Game Thread 2023-24 GAME #45 - BLAZERS @ SPURS - JANUARY 26, 2024 - FRIDAY - 6:30 PM PST - ROOT

Ant & the Remix got smashed to pieces by a terrible Spurs team. The Blazers Front Office are licking their chops. This Franchise could run this setup for multiple years, continue to pile up draft picks, and get mad at Blazer fans who complain about lack of improvement.

first 2 months of this season, "we're building a team like Orlando and OKC". Then the Magic started struggling, so they got crossed off the list. "We're building a team like OKC only".

What's going to happen if other rebuilding teams jump ahead of Portland? "Be patient Blazer fans, we've acquired enough draft picks in 2029 to rebuild this rebuild" ?? That sounds like a bad basketball loop. Sacramento got stuck in one of those for 18 years.

 

One injury away from staying in the lotto.

 

it would take a new owner, coach, and GM to convince any good player like Lillard to play for the Blazers. The only free agents that signed in Portland are Jerami Grant, who grew up here and got the fattest bag possible. And Matisse Thybulle who got nearly double salary to stick with the team. Now both those guys are shoved into local trade rumors daily.

This season is a mess. Fans were adament they'd get mad at Chauncey if he wore out Shaedon Sharpe, by playing the kid an overwhelming amount of minutes while "trying to win games". Shaedon did collect overusage injuries, and the entire fanbase went mute.

Now all focus is pushed towards Ayton bashing which makes no sense. Is the importance of protecting Billups incompetent coaching worth more then destroying the public image of the Blazers golden asset from the Lillard trade?

it would appear so.

 

Reading this thread finally, let’s see how this well thought out, quick to judge post aged?

 

Well it's not like anyone on the Spurs was able to get Ant under control.

 

Two people talking like the draft hasn’t been rigged for decades

 

A person talking like a 50B dollar company like Ernst & Young (#52 on the fortune 500) would let all of that go to waste along with the NBA itself risking it to what... steer storylines, play WWE?

San Antonio doesn't bring in big cash for the league, they usually take a share of revenue from bigger market teams. If the Knicks, Nets, Lakers or Clippers were getting super lucky every time they've been in the lotto you still wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

No major league sport is fixing anything at the league level because the juice isn't possibly worth the squeeze. Do some risk reward analysis. If you think a rogue ref is on the take, it's usually a very lazy argument to make but it's at least not out of the realm of possibility but the league doing shit that congress or one ambitious journalist could completely bring them down for is ridiculous and if that's what you were going for it's a played out joke. If serious is what you were going for you might want to study up.

 

We got lucky with Oden. (And Scoot.) How'd that work out for us?

 

If I were running a league and one team had a really really good reputation for bringing up foreign talent and centers, would I even for a moment let fucking Portland have him? Or would I, for the benefit of both the player and the league, make sure that big European player had the best possible start? And if he demands a trade later then great.

if I had a superstar point guard who wanted out, I’d probably want to give the team he’s on a really tasty point guard prospect to make pulling the trigger on a trade easier to swallow.

the league is about players, not teams. San Antonio got Wemby because SA is the perfect place for Wemby. They sure do get lucky a whole bunch.

(Yes I know it’s probably not as rigged as that but it’s not like I’m working from one or two data points here)

 

That is a quality conspiracy theory effort. I can see you've put a lot of thought into it. I don't agree with it one bit, but that's not important.

 

There's Ewing to NYK.
Wemby to SA (who else in the lotto would have been a better fit)?
Zion to Pels (to compensate for Davis to Lakers)
Irving & Wiggens to Cleveland (to support Lebron moves)


The thing everyone needs to understand is just because SOME lottos are rigged, doesn't mean ALL of them are.

The other thing is that 'they' would have to be an extremely small group of 2-3 people to keep it under wraps.

And for everyone who thinks something like this can't happen - they ought to read up on the McDonnalds monopoly scam. There was a fascinating documentary on it:
https://www.hbo.com/mc-millions#

 

It's behind closed doors.. That's all you need to know.