Lottery pick: #6, 2nd Rnd Picks: #36, and #57

gee thanks dj, never occured to anyone til now

 

Jaynes can be a real idiot but even an idiot can get something this obvious right.

I do think that if we do end up with Cronin as the GM that runs this draft that he might doggedly stick with his desire to add a quality rookie and Grant. He could possibly do that by trading our pick back for the Hornets two picks. Trade what will likely be the 13th pick for Grant and then take the BPA with the 15th pick that we lost to them when the Pelicans won.

 

My interpretation: they wanted both to slash salary but keep their biggest asset so that the team wouldn't plummet in value for the upcoming sale. Winning is very much a secondary concern.

 

I mean, Jaynes is in bed with Olshey so it's no surprise, but he's still right (here, for once).

 

Trade #6 and late second round pick for Spurs #9 and #21. Trade #21 with whatever other combination for Grant.
With #9 pick select Eason. If we still have #36 select Orlando Robinson.

 

There are always players in the 2nd round that contribute. Just have to find them. That is one thing Neil was decent at.

 

He was decent at it, but you wont find many in here to acknowledge it.

 

Joe Cronin

Promoted to Assistant General Manager in 2021, Joe Cronin manages the team's Salary Cap and oversees its amateur and professional scouting. An important part of the team's player evaluation, roster construction and strategic planning process, Cronin is active in the NBA Draft, trades and free agency.

Was it Neil?

 

Bobby Marks has a good article on the Blazers' upcoming offseason rebuild. He sees the Blazers as nixing any play at creating cap space to go after free agents since it's such a limited class and because most of the good FAs will simply re-sign with their own teams anyway. He sees the primary needs as starting PF, C and bench depth. To address those needs, the Blazers have:

• The draft: 3 picks, including one in the lottery
  
  
• Own free agents: Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic
  
  
• Cap flexibility: The possibility to create up to $35 million
  
  
• $20.9 million trade exception if room is not used
  
  
• Exceptions: $10.3 million midlevel and $4.1 million biannual
  
  
• Cash: $6.3 million to send or receive in a trade
  

Here's the Blazers' cap situation:

Portland Trail Blazers 2022-23 Salary Breakdown
PLAYER CAP CHANGE
1. Damian Lillard $42,492,492
2. Nassir Little $4,171,548
3. Justise Winslow $4,097,561
4. Keon Johnson $2,681,040
5. Didi Louzada $1,876,222
6. Greg Brown $1,563,518
7. Trendon Watford $1,563,518
8. Eric Bledsoe $19,375,000 (partial guarantee)
9. Josh Hart $12,960,000 (non-guaranteed)
10. Jusuf Nurkic $19,875,000 (free agent hold)
11. Joe Ingles $16,295,456 (free agent hold)
12. Anfernee Simons $11,816,454 (free agent hold)
13. Elijah Hughes $2,011,516 (free agent hold)
14. CJ Elleby $2,011,516 (free agent hold)
15. Ben McLemore $1,811,516 (free agent hold)
16. Keljin Blevins $1,616,044 (free agent hold)
17. First-rounder (own) $6,498,600 (draft hold)
-- Andrew Nicholson $2,844,429 (dead cap hit)
Guaranteed salary $68.8M
Dead money $2.8M
Non-guaranteed $28.4M
Free-agent hold $55.4M
Total salaries on cap $155.6M
2022-23 NBA SALARY CAP $122M
2022-23 NBA LUXURY TAX LINE $147M

 

Which makes it all the more ironic he traded them away like they were worthless.

 

I detested Olshey but I gave him credit for 3 things, many times:

* finding value in the 2nd round, mainly with guards
* finding value in the bargain bin and thru dumpster diving
* assembling rosters of solid citizens and great guys. I don't even remember any Blazer getting a speeding ticket in the Olshey era

 

It seems like we are fucked unless we jump up in the lottery and grab one of those bigs. I just don’t see any other way that we are better than a 6 seed next season and we coulda been that without any trades.

 

I've always had a feeling, and that's all it is, that Neil let his scouts and underlings pick the second round guy while he made the final selection on first round picks. I guess I will never believe that the same guy who picked Gary Trent and Connaughton and Will Barton also picked Caleb Swanigan.

 

The Blazers have been fundamentally flawed since LMA left. RoLo, LMA, Batum, Matthews, Dame. A nice balance but LMexit, Wesley's Achilles, Batum's inconsistency ... and CJ emerging. Since then, there's been no elite, excellent, or even top 10 at his position forward on the Blazers. And with a lack of size at SG ... it made the average-ish, borderline starters at forward stand out. RoCo underachieved with the Blazers.

The Blazers can draft a high level forward (just maybe not an all star). Get lucky with a PF in the top 4, a high floor with Murray, or get a swing in Griffin, Sharpe, or Mathurin. In other words, get lucky AND choose wisely. Dame got a persistent injury fixed. Good. Simons looks a leap forward. Hart is as good or better than his numbers and shouldn't have to play SF or PF anymore. This offseason is HUGE. Who falls in the playoffs may help on that front with it's easier for Portland to trade (or sign and trade) than bid for free agents in a not stellar class. I really like this offseason and how the roster can actually and finally get balanced. I had hoped one of the forward spots could've been addressed by trading CJ. Didn't happen ... but with his exit, maybe just maybe.

 

Guess I'm not as doom and gloom as others here. Surprisingly.

While we didn't get a late lotto which hurts, the Milwaukee pick is still an asset, as well as 2 2nd rounders. If our pick gets into the top 3, keep it and go for one of the bigs. If not, see if you can turn it into Pascal Siakam. It's looking like the Raps are going to have to move him if they want to move forward. Ben Simmons is also another possibility. If the pick can't fetch that, you take the best talent possible. A small forward or power forward.

If Detroit doesn't want Grant anymore and want to be rewarded for his services without taking back salary, the Bucks pick and the second rounders still make sense for Detroit.

PG - Dame/Hart
SG - Simons/Hart
SF - Little, lotto pick?, Winslow
PF - Lotto pick, Grant/Siakam/Simmons?, Winslow, Watford
C - Nurk, ?, Watford, Eubanks

There's a lot to like here in the new Chauncey system to be honest. We'll play as a sum of all parts like we did with no Dame, CJ or Norm and we'll succeed.

Let's hope to the basketball gods we get a top 3 pick. If not, let's hope for some humiliating playoff losses for teams who have power forwards.

 

Let's not forget that teams usually allow you to take conditions off of picks for cash or a future second because it means that they get that pick even if something bad happens to your team and it ends up a first pick. So if we want to we can just send that 2025 Detroit second rounder to Chicago and free up our 2025 and 2027 firsts to trade and our 2029 as soon as the new league year starts after the draft. There are still options for ways we could go for it all. It's just trusting the guy that fucked up trading away four of our top 7 for one top 7 guy, a couple scrubs, a 2025 first and a couple seconds, that's a huge problem.

 

Keon makes a lot of sense for them. Count on Keon+MIL 1st.