To be honest, I am not sure what my expectations are. Where some posters said they saw no positives to take from this season, I see many. I also see many negatives.
Say it isn't so ... we had such an efficient offense though?! Oh what's that you say? An offensive rebound doesn't reset the possession 'clock'? Hmmm, weird.
There is one middle ground that not a lot of folks have discussed. What if you augmented the current coaching staff with an offensive guru type? Then you keep some continuity, but yet shake the tree a little bit.
I'm feeling the same. Lots of great things to build on and build with, but also a fear of either doing the same thing and hoping for different results(the sign of insanity, I believe), or experiencing mroe of the same shit(injuries). We NEED a healthy Oden. Whether he's 200 pounds or 400 pounds, we need him healthy. I wish he was somewhat healthy now, so we can work on a new offseason routine, but that doesn't look like it's happening. More than likely, it'll be December before he's "in shape". We need to use the pre-season to actually work on our lineups and rotations, not just a fun time for guys to play. If we bring in someone new, let's see how he fits. I've finally slid to the fire Nate side. It's likely not going to happen. But it might be time. I'd be very interested to see what Monty can do as a coach of the team. I don't like many of the other options out there. I think Monty would give us something new, while also keeping some familiarity. This is a huugely important offseason, for us, and the rest of the NBA. There are a lot of free agents looking for money, and lots of teams with the space to give it to them. And when teams can't sign somene, they'll still have that space available in trade. We could see wholesale changes all around. Teams we didn't expect to rebuild could find it easier to go for a quick rebuild, by shedding all of their salaries this year. Teams could bring in two top free agents, and go from afterthought to real threat next season. The west is getting tougher, and we can not sit back and hope for internal growth, IMO, being the only thing to get us further. Decisions need to be made on Aldridge. On Rudy. On Bayless. On Webster. I can see 2 of those 4 being moved.
I'd be fine with that and when Dwight Jaynes mentioned it this morning on the MSP I had a bit of an 'aha' moment. There's no way Nate gets fired after what this team went through this past year, and he does seem to be good at drawing blood from a stone and getting his guys to battle for him, but his limitations as an offensive mind make Mike Brown and Mike Woodson look like John 'Fucking' Wooden by comparison.
Joel and Andre are $14 million in expiring deals next season. I think we need to swing for the fences like the Celtics did when they traded fro KG although it will probably have to wait until the deadline.
Biggest question/caveat/deterrant = health. If we're healthy, I see us as a top 2 team in the WC. If not, we're fucked. More mediocrity.
I'd be somewhat loathe to part with Andre, but if there were a very good point guard out there who could be had for that package who was maybe in that sweet spot of 25-28 years old then I'd be all over it -- the question of course is who? Parker, Rondo, Harris ... they all seem like impossibilities or long shots at best.
I wonder if Parker becomes more available with the way Hill has played. Joel, Andre, Rudy, picks, euros for Parker and McDyess? Unlikely, I suppose.
Brandon Roy said it best in his interview after the game. He said the difference between us and Phoenix is that they were "connected" and that the entire season we couldn't get there. This was a season of unparalleled upheaval; one we're not likely to see again. From the integration of a real PG to the injuries to the acquisition of another big man, the Blazers were never able to get in a groove. In my mind, if this team can get healthy over the summer and stay healthy and together over the year, it's a 60-65 win ballclub. How far do we get in the playoffs? I would think at least to the WCF, but so much of that depends on matchups. I think we'll make some changes in the offseason, but I don't think things are as bleak as some other threads would indicate.
55-60 wins and the Western Conference Finals. If nothing changes. If Pritchard can somehow pull off the "consolidation trade" (turning some combination of Aldridge, Bayless, Miller, JPEC, Rudy, draft picks) into a star/superstar, then 60+ wins and a true title shot.
I previously raised the notion of hiring Eddie Jordan as an "offensive coordinator". The idea pretty much got sneered at. I don't understand what people have against the "Princeton" offense.
I don't remember that suggestion, but I doubt I sneered at it. I do think it's creative but likely unworkable. It certainly wouldn't work dividing responsibility...where McMillan had no say over the offense. That just seems like a mess. So Jordan would have to be a consultant...and I'm not sure what good that would do. McMillan clearly has his own ideas of how an offense should work and seems pretty inflexible. I doubt he'd take Jordan's suggestions.
This, and... Even with this success, MM will continually bitch about the coach. Kingspeed will top 1500 posts in one year, and start over 150 threads. Nik will plead for common sense - he won't get it. Suns boards around the internet will tell blazer fans to leave! I will still not be able to see Mixum's posts. HCP will change his handle again, this time to "Its_THE_HCP_Fool!" A new "Deal Coming Soon" thread will have more posts than all of the other NBA threads on S2 combined.
