It's funny someone brought up LMA. I said to trade LMA for the then injured Embiid and was almost crucified outside the Moda center by the slack jawed idiots at Blazersedge. I was ALL about trading LMA the summer before and I got a fuck ton of hate for it.
That's just fucking bullshit because not a single person here is gargling Neil's balls. Nobody I have seen is thinking everything is super great with the team, outside of maybe Kingspeed. It's just a group that aren't completely losing their shit over Zeller and Snell signings.
I agree, but I'm willing to do it, because that's how you get an All-NBA player, obviously, if we can get him for cheaper you do it. That's my CEILING, not my first offer.
And sometimes an overpay is what it takes. I feel like this happens often on here. People want Neil to pull a rabbit out of a hat for CJ, but what it would ACTUALLY take to pull of a CJ for whoever trade is a price they flinch at.
do you really believe that is a persuasive argument? going from Earl Watson/Victor Claver >TRob/Dorrell Wight > Tim Frazier/Brian Roberts > Noah Vonleh/Tim Quarterman > Caleb Swanigan/Wade Baldwin > Nik Stauskas/Skal Labissiere > Hezonja/Tolliver > RHJ/TJ Leaf > McLemore/Snell does not disprove Neil's tendency to rinse/repeat his rosters. I mean, that was 18 players right there but none of them, added or removed, changed the rosters in any measurable manner. Amd neither did players the level of Joel Freeland or Aaron Afflalo or Gerald henderson or Steve Blake or Chris Kaman or Evan Turner or Allen Crabbe the trajectory of the team remained the same no matter who occupied the rotation slots 4-15. Portland's big issue isn't at the lower end of the rotation, it's at the top. Unless there's a major change, the Blazers will go thru next season with Dame-CJ-Nurkic and it will be the 6th straight season Portland has run back that same core. Making that worse is that trio has been healthy for 15 playoffs games and Portland's record in those games is 3-12. That core is insufficient and it's looking like Dame is the only one in the Blazer organization that sees that
Yes…he makes moves around in the margins. Nothing that changes the outcome of the team. Keep in mind…dame is threatening to demand a trade. This off-season is different
Basically a Dame haul for a player that looked like ass in the playoffs and was thrown under the bus by his own coach and star teammate.
this isn’t really your take is it? Let’s go name all those players and see how many of them were impactful.
This is LITERALLY my only reason for being patient anymore. Because this year IS different. Maybe Neil's gonna keep Neiling, in which case we have the rest of eternity to hate him. But this should be uncharted territory, so Neil's general inaction should probably not be used as evidence as to why nothing will happen because, as you said, this offseason is different.
I would do CJ + DJJ + Simons + a pick or two but I’d try my hardest to keep Little and hope he develops on defense to the point where Ben + Nassir is our starting forwards and Covington can leave or get traded. Matisse is miles ahead of Nassir as a defender but he’s also like 3 years older. I think Nassir will eventually be a much better offensive player. I think Ben + Little has the potential to be better than Ben + Thybulle.
But look at Little through the lens of a different team, and not the few flashes he's shown here. Look at Ant, going into his 4th season in the eyes of a different team, and not the few flashes he's shown here. Simmons is an ALL NBA caliber player and all star at least a tier or two above CJ. You need to add pieces to CJ to land Simmons.
running it back doesn't mean success was achieved....my point is we keep fishing for chemistry and a starting core and it didn't click so they didn't run it back...they tried to tweak it and failed...you can name anybody you want..I'm not into wasting time on that...I got that number from Terry Stott's letter to the franchise when he left...I could probably name them all but that's pointless to my post..in fairness most NBA franchises failed to get a championship over the same stretch...it's not easy to pull off...injuries to OUR impact players sure didn't help the cause
Realistically, without moving cj this team does not have many options to change radically. You also know that dame will not throw cj under the bus for anything other than a major upgrade, so anything else done must be done on the margins leaving flexibility if an opportunity presents itself. What else can you move? Dj is not attractive by himself, nurk is underpaid for his worth and roco is properly paid, you are not getting a star for dj + ant/little, so, it is going to be a waiting game hoping something is available or one of the young ones makes a jump. That's where it's at...
wut? he said "the result is the same". What does a poll of pre-season poster expectations have to do with losing in the first round, again, to an injured Denver team? That was result. The poll was meaningless
Yeah... like Dame. There was a short window, after Simmons' flameout in the last few games of the Hawks series, when we had a chance of landing Simmons for less than Dame. But Morey wasn't dumb enough for that. Simmons is worth more than CJ, and he knows it, and he's fucking stubborn. So let the Simmons-for-CJ dream die - the sooner you do, the better for your mental health.
