I hope that article was a lot of BS because there was not much I liked abour the little or no trading and no hesitation on signing Crabbe.
Olshey states "He believes the first 36 games have not revealed who the Blazers truly are". I actually agree with this. I think its reasonable to think that with a more favorable schedule later in the year and some good health we can start to surge a little in the standings and sew up a playoff spot(#8) and perhaps approach or even match last years win total.. And that is who the Blazers truly are. A team that spent a shitload of bread on some dubious or questionable contracts and in the end did not move the ball forward one inch. I don't see the point of a trade simply for the sake of a trade but I think we need more than just a little "roster tinkering" here. Neil's plan is starting to feel a little ambiguous to me. I'll reserve judgment on Olshey until after the offseason is over, but I'm looking for more than more than mediocre/treadmill/1st round playoff fodder basketball. I've been watching that shit for 35 years now. Just give me a reason to believe and I'd gladly take the leap. In fact, just give me Boogie and I'll accept whatever may come our way.
Yeah, that's the main issue I have with Olshey's summer. That he didn't accumulate "assets" that will drive a true contention cycle but, rather, he locked the team into mediocrity. I fully recognize that reality may prove me wrong but, right now, I think Crabbe, Leonard and Turner have negative trade value. They might be tradeable, but only as the cost of doing business to another team interested in Portland draft picks or McCollum. If so, then either Portland is largely locked into this roster or else they'll need to weaken themselves in order to create flexibility going forward. I hope I'm wrong but currently I don't think so or else I wouldn't hold this opinion.
I just wanted to say strong post for a newbie, before HCP crushes you with his rookie initiation roast.
Disappointed to see we aren't going after Noel. I don't think olshey will make a move. In his defense he has no reason to. It's not like we will contend this season so what's the point? Sounds like he wants to do his work in the offseason instead. For the millionth time, I don't understand this organizations love fest with Meyers. 5 years and he still is terrible. The day he is gone, the day I celebrate as if we won a title. Crabbe is obviously another one the organization loves. Paul didn't even think twice huh? That's pretty scary. I was much more in favor of cutting Meyers and going after Dwight even if he was set on playing for his hometown.
Thank you. It's a bit of a labor for me to articulate my thoughts through the keyboard sometimes so I'm glad it makes some sense. As for The HCP rookie crushing. I'm trying to lay low. LOL. I actually have fairly thick skin and enjoy a little good natured jousting from time to time. It's kind of nice to have something or someone to push back on once in awhile just to keep things lively.
Crabbe wasn't Neil's blunder. Article says it was a mandate from Paul Allen. I want what you want, but if that's true, then that's probably why Noel isn't on our radar; because Paul has a man-crush on Crabbe and we aren't trading CJ. Doubtful our needle can move much at the trade deadline if neither of those guys are for sale. But hopefully Paul has seen the error of his ways and Philly wants to Tango.
The point is we have an incredibly unbalanced, flawed roster. Noel is a 22-year old elite defending big man who addresses our biggest need and makes our core, going forward, younger. He is available NOW and if we trade for him we will own his Bird rights, which will put us in the catbird seat for retaining him when he becomes an RFA on July 1. Without his Bird rights we have no hope of signing him this summer when other teams will have cap space to spend and someone else will hold his Bird Rights. With his Bird rights, we would have the option to match any offer he receives. Worst case, he gets a toxic offer and we choose to let him walk. Based on Neil's propensity to match outrageous offers, I don't expect that would actually happen, but if it did, and the trade is indeed Crabbe for Noel, I view a three month rental of Nerlens Noel as a net positive as it lets us jettison Crabbe's ridiculous contract and lets us clear his $18.5 million a year off our payroll. BNM
It's Neil's job to evaluate talent and determine their worth, not cow tow to his boss' every whim. So if it was Paul's choice to match Crabbe, it was Neil's job to talk him out of it - unless Neil agreed. BNM
Yes this mirrors pretty much with my thoughts and concerns for the future. I too hope were wrong but at this time it has the appearance of someone whose may have painted himself into a bit of a corner regardless of his best intentions. I'll be curious see what he does to get this headed in the right direction given his options.
Noel also has a pretty substantial knee/injury history and some clear cut issues off the court. I want him for AC as well, but he's not as perfect of a candidate as you make him. After the Festus knee fiasco, it's not out of the realm of possibility that Neil is spooked after looking at how many games Nerlens has missed.
The more I think about it, I tend to agree with you on Crabbe, Leonard and Turner's value right now. The Blazers have performed poorly and those three are responsible for much of the blame. Based on that, I'm beginning to think that Olshey will hold pat and let this season play out without a trade, hoping that those 3 get their games together and improve their value. Should it come to it, CJ will be a lot easier and more lucrative to move in the summer as well once his PPP goes away. All of that says that what we have is likely what we get going forward the rest of this season.
Guys, Neil isn't showing interest in Noel because he's obsessed with Vucevic and maybe/hopefully Nurkic. Those two seem to fit Olsheys idea of a center more than Noel (Big bodies that baaaang)
