfo
Love the signing.....Olshey has once again made something out of nothing, while maintaining flexibility. The biggest thing the bench needed was stability, and Blake and Kaman bring that. I think both will help bring out the best in Barton, CJ and Thomas.
Olshey hasn't produced a "needle moving" move, but what kind of needle-moving moves were you expecting from a capped-out team? The Blazers' main trade assets are Lillard, Aldridge, Batum, Matthews and Lopez...their starters. Most people seem to not want a single starter to be traded. "Creativity" only goes so far--trading garbage for gold isn't a valid off-season plan. The team had the MLE and BAE and got solid value for both, in my opinion, on short-term commitments. They upgraded the bench significantly. The only other player that was semi-realistic was Hawes but A. he chose to go to another team for equivalent money and B. he's not a needle-mover either and arguably isn't even a better player over the next year or two than Kaman. The hardest step is to move a team from "very good" to "championship-caliber." Most teams that reach "very good" never make that step because they're capped out reaching that level and any major upgrades are basically stars who are almost never available. Hopefully, Olshey will be able to make that hardest step, but it's going to come from moves at the margins. The Spurs, after assembling their core of Duncan/Parker/Ginobili, didn't create the best roster in the league by getting guys who everyone knew were "needle-movers." They targeted under-the-radar guys that they evaluated properly and integrated into their system perfectly. That's what Olshey will have to do and it may take more than one off-season.
I already shared my predictions on what would happen if Blake was signed. Now all I have left to do is sit back and watch the carnage. Victim #1 will be Lillard, pulled quad or maybe separated shoulder. Victim #2 the teams record Victim #3 Lillard re-aggravating injury Victim #4 First round pick as Olshey scrambles to keep us competitive Victim #5 The Playoffs as we miss the playoffs finishind 39-43. Victim #6 The fans as LA leaves as a free agent Victim #7 A second first round pick as Olshey desperately tries to get this team back into the playoff picture without LA. Victim #8 The Playoffs again Victim #9 The fans as Lillard begins to show frustration with the franchise Victim #10 Neil Olshey after he gets fired Thank you Neil you fucked us and yourself in the process.
I would love to trade Mo to DAL for Marion if that is still possible (not sure it is due to them blowing their wad on Parsons).
Way more negative opinions on this than there should be. Blake and Kaman are both solid, experienced veterans who will definitely help come playoff time. And that's what it's all about.
1.) saying Aldridge will bolt 2.) saying Conley is better than Lillard 3.) saying Aldridge can't get 10 rebounds a game 4.) saying blazers can't get to the second round 5.) saying the blazers will miss the playoffs
It depends on if they had to renounce Marion or carter. I'd be happy to send them mo and claver or Freeland for either. Or just cut claver and do mo for either
100% agree with you. It's time to bring in experience to anchor our youth. Our benched suffered because they are young. No mo was too wild to stabilize the youth. Adding Kaman and Blake will anchor the 2 unit
Yay Kaman's one trip to the playoffs and Blakes amazing 5 PPG and 2 ast he has average for his career will be a huge help.
