I think it’s impossible that would be the case, is what I keep saying. Probably six or so posts now. I’m confident this deal makes way for something else OR it’s just part of a huge rebuild plan and I’m fine with both. This team (another thing I keep saying) had ZERO shot at doing anything worthwhile with the roster it had. No trades could be made while keeping Lillard. Not surpassing about five teams just in the WC. So start over. I would have loved a first round pick but maybe LA just said no. Maybe Cronin has been shopping all month and could see this was the market for them. So get a head start for next week or this summer.
again though, for Powell & RoCo I simply do not believe that a 2nd round pick 4 drafts from now is the best draft asset Portland could have landed; nor are the returning players the best talent assets that could have been received the ONLY thing that can justify this trade, even a little, is if Bledsoe is traded before the trade deadline for something significant
Dude. Stop. Almost everyone thought we could get at least a first for Roco. Even if it was one 3 years away. We gave him away for basically nothing. AND Powell. This is terrible.
The trade doesn’t make sense on its own. It just does not. So I have to believe it’s part of something else. But again. It may be this weekend or week or June. Until it happens people will just have to continue to be pissed off.
Of course RoCo needed to go. But to get so little besides cap flexibility from 2 starters seems pretty poor.
You would wig out if we traded Dame. I wouldn't. It would actually make a little more sense of this horrible trade we made today if we did trade Dame.
Portland Trail Blazers acquire Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson and a second-round pick This could also be a sign of things to come, but in a very different way. Anfernee Simons continues to emerge as a great guard option for the Blazers, which made Powell a lot easier to send out. They’ve got so much money tied up in their starting backcourt to begin with, so Powell being another eight-figure option wasn’t totally necessary when the team isn’t having success. The Blazers are down for various reasons this season, and paying that kind of money for a team that might be transitioning to something less aggressive in how they intend to compete makes sense. If Lillard isn’t coming back this season, why not try to shed some long-term money while also picking up another prospect to develop as they’ve done with Simons and Nassir Little? Even if Lillard is coming back, they’re just hoping to hold on to a Play-In Tournament spot before retooling the roster this summer. Or maybe they’re going to feel incentivized to find a trade partner in a move that gives up McCollum? The Blazers front office is as in flux as this roster and team team on the court, so we might not get definite answers to any of these questions. What this definitely does for the Blazers is clean up the books. It should take them below the luxury tax threshold or put them in a real position to skirt that penalty, which is imperative for a team that simply isn’t winning enough games. Eric Bledsoe could end up being a buyout candidate with only $3.9 million of his $19.3 million for next season guaranteed. The Blazers are shedding a lot of future money here and helping themselves out right now with the tax. As for the other players acquired, we are in the seventh season of the “If Justise Winslow can stay healthy, then he can be…” show. Let’s not assume Winslow is going to put it all together for the Blazers. He’s just a solid role-playing body for them. He’s another guy to throw into the rotation now, and he’s under contract for next season at just over $4 million. Keon Johnson might be the real find for the Blazers in this deal. He was one of the most athletic guys going into the 2021 draft and is a crazy leaper who might instantly become the most athletic guy on the team. Having two young players like him and Simons can bring some fun and excitement to what’s left of the Blazers. Johnson has barely played this season for the Clippers, but there are rotation spots open for him now in Portland. Johnson is going to get an opportunity to develop, and if he learns how to shoot from the outside, he can be a very nice role player for them moving forward. This is mostly a money deal for a fledgling product on the court, but at least there’s some excitement here long term. You just would rather get a first-rounder for Powell rather than have that main future piece be Johnson. Both would’ve been ideal, but this is fine. https://theathletic.com/3112681/202...ive-player-trade-instant-grades-and-reaction/
it was mentioned somewhere else but imagine if 3 days ago, some Clipper fan came here and proposed this very trade every single poster here would have told him, in one fashion or another, to go fuck himself...get out of here with that garbage 3 days later.....
No he does all of this shit when we're trying to win so really it would be great to see him go in one trade and CJ in another.
Shit trades don’t have to be prerequisite for a good trade. This whole thing is baffling to me. Even if we wanted to dump salary in order to be able to afford Simons (who IMO might be another overhyped by this fan base young player) then do so by acquiring assets as well. To give Roco without getting back a pick is one thing. But, Norm who is a very valuable player in this league AND RoCo and not get a 1st back or even a worthwhile prospect is just blasphemy. That’s a wet dream type trade for the Clippers. We settled on a shit trade a week before the deadline. A rookie GM move. Closer to the deadline we could’ve angled more shit out of the Clippers or another team with that combination of players and I know it.
I was thinking about the decision to dump Roco, and beyond the possibility of another four coming, his free agency, I think he might’ve just not been a fit for how Billups wants to play. The two things he talks about the most offensively are moving the ball, and driving/kicking. Well, Roco doesn’t put the ball on the floor and isn’t a very good passer. Winslow probably isn’t viewed as a starter or anything, but he does those two things much better and is a plus defender himself. Just something to think about for future moves. There’s a clear way Billups wants to play. If you don’t fit, peace. That’s one thing I hated about Olshey. I was no Stotts fan, but Olshey never really gave him the type of players he wanted to play with.
