We wanted something to happen at the trade deadline last year. Fans here bitched after the very first trade, that Neil was sitting on his hands. Do Something! Where's Neil? He's asleep, etc. He goes out and lands Powell. Did it matter in the end? No. Did he send a promising young player to try to help us improve? Yes. Last year at the draft, or before, fans were yelling Do Something Neil! He's asleep. Etc. He moves picks to land us Robert Covington. Did it win us a title? No. Was it a good move, and did he make a deal? Yes. But still, he's not doing anything. I get it, we all want to see CJ traded for Ben Simmons or Siakim. Of course, half the people that want those deals rip CJ to shreds on here, so of course those teams aren't going to make those deals. We can't have it both ways where both we want him gone he sucks, but also we expect nothing less than an ALL NBA player for him. I'm sure Neil recognizes that the team needs more help, but that the big stars aren't going to be landed with CJ. And if he moves CJ for Marcus Smart, this place would explode. So he's trying to save CJ, figuring if you can improve all the pieces around the team, we can actually still survive with a Dame and CJ backcourt. It takes two to make a deal. We need someone to want CJ, and have pieces we need, at least in a 3 way. And we've seen this past year in this forum how limited those options are. Because no fewer than a dozen of us have gone team by team saying nope. Nope. Nope. Which is why we've had focus on Grant, Siakim and Simmons. There's just not a lot of pieces that might be available we can land here. Some free agents will come here because they are who they are. And most will go to Brooklyn or GS or LA. It sucks. And again, I'm not happy with Neil's tenure AT ALL. I want him gone. But I guess like all of the normal negative nancies that get to call themselves realists during the season, I suppose I'll play that role now. It's super easy to call out NBA 2K trades on here.
That's not how that works. You're saying based on past behavior it's likely Neil will be risk-averse. This isn't to say that doesn't matter, it does matter what his track record looks like. I'm just saying past performance isn't 100% predictive of future performance and Dame has made his demand. These signings make a lot more sense as putting the necessary pieces in place before a trade, especially one where you want a lot of shooters for some reason. The answer is Neil wants pieces in place BEFORE he trades for Simmons. This is the way to maximize his leverage and talk Morey down from his two week drug trip and back to reality where CJ + DJJ + Little + Ant + some 1sts is the upper limits of what he can hope for in exchange for Simmons.
I'll grant you are making a 'fair' argument. You're even suggesting what I have and that's Olshey likely not making any needle-moving trade at the same time though, there's a definite deja vu vibe to what has happened so far. A Hezonja/Tolliver/Whiteside feel. And with the earlier note from Illimatic about Fisher saying that Olshey is still heavily invested in the Dame/CJ experiment and will require a no-brainer offer to even consider moving CJ, there just doesn't seem to be any real path to move that needle. Thus the frustration whether or not that means Dame demands a trade, I don't know.
How many of those guys would sign for the Vet Min? Probably none of them. I'd also like to sign Kawahi Leonard for the Vet min, but you don't include him because that's clearly absurd, many on that list aren't going for the Vet Min they are MLE territory or TPMLE or whatever nonsense cap space crap I barely pay attention to word is correct here. They would prevent us from using the MLE or TPMLE on someone else if we signed them even on the cheap end of what they can expect. Point is WAYYYYYY more than what we have signed for these bench role players. I would for sure like a lot of those guys in particular Elfrid Payton and Ntilikina.
Terry Stotts coached 170 Blazer players I believe...how is that running it back for years? One season he had 19 starting lineups...we've been a revolving roster for almost a decade...what we need is an identity and core that has chemistry
I can definitely see the deja vu vibe. And again, I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt he will pull something off. I understand the hate for him because I want him gone as well, for what he did in 2016 and 2017. All of the bitching these past 2 days just feels like a fight with an old girlfriend, where if I did something wrong that was small, bigger things from the past were brought up to further the fight and argument. There's nothing that can be done about his ineptness the previous seasons. Judging a Tony Snell signing as if it is the end of our offseason is just silly, though. And if it is, hey, I'll be right there bitching as well.
Why should people settle down and wait? Well I mean are ya'll posting from phones where you have Neil's house surrounded with pitchforks and torches? If so give me the GPS and I will join you, if not then probably no need to get riled up until we know what he's done. By all means call the FO and say Simmons or Siakiam for CJ or we will run you out of town on a rail, but the endless negativity is a bit old. If Siakam or Simmons had already been traded I'd be apoplectic with rage, based on Morey's Clinically INSANE "offers" clearly he's trying to gain leverage. Neil having the pieces in place to ensure Simmons is always surrounded by shooters and we shore up the SG spots is wise before pulling the trigger on a Simmons trade. As is his waiting until Morey's stash of crack cocaine and delusions of grandeur wears off a bit as the market for a trade dries up. Will this happen? I admit it's mostly borne on hope on my part, but since Simmons and Siakam haven't been moved, I'm still holding out hope.
Fischer has been spot on many of the FA stuff. Yet, some posters still want to call him a media wannabe.
If that ever happened I'd probably be in a Super Max for literally, not figuratively putting Olshey's head on a pike by the old Steel Bridge as a warning to the next GM's. THAT would be my schtick. In the meantime, I'm waiting for Siakam or Simmons ship to sail, hopefully to Portland before I whip myself into a stroke inducing fury.
this being your response to a rational (and plausible) take says more about you than him really. But ok you’re right, let’s all get under the covers and sob.
Dude I effing hate Olshey, but I'm on his team right now in the sense that I hope and pray every day that his proctologist manages to remove his head from his ass, and that he grows a pair of balls. I will be right there with ya'll if he fucks this up.
Listening to some cap people speculate that we may not even use the TPMLE since we're under the tax. I think that is not correct though. I think we are already barely over the tax line after all our signings + Greg Brown with one spot left to fill.
Each year we talk about this same "rational" take. And each year the result is the same. Excuse me if some people are sick of it.
