It was a joke. I have no idea what anyone on RC2 said prior to November. You're killin' me Smalls. Since we're being serious... this team looked like a playoff team to me with the moves Olshey made. The only thing that could have change that was a season ending injury to one of the starters. At this point, I don't think they would fall out of the playoffs even if they did have one. This team is so good and fun to watch, the players are having fun, and the players and coach and GM and owner are all locked in. I just think it's funny that this thread even came up. I was certain it was dead and buried during the 11 game winning streak. I know my orthography is bad, but I'm fair certain you absolutely murdered the spelling of Dallas. Detroit?
Re: Aldridge would resign Kerry Eggers doesn't get enough credit for being a top-notch reporter. Well written stuff most of the time and leaves his ego at the door without being a completely milquetoast boob.
Which is why the rational posters were calling your "guarantees" nonsense. You can't make a "guarantee" when you don't have enough information do to so. And others were saying that you didn't have insider information or any knowledge of future team moves, so your guarantees were ridiculous.
So you are saying you'd rather just let our 23/11 guy go because we won't have flexibility to sign other players? Have you seen how badly this team is when Aldridge isn't in the game?
No we wouldn't, if they are playing as well as they have. When you find the core that gels well, then that's where you put most your load in. There will be players asking to play for us like they do for any other contending teams.
Mags, you don't know if we would or wouldn't. Don't pretend you do And I hope that is how it goes down as well but only time will tell. Even MIA had to let Mike Miller go due to budget restraints and he was a very big unsung hero for them. The penalties get enormous! You could say it is a good problem to have though.
Miami still kept 3 other players though, still being in luxury tax. Ray Allen is the true hero for Miami, which is why they kept him. They needed size, so they kept the Bird. What Miller gave them was only a three point threat. They almost lost twice because they didn't have a guy to go against Duncan or Hibbert. I think they made the decision because they had their priorities on the bigs and the proven leader (Allen). As for the Blazers… Wes and Lopez are a very important piece to this team. T. Rob, Leonard and even CJ are still a few years away from their Rookie Scale Contract, so they will only get better… Keeping the core together is utmost important to this team. If the team is reaching the finals or WCFs, Allen will okay the luxury tax to keep them together.
It depends what our other starters are offered in free agency. I don't think we let a productive starter go, but if a team thinks Rolo or Matthews is the missing piece and gives them a huge contract we might not be able to keep them all. Josh Smith, Pekovic, and Al Jefferson got near max deals and rated by some as inferior players. Lillard will be due for a near max extension the same summer too. We might not be able to add a free agent even if a great one is available for the MLE and wants to come here. We might have to let CJ, Meyers and TRob all walk when they are restricted free agents. Obviously we extend Aldridge as one of our first priorities but once we start giving everyone new contracts it could put the team in a position where they have to let a beneficial player on a reasonable salary go to a different team.
I love our team (and I know you do too!) but we better really LOVE our team at that point. Because besides financial penalties the rules basically take you out of all trading once you are in the tax bracket. As I said, you could consider it a nice problem to have because it means you are at least making WCF's regularly if this becomes an issue. It is something to think about though.
Yeah, because we were just making that shit up out of nowhere... there weren't any reports coming from actual journalists with inside information. Also, if you claim that you expected Neil to be able to make the moves that he made, you are flat out lying. Nobody expected Neil to be able to add players like Lopez, Robinson, Mo Williams, and Dorell Wright for nothing but cap space and second round picks. Most of our predictions about Aldridge hinged on our team not being especially competitive this year, and that was before Neil went crazy GM mode. I completely flipped my opinion after he added Lopez, Robinson, Mo and Dorell. I figured we'd be around 4th or 5th in the west, but I didn't think we'd be this good.
Think of the Batum restricted free agency, he was offered a $46 million contract most thought was far overpaid. Many fans thought the Blazers would be better off in the long run to let him walk. The Blazers had cap room and no better options so they matched it. But what if the team was already in the luxury tax? The tax is very progressive, so a $46 million contract for a team on the edge of the luxury tax could cost $150 million! If we had been trying to resign Batum at a time when we were close to the luxury tax I think he'd be on a different team right now.
The fortunate situation is Aldridge's current salary will still be on the books for the 2 years. Lillard has another 3 years, and Matthews and Lopez will be done before that. Meaning… We can solidify our entire core without breaking the bank before the max contracts kick in. And still able to have MLE each year to grab another player. Basically giving us a good 5-6 year window of the same type of players.
So you thought we might've been one spot below where we are today in the standings, and that is cause to trade away the best player on the team?
The good teams don't need to trade often. Look at SAS or Miami… They haven't made significant trades since they became contenders. Same applies with OKC and Indiana.
No. I thought we'd be 4th or 5th in the west after Neil's stellar offseason. I was on the higher end of where I thought the team would be. A lot of people thought 7th or 8th in the west and around 45ish wins. Did I not make it clear that I backed away from wanting to trade Aldridge after we acquired Mo, Dorell, Rolo, TRob and CJ?
