My first order of business as Mayor would be to put you in charge of nutrition. No one knows more about food than the HCP. Mrs. HCP would be in charge of “social” activities
They're a great young team - they've really rebuilt the right way. I love that they're keeping all their guys, too. They might have the highest % of players that they drafted of any team. Also great young coach and total commitment to defense. All they need is offense.
Yeah. Fuck Sam Presti. What the fuck is the best GM in the league doing staying his whole career in OKLAHOMA CITY? You KNOW some rich owner in a nicer city has offered him $$$.
We've always had everything we've needed to get this in Portland. Except the desire or knowledge of ownership to do it. Sam Pristi isn't a genius, IMO. He's just free to do it the right way without fear of losing his job. For example, if Joe is trying to win right now then it must be because he is afraid he's going to lose his job if he doesn't. Or he's not smart enough to know what the most effective way is. But I don't think that's the case.
Strange enough my second favorite team to root for is the eastern conf. Bucks...has been since Ray Allen played for them..coincidence that so many ex Blazers have gone there to play over the last stretch of seasons...I think Wes, Rolo, Patty C, Rodney Hood, Dame and Gary Trent now...I might be missing a few...I think the vanilla gorilla retired there and Stotts coached there as well. The problem with them now is Doc Rivers...not a fan of him as a coach.they should have hired Stotts as head coach.
He played all 82 games last year and averaged over 22 minutes a game. I am sure he would like to play 30, but a couple more rings wouldn't be bad either. Either way, if he wants to start then he will have the chance to earn it.
I don't think he''s really ever missed on a draft pick. He's definitely the best drafter in the league.
Taking Josh Giddey over Franz Wagner, Sengun (which he actually drafted and traded to the Rockets) and Trey Murphy certainly was not a great win in the 2021 draft. Of course, taking Adams in 2013 over Giannis was a mistake. You could argue that trading Lively to Dallas in 2023 was a mistake as well, as they had to go and get Hartenstein in the FA market a year later to fill the position Lively could have filled for them. What worked for OKC great is the fact that SGA made such a jump when he was just a nice player to get as part of the PG13 trade - they basically got 5 picks and a prospect for that trade, luckily for them, SGA went from a nice to have player, potential all-star, into an MVP candidate within a couple of years. They did not mess the Chet pick (their own), although it was pretty hard to do at the #2 spot, just like the Oden/Durant draft, once Paolo was off the table, it was clear that Chet is the pick (and no, Smith was not it). They did nail the J-Williams pick, which is great for them. So, OKC sure did draft very well, but like every other team out there, they made mistakes. If you want to argue that someone is a master of drafting, Danny Ainge should be in the conversation, he basically built the superstar backbone of the Celtics through the draft and unlike OKC, they already proved they can make it to the finals and win there... That Rondo / Perkins picks way back in the KG/Pierce/Ray Ray era was another example of him drafting players that can get them into contention and help bring a title.
That’s 2 of these in the last couple of months. It’s nice knowing we share more than Mrs. HCP. We also share a similar sense of humor
You're ignoring the Finals team that Presti built around KD. Both Westbrook and Harden were surprise picks and both ended up league MVPs. Plus he got Ibaka in the 20s, etc. And Jalen Williams is a masterstroke. Ainge is VERY hit and miss. Never forget that he traded us the pick that became Brandon Roy for... Sebastian Telfair. AFTER it was evident that Telfair was no good. I would rate him middle of the pack at best.
ALSO: drafting might not even be Presti's strongest suit as a GM. Despite having the best young team in the league (Orlando is a distant second) he ALSO has perhaps the largest stockpile of future picks that he could trade for a star any time he wanted. He was at his canniest in using cap space as a means to acquire picks off teams desperate to offload players like Al Horford et al.
I am not ignoring anything, I am just answering the comment that he did not have bad picks, he clearly had, as shown. Yup, just like Presti. The only difference is that Ainge drafted for / built 2 championship teams, Presti drafted for / built one finals team.
