I think there will be trades this off season regardless of this statement by the estate managers. I do think it would make sense to be even more aggressive in moving Jerami. I fear that the team might not want to take on a contract when moving Ant that brings back more money but I still think he'll go too. Should be an interesting summer to be a Blazers fan. This summer I will refrain from the usual and just say... STAY BLAZERS!!!
I could see the team moving Simons for draft capital and short term contracts. I'm not sure what they will do about Grant. I think Ayton stays.
That's about where I stand as well. Then the new owner will come in and realize we don't have the assets to compete and will hit the reset button. We'll need to boost the value of our current young guys for a couple years so we can hopefully deal them each for a couple draft picks. Might make the playoffs once or twice with these guys. Then we'll trade them for picks and tank hard for 3-5 more years (depending on how much we get out of our current crop) until we have enough assets to start building for a legit run.
I could see Ayton & Grant moved primarily because of contracts. I think they keep Simons, decent contract and that he can flat out shoot the ball, which is important in this game. Of course with the right deal, any blazer is tradable.
So this is what YOU would do as a new owner .... That's certainly not the strategy we typically see from new NBA owners. Typically we see the opposite where a new owner trades away youth and picks for washed up stars that aren't good enough to contend. See Phoenix.
Yeah, I think I was laying out the realistic best case scenario... Lol Gotta hope we hit big in the draft to have a shot...
as far as if being for sale blocks any big trades: I would think, barring some no-brain trade for a star, the priority for a sale would be to NOT add any long-term salary. Like trading the expiring contract of Simons or Timelord for a 2-3 year deal. I'd think this would make it more likely that Simons-Ayton-Timelord-Thybulle would all remain Blazers as their contracts expire. A new owner might really like the Blazers only having 85-90M is salaries in 2026
I mentioned same thing in another thread earlier (great minds think alike jk). I have to think you don’t want the product your selling to change to much. Almost have to be a no brainer so the next buyer can make key decisions
With the crazy value of NBA franchises I don't think any ownership will care about cost of the players salaries. But having more creative freedom to structure the roster how a new owner wants would likely be a bonus. If the big salaries are on average or better level starters I think it would be fine. But huge salaries on poor backups like Grant is a problem.
Yeah I think the Blazers will be cautious and not do any unusual deals as they'll let the new owner decide on those decisions. Doesn't mean there won't be any moves though, might trade a vet or even a pick to add a starter. But I highly doubt we'd trade away any possible long term piece like Scoot Sharpe Deni Camara.
Pretty interesting most of the other sites have a bunch of people saying the Blazers are gone. The team will move from Portland. Most are saying to Vegas.
After what happened to OSU (become a farm team in football and basketball), Blazers moving to Vegas would gut me. I’d seriously give up ever watching NBA again
Blazers won't move to Las Vegas....NBA won't allow it. Las Vegas is the #1 destination for expansion and the NBA won't allow a move that would take away 5-7B in expansion fees. Say the fee was 6B. That fee is distributed directly to the 30 owners. 200M to each owner. And that money is not considered BRI so it's not shared with the players; all goes to the owner. Owners would vote 30-0 against Portland moving to Vegas
Exactly. And why the sale of the Blazers wont happen until after Jody/Vulcan collects that $200M when the NBA expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas is announced later this summer. and then on of these teams, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, or Minnesota Timberwolves moves to the eastern conference.
