I think it is better now (after), as it seems they have showed that the franchise is committed and ready to make the necessary moves to improve. I can't recall the last time we made so many roster changes, sure in part to the amount of UFA we had, but I also think it is due to the organization (Neil, Jody) believing in the core as well and making smart decisions to help us out in the near future too. I certainly still think there is room to improve, but that's just how we act as fans anyways. We always want more!
Better fit for sure. There won't be this audible groan at the beginning of every game knowing Dame/CJ are completely offset on the offensive end by Chief/Mo. That in itself makes me want to see this version.
so far, an 'exchange' of: Turner, Aminu, Mo, Kanter, Meyers, Curry, & Layman for: Bazemore, Whiteside, Hezonja, Tolliver, & Little and Nurkic is still injured I don't think you can say it's better generically. Probably not. It's certainly less established depth. The overall fit might be better and that can be worth a lot. But it sure looks like the Blazers are banking heavily on the organic growth of Collins and Simons. That's a definite risk right now, at the start of next season compared to the start of last season with a healthy Nurkic, I don't think the Blazers are better. There might be a lot more upside with next year's team but often, upside never shows up but there are still 2 roster spots open and that can really change the equation. And there is still the potential for trades
I understand what your saying and do agree with some of it, however, Nurk didn't play all that well in the early part of last year and I think we need to consider that Whiteside will look like a legit replace emit much like Kanter did. I actually expect him to average 15 &12 right from the start and then couple that with Bazemore, Hezonga and the growth of Trent and Simons, well? looks pretty promising to me. But we will have to see, for sure...
The biggest change will be the impact on the culture. We swapped out half the team so this will be a big season for Dame to lead.
Last year Mo was in and out of the lineup for months. This year we have wings up the wazoo. The Blazers look set to play uptempo small ball lineups and have a center who loves to finish alley oop plays. Should be a huge uptick in exciting play. Nurk’s return timeline is obviously a concern, but the Nurk/Whiteside should be awesome when he gets there.
sure....I was just going off of right now, thinking about going into the season, and comparing that to the Blazers at the beginning of last season. There's probably too much unknown about the mesh of the new team, and we might not even be looking at the full roster Zach and Simons are going to have expanded roles...no doubt about that. We can have hopes and invest in some hype but we can't really know for sure how they will perform. And it easily could be they will eventually perform well but have a tough start to the season. They will be under some pressure for sure. we can't really know how well Bazemore/Hood will do in relation to Mo/Aminu. We can think the fit is better and that we'll see more shooting consistency but adjusting to new teammates and systems could take time I wouldn't be surprised if Portland struggles to start the season. 3 of 5 starters will be gone and the Blazers will be missing at least 5 primary rotation players from last season. It could take some time for the new team to jell, and in 3 of the previous 4 years Portland struggled at the beginning of seasons
I'll take Whiteside (Defense>Offense) over Kanter every day of the week and twice on Sunday. May of lost a little depth but come May next year we'll be waay better.
My feeling is that the Blazers really want to rely on Simons and Zach to perform, and thats why I said not sure yet. If they even live half way up to the teams hype then I love this off season, if they dont, next summers going to be another very interesting one.
I think we have added enough vets that the gamble on Simons and Zach isn’t a big one. We already know that ZCO can contribute. He was a key part of the playoff run. Simons is definitely an unknown but I think this is exactly how you introduce a kid that age to the rotation. Slowly and with lots of support. If he struggles they can definitely weather it.
If simons cant play point and Mario doesnt work out they’re gonna be awfully thin with ball handlers.
Our biggest move has been the whiteside addition. And I really don't like his attitude. So, I'm pretty meh on the off-season so far. Love the Hood contract and kicking the tires on Mario. Turner for Baze is a wash. Losing Aminu and Curry for nothing isn't great. Are we sure we're better now than we were last yr?
Clearly Neil doesn't have the balls to take risks or make big changes. Hahahahaha Hahahaha Hahahahahahaha Hahaha I love you guys.
I agree floor spacing is important, and stretch 4s are the way to play. But at center, I'm old school. I like centers that collect rebounds like the IRS on tax day. And protect the rim. Whiteside should be the best center doing that dirty work allmost every game. I believe his impact will be huge most games. We should be a better team this season. The true test will be the playoffs. My guess is, the players from last season that are gone, are the players that did not show enough in the playoffs. Weak links next to Dame and CJ. Time to go for it, and I like our new roster.
