I find it interesting that fans who can't kick Billups to the curb fast enough....seem to be tone deaf to his respect around the league, and also to the elephant in the room. This group of players is a real team. They play with each other. They play for each other. They play fucking hard. Are we to assume that this happened organically without CB's coaching? Was it just the players who are making that happen? If that is the case, does that not in itself speak to the brilliance of Joe? What gives?
Yeah, that video seems pretty accurate. How many times do you see the camera pan the courtside seats and see people paying more attention to their phone than the action on the court? They are not fans. They are there to be seen, There is no excuse for negotiating a new TV deal where the owners and players both make money while ticket prices increase. They need to give the fans some of that money in the way of lower ticket prices. The game needs a crazy atmosphere like you see in college football.
It's not like the NBA is the only place this happens, all sports and all entertainment is like this. Ski resorts, music concerts, Disneyland, Tropical vacations, restaurant, etc. They all are drastically different and more expensive than decades ago. It's just normal business. The NBA would've done this 40 years ago if they could. It'll continue to change in the following decades. Fans can root for the team for free. If you want to physically attend games you might need to go in the regular season or certain holidays or non premium weekdays. Or save up and go to fewer games. Your choice. I don't see any problem with this.
Yeah I've thought the Billups hate around here and Blazer fans is ridiculous. But Stotts had all sorts of haters even getting those shit rosters to the 3 seed or playoff series wins. NBA fans delusionally blaming the coach just happens all the time.
You make it sound like this changed recently. It's been this way for at least decades. It's always been known fans at the 300 level were more passionate than 100 level. Mark Cuban put his seats up there for awhile many years ago. All entertainment businesses in the US sell seats for the most they can. College football with company luxury boxes is no different. Looks at the Superbowl or College football national championship with NIL. There just as or more commercial. Only difference with NBA is courtside seats aren't a thing in football.
[QUOTE="SharpesTriumph, post: 5798270, member: 29663"]You make it sound like this changed recently. It's been this way for at least decades. I [/QUOTE] How did I make it sound like it changed recently?
Sometimes fans are. A ton of fans on here wondered why we drafted a lesser version of Dame in CJ, the year after drafting Dame. A lot of those same fans disagreed with the guy who ran our team for a living that Dame and CJ were a good fit as a starting back court overall. That's just one example from this fanbase. Almost every fan everywhere knew that David Kahn didn't know what the fuck he was doing when he drafted Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn back to back... especially since most mocks had Steph Curry going before those guys because if you remember he was a pretty big media darling since leading Davidson to the Elite Eight the year before. Most fans were smarter than Chris Grant when he took Anthony Bennett number one in the draft in 2013. As Blazers fans we were all much smarter than Neil most of the time, seriously most of us were. We weren't smarter than Pritchard but a lot of fans were smarter than the guys that hired Pritchard (Nash and Patterson). Acting like the person at the top of an organization is there every time because they're the best person for the job is naive. This world isn't a pure meritocracy, fuck ups get to places they shouldn't all of the time. Then there is the absolute fact that there are a lot of fans of every sports team that do jobs that take a lot more mental acuity than running a pro sports team does. I don't know if those people are in this forum necessarily but still most of us have had our moments where we could see things clearer than whoever made the final decisions in our front office.
Been my mantra for a number of years. Reading and listening to people constantly pick apart the coach for things they have no idea on what the underlying issues might be. So many things during any game might be happening that could be affecting the decisions made during the game.
I can't read it because I don't have a subscription, but it looks like there is an interesting article on the push for a new arena at OLive: "A coalition that cuts across Oregon’s captains of industry and former Portland Trail Blazers are pushing Gov. Tina Kotek and Mayor Keith Wilson to heed NBA Commissioner Adam Silver when he says Rip City “likely needs a new arena” to keep the team here." https://www.oregonlive.com/business...yers-press-case-to-keep-team-in-rip-city.html maybe somebody can post the pertinent parts I've been thinking since Silver said what he said that it wasn't a random comment but was actually specific to the sale of the Blazers and feedback he's had from those involved. I'm not convinced a renovation of the Moda will keep the team in Portland.
I typed in Rip City Forever: New group seeks to keep Trail Blazers in Portland in google and there is a article for KOIN 6 news that has a article up. A group of former Portland Trail Blazers, team officials and community leaders is coming together to make sure that the team stays in Portland. The new group, named Rip City Forever, is helmed by former player Chris Dudley along with former executives Marshall Glickman and Erin Hubert. In a press release, the organization said the sale of the Blazers opens the door for a new owner to move the team. While the NBA prefers the Blazers remain in Portland, there is no guarantee. Bigger cities with newer and better arenas would love to steal our team. Seattle’s loss of the Sonics in 2008 is what happens when a community fails to prepare in advance of an ownership change to adapt, compete and win. I am committed to working with the community, elected officials and league officials to ensuring the Blazers remain and succeed in Portland for decades to come,” said Dudley. So far, over 100 community leaders across Oregon and Southwest Washington have signed an open letter to Portland Mayor Keith Wilson and Governor Tina Kotek. There is also a website where the public can add their names to the letter. In the letter, the organizers said that “losing this cornerstone of our civic pride would be devastating.”
There is also another article that has the headline " Kevin Love, Eric Spoelstra seek to keep Blazers in Portland" But that article is also blocked from the Portland Business Journal Seem like Chris Dudley, Kevin Love and Spoelstra is going to bat for us.
Think we need to see who the new owner is first. Then we can see what they want for an arena. Maybe they want a complete teardown and rebuild of the Rose Garden. Maybe they want a totally different location. Maybe they want a lot of public financing for it. Maybe they want very little public financing but more freedom to control all surrounding development. Maybe they want a casino attached. Just seems pointless to speculate until we hear who the new owners are.
I don't think it's pointless to speculate. If it was, Adam Silver wouldn't have speculated. I think he was speculating from feedback he's privy to from the auction for the Blazers. He's likely either heard things from the Vulcans, or heard things from bidders. Or probably both sure, a new owner might come in and say a major renovation of the Moda will be enough and he'll pay for it. Seems unlikely but it's possible
I don't totally disagree, but if we wait until it is sold, isn't that too late if they intend to move the team if they don't get what they want? It's not like they would say that before they buy it. (i.e Seattle scenario) I like that these guys are being proactive.
Almost like those threads EVERY summer asking about what our rotation will be and win total FOUR MONTHS BEFORE WE EVEN KNOW THE FINAL ROSTER!!!!!!!?!??!?!???????!?!?!?????
