ok ok, everything i say is dumb, everything you say is smart. Nothing was possible and even if it is - all those player wouldn't stay in Portland because you say so. Jokic is not better than anyone we have because we beat his young team (that means we should keep CJ too right?) The Raptors are lucky, if their front office had your mindset they would have never risked the all-star who wanted to finish his career there. And it's not about the grass is being greener - it's about this team's hourglass about to expire. I'm not the GM of this team, my job and reputation is not on the line here. As a fan - why not, i like Lillard and i want to see him play for the Blazers even though i know we can't win a championship with him as our best player. Now where are my likes?
Thank you for actually understanding the POV i was offering instead of disrespecting me for likes. I just want to point out the the Pelicans did get Ingram,Hart and Lonzo. The Clippers did get SGA in their package and the Bulls did get the opportunity to pick Donovan Mitchell in exchange for Butler. There are young players switching teams in this trade, this trade i threw out there is over-the-top on purpose - losing KAT for 2 all-star caliber players would be more appealing for them. Let's ride this out i guess...
We have not had a Dame with Melo game yet. Got to see that chemistry. If we hit 20 loses and say 8 wins then "tank" would certainly be a "fan option". Do NBA players want that?
Now #6 in the Lottery. For the vast majority historically, to have a snowballs chance in hell, you need to have at least HCA advantage going into the Playoffs to be a true contender. That means Portland would have to jump 10 teams between now and the end of the season which includes 3 teams that so far have over double the winning percentage the Blazers currently have. Impossible? No....but extremely unlikely given this roster and the injuries. The Clippers are currently the #4 team and are on pace for ~55 wins. They just got Paul George back so it seems very possible that winning percentage might even increase. So to pass the Clips to get into the top 4 and secure HCA, Portland would have to go 50-16 the rest of the season. Anyone see that happing? (Okay, anyone in their right mind? )
Thats true those teams did receive players, but they were all young and for the most part unproven especially when compared to the stars they were being traded for. I wouldnt trade Dame unless he asked to be traded, thats my opinion. He’s going to hold most of the Blazer all time records by the time he’s done, even if last year was as far as they go, Id be good with it.
Does any body remember all the crap the league and the media gave Mark Cuban a couple years ago for admitting early on in the season that they were tanking for a high lottery pick. That landed them Luka in the draft and an injured Porzingas via a lopsided trade. Now the two of them together look scary good and are going to be playoff contenders for years to come. I'm not saying that it's right or that i agree with tanking but as a small market team to make a big step forward sometimes that means losing some games and hoping to win the lottery. Otherwise you could be stuck in mediocrity forever. Just ask Mark Cuban how tanking a season worked out for him.
We're tanking now. It doesn't matter that Dame would be against it. Our team is so bad Dame can't save us.
1) I never called you dumb. I said the idea that someone thought we should trade for a star player several years ago is dumb to bring up now like it has relevance. I respect your posts. 2) I have no idea what you are talking about with getting likes. I have never made a post with an inkling of thought as to doing so only to get likes. I couldn't care less how many likes I have. 3) On a previous forum there was a guy who for years claimed we could've traded Aldridge and Batum for Harden and Ibaka before Harden was traded to Houston. He'd bring it up every time in a conversation like this to prove how smart of a GM he'd be. Well that trade would've been impossible at the time he claims it was available and besides that the Thunder only wanted to trade Harden to get out of paying all four of Harden, Ibaka, Durant, and Westbrook. They wouldn't have traded him for two other players that got paid huge contracts. I know the CBA and know what's realistic and what's not. For example, if you say you would've traded Dame for Kawhi in the summer of 2018 when he was traded to Toronto then fine. I can think that would be stupid but you're welcome to your opinion on that. However, if you say you wanted to trade Dame for Kawhi 4 years ago (which you did) then that isn't a realistic opinion.
I think this is the first time as a Blazers fan that I'd rather have a lottery pick than squeak into the playoffs. Why? In the past I always thought we had a chance... a chance to get out of the first round, and a chance to be competitive in the regular season leading up to it. This year? Bad off-season moves, coupled with injuries mean NO CHANCE in the conference. After we get rid of the garbage we picked up this offseason and add another young potential stud AND get healthy... we can be back to being relevant next year. This season is done. I want to look past it and invest in the future rather than watch Carmelo go up for dunks. Although we're getting both of them at the moment.
Why would making the playoffs be a good thing? Do you think this team can beat anyone in the playoffs? This is a bad team. I don't think it's crazy at all to acknowledge that now, and for team management to play for the future rather than trying to go from bad to just-below-mediocre the rest of the season. And it's better than saying, "We're three games out of the playoffs" all year and be disappointed by unreasonable expectations.
If and I know its a huge group of ifs, Zach and Nurk could make it back in time and were playing the way they’re capable of then I think the Blazers would be just as good as just about anyone. Most teams would struggle when their starting front court is hurt and their just trying to find something that works. Obviously Gasol didnt work out either, but say Nurks back in January its possible he’s played himself into things by April, if they squeeze into the playoffs they’ll be a much better team in that scenario, and they have two expirings they could use to try to bring in someone to help too.
I just don't see it. If those two guys come back, we will be better than we are now, of course, but I still think our offseason was a disaster, and I don't see us competing with any of the top four teams in the west. I guess we'll see if the team gets back to .500 like they were in their first six games or keeps playing around .200 ball like they have the last 10.
I don't think you're factoring in the fact we'll have fresh legs and a more experienced bench due to our early injuries than some of the hot start teams in the west....Utah and Denver in the past start out looking dominant in the west and then don't by the all-star break....we always play better after the break...also in developing a future contender you need your rookies playing against Lebron or Paul George in the playoffs ...nothing replaces that and I sure wouldn't have wanted to tank to get Adam Morrison at number 1 or Lonzo Ball. The lottery is a crap shoot usually..right now it's ugly but we sort of knew there'd be growing pains early....Lebron, AD, Paul George, Giannis or Kawhi get injured halfway through the season you might beat them without homecourt advantage as well..16 games in is not time to tank...actually to me it's never time to tank...trade up if you like a guy in the draft