Who said anyone was a moron? I think people were blindly hopeful that he would stay, grasping at any straw (as you so eloquently put it) as a sign that he was committed to this organization. You always get so emotional about this topic.
When he didn't sign the extension. At that point you start to really look at trades. His bullshit answer about wanting that extra year turned out to be completely false.
No, but you're making the best of a bad situation by whining about how you were right. This is the choice you've made. Don't back down from it. Embrace it. You were right!
So he refuses the extension. He's got 1 year left on a deal. We just got eliminated by the eventual champs in the 2nd round. Coming off of a 54 win season. Plenty of guys with room to grow. His extension is a terrible business move for him. Everyone knows it. So he doesn't sign. You go to move him then. Minnesota moves Love to Cleveland for Wiggins. Who are you trading him to? Who would trade for him and what might they actually give up for a guy with 1 year left on his deal, and with no assurances he'd stay?
I enjoy throwing it in the faces of people who attacked me personally because I held that opinion two years ago. You weren't one of those people. My quarrel isn't with you. The main person who attacked me at that time doesn't even post here anymore.
You assume that Cleveland wasn't an option, but if Cleveland believed that LA was available, maybe they make that trade instead of for Love.
My assumption based on offers rumored, which is really all we can do, is that they preferred Love to Aldridge. Lebron seemed to as well. So my assumption is Cleveland would go that route first, before going for Aldridge. And since we know that route was successful, then what?
I have always maintained that I would have traded him two years ago, when the rumors first came out, but his refusal to sign an extension would have been the final straw. I have no idea what we could have gotten last year because there were no rumors last summer.
It's a new chapter in Blazer history. I prefer to enjoy it and let it unfold. The process is interesting but arguing about Bowie over Jordan or Durant over Oden or whatever past deals could've made us better just doesn't have anymore relevance than whether we traded Lamarcus 3 years ago, or last year. I thoroughly enjoyed the last Blazer era. I'm ready for the new one. Olshey has impressed me as a GM and in the end, we got the prize...Damian Lillard for 6 more seasons. Portland is far from the Siberia of the NBA...we have a championship banner..some teams don't.
Which happened after Love and wiggins deal already happened. So now what? We trade for Asiks and their first rounder?
If Neil had decided that LA was a lost cause last summer, when LA's value was at its highest, you don't think he could have gotten good value?
Okay, real talk: Does a player have to agree to the sign part of a sign-and-trade? Knowing the cap would balloon this summer would probably have put a lot of restraints on the trade. Does LA sign for two years or multi-with-a-player-option? Any destination other than a Texas team might also have known that Texas was his ultimate destination, which would also put a damper on a trade (i.e., they see receiving LA as a rental). Now, maybe you do a deal with Dallas or San Antonio, but SAS didn't really need any pieces, and Dallas was a mess still thinking they were good. And Houston might have led to Olshey's bodily harm
Probably could have but we wanted to win a championship and just might have without the injury bug..every decision comes with some risk. I'd have kept the 54 win roster together and given it a shot. Didn't work out in the end, but is it necessary to argue why Olshey did it? I thought his explanation was very clear and sensible.
Highest value???? Are you serious? Dude was on his final year, so he would basically pick the teams most likely he would resign with. Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, Spurs. Okay who we trade for? And I guarantee we would get their scraps, so be realistic here
If the receiving team thinks they're getting a rental because the rumors were already swirling that Texas was his destination, that'd reduce the number of trade partners... and because the new cap would mean very likely he was not going to sign a long term deal to be traded someplace he didn't want to go, the receiving team would have a UFA on their hands this summer, and he end s up in San Antonio anyway. I don't think any team was desperate for a year of LA... but I'm possibly getting thing wrong.
