I don't agree. A large expiring contract is not worth much these days, and it's as boring as the day is long. I want to have hope that the team will get better. A couple of years in the lottery can give me that hope. A large expiring contract does not in today's NBA. Ed O.
This team and that season. Which year are you talking about? The core of Oden/Roy/Aldridge was capable of great things. Batum and Wes can be effective role players with those kinds of stars. It didn't work out, but that's the breaks sometimes. It doesn't mean that it wasn't a good effort. Ed O.
Actually, I am frustrated by some of the poster's attitudes. In my blazer-homerific mind, we lost 2 future HOFers who hadn't even gotten into their prime, yet somehow, posters around here expected a good season. If the Heat lost James and Wade for not just the season, but for forever, they would really, really suck. The season wasn't great, but we did learn who the bad apples were, and we got rid of them.
You need a top 3 pick (usually top 1) to get a true franchise impact player. and they only show up every other year or so.
Here's what frustrates me: Here are the Blazers players that I've got genuinely excited about in the past five years: Oden Roy Sergio Rudy Batum Notice a pattern? If Batum goes, who do I get excited about? Lillard? A jump shooting PG, my least-favorite type of player? Leonard? Who is years away if he's not Chris Mihm II? Aldridge, bless his heart, who has got to feel about how Dirk Nowitzki feels right now, except without the ring to console him, and without an owner who actually seems to know how to make his fantastic wealth work to build a consistent winner?
It's the only show in town (no disrespect to the Timbers). I do agree with the hope idea, which is why I put the Blazer misery at 4 years and not 6. The last two years in the lottery had some hope. But with the draft being such a crap shoot, especially with any pick after 3 (I agree with el jefe), trying to develop some young talent into NBA contenders (like OKC) seems like such a long shot to me. And even OKC had a #2 as their huge pick . . . and that was even lucky that they got the 2nd pick and Oden was in the draft that year.
Very, very close to being great is making it to the conference finals. This team didn't make it out of the first round....and look @ Rudy and Bayless now...again....not close to doing anything special at all.
I'm grateful I don't have to watch Crawford and Felton stink up the court another season. For just that reason alone gets me excited!!
Not really. Oden and Roy were just bad luck. Sergio was a combination of marginal NBA talent and being stuck in the opposite type of system than what he would have thrived in. Rudy grew a pussy after Ariza gave him a hard foul, and is still a below average NBA player. Batum, nothing has happened yet. He wants to be on a winner, has no leverage. He may stay, but a S & T would be a better option (should Minny prove to actually want to pay him 11-12 mil) IMO. I'm just frustrated about our shit luck, but hopefully Lillard and Leonard pan out like crazy.
I can understand some people are frustrated that Olshey may not end up securing a big signing this off-season. I, for one, appreciate the patience that Olshey is seeming to show, when he stated that he'd go for the 'big time' signing or none at all. It shows that he has a vision and is not willing to let the team become hamstrung by mediocre players on largish contracts (example = Wes). Sure the team may not be great in the short term, but at least Olshey is trying to show some foresight to build a better team - a team that a few years from now that will actually be able to compete at a meaningful level. I'm onboard with that - you can't build a contender overnight. Having said that - I hope we sign and trade Batum. He's been one of my favorite Blazers, but that salary will come to hinder us in the coming years as we start to compete with the better teams in the league.
Lillard drew more fouls than any other top draft pick - he's not a "jump shooting PG" just because he can also shoot.
I'm upset too. I wish we'd have just gone for it like Boston did in 2008. Sign Nash and make a lopsided trade for Dirk and fucking go for it all. Something like that is what I want to see. Look at what NJ is doing. They're willing themselves into contender status. This does really suck. I would've been excited about this year if we had gotten Nash or Hibbert. We should definitely let Batum go. He's simply not that good. He's certainly not good enough to be the #2 option we'd need him to be here if we matched. Next year is 3 horse race with Lakers, Heat, and Nets (if they get DH12) with Thunder, Bulls, and Pacers as possible outside shots That's it. Hibbert plus a find in Lilliard might've put us in that group. Now we're nothing. We should trade Aldridge and start over.
Start over? We essentially already have a blank slate with an allstar entering his prime on a not-too-bad contract. so you want US to be on the receiving end of a lopsided trade and lose our franchise player for unknown draft picks and do nothing but tank hoping that we can land a future franchise player in the draft? We still have cap room and some flexibility. Two lottery picks and an allstar. The world isn't over because we missed out on Roy Hibbert or we miss the opportunity to pay an inconsistent yet young prospect $11m a year who doesn't want to be here. that is the frustration with me. The ease people say "rebuild" or "start over" when we essentially have and we are already past step one (clearing cap room and obtaining lottery picks).
I hope you're right. But just drawing fouls doesn't prove he's not a jump shooter - Reggie Miller used to draw a ton of fouls.
Miller didn't draw fouls from driving to the hoop and taking contact like Liller. Miller drew fouls by abusing the rules and throwing his elbow/leg into players and taking a dive when he landed to make it look like he was hit hard.
The pattern is: they cease to be Blazers. At this point even I am pretty ambivalent about keeping Batum. It pisses me off that he can't see that he has a better opportunity here. Yes, it's fun to play for Adelman and with Rubio. But doesn't he get that essentially Trevor Ariza is what would work best in that system: you don't get to create for yourself because Rubio has the ball, and when he doesn't, Love is posting up. So you'll get threes on assists from post ups and dunks in transition. Whereas we've gotten rid of everything that made life for Batum miserable last year: Nate, Crawford and Felton, and Batum could have stepped up and been a leader, like he was for SLUC Nancy, where the ball went through him all the time and he could be an all-round player. Oh well, he'll find out soon enough. It also pisses me off that now I have to hate Minnesota, when I actually enjoyed watching Rubio (in an Adelman system) before.
