Untouchables, Tradeables, and Keepables

If you are Olshey, what would your list look like?

Untouchable:

Dame
Nurkic

Keepable:

Trent Jr.
Melo
Whiteside
Hood
Little

Tradeable:

CJ
Zach
Simons
Ariza

Everyone else is expendable.

 

Dame

Nurkic
Trent
CJ
Zach

Ariza
Melo
Little
Simons
Whiteside
Hood

Hood I don't think comes back from injury. Whiteside isn't worth the headache. Simons I've lost nearly all hope for. Little has promise but is raw. Melo and Ariza I'm fine keeping but they're so old I don't know about them at all next year or for 82 games... probably best to plan on not having them but if they surprise us great.

Keepers I might trade but it needs to bring in a starter. Otherwise yes, they are keepers.

It's funny you list 11 names and then say others are expendable... there are no others; just a few irrelevant scrubs.

 

Let me explain the difference between tradeable and Keepable;

tradebale players are guys who can bring back value and have enough salary to be filler pieces in a big trade.

keepable guys are players with low contracts (like Trent Jr.) or vets who should come cheap, and obviously Hood who has no value rn but is still a good player that we hope can contribute.

 

No one on our team is untouchable

 

Lillard is absolutely untouchable, he is so important to the organization, you may be able to replicate his stats if traded but no one can match his leadership.

 

I’d definitely start Trent if CJ got us a legitimate SF.

 

Think Collins is being misused as a PF. I wouldn't throw him to the curb just yet, especially with nurk's injury history

 

I don’t think he is big enough, I just can’t see him guarding LeBron, Kawhi, Durant, etc. for majority of the game.

 

I think Trent will guard them better than Melo or Hezonja.

I do agree for next year we need a big forward, what Aminu or Harkless gave us would be perfect. Maybe Ariza can do that for one year.

 

Dame and Nurk are the franchise players. Everyone else can be had but I’d rather not move guys like Trent

 

We need to think bigger, we gotta try to land an actual threat on the offensive end with the ball in his hands (who can play defense at least above averagely).

 

If Portland got offered LeBron and AD, they'd do they deal. There are a handful of other combos they'd probably do as well. Obviously, the other team would never make those offers. So I guess it's safe to same Dame is untouchable for what we'd get offered for him.

 

Dame is untouchable. NO PLAYER is coming back in a trade for a guy who has reached rare air in Portland. They do not exist in today's NBA. We lucked out with Dame in so many ways. He IS Portland. Drafting a "Dame" again, would be like lightning striking twice. RARE.

 

Dame is.

I don't care if Milwaukee offers Giannas, Dallas offers Luka, or the Lakers offer LeBron. The answer is NO.

What Dame has done for this city, this franchise, and us, the fans, goes beyond basketball. Damian Lillard wants to be a Trail Blazer for life and he absolutely should be.

 

Untouchable is Dame. He'll more than likely retire a Blazer. Not going anywhere.
Beyond that, I think next closest is Nurk, in what he brings to the team. We've been able to see the huge difference side by side with Whiteside, and what we were really missing this whole season. Obviously, you get a package of him and pieces for a better C, you take it, but I'd say there's probably 4-5 that fit the bill in the league.
I like a lot of the other pieces on our team, and prefer tinkering to wholesale changes, but I think anyone else, if the right move is there, you do it. I really like Trent, loved it when we picked him, but if you're starting him at the 2, you NEED to find a playmaker in that CJ deal. Comparing him to Matthews, it worked to have him at the 2 because we had Batum at the 3 who could create, and you had Aldridge at the 4. Removing CJ removes the only other player than Dame who can get a bucket consistently when needed. I'd run it back with minor adjustments next year, barring a blockbuster being available.

 

Dame is probably untouchable for a variety of reasons

Nurkic would be nearly untouchable if he didn't have an extensive injury history....I think that has to be a back-burner concern

Blazers should listen to offers on everybody else, if the phone rings. They should be shopping CJ but Olshey won't do it. I think Zach and Simons are overrated

* I think the Blazers will let Whiteside walk unless he's willing to sign a small, short-term deal.

*There's decent reasons to pick up the guarantee for Ariza's contract next season. He's a decent, versatile, two-way player who fits, and he'd be one of those mid-range expiring deals that have decent value.

* I'm pretty pessimistic Hood will get back to where he was, especially not next season. Matthews never came close to being the player he was before the injury and that's common for an Achilles tear

* I wish Hezonja would go back to Europe

* and, I'll cop to it and eat crow: I was thinking Trent would never amount to much, but he's looking like a pretty good young player right now. If he keeps developing at pace, he's starting SG material

 

I wouldn't trade Dame for LeBron who is too old and hasn't seen a playoff game in over two years or AD who isn't as good as Dame. I'd draft Dame #1 in the 2012 draft all day every day.