Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th seed

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

It's not a matter of opinion. It is fact that only 1 of the last 48 lottery winning picks has won a title for the team that drafted him. That can't be debated. And who knows? Maybe Oden will continue the tradition by winning a title for another team.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

I think that we absolutely MUST use the 3-pronged approach to building a contender. Trading LMA for multiple pieces will make it easier, and quicker, to do so, and it really won't throw us back into the "dark ages". I think we can agree that the "FA prong" is the last card that we'll be able to play - only if we're successful in building a competitive team through the draft and trades will quality FAs be drawn to the team.
Also, I disagree with you that OKC are the favorites to come out of the West. I don't see them recovering from the Harden trade.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

By the way- we have a #2, #5, and #6. Shouldn't that be enough? Or will Aldridge and Lillard ultimately win titles elsewhere. That's the pattern in the modern NBA.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Neither can most teams that have competed for a title have had at least 1 top pick on the team.

Your point makes no sense because the argument is about competing for a title. You compete for a title with high lottery picks. (most of the time) Saying a player didn't stay on a particular team means nothing. Without injuries, Roy, Aldridge and probably Oden are all here right now competing for titles. With a decent front office, Lebron is probably in Cleveland still. Miller, Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, Durant, Dirk, Kobe, Olajuwan, Ewing, Wade, Pierce, Jordan, etc...all stayed

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Yes, let's continue the tradition by helping Aldridge win a title elsewhere like we did with Drexler and Sheed. Those two won a title only a few months after we traded them.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

I get that Portland may already have two 'star' players (probably). Aldridge isn't exactly a household name, but he is an all star. Lillard was rookie of the year, he probably 'becomes' a bonafide star - or at least as much of a 'star' as he can become playing so far away from the major media lights. We hope so, at least. IF LaMarcus is content with staying in Portland, then by all means play for the playoffs, get some playoff seasoning, and go from there. What we don't know for sure, but many suspect, is that he wants out. If so, unless we trade for a 'star' to replace him (not likely, IMO), it's back to the lottery to mine for one.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Because our team was not in position to do so itself

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Not sure why you include players that failed to win a title. I'm not interested in second place. At all. Why won't you acknowledge that the top picks win with other teams in the modern era? Shaq, LeBron, Pau, Rasheed, KG won 10 of the last 14 titles but Orlando, Cleveland, Memphis, Washington, and Minnesota won nothing. How can you ignore that?

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Dirk wasn't drafted by Dallas, and he wasn't a top 5 pick. Same for Kobe. He wasn't drafted by the Lakers and he wasn't a top 5 pick. All the other guys were drafted >16 years ago. How many different CBAs has the NBA gone through in those 16+ years. What worked when Jordan, Ewing, Malone, Stockton, etc. were drafted no longer works. The rules have changed.

BNM

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Bingo

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

I disagree. You are assuming we will get someone BETTER than Aldridge and that they'll be better very soon. We would be relying on chance (the lottery), timing (having a top pick in THE right draft) and circumstance (drafting the right player, that he doesn't get injured, etc.) way too much. But say we did get lucky in the lottery in a year when a clear cut future Hall of Famer is available, how long before that player will be good enough to make us title contenders? It took Jordan 6 years to reach the finals. Shaq and LeBron made the finals rather early, but didn't win until they went to other teams. So, say we get lucky, get that once a decade superstar, after 4 years he can force his way out to the bright lights of LA or South Beach. Seems like an awful lot things have to go right, and then that great player you drafted and developed is likely to leave you. So you get the honor of being a farm team for the Lakers or Heat and you get to start over yet again.

We have one proven all star now, and one in the making. Why not continue to build around them and see how far they can take you. Stockton and Malone never won a title, but I would have rather been a fan of the Jazz than the Clippers in the 80s and 90s. The Clippers "won" the lottery a lot more, but the Jazz won a lot more games. I'll take known good, proven talent over the luck of the draw anytime.

BNM

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

I'm with you, BNM. As I said, we already have a #2, #5, and #6. Let's build around them.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

I disagree about Utah, though. I do not want to be an almost team. I gues it's better than 90s Clippers like you said.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

No, I'm not. I'm accepting of the fact that we WON'T get somebody as good as LMA. And I'm fine with that because a team that revolves around LMA will never compete for a title.
AND, if we're unlucky enough that he wants to stay in POR (which I highly doubt) that just puts us in a worse position because we'll be locking up $17-20M in a player who isn't good enough to be a key component to a title team, and plays at a loaded position where you can get 80% of the production for 50% (or less) of the cost.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Saying Dirk wasn't drafted by Dallas and Kobe wasn't drafted by LA is just being dishonest and a clear case of semantics.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

It is unlikely that we will be able to trade LMA for a superior player. It is also unlikely that letting him leave for nothing as a FA will improve the team. At some point, the team may have to choose between trading him or loosing him for that magical "salary cap flexibility" we always hear about - but which rarely results in much.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Saying that they were drafting 9th and 13th, respectively, is what matters in this discussion.

Eight picks before Dirk in 1998 draft

1 LAC Michael Olowokandi
2 VAN Mike Bibby
3 DEN Raef LaFrentz
4 TOR Antawn Jamison
5 GSW Vince Carter
6 DAL Robert Traylor
7 SAC Jason Williams
8 PHI Larry Hughes
9 MIL Dirk Nowitzski

12 picks before Bryant in 1996 draft

1 PHI Allen Iverson
2 TOR Marcus Camby
3 VAN Shareef Abdur-Rahim
4 MIL Stephon Marbury
5 MIN Ray Allen
6 BOS Antoine Walker
7 LAC Lorenzen Wright
8 NJN Kerry Kittles
9 DAL Samaki Walker
10 IND Erick Dampier
11 GSW Todd Fuller
12 CLE Vitaly Potapenko
13 CHH Kobe Bryant

I'm not even sure what MM and Denny are arguing at this point. Tanking for top picks flies counter to the Dirk/Kobe examples that they have given.

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

We have him under contract for two more seasons. I don't get why some posters seem so eager to trade him now. His trade value isn't going to go down anytime soon. And if this team shows marked improvement, the "need" to trade him may very well go away. It's also very rare that a RFA leaves for nothing. Due to the way the CBA is structured, it's almost always in both the player's best interest and the team he's leaving to work a sign and trade. You won't get equal value, but you probably wouldn't anyway if you traded him today.

I think the absolute earliest time to even consider trading Aldridge is at the trade deadline - and only then if the team is clearly not making the playoffs. And if a trade is imminent, I think a draft day trade next June may be the optimal time to get maximum value in return. I just don't understand the perceived need to trade our best player and trade him NOW. A lot can happen over the course of a season, let alone two. Why not keep your best players together a little while and see how well they gel as a team? I'd much rather watch a team with two really good players, and an improved supporting cast, trying to win games now than hoping the team loses so they get more ping pong balls in June.

BNM

 

Re: Blazers: Best offseason of all Westen Conference lottery teams, should be 7th see

Aldridge is the second best PF in the game. Too many of you are undervaluing him.