Don't embrace a losing culture. Ship out vets who can win us meaningless games but who can't contribute to a winning culture for young players and draft picks who have more potential to do so. Make sure we have the absolute best developmental coaching staff possible. The losses will come as our young guys develop. Any vets should be guys who have had success but are no longer capable enough to play heavy minutes.
Mods: title edit request >> Pick a lane, Cronin << so it doesn't look like it belongs in the OT section
not in the lottery...no chance I think the NBA operates mostly on immediacy. The 2025 draft is next, and most of the evaluations say it will be a historically good draft at the top. Teams with a chance at a top pick won't be trading out. And the Blazers don't really have a 1st to trade till 2029.
yeah....I don't really buy the notion that any culture, good or bad, is being created right now. Players aren't stupid if anything, benching the young guys to play the veterans big minutes in order to win 36-37 games will have more of a negative effect than anything else
They explored Ant trades in the podcast too. Spurs and Magic featured heavily as potential Ant destinations.
its not a big deal if he doesnt start. n 1998, 19 year old sophomore Kobe Bryant was selected as a starter for that years all star game. However, he was also the Lakers 6th man. Even funnier, despite being the only all star starter as 6th man, he did not win 6th man of the year that season.
The posts in the comment section are what I can't understand. Starting Scoot and Ant together while bringing Sharpe off the bench makes no sense to me.
This is the worst place to be for a team desperate to draft a true #1, especially before a draft with a possibly transcendent player like Flagg. If anything, we should bottom out.
Until they all get injured and the starting shooting guard is Matisse Thybulle with Dalano Banton beside him in the backcourt.
GM Joe maxed out Portland's salary cap. Play-in possibilities should not be excluded from fan expectations. a sneakier stealth tank may be required to improve lottery percentages. There's just too many good rookies next summer to ignore. stealth tanking involves coaching. Billups running offensive sets that invite easy opponent transition baskets. Defensively, the drop zones, the box zones, the standard 2-3 zones, the double team zones. Basically every Billups zone tends to get torched in the NBA. We even see players asking coach what zone to play, as opponents roar past guys for an easy bucket. Trading a starter at the deadline for future picks can create a Jenga moment. Add in a sprinkle of starters who fake injuries, both timelines can be met. A team that looks better on paper, is more fun to watch, then tanks the living hell outta the final 2 months. Circa 2023 Cronin tank. Maybe if Portland gets lucky, an expensive starter will demand a trade to Miami. Jody's rich !! Let's draft
