Our pick is top 14 protected in 2016 and 2017, If the pick isn't conveyed then it becomes a 2nd rounder I believe in 2018.
Which is why making the playoffs this year or next would be counterproductive to the talent acquisition phase the team is in.
Actually after the season is over if we miss the playoffs we retain the pick and could then trade it.
Stepein rule. Can't have two consecutive years traded at once. So I believe it would have to be after we make the selection
In my opinion, the overall talent level on the team, with the exception of the missing top-caliber wing, is pretty good. If we can get the missing wing this year and complete the core, I can see a quick reboot to contention by moving some of the young guys in lopsided deals for more proven role players. I'm hoping that this is a pit stop in irrelevancy land and that Olshey can finish off the necessary modifications next summer before hitting the gas. I'm getting too damned old to be watching the Blazers rebuild for another decade.
Yes I know. But I believe it resets with the moratorium. Which would mean after the draft concludes and we made our selection
When we miss the 2016 playoffs and are confirmed to be able to keep our 2016 pick, we would still owe (potentially) our 2017 pick, so we would not be permitted to trade our 2016 pick pre-draft because it could possibly violate Stepien.
Le sigh I guess I wasn't clear. Im suggesting trading Denver something like a future 2nd and Harkless for our own 2016 pick. Basically reacquiring our 1st in full. It's not too valuable to Denver since our pick is likely gonna end up as 2 second round picks down the road. Once you get that pick back you send it over in the package for Cousins
I'd say that would be the best case scenario. I usually steer closer to the mean in my predictions. So if you think I'm being overly negative, here's my thought process: In my view, everything right now boils down to whether or not Damian has another (significant) leap in the quality of his play (especially on defense) and whether or not any of the guys currently on the roster can turn into an All-Star caliber player. If the answer is "no" to either of those questions, then you can bring in all of the roleplayers you like via trade, but it still won't get this team any closer to a title. To quickly return to being a playoff team Neil would have to hit a home-run in the draft or somehow orchestrate a franchise defining trade. Either is possible, but I would say neither is probable.
Drafting someone that's a home run is probably more likely and better suited for future moves too. It's easier to compete with a rookie performing beyond his contract for cap purposes, than to have three max guys with vet guys willing to come for cheap. And we don't have a LeBron or organization like the spurs to do those things. It sucks being a bottom of the barrel market and organization to free agents
http://www.cbafaq.com/salarycap.htm#Q87 Teams are restricted from trading away future first round draft picks in consecutive years. This is known as the "Ted Stepien Rule." Stepien owned the Cavs from 1980-83, and made a series of bad trades (such as the 1982 trade mentioned above) that cost the Cavs several years' first round picks. As a result of Stepien's ineptitude, teams are now prevented from making trades which might leave them without a first round pick in consecutive future years. The Stepien rule applies only to future first round picks. For example, if this is the 2011-12 season, then a team can trade its 2012 first round pick without regard to whether they had traded their 2011 pick, since their 2011 pick is no longer a future pick. But they can't trade away both their 2012 and 2013 picks, since both are future picks. Teams sometimes work around this rule by trading first round picks in alternate years, or by giving one team the right to swap picks with the other.
