Well, you gave ++1 to Crimson's post. I understand being postive, and I typically am, but the Roy, and to a lesser extent, LMA oversights seem to make the original post a bit pie-in-the-sky to me.
No. We haven't stayed the same, nor is the offseason complete yet. I suppose you won't concede this though as it doesn't allow you to bitch.
How soon people forget. By not moving Raef, this team went on a fucking sweet run to end the season. Hell at that point we were all wondering whether Portland would make the Playoffs. We did, and IMO, we took on and competed well against the second best team in the West (IMO). The cost, from what the rumors revealed, was sky high to get a return on Raef. NJ/Vince and Charlotte/Wallace all required we give up one of our talented young players and/or take back an unwanted player. Why would we do this? To win one Playoff series? Two? I'm not convinced that you let go of truly special assets, such as Rudy or Nic, unless you're sure it brings you a championship. Adding Vince Carter, in the end, for me, just doesn't guarantee a championship, not with the then uncertainties at that time with Oden, Nic, Rudy, and Jerryd's rate of progression and lack of toughness/defensive ability in the front and back court. In my opinion, taking the wait-and-see approach made more sense and still does. And by waiting, it's pretty apparent to me that we found out that our young guys are going to be studs and that we shouldn't give them up unless we're getting back an All Star level player entering or in their prime. Having Brandon locked up would be sweet, but not under his terms. He may be a stud, but he's not running the franchise. Besides we didn't lose Hedo because Brandon wasn't extended the first tick-tock of July and it hasn't apparently hurt our chances at signing Millsap. Yeah. Because Portland is known for being unprepared. If you believe Pritchard went into this offseason with their sole and only plan being Operation: Turk, then I don't know what to say. They seem like an overly thorough bunch that lost their primary target. The only other player I think they would've targeted that they missed out on was Ariza thus far. The rest I'm not convinced they wanted anything to do with, given that they'd have to move valuable assets. And, it's the right choice, considering we'll likely walk away with someone through free agency that will help the team for years to come without giving up anyone before we're ready to give them up. Did Kobe recruit Artest? Did Ming do the same for Ariza? Did Bosh wait patiently for Turk? Granted it could be helpful, I suppose, but players, and their agents, know who is on our team and under contract. This argument against Portland seems silly to me. 1. You're not even sure of your statement, yet you're using it to support your argument that our management is unprofessional. 2. That you're attributing KP's untucked shirt, is this even true!?!, to our piss-poor offseason is hilarious to me. 3. I've been self-employed since I was 16. I've "done business".
I always found this line of thinking to be amusing. We actually have fewer rookies this year (2) than last year (4). Please remember that none of last year's rookies are rookies this year.
It might be relevant, if there's actually a danger of not extending Roy and Aldridge. Some of us feel that there is such a danger, some of us don't. Whether you consider it "relevant" will rest upon that. I think it's just standard negotiations, so I consider it essentially a non-story. Now, if Roy's announcement is, "I am suspending any further talks and will re-visit this against next off-season," then I'll consider it a (bad) story.
Worth commenting on in a lenghty post about the offseason? Of course it is. The offseason is incomplete without knowing the results of the extensions for Roy/LMA. Actually, the postseason is a bust without knowing their status at this point IMO. Posting about the offeseason without considering this seems like a reach to me, unless it actually was an oversight. And if it was an oversight, I don't see how your post is a complete assessment of how people should feel about the offseason. I don't disagree with much of what you posted, but the glaring hole in your argument makes it seem incomplete.
Dude. I addressed why I didn't include it. I forgot about it. I also added my thoughts below. Are you really going to rag on me because it slipped my mind. Chill man.
As much as I hate listening to people whine and bitch about the moves being made thus far this offseason, these threads that try to put things in perspective are getting extremely redundant. Seems like there is a brand new one every day.
I think Crimson makes some good points. I don't agree with all of them, but I do think we have a lot of people who overvalue and undervaule our players. I constantly hear we need to upgrade our SF position. Hedo would have been nice, but I think it would have lead to Oden and Joel spending more time on the bench in foul trouble. Batum is our answer at SF for the future. If he isn't great at offense next year, he will definately be a stud on defense which is Portlands biggest weakness. Crimson, I think management(KP) and been talking about this cap space for two years and it doesn't appear at this point it will amount to a great addition. Maybe it will later, but if I hear we can wait until the trade deadline crap like we did with RLEC, I will disagree. Teams will also know Portland will be backed into a corner to use that space or lose it also. No one will just dump a Gasol like player on us. they know we need to do something also and can't be patient. I still have hope for this team, but we won't surprise anyone this year. Oden, Batum, and Rudy will improve, but last year we didn't have any year long injuries to player of importance. Please don't say Webster. He is average on a good day and it was a blessing because we got a good look at Batum. I worry we will not get out of the first round again. I think Dallas will be a bit better, and the Hornets would be that bad again. Tough road I see, but as a fan, i will hope we have another surprising season and get out of the first round.
The original post was a call for sanity, unfortunately it was basically wrong. Here's an example of how I (and others) see what's happened: Your friend has gotten a raise and is now pulling down $80K/year. He is looking good, feeling good, and walking tall. Then, he suddenly wins the Oregon lottery worth $30 Million, and DOES NOT CASH THE CHECK. The argument that we shouldn't freak out because hey, he's still pulling down $80K and looks good is really bizarre and not relevant. He should just cash the darn check. It's not a perfect analogy, but I think it fits the situation close enough to validly make the point.
But I don't want to see the team make a move just to appease a fan base and find that it hurt the team in the short term or long term. If the deals we were hearing about last February were real, I'm glad the team held off. I think they will be better for it. I have a hard time believing the team won't find a way to use their cap space this summer. If they don't, it won't be for lack of trying. As far as I see it, I can't find fault with targeting Hedo and I'm excited they moved for Millsap. It appears that we'll have our choice between Lee, Williams, and Sessions next. The offseason hasn't been perfect, but there were circumstances beyond our control. I suppose if Pritchard were God he could share blame in not being able to control the Universe, but unfortunately he's not. I see what you're saying and I'll be disappointed as well if we can't turn the cap space into another solid piece for this team. But, if that were to happen, with Portland's track record, and what I've seen so far, I'll rationalize a non-move as the right deal just not ever presenting itself. It's just not necessary for the team to over commit to a free agent or take back a player whose contract or skill sets don't fit the team. I'd rather stick to the game plan than have one player force us to alter it. Does that make sense?
It's not perfect at all. A better analogy is that your friend did not just receive a substantial raise, but also will receive twenty percent incremental annual raises for the next decade. Yes, he won a lottery, but in order to collect his winnings, he must invest resources that could adversely affect his financial standings today and tomorrow. The odds are the right, low-risk opportunity may arise, but if it doesn't it's best to wait for another investment opportunity.
