If the Cavs called tomorrow...

Either way it was still an idiotic post. The next 500 drafts aren't going to produce 2 players who combined are not worth more than Aldridge more often than not?

 

I think if Olshey can get anything close to similar value for seemingly valueless assets like he did last season, we'll be in serious contention for the WCF and possibly the finals for the next several years. If we trade Aldridge for the top two draft picks, we're throwing that out the window in hopes of getting back to the verge in three or four years. I think trading him for only one pick is beyond idiotic.

 

Is that sugar free kool-aide you're drinking?

WCF? Portland just had one the least injury plagued season in the league. We were last in the league in bench points, minutes, etc. We have another year to build before we can make a run.

 

The problem is we don't have valueless assets to move this year. All our 2nd round picks are traded through 2018. All our euro-stash was traded also. We can't trade a 1st rounder til after July 1, and we have no cap space. Our players hold $$$ value in trades. In order to take steps forward we are limited to our MLE, and trading existing assets.

If you aren't moving forward you are moving backward.

 

Also if we simply let Mo walk and replace him with guys like Steve Blake, we severely risk our bench play regressing if our young guys don't show progress.

 

You said the team would barely make the playoffs this past season, and now you're back to insulting posters who have a more optimistic opinion than yours. Improve the bench, get some slippage from the Spurs and Mavs, and I don't see any reason why the Blazers can't contend for a WCF. What I do know is that trading LMA for a draft pick does nothing to improve the team for next year, and is a crapshoot for the future. Since GMs don't have lifetime contracts, most of them are trying to put their best possible team on the court, unless they were hired for a tear-down and rebuild.

Olshey wasn't hired for a tear-down rebuild, he's stated that the first words from Paul Allen after each of the last two season is 'how do we get better next year,' so I find all of this rebuild nonsense, well, nonsense. It's not going to happen, unless LMA can be traded in a way that Olshey feels puts the team closer to a title for next season.

 

Wook and I are forum friends.

 

To note: Aldridge is turning 30 next summer, not this one. He has not shown any signs of slowing down (a la Tim Duncan). There is no question he is worth the numbers they are floating for him over the next five years. There is really no reason to think that Aldridge would not be worth that. The caveat to all of this is that as much as we talk here, Olshey is not going to trade Aldridge. He brought in Lopez last summer for the purpose of appeasing him. It worked. The starters are not the issue at all. It's the bench which needs to be developed/upgraded.

 

No insult here. MM and I each know from whence the other comes...

 

So you think the Blazers starting 5 is good enough to put us over the hump in the next 3-5 years?

 

I certainly do, as long as we get a strong bench to go with them. If more than one starter is in the top few in the league in minutes played, then our bench isn't strong enough yet.

 

If the Thunder aren't even good enough to win a championship, how are we going to sneak one past the goalie?

We don't have a player as good as LeBron or Durant. We don't even have a Tim Duncan. As good as Aldridge is, he's not Duncan. His defense isn't nearly as good. So here's the problem, at best we hope we're the Detroit Pistons when they won the title. At worst we're a team like Memphis or LAC, with enough talent to get to the second round or even the WCF, but not good enough to win the whole thing.

LA is really good. Dame is really good. The problem is that neither of them are great, and without a great player I'm not convinced we can win a championship.

 

Spurs are on the decline. They really don't have the great player you speak of but they manage to be a strong dominate force and one that is capable of winning it all.

I think the Pistons proved in 04 that you really don't need a great player to get it done. But you need balance. They had that. Blazers can get it done with balance and being good if not great on both ends of the floor. In the starting lineup, I think they have this balance. They don't have it on the bench. If they have more production off the bench and continue to improve defensively. This is a roster that can get it done. The more these guys play together, the better they will get as a team playing in Stotts system.

 

As good as Dame is, and as good as we all hope he will be, do you see him as the best point guard in the league? Out of the last 15 champions, only the Pistons were a team without a future Hall of Famer on the roster.

2013 - Heat - LeBron/Wade
2012 - Heat - LeBron/Wade
2011 - Mavs - Dirk/Kidd
2010 - Lakers - Kobe
2009 - Lakers - Kobe
2008 - Celtics - KG/Pierce/Ray Allen
2007 - Spurs - Duncan/Parker
2006 - Heat - Wade/Shaq
2005 - Spurs - Duncan/Parker
2004 - Pistons
2003 - Spurs - Duncan/Parker
2002 - Lakers - Kobe/Shaq
2001 - Lakers - Kobe/Shaq
2000 - Lakers - Kobe/Shaq
1999 - Spurs - Duncan/Robinson
1998 - Bulls - Jordan/Pippen

Who is our future HOFer? I don't think Aldridge makes it. Dame might be that good, but it's too early to say. The Lakers are the only team to win lately with only one Hall of Fame caliber player (I don't count Gasol) but they had the best player in the league. So unless we're the Pistons, which we're not because we don't play defense, I'm really not sure we have what it takes to win the whole thing.

 

Oh, the interrogation!

 

What have you seen that says we're going to be a great defensive team? We literally could not stop the Spurs. They blew us out of the fucking water. Aldridge isn't Duncan on defense, even on his best day. Everyone wants to point to the Pistons, but they were a great defensive team. Until we show that we can shut teams down, and more importantly the pick and roll, we won't be winning jack shit.

 

If the idea is to win a title and these are your guys, they're going to have too. But improving defensively is a process. I expect them to improve next year. How much more? I think this is team that can and will play a higher quality of defense for a longer period of time if they have more and balance and more importantly depth. Defense is all about energy. And if you don't have it. You won't have success. This team has players that can play D. They just need to get better at it as a team.

 

But if you don't see dame that way, he's likely to bring back the most in trade. So instead of the general move Aldridge and go young, why not move him as well. And who are the guys in the Draft that are sure Hall of famers?
Even if you find one, there's no guarantees and it takes incredible luck.