Yes - a "Player's GM" makes MUCH MORE sense than a Player's Coach. The GM like Billups would be able to relay the fact to his players that you don't have to like your coach, you just have to respect him.
I can but I think if this owner faced this kind of reality it could cause him to sell. I’m sure he would like to at least win one championship before he dies or sells. It’s too bad he’s bought into and wasted 6 years of his life on this GM.
They're sure been trying their best to kill interest in the team the past 3 years, maybe it's all a false flag quanspiracy after all to move the team!
You along with everyone else who voted 'Yes'. Signs up by buying season tickets and being at every single game. If you're unwilling to do this, then you're unwilling to sit through a full, philly style rebuild.
Neil Olshey said he spoke with Paul Allen last night and the Blazers' owner said he was happy with the regular season "and the way we competed." Allen's message: "Find a way to get better or you will be valet parking cars at the Moda next season."
I've STOPPED going to games because of how they play now and the mediocrity they are in. Watch every game on TV but not going to spend the kind of time and money that season tickets requires. So I'm up for a rebuild because this clearly isn't working. 10 straight Playoff losses isn't close to anything but false hopes unless there are MAJOR changes.
I actually think Olshey is decent at identifying talent. Decent, not good - he whiffed on the Swanigan & Leonard picks. He did do well with CJ, Crabbe - Collins is looking promising (but was he worth the move up). But by geez he's made bad decisions with his frivolous spending on uber-mediocre players & targeting what would've turned out to be terrible signings in hindsight (Parsons etc). His resigning of Leonard was like giving a contract to the intern who set the office on fire and erased the company servers. Just idiotic. Turner was good in Boston, but just hasn't fit & is a massive overpay for what he brings. Looking at his tenure here in the whole I'm actually hoping Mr Allen decides to bring in a new GM (& coach) for a completely fresh look.
I've said it before...I like stability in the front office...if Jerry West were to take Olshey's job....sure...if Popovich wanted to live closer to his winery in Oregon and coach...sure....other than that I think change for change sake would come with the price of throwing away a damned good culture just because the team didn't play well in the first round. 3 years into developing a core, we're probably two key players from contending. I expect both rookies to improve, Baldwin to improve, Nurk to improve, Turner to improve, Meyers to cheer.......I'd probably sell high on CJ though.
And it took them six years to get back to the playoffs where it looks like they will win a series before getting beat. Of course, you could also be in for a Timberwolves rebuild, which took 14 years and they’re still likely to lose in the first round.
People love to point to 10 straight playoff losses... Yet people conveniently forget to mention that 6 of those games were against the 73 win team Warriors or the team which lost ONCE in the playoffs. Do you really think Portland should've been competitive against those two teams? Then you go to this year, Portland went into the series, many thought it would go to 6. Yet if you weren't being a homer, Portland would only be favored @ home against the Pelicans. Especially given how close the West was this year. Portland got swept, and imo it was largely due to coaching. But for anyone to say they'd be willing to sit through a complete rebuild needs to ask themselves one thing. Are you willing to not only watch the shitty product by attending games, but are you willing to increase your spending on memorabilia/merch? Remember this is a business. If you're unwilling to do both of those things. Then you are not willing to sit through a Philly-style rebuild.
I don't understand people saying we have a good culture. If by 'good guys' then yes we have a good culture - but in relation to basketball production - it stinks. Our leadership has produced a team that regularly gives up huge leads early in games (poor mental prowess & preparation), low effort on court (defense and wont run) , no accountability for poor decisions, also can't ever finish off a team often letting them back into the game. There is no killer instinct, there is spotty effort, faux-toughness and what looks like a superiority complex that justifies relaxed, sloppy play. They are nice guys - but the culture is terrible, and I hope it is razed to the ground.
Let me ask you a question: Even though it was regular season, how on Earth would a team as bad as you make it seem win 49 games?
What high draft picks did they trade for future high draft picks? Are you referring to the Philly trade in the 2017 draft? If so, that trade was simply to move down two spots to draft the player they were going to take anyway at #1 and get a really good future pick in the process.
That isn't really what I meant, you don't have to go watch the next Shaq in person. You just have to time it right with the draft. Tanking for Michael Bennet ain't worth it
I think we need to start growing our own players. By that I mean we need to construct a compound, maybe in Eastern Oregon, and convince high quality athletes, male and female, to produce offspring that will spend their first 20 years at the compound. There we will train them to be NBA players, without distraction. This will all be kept secret, so that no other team will be able to draft these prospects. Given an appropriate selection of breeding pairs, we will be able to dominate the league in a few decades. barfo
Lillard was good enough to pull the team over the hump in a lot of games. This seasons win total was artificially increased from injuries to other teams, and extra-ordinary play from Lillard. Before the win streak we were well on our way to an early summer. The same tendencies can be seen in the preceding years. (addition of Nurk) I actually believe there is some good talent on the team - but it is not utilized correctly. A new coach could extract better performance from this exact same roster (ball movement, passing, BREAKING!) but i feel it would all be undermined by a team that lacks mental toughness, is streaky and sometimes downright lazy (defense & running).