Losing sucks, but...

I'm glad you're still a fan!

 

Well, if they hadn't been on FSN at the time I wouldn't have been lol

 

I love watching young players grow, but we are just biding time till the June draft.
It will be fun to watch Dame try to lead the league in scoring. It will be fun to watch Vonleh
grow as a player. Heck. It will be fun to watch Kaman act like a caveman. But its a rebuild pure and
simple. And anybody who tries to sell this team as an outside playoff contender is sniffing glue.
I hope we draft a versatile scorer and trade for a banger inside. Do what you have to do, Neil.

 

A lot of the players on this team are future trade pieces. Olshey is going to take prisoners now. Here today, gone tomorrow. Only Lillard is off hands, I think.

 

I would add that the majority of this team doesn't appear any more motivated than the guys they replaced. Could we surround Dame with some players who actually care?

 

I see Dame (PG), Hendo (SG), and probably CJ (SG) as legit starters (but CJ is a backup PG by assignment only). Meyers will probably start next year, that may be by necessity. I expect a new starting SF and new starting Big next year added in draft, FA, or trade. Vonleh is probably a full-time rotation Big next year, but he will have to get better because right now he sucks.

I expect Hendo to start or be traded by the deadline but today Hendo impressed. Aminu's a future backup defensive SF that forces too much on offense. His shot is awful & headed for past poor %.

Plums and Davis looking like decent backup Bigs.

It will be interesting to see whether CJ or Hendo is starting at SG in December.

But I just hope this rebuild is quick, Dame isn't getting any younger

 

He's got 5 years of good ball in him. He's fine.

 

Yea but think about it we have about 2-3 years left on this rebuild which will make about 2-3 years remaining of good ball for Lillard

 

There are certainly pieces there to build around but as is, this roster can't just grow and be a contender. Dame is a Star but not quite a Superstar...getting close. CJ would be great off the bench as a super sub if he will accept that but the exceptions to the rule of 2 small guards as your starting backcourt are just too rare. Aminu could develop into a jack-of-all-trades type of SF and he's got some skills by like Leonard, needs court time to develop.

Speaking of the Mustached One, he was looking better the last 3 games. Hopefully his shoulder isn't bad but once you've dislocated your shoulder, it is much more likely to happen again unless you have surgery. Still needs to work on his game so when a 6'3" guy switches onto him, he can take them in the paint and destroy them.

Plumlee is a tremendous passer but his lack of ability to shoot outside of 3' will be tough to deal with long term and until he gets his FT% up to at least mid 60's no one will allow him to score in close, they'll just foul him if they get the chance.

Crabbe....just not enough handles. Kind of like Wessy Wes but not near as good of a defender or shooter. Vonleh is another young buck that needs time but with him, I see more overall skills. He just needs court time to develop them and gain confidence. I think he is ahead of where Meyers was at this age by far.

So let these young kids develop, hope they don't get blown out too often, play competitive basketball and pick up a quality win here and there. The worst thing that could happen long-term is to be the #8-14 Lottory pick or make the playoffs as the #7 or #8 seed. Getting destroyed by G-St or the Clippers would do nothing to help this team other than show how far they have to go. Getting a late Lottery pick doesn't get you the impact player you need to join this roster.

Simmons, Ingrahm, Murray, Skal, Brown.....there are definitely some players who will be available that down the road have a better chance at becoming stars than what we have outside of Dame.

It will take more patience than what I have but it's what is necessary if we want this team to truly become better.

 

Right now i would trade everyone but Dame for Cousins

 

Really don't mind the development year thing.

Only thing that sucks is that we're wasting a year of Dame's prime.

 

We have another decade of Dame (knock on wood) so I'm not too worried. Honestly if we end up with a top 4 pick I hope to God we deal it to Indiana or Sacramento. I love the idea of a young player growing in the Portland system but given the ages of our players, I think grabbing an all-star in his mid 20s would be a lot smarter than using the draft pick on a 19 year old.

 

Losing does suck, and sometimes it's hard to turn off that disappointment when we lose, but I'm having a hard time understanding why some people are getting so upset when we lose. What were people expecting this year? It seemed like most people were predicting 30ish wins. This is what a 30 win team looks like. I don't understand the comments like "Vonleh sucks!" or "Trade Crabbe!" after only 8 games. This is a rebuilding year. We are rebuilding the team. We are playing our young guys to help them develop and assess what we have.

People need to calm down, we aren't making the playoffs, and this is going to be a long season if you keep expecting wins against the best teams in the league.

 

Can I report an offensive image posted by a Moderator?

 

Definitely NSFW!

 

I wouldn't call it a waste, I'd call it a year of leadership development.

 

I loved watching Ed Davis last night. That guy hustles. I wished we played him more. Our defense tho never seems to adjust as quickly as I'd like. Also how come we can't figure out the trapping with dame?? It's been his bane now for three seasons! Figure it out coach!