Storyteller on Twitter has an interesting theory about valuation of future picks and how we might use a bunch of them with salary to get who we want. He thinks the league could be valuing quantity > quality. https://twitter.com/HoopStoryteller I wish he would start posting here again.
Supposedly he was just under 6'4 in shoes. Definitely seems like it. I wish the NBA would just release updated measurements every year.
evaluating players is only a fractional part of being a GM. Maybe Schmitz doesn't want to take calls at 2AM from the owner or coach or players? Maybe negotiating contracts and dealing with agents isn't his forte? Maybe he likes focusing on the upcoming talent like he's done for the past decade? STOMP
I wondered about that too. He didn't even bother saying that the returns offered were not great enough. Makes me think that at that time he was still hoping (and may still be hoping) to use Simons and Nurk contracts in a big trade, so he couldn't use them in a package with #23. The problem for me now is; he is telling us we have added three lottery talents; he has introduced them to us all and we see what good guys they are and now I don't really feel like trading any of them. Would be a big disappointment if he did now. I would only feel good about trading future picks at this point.
are you referring to this? I don't fundamentally disagree with what he's saying....although I don't see any reason at all for Chicago to settle for 2nd round picks to satisfy Portland's obligation. Bulls have Blazers over a barrel. and if the Blazers are sending out 3 first's PLUS guaranteeing the 2024 first to the Bulls, they better be getting back a durable, perennial all-star wing aiming lower, I don't think adding a good veteran will be nearly that expensive.
the key there is the definition of "just" if he was a half inch under 6'4, that's the kind of just I like. If it was 2 inches, that's just unjustified just
I don't think he's completely off base in this theory, but the problem with positing something like this league-wide is that there's simply too many variables with varying elements to them to possibly develop a solid theory around. Every draft is different in terms of depth, star power, position strength, knowns vs. unknowns, etc. Every team has different needs, priorities, cap situations, financial abilities, owned future picks, roster situations, team building philosophies, trade negotiation strengths and strategies, etc. When you take all of those into account, the only substantial point I take away from this theory is "when all other things are equal, more picks are preferred to fewer", but even then -- would you prefer Scoot at 3 or, say 21, 22 and 23? I'm just not sure it's that easy of a thing to say. Having said all of that, I do agree that we could still see some fireworks with Ant and/or Nurk and/or Nas + multiple future 1s for another impact player as being both viable and possible, maybe even likely, this offseason.
teams seem to want future picks, plural. And it doesn't seem like they need to have great odds at high picks. Quantity instead of quality. Not sure why but that seems the trend if Cronin was not getting sufficient offers for #3, and by all reports he wasn't, and he's still planning on trying to make a big trade, or a couple of little smaller trades, it makes sense to hold onto Ant/Nurkic, work a deal with Chicago, then have two or three future picks to add to Ant/Nurk this off-season. It's a bit risky, unless there are some protections on those picks, but the Blazers may be willing to take that risk and are probably tired of locking up all future picks
I just really hope that we don’t massively hurt a rebuild by trying to scrape together some veterans for Dame. We HAD veterans with RoCo, norm, Nance, etc. This team needs more than veterans. We need another star. If we had actually traded LMA when there were first reports of him wanting out, we would have helped get the rebuild around Dame on the right track. Instead Neil bungled it. If the rebuild is the right path, I really don’t want us to start it off with a massive deficit.
obviously if the Blazers trade multiple first's for players the caliber of Afflalo, RoCo, and Nance they are fucking up...again...big time. but I have not seen any evidence that Cronin makes stupid moves when the Vulcans aren't leaning over his shoulder screaming in his ear about money and tax
