I think we will trade him and its was Neil's plan all along unless something absolutely crazy comes about involving Nurk & some, for a prolific 3 or 4. Whiteside along with Zman would anchor the 5.
I agree 95%. But to present it like it’s all-or-nothing is ignorant. Just like the post you responded to.
I'd rather let Hassan expire than take on Love and his awful contract in addition to his age and injury history. It's not worth trading Hassan if the value isn't good.
Smart people consider what value they'd get in a trade involving Whiteside. There is no counter argument. It's not worth trading Whiteside if you're getting a player who is significantly older and on a bad contract.
How old do you think Love is...? Not that Im big into the idea of bringing Kevin Love in but he’s not “that” old... He’s 31, Whiteside is 30.
I don't agree. They didn't "have" to trade Aldridge or Matthews or Lopez when they were expiring. They didn't have to trade Aminu or Ed Davis or Gerald Henderson either. Sure, fans can say "at least get something for them"....but fans don't have to pay the tax or manage the cap. it may be that Portland will trade one of both of Whiteside and Bazemore. But my hunch is they didn't trade for Whiteside thinking they were going to just trade him away 6 months later; they got him to make another playoff run, and the way he's been playing certainly supports that idea. A lot of times an expiring contract has more value to the team holding the contract than to other teams. I just don't see any realistic trades out there for Whiteside that makes a lot of sense, either on the floor, or in terms of the future cap
If we don't trade both Whiteside and Bazemore for solid vets that can make us a legit contender next year, Olshey will have totally failed.
They got him to fill in for Nurk because his leg was snapped. If Nurk was healthy I really doubt that trade is made. If they believe Nurk is going to be fine and playing his way back into things in Feb which is the trade deadline, thats the 6 months they traded him for. Neil’s already said that the goal is next year Nurk, Zach, Hood, CJ and Dame so it doesnt seem like he thinks he thinks Whiteside is part of the future. Sure he doesnt “have” to trade him bit Whiteside and Baze are the only significant trade chips they have if they want to upgrade the bench going into next year. The expiring contract would be much nicer for the Blazers if they werent aready significantly over the cap.
It's like people forget that the reason why Nurk didn't work in Denver was because they were trying to make it work with him and Jokic. They tried playing them together. They tried bringing Nurk off the bench. I don't want to go down that road.
what "solid vets" do you see them being traded for? especially ones that would magically catapult Portland into being a "legit contender"...? that seems like way too high a standard I mean, Bazemore had the value of Evan Turner, and Whiteside had the value of Meyers and Harkless....and both trades happened 5 months ago. Would Turner, Harkless, and Meyers make Portland a "legit contender" next year? the only way Portland becomes a contender is if they land another player of Dame's caliber. Another player at the level of Hood won't do it. Portland's issues aren't centered in the middle & lower parts of the rotation, it's higher. Another couple of role players isn't bringing a championship to Portland
Why not go down that road? That's like saying we shouldn't draft Chris Paul because of Sebastian Telfair. It's nonsense. When and if that time comes where you need to trade a center, you do it. Now isn't that time. It's fine if you can get a great piece back, but there's no reason to be on the losing end of a trade because you're worried about what your currently injured center says in a year and a half. If you're trading one of the best big men in the league who won't cost you more than 12 mil when re-signing him, you better damn well get back a great player who would be an immediate starter and has considerable upside.
