woj's credibility went out the door with his hit piece on Pritchard like a decade ago. He's good for breaking news. That's it. But anything that came from him about Portland was directly as a mouthpiece for Olshey-- it's so transparent, I even think Olshey was Woj's first guest ever on his podcast. I think Connelly at Denver is his other major source. take all of this with a grain of salt.
It’s concerning that Portland hasn’t even hired a search firm to begin looking at candidates yet. How is that still on the to-do list?
Fischer made it sound like they're gonna seriously consider Cronin. Maybe they're giving him a shot before anyone else? Idk
Regardless, battle lines were drawn. It's pretty clear now where Olshey stood with Lillard and where Lillard stood with Olshey. But one interesting thing in the article is that IF this were true: @GDiama noticed you left out this key piece in the article. I would actually entertain it. Trade all the veterans and rebuild but KEEP Dame. Have the young guys grow with Dame. Previously, we never considered this as a possibility because the idea is that Lillard would just demand a trade if we went full rebuild. Rebuilding with Lillard + rookie scale contracts is something that I'd love to do if Lillard is receptive to the idea. The 55 million or whatever Lillard is owed won't matter as much if the rest of the guys are all cheap. Also 55 million in today's money is not the same as 55 mililon 4 years down the line. The salary cap will increase by then. It will increase by a lot.
Also people called me crazy for saying Dame was disconnected with CJ. I've noticed he's been somewhat disconnected with Nurk as well. I don't think there are any hard feelings or real issues between them, but I think Dame (and to a lesser extent CJ) have realized this core has run its course, at least on a basketball court. It's like a relationship that is past its expiration date. Dame wants a breakup but he doesn't want to be the one to say it, and even if the others agree, no matter how much you try to rationalize it it's not going to make for good feelings.
have not even seen much mention of Dame's health concerns and is this ab injury chronic? we are talking about an ageing ONE way player, for me I lean to trading him and gettin on with a rebuild
Like trade CJ + Nurk for picks and put Dame on the shelf for the season to re-group next year? I have no idea what the draft is like next season, but that kinda move requires a lot of patience from Dame. the super duper max is an incentive perhaps, but it's also quite risky unless you're sure about prospects. even the Phoenix model was serendipitous. They fell ass backwards into Mikal Bridges, and the Ayton pick was actually a mistake.
Fischer said Dame consulted with specialists this summer and even contemplated surgery. Having him sit for a year and reset next season with a new squad is an interesting idea. Most star players have one major year off for injury. Steph with his wrist/PG with his legs/Lebron with his ankle/Klay with ACL + Achilles/ Kawhi with his ACL and knee/ etc etc. If Dame is on-board, it's a risk worth considering.
ugh. what experience did KP have in turning around the dumpster fire in 06? I'd rather hire someone who other GMs can work with, not ignore calls. I'd also like someone that players don't explicitly mention that they want to avoid in free agency. Also don't want an openly MAGA dude who is completely out of touch with the current NBA landscape, but that one is just for me.
Like trade CJ, Nurk and RoCo, bottom out this year, and come back next year with Dame + Picks + Little/Ant and Nance. Maybe trade Norm as well, but on a 5 year deal it's not critical you make that decision now. Falling into a Booker/Ayton would be difficult, but I think with what you get out of CJ/Nurk/RoCo/Your own picks you could at least come into one of those players. Or something close to it, either through draft or trade. Little is not far off from where Mikal Bridges was as a 22 year old rookie (Little is still 21, younger than Bridges as a rookie!). Yeah, it's far-fetched, but Chris Paul joined that Suns team at age 35. Imagine how much Booker/Ayton/Bridges development would have been fast tracked had they had Chris Paul at 31 guiding them through the bulk of their early career. All I'm saying is that if this is a path Lillard would entertain, it's something I would really consider, because that makes much more sense then trotting out this lifeless group of veterans. At the end of the day everyone else can go, but I don't want to lose Dame.
I would not have a problem with Cronin. No proven, good GM is coming here for this shit show. Go with Cronin. I guarantee he’s been biting his tongue for years or getting shot down left and right by Neil. He’s probably itching to prove himself.
Whomever it is going to be, they need to get busy in a hurry and determine what they want to do and if they can do it. They have a week to prep until the gates open up to a much greater extent.
First Interview Question: At any point in the past 9 years did you feel coaching was the primary issue preventing this team from being a championship contender? Anyone who answers "yes" is automatically dismissed from the interview. What should the second question be?
