After looking at the Beal trade, it appears that Portland could have Porzingis for nothing if they just had some big expiring contracts or could figure a way to route Nurkic to another team.
Yeah, Porzingis was traded for basically nothing back at the deadline from Dallas, so I'd think we could've acquired him then or yes still could now for very little cost. Blazers have much less flexibility to add talent as you note since Cronin took over and we pocketed cash savings in trades or letting guys walk, exceptions expire.
too big a differential in salary between KP vs Nurkic+filler besides that, one big reason I'd like the Blazers to move on for Nurkic is that he can't stay healthy; he's simply not dependable. Porzingis has major problems staying health, just like Nurkic. He's a better scorer for sure, and probably a defender than Nurk, but he's another injury-magnet big and he 20M/year more expensive than Nurk.
If this year taught us anything, it’d that you CAN’T just suck all year , get on a roll, and then ride a 7/8 seed to the championship.
So don’t try? Better example is OKC drafting KD, RD, and Harden in 3 straight drafts and getting to the Finals 3 years later. They just fucked up trading Harden.
The problem wasn't' so much trading Harden. It was that they traded Harden for a steaming pile of garbage.
Of course not. Just pointing out that there's no more reason to believe that building a contender through the draft is going to be successful than there is through rebuilding around Dame.
Disagree. Building a contender isn't usually something that can be done in a matter of a couple seasons, unless you're able to attract superstars through free agency (which we do not.) Boston (KG/Ray/Pierce) Miami (Wade/LeBron/Bosh) Lakers (LeBron/AD) Cleveland (drafted Kyrie/signed LeBron/traded for Love) It's funny because three of those four teams had LeBron... so we just need to get LeBron. Boston is really our best hope for a template, but I don't think we have the resources to go get a KG and Ray Allen. The other teams took years to build. Golden State (drafted Curry/Klay/Draymond) Nuggets (drafted Jokic/Murray/MPJ) Spurs (drafted Duncan/Parker/Manu) Bucks (drafted Giannis and traded for Jrue and Middleton)
History has shown you can get to the championship as an 8th seed, Miami just did it. Winning it will happen by a team at some point (cus they kept the hot streak going) but not saying it will be POR.
They got to the Finals.... twice now actually..... and then got completely outclassed by the team from the west. It wasn't even remotely close. It reminds me of when we made that run in 2019. We got past a dysfunctional Thunder team that was arguably more talented but was lacking in chemistry (sounds like Boston this year) and we got past an inexperienced Nuggets team, but we got completely exposed against Golden State. Miami has a better roster than we do. Butler/Bam is a better foundation than Dame/Grant. So yes, sometimes the stars align and you can make a deep run, but eventually you will most likely run into a team that isn't hurt or isn't playing below their potential.
hell yes. Zion acting as paint bully, zinger at the 3 to space the floor on offense and rim protecting on D.
