The owners are idiots. They play hard ass with the players, enact punishing penalties for going over the luxury tax and then the very next free agency period they start throwing around money like a politician at a pork orgy?!? When did a backup center like Omer Asik become an $8mill a year player? Is Batum really worth $500,000 less a year than LMA? If I were the Blazers I'd sit this year out. Next year and the year after when teams are feeling the effects of the new labor agreement you will see similar players getting far less money. Even if we get Hibbert is a rookie unknown pg, Wes, Batum, LMA and Hibbert really a playoff team? I'm just not seeing it. PA has said he isn't going over the cap. Then what? We've blown all of our cap space on Hibbert and Batum.
I don't think anything will change next year. We've been saying this for a few years now, oh, NOW the owners will realize 45 million for Drew Gooden is too much, NOW overpaying Deandre will be seen as bad, etc. Oh, now with new CBA they will... I don't buy it. I think a lot of owners are dumb. And they hire dumb people to work for them.
then we trade them for draft picks and start over we arent signing lebron man, aint gonna happen, so this is what we are left with
the owners put rules in the new cba to slow down their drug crazed blood orgies, so even though they are still fucking stupid, at least they arent 120 million/6 years for rashard lewis stupid (although im sure they wish they could)
this happens every year. it'll be the same tactics year in and year out. the blazers have always been "waiting"...for imaginary cap space, for rookies to develop....to building lottery picks. waiting around usually doesn't work if you want to win big. sure, if we are so bad we're the worst team in the league 4-5 years in a row i guess it might but i don't want to go through that shit. we can give Hibbert 3-4 years in which he'll be an expiring contract we can trade with ease. better than not doing anything.
I tend to agree. Hibbert is a good player, but certainly not an "A" player. His stats aren't impressive, he fades in a game and isn't a difference maker. His true value is probably in the $9-10 million per year range. As to Batum, it's unlikely he'll ever be an all-star. His best value is in the $8-9 million range. If we can't run the team sensibly, then don't run it at all.
Probably not next season, but the Blazers would have a young nucleus of Lils, Wes, Batum, LMA, and Hibbert all locked up for 3 more years, with the oldest of the bunch being LMA at 27 going into next season. That's a pretty good nucleus, IMO, and if Eliot Williams can stay healthy, I really like him as a potential starter at SG, with Wes moving to a 6th Man role, which is where I think he's best-suited, and would be very effective.
and here is the problem with much of the blazer fans (and seemingly the blazers). they want to hold steady and wait for the "perfect" moment, which really doesn't occur. Its not like after we sign hibbert and batum for example, that's the team we're going to battle with...things change all the time. Unless you have a specific target its a waste of time to sit on the sidelines. Having a big contract like Hibbert in the future will allow us to package him if needed for a superstar if we include some young talent. In a few years he's an expiring contract if we need him to be. big deal. make big moves not small ones and deal with it later.
So, you're going to let Batum go, not sign Hibbert, and here's your team. PG - Lils SG - Wes SF - Babbitt?? PF - LMA C - Leonard?? That team would struggle to win 20 games. Or are you saying that you'd convince players to come to Portland under their market value, just because we're close to the mountains and the ocean? Oh, and the people are nice. Can't forget that one.
I agree. It's easy to say oh, he's only worth 9-10. Well, ok. Offer him that. He doesn't come. He wouldn't go anywhere for that amount most likely. We can look at what guys SHOULD cost, but then you'll never sign anyone, so we NEED Lillard to be, basically, Rose or Westbrook, or we're fucked anyways. It's a 4 year deal, and MAX money isn't quite what it used to be.
I'm guessing you're loving this bold move by Olshey with cap space. I am as well, and I'm actually excited about the Blazers for the first time since Roy retired.
Winners make big moves while losers sit on the sidelines. Its how it always is. We have cap space, fucking use it!
The league used to have 10 year contracts like grand mama signed. Then 7 year. Before the lockout 6 year. Well now free agent contracts can't be offered beyond 4 years, even in sign and trades. That means a few things, first there are less terrible contracts sitting on teams books, so there will be more teams with cap room available to spend on free agents. But players will be hitting free agency much more often, so we might actually see a larger # of terrible contracts handed out with the new CBA!
Magic Johnson signed a 25 year/$25 million contract in the early '80s with the Lakers. Luckily for him, he was able to renegotiate it under the CBA at the time.
The only winner for the next 4 years is the Heat and Thunder..... everyone else is playing for early summers..... Save your money!!!!
Quit on four years because the Heat and Thunder are awesome? No thanks...I still want to see the Blazers play good basketball. Championships are great, but sports is still an entertainment and it seems like losing the point to hope for a number of years of very little enjoyment watching your favorite team so that they can start to try fielding a good team after that. Even if a team builds intelligently, the chances of winning a title are small. There's a decent chance, no matter what philosophy you adopt, that you won't see your favorite team win a championship for two or three decades. You might as well see the best basketball product possible from them in the meantime.
