The Offseason Hint Hidden in Olshey's Presser...

Haven't seen this mentioned anywhere yet (if it has, feel free to merge, mods), but did anyone else catch Olshey's comment when talking about acquiring a second round pick???

When asked (by Quick, I think) about whether or not we were trying to get back into the second, Neil first talks about the price being too high, but then makes a quick mention of being unsure whether or not we would have a roster spot. Last I checked, we're set to have about FIVE open roster spots...

Maybe I'm reading too much into that comment, but it sure sounds like they've got a few things already locked into place when the new year starts... Could be a trade, but probably (more likely) resigning at least a few of our impending free agents... should be interesting!

 

I think it was the combination of the cost and needing to keep flexibility to sign our own free agents..

I will mention he said a couple times the July 1st date, so clearly we'll be doing *something*

 

That's exactly what we talked about in the live stream. Way to pick up on that.

 

Hard to say, but he might be speaking in terms that he expects players to be back until they sign elsewhere and thus pretty much a full roster at this time. We also really don;t need anymore young unproven players at this stage as I imagine Olshey will look for some vets to fill out any holes in the roster.

 

Also, he had a kinda throw away comment about big deals coming up in FA. I'm gonna re-watch today

 

It ALL could be nothing, but the context of what he said was (paraphrasing) "we weren't sure if we'd have a roster spot".

It seems to reason that if the decision is between acquiring a pick for a rookie OR saving a spot for a veteran -- both of those being in the future, that you'd just choose whichever you preferred -- it wouldn't be noteworthy. Neil admitting they were calling around trying to get into the 2nd, but that they ALSO might not have a spot for the kid -- to me -- suggests that the wheels are already moving on multiple other moves.

 

Well if they’re bringing Aminu and Jake back it would only leave two roster spots. Assuming Simons replaces Curry, we’d still have two rotation spots to fill. That’s why I liked the Hoard signing. We get a developmental prospect without touching the actual roster.

 

Hood and Kanter. I still think they are going to find a way.

 

Kanter messaging Little certainly seems to bode well for that...

 

Nice catch. He's probably got plan A in the back of his mind.

Knowing the Blazers though, they're probably going to end up with plan R.

 

Technically speaking he didn’t say welcome....technically speaking.

 

Jokes aside, there just aren't that many different avenues to go down this offseason...

Either:

• our impending FAs agree to sign on mandatorily team-friendly deals (sidenote: after 4 years of bitching about the Crabbe, Turner, Mo and Meyers deals, how wonderfully ironic would it be to then sign Nurk, Kanter and Hood to very nice, longterm deals???)
• we bide our time with typical Neil "off-the-scrapheap" FAs
• or we roll with our younger core and fill in with more young pieces (based on his comments last night of being in the win-now mode, this option seems exceedingly unlikely)...

For the first time in, I think, EVER, I think most -- if not just about all -- of the fanbase and Neil AND the organization are all on the same page...

 

"This is a very small acquisition for a much bigger picture, that we have got to keep our eye on the ball when it comes to July 1st and building our roster. "

What does he have in store?

 

With Little the Blazers need to prolly let one of the SF walk or Trade -- now we ALL want them to trade Turner but my gut feeling is Layman will prolly get a deal with another team like Pat C did only maybe for a tad more not much more but a little since i think he has proven more in the league then Pat C had done when he was a FA last summer. My guess is Layman will get a 2 yr 6 to 8 millions deal from some team wanting depth -- I could see the Spurs picking him up and Pops molding him into a good role player who is consistant.

 

This is probably his best press conference ever. He actually seemed like he was giving us honest info and didn't sound like a fucking Kirby salesman.

 

That quote was in reference to trading for a second rounder, no? I think he just means they have four rotation players about to hit free agency (five if you want to count Layman) with only four open roster spots (three if Layman returns)

I wouldn’t read too much more into it.

 

The last few minutes were the most I've liked Neil Olshey since he's been here.

 

No one has mentioned that he also stated that the demands for some of those picks were too much for him. He then went on to say that it's important not to get caught up in the draft day frenzy, such as throwing away picks. I believe he was interested in particular players, but the asking price was too high. It's hard to say how that aspect translates to plans for the roster because he hints that it was a variable until it stopped being one.

 

I agree. GREAT interview. I'm glad I watched the whole thing. Almost blew it off....