At that time we didn't know how long it would take for him to get back to where he was, or if he even could get back to where he was. At that time we didn't know how bad the second unit would be with Melo and Kanter. There was no way to know how things would sort out, but in hind sight it definitely looks like a bad signing. With that said, maybe his big salary could help with a trade
I don't think there is any question that this has been considered. It seems inevitable that every team will be affected at least a little bit at some point in the season. (Other injuries as well) So the bench needs to be ready to step up. The deeper teams will benefit for sure. Tonight for example I would give Simons 10 minutes since Dame and CJ played heavy minutes last night.
It's interesting because offensively Jones Jr is closer to Hood, but even he is outperforming Rodney.
There's a pretty good history on achilles injuries on how they impact most players, so Hoods play shouldn't be a big surprise to Portland. Hopefully he gets back to 90% of what he was, at some point.
Then don't play him. We can't afford to play a dude averaging less than a bucket a game on 20% shooting. Nobody expected Rodney to come out and be completely okay after that injury, but we're giving him pretty substantial minutes and he's yielding nothing. He isn't scoring. He isn't playing defense. He is basically a massive net negative right now on a second unit that already has another massive net negative. I get that you guys are preaching patience but we can't afford to be patient with him. Sit his ass on the bench and let him get back into game shape in practice. We can't be playing wet nurse to him while that bench is giving up leads left and right.
Agreed, but I think he needs practice, not games. Sit him for 20 games, then see if he's improved during practice.
Personally, I think it was a loyalty thing. Neil is saying to the FA community "if you sign with us on the cheap, we'll do you right, come what may." It's a really good strategy, but now that he is getting paid, he is no longer in our debt, and is therefore open to be traded. That's my take, anyway.
Unless Hood is struggling physically then I don't think you bury him on the bench. Just bring him along slowly. On the other hand, I want Trent's minutes to be up around 30 per game, so he could use Rodney's minutes. Minutes are tough on all coaches. Lot of things to consider over a long season. We know Terry shortens the rotation late in the season. So now is the time to experiment with the bench.
I said the night we signed him that almost certainly this was agreed on when he gave us a discount on the summer of 2019. Olshey had to keep his word in order to get future deals with agents.
Basically this. I think most ignore the importance of GM and team reputation as well as market size when considering trades. Of course, it's more fun to ignore those things!
What we can't afford as the PORTLAND trail blazers is being seen as anything but a loyal player first franchise.
Do we really want a reputation for playing shitty players because we feel bad? Nobody wants to play for a loser either.
I think the issue is if you already have a hard time attracting talent to Portland (for various reasons), when you make an under-the-table deal with an agent, you better follow through, even if it no longer looks like a great deal.
Man one thing players can’t complain about the blazers is it’s such a players friendly organization. Between Stotts I can’t see how players ever can say bad things about us lol.. Oh your coming off an Achilles injury and look worse than ever ? You’ll still get playing time. Simons your playing terrible all year don’t worry you’ll still play, guys that can’t shoot, don’t worry keep shooting you won’t get in trouble, can’t play defense? No problem you’ll still get playing time lol
It's not even a bad deal. It didn't cost us anything besides Jody's money. We didn't dip into any exceptions to sign him. We didn't even go into the lux tax to sign him. Plus his salary is big enough to be used in a deal (even though he technically has a no trade clause, I think he would waive it due to us even giving him the contract in the first place as a wink wink deal).
I don't agree with this. We could've used the money to sign another player and/or have additional trade flexibility in season where we don't have to worry about going into the tax. At face value, it's not a very good deal.
