Lowe: Capped-Out Blazers Are Free Agency Losers

https://www.blazersedge.com/2017/7/...rades-allen-crabbe-evan-turner-espn-zach-lowe

ESPN’s Zach Lowe names Portland as a loser in free agency, handcuffed by huge contracts as other teams passed them by.



ESPN’s Zach Lowelabeled idle Portland a “loser” in 2017 NBA Free Agency, because other Western Conference teams made smart transactions to improve their rosters.

With the Trail Blazers currently expected to be luxury tax payers at season’s end, their free agency flexibility was limited. So aside from waiving Festus Ezeli and moving Tim Quartermanto the Rockets, the Blazers have made no real moves since the NBA Draft.

Lowe reminds readers that “the priced-out Blazers” could have more than $130 million in player payroll in each of the next three years. Portland’s last significant roster move was acquiring Jusuf Nurkić from the Denver Nuggets, along with a draft pick that helped the team acquire Zach Collins on Draft Night.

Standing still in the West is like pulling your hamstring in a road race and watching everyone whiz by you. The Blazers are coming off a .500 season, and at least two teams below them -- the Wolves and Nuggets -- are primed for a leap. Utah and the Clippers should hang in the playoff race. Portland could have more than $130 million, and perhaps much more, committed in each of the next three seasons.

He also discusses the risk Neil Olshey took in signing Evan Turner to a sizeable contract, then matching an even larger offer sheet for Allen Crabbe. Are those contracts tradeable?

Nope. Portland would need to sweeten the pot with a first-round pick to flip either of those guys right now. In hindsight -- and you know what they say about hindsight -- they probably should have picked one.

Lowe had more upbeat thoughts about Al-Farouq Aminu and Maurice Harkless, who are signed to smaller contracts. He also likes the addition of Nurkić, but isn’t convinced he’s enough to topple the new Western order.

The Blazers have upside. Their best players are young, and they went 14-5 with Jusuf Nurkic in the starting lineup before he broke his leg. But the landscape has changed.

Visit his article for far more analysis of the free agency season, including why he believes one of the big winners was “Boredom.”

 

Given the Blazers were never going to have significant cap space this summer even if they'd done nothing last summer, this analysis seems pretty weak.

 

The point is, our only valued players seem to be Aminu and Harkless but guess what? they are on very favorable contracts that we would rather keep where as we were toxic as fuck with Turner, Crabbe, and Aminu. Those are tough contracts to move so we essentially fucked ourselves with those three contracts

 

Zach Lowe also was not a major player in free agency. So... Take that for data

 

No, the point is that we would have had no cap space of significance regardless of whether we signed those contracts or not. Aminu's contract is very favorable so I assume you meant Leonard. Crabbe and Turner have overinflated contracts that are getting less so every summer. I'd rather have them than nonexistent cap space. Leonard's contract is bad, but not that large in the scheme of things.

 

Yeah thats what I meant. It's not really about the cap space, more so we could of done more if we had more favorable contracts which Turner,Crabbe, and Leonard signings screwed us out of doing

 

So when we don't sign any significant free agents in all those years when we do have cap space, what is the excuse then?

 

El nino.

Players also don't like driving their fancy cars on our roads cause of all the pot holes.

 

When has Portland ever been a free agency winner? Brian Grant?

 

Andre Miller was Portland's last non-calamitous free agent strike.

 

Not surprised Lowe wrote this. He has been down on the Blazers since LMA left. Never buys in and constantly talks down about them, he likes certain players just not our team.
This also seems to be an article more about others got "better" while we couldn't but he offers no solutions to any of our problems and not signing anyone to a contract last season wouldn't' let us have capspace or make any significant moves this year anyway.

 

Zach "I'm an expert because I watch league pass" Lowe.

Just kidding. Lowe is cool. This little section ain't. Don't know what he's trying to say.

 

You guys think he's wrong?

 

What did he say that you find incorrect?

 

He hasn't been wrong....projected 48 wins last year before the season when all the fans were saying 50+.

Well....

 

He said something negative. That's enough to get the homers going

 

Zach is one of the best. And actually he is 100% right on this writing.

 

So you believe that free agents are trying hard to get to Portland but can't because of our cap situation? Because history shows that?

The point is that having more cap flexibility this year would have us with less talent and would be as useful as RLEC was.

I'm sure NO could have made a bad deal just to get one on the books to make Lowe happy. But why? NO would have made a deal if a good one was to be had. It wasn't, yet. Remember the whole Nurkic trade?????

 

What could we have done if we did not make the signings last summer?

Turner and Crabbe are overpaid but doubt we could have a better team if we tried to use money this year.