I disagree. Read what i wrote. Might be tough to translate for you. But there are reasons in the original write up.
There is the old "Pops would be better" line. This team as assembled would not be better with Popovich.
I'm not sure I saw "quit" in CJ, his body language and effort seemed consistent with how he always plays from my perspective. He's a prideful guy and serious about his craft, it wouldn't be consistent with those qualities to see him moping or half-assing. He's probably frustrated and dejected, and those feelings are gonna pull down your energy. Maybe that's what you're seeing. But perceived or not, I'm not sure it's the turning point reason to move on from CJ. Lots of other reasons have made it seem sensible for awhile. I like him as a 3rd or 4th option, and see him having a long career similar to Jamal Crawford. To actually build around though...he's the kind of player you add as a mid season trade/last piece to championship team type...but not to start with.
Tell me exactly what a different coach is going to do with the same flaws in the roster. It's not a knock on any of them. They are what they are.
I can see a difference. I watched it last year also. And yes it does seem frustrated to the point where he just doesn't work as hard. I agree that this is a problem that has been here for a while. I said some of the same things last year. Pretty much got invited to leave from multiple forums. CJ could very well be a sixth man of the year type player but $25.7 Million is quite a bit to be paying for that kind of player. His next contract will start at about $30 Million. Unless he decides to take less for some reason? I don't see a player at his age taking less at this point in his career?
hurr durr Pennies on the dollar, not penny on the dollar, it could even be 80 or 90 "pennies on the dollar." The expression is fairly old, maybe you've heard it? Typically it means you aren't going to get full value in a trade, and if the Blazers start shopping CJ, after a lackluster playoff performance then it's just a fact that his value is not going to be at an all-time high -- the Blazers will have lost leverage.
Watched him quit just a few too many times. CJ only plays hard for so long. That is not on Stotts. That is on CJ. The "Coaching" is fine. Only a few armchair coaches are saying they could do better. Their answer is always the same. They need cutting to the basket and stronger inside play. They need a "Hard Nose" coach. Here is the one i really like... " Stotts only has like two plays in his offense". Then there is the old standby...." Pops would make this team so much better!" That one always makes me laugh. Then there is the armchair coaches that look at stats and pick out their flavor of the week. Last year it was "Stotts isn't a defensive coach". This year it's "Stotts doesn't know how to run a fast break". Right now it's "Stotts doesn't know how to make adjustments". It's comical to the point of wasting my time trying to convince a few people who are really loud in their objection of this coaches decisions that they really don't sound very smart when it comes to basketball.
We cannot change this team too much without trading C.J. He is the only asset we really have at the minute that we would be able to trade and get something decent in return. Unless we are happy being a 45-50 win team and getting bounced at the first playoffs obstacle. I don’t see many trade destinations for him though. He’s not someone you should put as the name of your franchise. He’d fit Philadelphia like a glove but they don’t really have all that much to offer us anymore. He would be useful for Detroit but I would hate to trade him for Drummond or Griffin. I think we would have got George last year and Cousins the year before. Both would have been good moves.
Anyone else think CJ's reliance on Apethia might not be such a good thing for him? To me it seems like the timing of this attitude change coincided with his lack of really caring or trying in games. http://www.nbcsports.com/northwest/...-preparation-mindset-during-late-season-slump
Wow. You guys don't know what you're talking about. If you're going to complain about CJ, you might as well complain about Dame. Dame has been HORRIBLE in this series. Far worse than CJ. You DO NOT trade transcendental talents in the NBA and both of these guys are stars. The solution is to continue to build around them and improve the coaching. Our forwards suck. We need to improve the talent level there. Fortunately we have Zach and he can help alleviate that with more development.
I wish I could believe that, but our "one of the top back courts in the NBA" got schooled by what most would consider an average backcourt in NO. On both ends of the court too. How many times did Holiday just walk by both Dame and CJ to get to the rim? How effective was our star backcourt in breaking down the pressure applied by NO? Both sides of the ball were a complete fail. I don't see a new coach and a couple of improved wings (and how are we going to get those anyway?) going to transform this team.
Our backcourt has played terrible in this series. But they've shown throughout the year that they are one of the top duos in the league. I think the problem in this series is on Stotts. He has shown no ability to make adjustments to counter the Pel's pressure on our backcourt. That is coaching.
Dame has been double and triple teamed. Not CJ. CJ has just shit the bed and when it got tough he pretty much quit again this year in the playoffs.
