This Organization Needs to Change Their Mindset

In my opinion, this organization adopts the mindset of a pretender, not a contender. From the coach, to the GM, to a large portion of the fanbase. Regardless of whether you believe our roster, health, coach, or GM is good enough, it's apparent to me that the overall mindset and aura of the team will have to change if they actually want to get to where they want to go.

I'm going to compare a contending mindset and a "pretender" mindset, and I want you guys to think about which fits the Portland Trail Blazers.

1.) Contenders make the most of what they're given, pretenders talk about why they can't.
2.) Contenders are accountable and look for ways to improve, pretenders brush off their flaws as either unfixable or as "no big deal"
3.) Contenders don't rely on excuses, they simply try to improve. Pretenders make excuses.
4.) Contenders aren't happy with anything but top-level success, pretenders are happy with anecdotal success, moral victories, and marginal success

You can come up with more comparisons, but to me, the Blazers fall squarely under the "pretender" category.

1.) All season long, we heard excuses for why the Blazers couldn't have any sort of success while they lost to teams like Golden State (without their entire starting 5) , New Orleans (without Ingram or Zion), New York (by 24), Cleveland (without Love), Minnesota (by 14), etc.

Teams will lose these games, but these would be unacceptable losses by a team with a contender mindset, especially if they still had their top 2 players. However, all we heard was why they couldn't win these games. Why it was too difficult for them to take care of business against these teams. We didn't have enough to take care of business. These losses were brushed off with an attitude as if it was "just one game" and therefore not important. This was from the fanbase, but I also got this feeling from Terry Stotts as well.

This extends to Neil Olshey as well, who constantly talk about how free agents won't come to Portland, how they have "limited tools at their disposal", among other things. Whether this is true or not, these are excuses for him not doing a better job as our GM. The top GMs in the league wouldn't focus on this limitations, they'd get creative and try to figure out how to make the most of the situation they're given instead of bemoaning their limitations. Olshey doesn't seem to have that mindset.

2.) Speaking of Terry Stotts, his lack of accountability all season long was disturbing. I rarely (if ever) heard him say he could've done a better job. I rarely heard him go in-depth on the issues plaguing the team and how they needed to be fixed. The general narrative was "They made some shots, we missed some shots, we're injured, what can we do".

3.) How many times did we hear how we couldn't do certain things? How we didn't have the personnel to improve defensively over the course of the season. How we didn't have the personnel to do anything more than run one defensive scheme (which we ranked 28th in defensively). How many times did we hear "we didn't make shots" as a blanket excuse for any issues are offense had during the course of a game?

4.) Now the organization and fanbase is talking about how their happy with how things went. How their proud. Note that they just took a step back from a WCF trip to losing in the 1st round in 5 games. But I'm sure that was due to (insert excuse here)...

BONUS: We've seen how this team plays down to their competition and how they get complacent when they're up big in games. Are we sure this wouldn't happen in regards to overall regular season success across multiple games? Are we sure these awful mental lapses would fix themselves just by having a "better roster"? I don't think they would.

I don't like the vibe coming from the organization. I love this team and want to see them contend, but the mindset isn't there, at all. I also don't believe it's just going to happen with a better roster, as I think our coach, GM, and a large portion of our fanbase have adopted this mindset.

I'm a die-hard fan, I want us to contend, and badly. Sometimes I wonder if that want isn't matched by the organization itself. I know a lot of people will reply telling me why I'm wrong while using the excuses that I outlined here, but that might prove my point. Or maybe I'm wrong. I'm not sure.

 

100% reaktalk

 

In fairness to the organization, most fans are perfectly happy with this. Hell, just read this forum

 

100% agree, everybody in the organization should read this.

 

Bones. Not that i disagree but 29 other teams lose every year. Do you think of those teams who made it to the playoff but dont win, are also like this?

 

Sure, a lot of them are. But so what? You want our team to be special, don't you?

 

And some fans are just professionally unhappy.

 

If the NY Knicks can't do it, despite being in the city that has the best claim to being the capitol of the WORLD, can we really expect it out of little-ol' Portland?

But here, let's make it short and sweet:
1. Fire Olshey
2. Hire Masai Ujiri (somehow)

It's about as realistic as any suggestion, and a lot shorter.

Or how about this:
Allow Nike to get involved in team ownership. THEN you'd have something. Somehow I doubt the rest of the league would approve, though.

 

They already are. Its all in the eye of the beholder.

 

That’s probably true also. Depression is a horrible affliction

 

I don't quite understand loving this team except for the vibe, GM coach roster and majority of the fans that cheer for them.....there are other teams with different cultures to cover and cheer for....I enjoy Blazer basketball so put me in the category of fans that accept and actually like the team for what they are....they weren't winning a championship for quite a few reasons this season..mostly health in my view. I agree with Dame's view on the team, not this take presented here. Nobody cheering is pretending to be a Blazer fan....not liking virtually anything about the organization and franchise or trusting the direction might be pretending to be a fan.....the bottom line for enjoying sports doesn't need to entail being a dynasty or bust. I'd say to most fanbases it's the same as far as support and fans. I'm a Beaver fan...they're rarely going to beat the Ducks in anything but baseball. Doesn't rile me up though

 

I was happy this year. They tried something different. Dame and CJ DO NOT WORK together defensively

 

I think it works better with Hood or Ariza next to them

 

Better, yes, but not good enough

 

I'm not opposed to trading CJ and Zach

 

Neither of which is likely to happen.

 

Surprise me....anybody think Melo would be a Blazer at the beginning of the season? I sure didn't.....I didn't think Gary Trent would emerge before Ant did either...part of the fun of a season

 

I pretty much agree...but that would be fine with me as well.....I like the idea of Jrue Holiday next to Dame

 

I don't think anybody is opposed to upgrading. But change for the sake of change has never worked here in Portland.

Can you get somebody better? If so you make the change

 

Trent is the solution to that.