I absolutely love what Neil Olshey has done with the team since he became GM. I mean, this was the lovely team he was blessed with when he first came here: Felton(UFA)/Smith Wes/Crawford(UFA) Nic (RFA)/Babbitt LMA/Hickson(RFA) ???/??? +2 Lotto picks Within a year, he's turned that pile of crap into this: Lillard/McCollum Wes/Crabbe/Barton Nic/Claver LMA/TRob/Freeland RoLo/Leonard A young roster that's not only better on the court, but with significant flexibility moving forward (both financially and trade related). They also don't have any bad contracts (Freeland @ 3 million does not count) and are looking like playoff contenders at the very least this year. I have the utmost confidence in any move he makes. Whenever we're involved in trade or FA rumors, I never feel like we're on the verge of making a horrible deal or giving a horrible contract (unlike Milwaukee). Best GM the Blazers have had in a decade, and it's not even close.
I will go on a record now and say if CJ works out and we solidly make the playoffs Olshey should be a candidate for executive of the year. And this is not knowing if he has another trick up his sleeve or what we will do with the money we have left.
And this is how a small market team can utilize cap space.... A lot of posters preached this, including myself. All you need is a little patience and the right deal will come along
Yes and no. He's doing all this while helping, not fleecing, his trading partners. This way, other GMs won't black ball him the way some think happened to Pritchard and his big ego.
How long is Neil signed for? Paul should really think about extending the guy. Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
I bet Paul Allen REALLY appreciates him. He's the first GM we've had who spends Paul's money like it's his own. He's stockpiling cheap young talent on very reasonable contracts without mortgaging our future. This is the NBA equivalent of money ball. BNM
Ben Golliver @blazersedge about 1 hour ago Between Eric Maynor, Thomas Robinson and Robin Lopez, Neil Olshey's roster-building strategy best described as soup kitchen scrounging What a dick.
Ben Gollivers has been a pessimistic dick about the Blazers for awhile now. He is just like that ESPN writer who grew up a blazer fan so he feels like he has to always be critical of everything the Blazers do so they don't look like a homer. Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Olshey did NOT get Lopez for free. He gave Hickson (who had to be renounced to make it happen, losing any sign and trade possibilities), 2 more 2nd round picks (in the last week, he's given a decade's worth of top-half-of-the-round picks, which means about 4 players who would have lasted), and made it happen only by using the Paul Allen advantage ($1.5M trade kicker in Lopez' contract, which most owners would have haggled over, plus $150,000 remaining in Terrel Harris' contract, which is nothing to our owner, but means enough to the other owner that they stuck it in).
Didn't want to make a new thread for it and i thought of it while reading this thread, but what happened with Elliott Williams?
