About time Neil gets some recognition for what he pulled together last summer. Moore has the Blazers at No. 15, above the No. 16 Rockets, in his latest power rankings: http://www.cbssports.com/nba/story/...fun-times-ahead-with-compelling-playoff-races
It is quite funny how fast people's opinions change. I remember when a bunch of us and basically every other fan base thought we overpaid for animu. But it's obviously a bargain now and will be a tremendous bargain next year with the cap going up. In Olshey we trust
I'm a big fan of NO. He's the first GM since Trader Bob that I've really felt like he could build a winner, and he seems to understand chemistry, which Bob did not.
Bob understood chemistry better than he was ever given credit for. Remember, he was instructed to weigh talent above all...
Instructed by Paul? I find that hard to believe that he would completely disregard obvious chemistry issues simply because Paul said to maximize talent.
Trader Bob built his teams but acquiring talent that was available at a discount due to red flags, conduct issues and off court problems. Neil is getting guys who are on the cheap and not valued by their existing franchise as highly as they should be. Guys poised to break out but underwhelming to date. He puts an emphasis on bringing in guys with solid character and work ethic. Harmless is probably his biggest gamble in that regard to date. (Alexander and Montero don't count yet).
Are we overachieving at the expense of having any shot at a championship in the future though? Conventional thinking says we need another star to contend. Is that star Meyers, Noah, a future middle of the draft pick, or free agent signing?
We need to get the pick this year. If it's around #9-11 we could use it in a trade to acquire someone else to be that 3rd guy. Preferably a big. Then use whatever remaining cap we would have to fill out the roster with role players (depending who else would be shipped out with the pick)
I had never heard that Paul gave Bob permission to completely ignore chemistry. I know he had a blank check, but going for talent over character was completely a Bob thing.
The other great thing about Olshey is that is all about creating a winning culture; creating a place where players like to play. That will have long-term ramifications. Woj did an hour podcast with Neil and it was really interesting. You can really get an idea of how he thinks about creating a winning team. Hear it here. It's long, but worth it.
