If only... Not happening, but if it did, WOW. That would solve so many of our problems. We need a legit 3rd scorer, Durant would give us a new 1st scorer. Come July 1, Paul Allen needs to wine and dine the shit out of Durant. He needs to make it VERY clear he fired Kevin Pritchard's ass for choosing Oden over KD - that PA was a Honk Twice guy from the get go, but let Pritchard talk him out of it. I don't care if it's true or not, it NEEDS to become the new reality. BNM
http://nba.nbcsports.com/2016/05/02...ntract/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Let's bring in Dirk AND Pau.
As much as I know it won't happen, KD would be stupid NOT to come to Portland. Yeah, Westbrook is better than Damian (stat wise), but I'm not so sure he's better for the TEAM. Think about it, the Blazers won 11 fewer games than the Thunder did, and they lost 80% of their starters AND had only 2 players who played major minutes the year before, play on this years team. The owner of the Blazers is worth 15 billion (or so). The Thunders ownership group ain't worth close to that. They've gone cheap and it's cost them a lot of potential wins. If they had kept Harden, a trio of Harden, Westbrook and Durant would be insane. I think Damian would make a better teammate for him, because Damian does team first and has shown that he's about loyalty of team, and goes to a player who is streaking. Westbrook hasn't excelled in that so much. Again, Westbrook is a better shooter, but not significantly, especially from 3 point. And if you take into account his "effective" FG%, it favors Damian. I think having Damian and CJ as teammates would be a better trio than what the Thunder could have, and make his game easier. (This is assuming they could sign him as a FA outright and not have to sign and trade, of course). I don't see him leaving OKC though.
Logically, it has some merit. KD is less than two years older than Dame. So, coming to a young, up and coming team, he'd still have a wide window to compete for a championship. Of course, if ALL he wanted was a ring, he'd just sign a below market deal with SAS or GSW. But, I don't think Durant is a coattail rider. I think he wants to EARN a ring - to be THE MAN on a championship team. If he won a ring in Portland, he would be. I keep hearing about him wanting to go to WAS. WAS is like a lesser version of us - but not by much. Their backcourt drives them and is actually younger than ours. The problem is Beal can't stay healthy. The other problem, is outside of Wall and Beal, the only other young talent they have is Otto Porter, and he plays the same position as Durant. Maybe make him a 6th man. Gortat is decent, but 32. Nene is 33 and rapidly declining. So, overall, our roster is younger and better and we have a ton of cap space. We're improving and WAS is declining. But WAS is his hometown and the hired Scott Brooks specifically to recruit KD. Paul Allen is insanely rich and a tech guy, He needs to hire the geeks at EA Sports to create a simulation of Durant playing with our current roster running Stotts' offense. Stotts is a much more creative offensive coach that Scott "Roll the Balls out there" Brooks. This should be a major selling point. Durant needs to see what it would be like to play under Stotts - that he will get a TON of open looks and easy scoring opportunities and that his teammates won't starve him out in the 4th quarter of close games. Stotts system relies on ball movement and player movement - not hero ball like OKC played under Brooks. BNM
I don't really want to go through this whole deal with Durant. Even if he suddenly decides to consider the Blazers we're still more likely to run into a scenario with Aldridge and Phoenix last year where he spurns us at the last minute. I'd rather use the time to chase free agents we could actually get. Even Al Horford is a more realistic target if you want to shoot for the moon. With the RFA period being cut down to 3 days there's even less time to waste getting commitments from UFA. I don't want to run into a scenario where we have to let Crabbe or Harkless walk because Durant is twiddling his thumbs.
Boston is prolly where he'll end up if he does end up leaving. Sidebar, I saw a stat last month that mentioned that Dame is only second behind Curry among NBA players for # of advertisements and visibility on social media(or something... forgot details). Dude grinds, and as a result, reaps the rewards of his work. This perceived small market is just about gone now.
I don't see Durant as an insecure baby who needs to have his ego stroked like LaMarshmallow did. Btw, is Brooks really a good choice for the Wizards thinking he'll help them get Durant? Sure he was their coach, but he wasn't really a smart coach.
I don't think Olshey is dumb like the Suns GM. I doubt Olshey would aign some aging player to appease Durant if he has not signed the dotted line.
They also made stupid moves like dumping Morris because they thought they had a chance. Not even signing Chandler, but the other guys they could have signed if they didn't wait for Aldridge to make his decision.
Agreed on this. Olshey has great relationships with both players and agents around the league (the latter is crucial). He won't commit to going all in on Durant unless he knows we can sign him. This won't be a Bosh to HOU scenario where Morey dumped multiple, useful players and basically gutted his roster to clear cap space only to be rejected by Bosh. Olshey will gauge the interest and act accordingly. If he knows he can't hit a home run, he'll go for a double and a couple singles. BNM
That's a good one, Camby too. God that season was a complete nightmare I don't even like talking about it.
Pretty sure Nic was a FA that summer too. Really poorly constructed bandaid team. Thank God, Billy King saved us that spring.
Oh, shit. Durant the featured player in Stotts' offense? It's a match made in heaven. And try double teaming Dame and CJ now. Or Durant. And Durant has to know life playing with Dame would be so much more enjoyable than his current situation. I don't know how players think, but if I were in Durant's shoes Portland would be a dream destination, and money wouldn't even factor into it.
Annnnd, if he does come here, our PG/SG/SF would all have history of major foot injuries. Brook Lopez coming next. heh #wetblanket
