How can you call it a disaster when he was signed to a very low cost contract that had an out if it didn't work? No long term effect and very little effect in the scheme of things and I would say he was counted on more for leadership and helping with the young guys as opposed to being much of a contributor. As a coach, he can continue in that roll.
Isn't this nothing but speculation? I don't disagree, as I THINK this is true, but without a link or article, this is just as much speculation as the post being countered. I don't recall anything specific ever coming out that solidifies this with any certainty. care to post a link, or speculate?
I believe they were counting on Gasol to be a backup big. Our injuries have resulted in the team being very thin up front. That is the single most pressing issue the team has this season.
Isn't that exactly what you are doing? My view of how PA always operated was that he always questioned and grilled the GM on why the Blazers ought to go a certain direction. He wanted to be 'convinced' that a decision is correct, but almost always let the GM make the final decision. This is how things ought to run. I think this perception that PA was micromanaging everything is misplaced.... but again, its pure speculation on both sides.
You are refraining from pointing fingers based on speculation. And in your speculation Olshey is just a puppet...we'll call it: The Cuppet Puppet Conspiracy!
This is the most apathetic I have ever been about this team. It feels like we're completely locked in with this core and this core ain't getting it done. This season feels like a huge waste of Dame's prime. Obviously injuries are not something you can predict and this team feels cursed. At least I have the Niners to watch.
Blazers have tried this Dame/CJ combo for 6 years now... Dame turns 30 next season... it’s time to trade CJ and try something new before it’s too late... my fear is Neil’s ego is too big and he will triple down.
Am I the only one OK with the CJ extension? He's at worst a top 40 player in the league but would most likely be more valuable if he had his own team. Letting his extension dangle would only cause drama. And you aren't getting a player back of his caliber in outright free agency. At least he's tradeable with a long term contract-- this isn't a CLE with Love sorta thing. CJ will be the 28th highest paid player in the league in 2021-22. And is prolly gonna get lower down the list once more extensions kick in this summer. This is OK.
I can only recall one time it was reported that Mr. Allen strongly disagreed with the GM. During the 2009 draft, the Blazers had pick #55. KP had a player he wanted, sorry, forget who. PA disagreed. KP humored him and let PA make the pick, figuring pick 55 had little chance to make the roster. Let the owner play with his toy move. PA's pick, Patty Mills
Accountability? Let's take a look: Olshey's plan for the team going into fall camp was basically: 1. Have Whiteside start at center, with have Zach Collins taking some backup minutes until Nurk returned in February. He had Skal and Gasol slated as insurance. I have a hard time finding fault with that plan. 2. Have Zach Collins start at PF, with Toliver, Hezonja, and Skal as options for backup minutes. Nothing wrong with that plan. 3. Have Rodney Hood start at SF, with Bazemore, Hezonja and potentially Little as backups. A little undersized, maybe, but a solid rotation with plenty of firepower nonetheless. 4. CJ starts at SG, with Bazemore and Simons as backups. Fine. 5. Dame starts as PG, with Simons as backup and Hezonja able to take some minutes bringing the ball up. Probably a little thin. I would have preferred to see a veteran PG signed for insurance, but that's something that could have been dealt with prior to the deadline. His design offered plenty of flexibility, with ending contracts for Whiteside and Bazemore available to work trades prior to the deadline to make ready for a playoff run. From a roster planning standpoint, I see very little to complain about. I'd probably agree with Platy that re-signing Jake Layman instead of spending money on Hezonja would have been a better move, and I'd have preferred to see a veteran PG on the roster in case Simons didn't pan out or an injury happened. Since Olshey's plan was made, Collins was injured, Gasol didn't heal as expected and was cut, Skal was injured, and Hood was lost for the season. Olshey was able to add Melo as likely the best free agent option out there to replace Collins as starting PF. I don't have a complaint about that. As I see it, some of the bitching around here has been roughly like seeing an Indy car get clipped in the first couple laps of the race, lose two wheels, have it's alignment knocked totally out of whack, and having the fans complain because, hey, it's still got a top notch engine and transmission so why isn't it competing? The Blazers are reduced to playing AT and Moses Freaking Brown minutes at center. Melo can barely jump and is only 6'8". They're getting out-boarded and they're getting scored on at will in the paint. The coach can't turn big man water into big man wine. I do think that the Blazers can play better, work harder and can maybe stay within striking distance of a playoff berth, but it's not going to be easy. Olshey can't make a trade without a willing trade partner. Not only that, the team's current needs don't necessarily match their long term needs. A really talented SF would be my top wish for the Blazers long term. I love Rodney Hood, but I'd rather see him as a backup SG/SF and get someone a bit bigger and better defensively as a starter at that position. The team's biggest needs right now are at center, but those needs will be met by spring with the return of Nurk and Collins. Bottom line, I don't see that there's much that's within Olshey's control that you can fault him with.
It’s naive to think that no injuries will happen throughout a season... maybe even moronic. And the fact that the star players have remained healthy and there is this big of a drop off because of Collins and Hood shows how flawed this roster is. More specifically, going all in with CJ as the 2nd star and paying him 30-35 mil. If the players you are paying big money to need 100% roster health to be even a .500 ball club than maybe they aren’t worth the salary cap room you are committing to them. Neil needs to have some accountability.
Of course injuries happen, but they compound in impact when they wipe out the depth at a single position. Injuries to Collins and Labissiere, combined with Gasol not healing as expected, have decimated the Blazers' front court. It's naive and maybe even moronic to expect that an NBA team can survive that, especially in a highly competitive Western Conference.
If this teams problem was as simple as having a big body than Neil could’ve easily addressed it by now. Zach maybe a great player in the future but his current production was replaceable.
You think any other team anticipates 3 of its top 5 players and its entire front court to all be lost to long term injuries at once? 1 OK, we even prepared for that with Whiteside/Gasol to handle the Nurk absence, especially with Zach's ability to swing to 5. But no one expected Zach and Hood and now Skal to all get hurt at once. Anthony Tolliver should not be playing rotation minutes. I'm still waiting for one viable alternative from all the critics here instead of complaints. Jake Layman isn't solving a single issue. You wanted us to keep Meyers? I hate that I am defending Neil, fwiw. He isn't exactly one of my favorite people.
I’m sick of this 3 of 5 propaganda. How many times do I have to say it... Nurk injury was baked into cake. Blazers made playoff run last year without Nurk. Team talked championship this season knowing Nurk was out. So then it comes down to 2 players. We replaced Zach with Melo... and no matter what you say, it’s debatable who helps this team more. So then you are essentially looking at 1 player down, and we had an 8-12 record before the Hood injury.
It's like you don't read? Nurk's absence was handled with HW/Gasol/Skal and Zach's ability to swing to 5. Not one person here criticized this over the summer. And you seem to think there's only one end of the floor to play. Must be a closet Meyers fan.
actually it was the GM that was balking at giving Roy a max length contract. Word on the street was that PA told him to get it done when a lot of backlash was coming from the fan base. Now we know why a long term contract was a concern.
