Tell me what star player wants to be traded to a team where the #1 guy has gone on record asking for immediate improvements or he’s going to bounce? If you’re a star, and you have a few years left on your contract, is that a team you want to be traded to? Lillard is partially responsible for the Blazers current inability to land a second star because all this trade speculation is probably making the franchise look “unstable”, from the ownership to the front office to the superstar player. What a clusterfuck NeO has created by hanging onto this core and the former coach for so long. I, personally, don’t see this situation ending well for the Blazers. I fully expect a rebuild to commence in the next 12 months. I sincerely hope I’m wrong though.
Outside of losing a great player, would that necessarily be a bad thing though? As much as I love Lillard, the team will always be more important than any one player. I’d rather blow it up than be stuck in a never ending purgatory where you’re good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to actually contend, and not in a position to add elite talent in the draft. And if it came to blowing it up, surely Olshey would be gone and a new regime brought in. Idk, not the worst scenario. Olshey would never recover from it and would probably have to go back to acting lmao.
Blazers didn't even make top-10. They did get an honorable mention though: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2947210-ranking-the-nbas-top-big-3s-ahead-of-2021-22-season kind of weird that Philly's big-3 is on the list bleacher report sure won't be on Olshey's Christmas Card list
I know he struggles with the 3 ball offensively but I can't remember his D on the perimeter. I assume he can't guard small ball forwards but at least he has the size to match up against LBJ and AD. (Huge wingspan) But again I just can't remember his lateral quickness....is it at least average for his size? He would not get a ton of minutes but if he came cheap I would not be unhappy having him on our bench. He will be 26 this month. We need a PF who can bang even if there are not a ton of opposing PF's who actually post up.
The year he started for the Knicks he shot 53% on 2PA and grabbed almost 8 boards a game in just 25 minutes ....yet he is not an NBA player? I am not talking about starting the guy, just filling a need.
you mean the knicks that won 17 games? he played for three teams and got traded once and waived twice afterward. Averaged 4.3 minutes and 2.8 minutes per game respectively for two playoff teams. Famously had a -19 PER in 11 minutes played in BKN ( i didn't think that was possible). he's not an NBA caliber player. Would he even be our 10th man? We need guys who can be in a playoff rotation and he's not close. There are far better players on the FA market to fill that same role, and wouldn't be glued to the bench come playoff time.
RipCityProject posts quite a bit on recommended trades/moves that I don't buy, but this one I like ... because I agree with it and have wanted both players a while. 2 out of 3 -- Larry Nance Jr. and Daniel Theis. Slow-mo is sort of amazing in that he finds a way to make his mark on the court. Cozens does low-ball offers from the Blazers side of it, but the end result is good. https://ripcityproject.com/2021/08/15/portland-trail-blazers-nba-news-43/
No, he wouldn't be our 10th man because we only would need him against a few teams that have a strong physical PF. There are not many, but we still need someone on the bench that fills that role. Sure someone like Millsap could fill that role, but will he sign for cheap?
id rather wait and see who else we can find instead of wasting a roster spot on Vonleh. We already did that with Snell/McLemore who both won't sniff playoff PT. https://www.spotrac.com/nba/free-agents/ufa/available/
yup, well known story of Joe Ingles ending up in Utah after Doc cut him from the Clips' training camp for example. But even guys like Redick/Ed Davis/Bradley/Matthews/Boogie I would consider as potential vets who can serviceably play 10-15 mpg in the playoffs while also providing intangibles like locker room support. If we want the upside route, I'd roll the dice on Exum/Ntilikina/Smith Jr. To me, Millsap is the number 1 target right now as he checks a lot of these boxes: - Big who can swing to 4/5 - Can rebound/defend and space the floor - Can play 15 mpg without any issues - Veteran presence (Dame is currently our oldest and most experienced player at 31). If we can't convince him to take the minimum, I think I'd be OK with throwing what's left of our MLE at him.