Haynes is basically Lillard's personal PR person. I do like the vibe of this report and I also like the timing. It feels like change is coming this summer unles the Blazers surprise everyone one in the next weeks and make a deep Playoff run, which is highlights unlikely.
Olshey did a good job except for his love of CJ, he gave Stotts a talented roster with good defenders but Stotts totaly failed this year
surely you saw i wrote neil olshey has his faults some championship teams are championship teams cause players sacrificed and took less money in order to improve the team, dame and cj mccollum did the opposite, they took as much as they could its like people complaining that steph has trash roster around him, but steph signed 5/201, klay signed 5/189 and dray signed 4/99
it's an opinion column, and based upon the author, and his history, you have to wonder who the source of the shit-stirring really is
pretty sure those contracts Curry and Klay signed were max deals at the time, and their rookie extensions may have been max deals too and either you are forgetting or just not aware that the contract Dame is currently playing under is not a max deal. He purposely signed a 'split-the-difference' deal between the max he was eligible for and the normal max specifically so the Blazers would have some extra flexibility....which Olshey wasted.
Just mentioning Dame makes your post totally wrong. How did we use the cap space when we had it? Lillard's contract is probably cheap for what he does. Every team has a max contract player and those that don't is because they are lucky their superstar exploded after he signed a first cheap contract (like Curry). So not only Dame shows loyalty never complains blah blah blah he will also be underpaid just to give Olshey an extra 5-10m that he most likely won't even use because we will be over the cap? That would make as a contender? Salary cap doesn't work like deduct 10 from Dame to give it to someone else.
Yes & No. Every team has a budget that the owner is willing to spend. It doesn't matter how the salaries are allocated. The owner is looking at the bottom line. This is especially true when getting into the tax brackets. When pushing up against that line, every dollar is important. Having a little flexibility to give a bit more money to someone else (or make a trade for someone else with a larger salary) can be significant.
You find the flexibility by paying CJs 20 instead of 30, Leonard 5 instead of 12 etc. You don't cut money from a top10 player. Isn't it obvious that Olshey hasn't been good in cap management? Our payroll is consistently among highest.
Couple questions 1) who’s the all star that Portland wants that is also available? 2) is dame willing to lose CJ to acquire this hypothetical player? Because that’s our best and most expendable asset, especially if you can re-sign Powell. I’m sure some of the younger guys like Simons have value, but I don’t think it’s enough to land a guy like Ben Simmons, for example. Not to mention this “all star” will probably come with a big salary, so we’ll need to match the money. Personally, I would first hire a new coach and assess before making any major changes personnel wise. I actually found this part of the article the most interesting I don’t think that’s just Haynes spitballing. I think that’s coming straight from Dame, and would confirm my theory that he’s done with Stotts. Change the coach first, then see what happens. If that doesn’t work, blow it up.
Oh I completely agree with you that being more conservative with the 'lower-paid' players is the correct approach. Olshey has been piss-poor in cap management. I was just pointing out that when you get to the teams prescribed budget - every little bit of flexibility counts.
I mostly disagree with the Olshey bashing. We have the personnel to be a top 10 defense, and yet we have one of the worst defenses in the history of the league. That's not on Olshey, that's on the coach.
I do not agree that Portland has the personnel to be a top-10 defense, but undoubtedly, they should be much better than they are but did Stotts hire himself? Did Stotts give himself at least 2 different contract extensions? He just didn't appear as the Blazer coach by magic and it hasn't been voodoo that has kept him in the job for 9 years and speaking of those 9 years, Olshey was there every step of the way. After watching Stotts operate for 9 seasons, if Olshey was unaware of how Stotts would coach this year's roster, that would be just another among many valid reasons why Olshey should be fired
The Phoenix Suns, 76ers and Raptors are good examples what a coaching change can do. So tired of Stotts i can’t watch this dude anymore
I don't know about Top-10...but definitely better than languishing at or near the bottom for the majority of the season. That is embarrassing.
Players have to shoulder some of the responsibility when they max themselves out though. I'm all for players getting theirs but then they have to understand how it puts the team in a tough spot. You think the Patriots win all those Super Bowls with Brady maxed out? Hell no, they had an all time great QB taking less than market value, allowing them to spend on other players. Yea sometimes that can backfire on a player but to take a super max and then act like they are doing all they can is pretty disingenuous. PS ... don't think I'm defending or justifying NO actions and horrible contracts because I'm not at all
Told you guys before. If I’m the billionaire owner of the Blazers, I will pay all the taxes just to bring another superstar to help Dame.
Lets say the Blazers would have had a defensive rating between 15-17, how would our record look like? I think we would have won 6-8 more games and we would be right behind the Nuggets or even in front of them
