Crabbe is going to be our 3&D guy. Harkless will be better next season. Vonleh will be better next season. And somehow Olshey is going to use that cap space to further improve the team. I've had my bubble burst so many times. Somebody stop me, because I'm feeling optimistic again!
Really? "Most fun year I've had as a pro" "I can't imagine a better place than here" -Gerald Henderson on Portland and free agency
Stotts is next. He is proud of the player development by the players and the coaches. Everyone top-to-bottom improved. Chemistry was also amazing.
Stotts does not want to talk about free agency or his contract period. Shut down questions on both items.
Incorrect. His cap hold stays the same to us. The offering team, however, will have a hold of his amount.
I'm consistently guilty of falling in love with our players but I'm feeling so high about the team today I want to keep them both. This is a contract year for them, they both played their guts out and earned every penny of their salaries. They were ultra professional, great attitudes, great chemistry. I love that we drafted Crabbe and I got to watch him come into his own this season. I loved Hendo's veteran leadership, toughness, and general bad assery. It's like asking me to choose between Maurice Lucas and Jerome Kersey.
The impression I got from Crabbe's exit interview was that he wanted to stay in Portland. He said straight out that what's most important to him is being a part of system he feels comfortable and be successful in, rather than just getting paid. Take this excerpt from Crabbe's interview for example, "You know, it doesn't make sense to make a lot of money and go to a team that if you don't fit that system, then what? Get paid a lot of money and be frustrated? That doesn't make sense to me." Doesn't necessarily mean someone can't sweet talk Crabbe, telling him he can start on "their" team, how they'll bend over backwards for him, but I don't know if he'd feel comfortable in that sort of role.
I think our greatest asset in free agency will be Dame. To me, he appears to be a lobbier. Nice to have a leader who wants to lead. We didn't have it with Walton, Drexler, Sheed or Zach. We had it with B-Roy...damn, now I'm back to my fantasy where Brandon is playing in the same backcourt as Dame...sigh... P.S. Fuck LaMarshmallow. Go OKC.
Now that the season's over.... the default qoute becomes Paulie's line in Good Fellas. "F--k You. Pay me!" What about a home town discount? "F-ck you. Pay me!" I'd be the same way actually.
Dame has said in interviews that he won't actively recruit....or something like that. I hope he is just understating his role in landing players
