Not saying sit still. We have guys we can trade and not just hit the reset button. We have a lot of guys we can trade that other teams would probably want.
Thats the point of a lottery tho isnt it? You are not supposed to know where you will be picking but its weighted its not like they pull fucking names outta a hat like they used to
I don't see any scenario where we don't try to make changes at the trade deadline....part of those might bring us picks...hard to say
I think Olshey might bring in a defensive coordinator first...and a big man coach. He is a huge fan of Mike Dunleavy senior...I'm more of a fan of Bill Laimbeer
Our needs are pretty obvious. We need defense, rebounding. Not sure what getting draft picks for unknown college players will really accomplish. Some people are just in love with the idea of the lottery. Team sucks...BAHHHH...let's tank for picks and let me find some obscure players that we'll never even draft!
I've never understood the notion that you should tank because you're just going to get blown out in the first round as the 7th or 8th seed. The premise seems to be that if you get a lottery pick somehow you'll be able to polevault that process in the next year, or at least in the near future. How often does that happen where a mid-level or even a top pick makes a team truly competitive in the short term? Sure, the Spurs were able to get Duncan and go on a tear, but they already had a championship level team that just tanked due to David Robinson's injury. Look at the Timberwolves. They've built their roster on top draft picks and they're still not challenging for even the bottom of the playoffs. If they happened to make the playoffs, the best they could hope for would be that 7th or 8th spot and a quick exit from the playoffs that some folks are so willing to pass on for the Blazers. If the Blazers get into the lottery this year and luck into the number one pick, I could see that a couple of years down the road they'd be in a better spot than they are now, as long as they're able to keep Dame, CJ and Harkless. But, for the next few years, the route to the WCF still goes through Golden State or the Spurs. There's no avoiding that you have to play those teams. Maybe it wouldn't be until the second round, but you're still going nowhere unless you're good enough to beat them. I'm still of the opinion that angling for a trade to get a third star is the more certain track to improving the Blazers. That said, with the way they've been playing, the whole discussion may be moot anyway.
Like I said, some people are just lottery groupies. If anything goes wrong in life, tank for lottery picks!
Well my thoughts on the lottery are valid, but couldn't happen now. we would have to wait until the end of the season. Im just saying that the draft could help us this next year. I also don't think we need to tank to get in. There is more than one option. Right, and we might be able to trade up into the lottery to get a solid player in a position of need rather than breaking the bank for a vet. There are still many many options and Portland is far from backed into a corner. Its just that everyone wanted the WFC this year and are trying to think of ways to make that still happen...including me. Im turning the corner on this and am of the mindset we need to think long term. It doesn't mean we trade for picks, but we shouldn't go all in for this year. If we make trades, the players we bring in should be on good contracts and fill our needs. If we trade a player to get into the lottery, then we better draft a player of need. If not, we draft the best player available and then trade him for a player of need. We can actually play the trade deadline and the draft at the same time. It isn't an either or. So we make a trade for DMC. Instead of then giving up Crabbe for Noel, we could possibly use him and/or our picks to move up in the lotto and nail one of those elite bigs they say are in this draft. find a defensive beast. Many many options on the table still contrary to what many around here seem to think.
It would be better to have a lottery pick in hand when trying to pry Boogie away from the Kings in the off-season.
Would you trade CJ and Crabbe for Noel, the 76ers pick, the Lakers pick (that the 76ers have) and expirings? I think I would. I wonder if they'd consider it. Maybe just Phili's pick. Here's the route for blowing it up and still being competitive: We would be trading a lot of our players for picks. - CJ Crabbe, and CLEs 2018 pick for Noel, the 76ers pick, Sergio, Ilyasova and Henderson - Turner and Meyers to Brooklyn for Scola and Foye (Cap dump) - Plumlee to Chicago for Bobby Portis and a 2017 1st - Aminu to Houston for Dekker and McDaniels That gives us: Lillard / Rodriguez / Napier Henderson / McDaniels / Foye Harkless / Dekker / Layman Vonleh / Portis / Ilyasova Noel / Davis / Scola With apx. the 4th pick (PHI), 10th pick (POR), and 22nd pick (CHI) Draft Josh Jackson 4th - 6'8 SG that can guard 4 positions and has high offensive upside. Draft OG Anunoby 10th -6'8 SF/PF who weighs 230 and has a (reportedly) 7'6 wingspan. Would be good as a PF, and could be our Draymond Green. He can shoot. Draft Jonathan Jeanne 22nd -7'2 C with a 7'7 wingspan. have athlete. Could be the next Gobert. We'd also have about $40M in cap space. I say go after Jrue Holiday and pay him whatever to be our 6th man (even if it takes over $20M). Sign Amir Johnson as well. Lillard (36) / Holiday (12) / Napier Jackson (30) / Holiday (18) / Pat Harkless (30) / Dekker (10) / OG (10) OG (12) / Johnson (22) / Portis (14) Noel (30) / Davis (18) / Vonleh That lineup has tremendous defensive upside and switch potential. Imagine Paul George, Harkless, Draymond Green, and DeAndre Jordan defensively (because that's the upside). That team would be competitive, and probably a top 10 defensive team and in the top half offensively (because Lillard).
