But in general over the last 25 years, the fact is fans in the NBA change their view of a player based on his salary.
I'd be okay with Olshey being done til the off-season. He did what he had to--got some value for a player he was going to have to lose for nothing otherwise in free agency. Rather than looking to trade for a power forward upgrade, in a non-contention season, I'd let Vonleh play starter minutes next to The Nurk and see what happens. Vonleh has shown some ability to shoot jumpers. If he can progress on defense, continue rebounding well and knock down some shots, he might fit well with Nurkic and solidify himself as, dare I say it, an asset. And if he stinks--better draft pick. And we know more about Vonleh's upside.
Nurk/Vonleh does sound really intriguing. I thought Denver would be interested in Vonleh in a theoretical Nurkic trade, so I'm happy he's still here.
By the way, we also sent out "cash". It is a small detail but worth mentioning I guess. http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...get-mason-plumlee-trade-portland-trailblazers
That's an incredible trade. I'll miss Plumlee, but I always said not to fall in love with your own players so you pass on good trades. With Plumlee's replacement, the Blazers get a scoring option in the paint that should open up the floor more for our guards. To get a mid-first-round pick back, too, in this year's draft is amazing.
Assuming Nurkic can actually play, I wouldn't expect a seamless transition; he seems like an I'll fit for Stotts' scheme. Now that might be as much of an indictment of Stotts as Nurkic, but I somehow envision a lot more "Meyers Lemon" and Nurkic getting 12-15 minute stints marked with inconsistency, as the guards fail to get him touches and hang him out to dry on defense with the usual diet of dribble penetration. If he does have a substantial impact it will probably be next season at the earliest.
I'll never be a fan of tanking, but the PF spot has been our weakness all season. At least Vonleh rebounds and plays some decent defense. I'm fine with him starting and actually playing starter minutes. Vonleh at 21 and Nurkic at 22 have the potential (there's that word again) to be our front court of the future, but it will take time. Might as well throw them out there, and really give it a chance, to see what happens. It's not like were winning a lot of games as is. I will miss Plumlee. The guy just flat out brought it every night. I'll always respect that. But Nurkic has never played with a back court like Dame and C.J. With their range, and the defensive attention they demand, he should have plenty of room to operate down low. BNM
I really like Plumlee, but he was gone this summer. No doubt. He was going to get AT LEAST a Mozgov type deal (16 million per year) and that was simply too much for Plums. Nurkic has an extra year on his contract, so we at least push till next year, and getting that first rounder was huge. We can put together a pretty nice bundle right now.
One thing it didn't show was he also can hit the 16ft shoot where Plum couldn't. That means teams will have to honor him out there and should open the lane up for Dame and CJ. He was one of my targets for Blazers to go for in a trade.
I think there will be another trade. I don't think we're sitting on three picks. I think Olshey is planning on cashing them in with a team like Orlando or Philly.
