Grade the offseason

Did he really say those things? This is what can be found:

Pretty much a smaller market, that wants to be there, that wants to win there, that wants to grow there after all the influx that we've had, we're lucky man, we're lucky. So we have to take full advantage of that and try to give him the best opportunity and chance to be successful." said Billups when speaking about Lillard in his interview with Sirius XM Radio.

https://www.sportskeeda.com/basketb...ups-opens-damian-lillard-s-loyalty-work-ethic

 

I think it was Amin Al Hasan and some other guy. He said it a few minutes prior to the Sheed story.

He did also say Payton will be huge for the team , and although not a contender , nobody will look forward to playing the Blazers. I liked that.

 

It is on sirius nba somewhere. I am positive that is what he said.

 

Billups is X factor of this team now and he looks laid back on this Sirius video, but this season gonna be all on him So I am guessing, that saying "this is not a championship team" is what he needs to say.

As for offseason grade: incomplete. They could trade Lillard for picks and go full young or they could trade that 7 and youngs to get Lillard real help for now. You can't have the best of both worlds.

 

If it's true, That's a very strange and stupid thing for an NBA coach to say before the season has even started. Especially after a season in which Dallas unexpectedly made it to the Western Conference finals, the Lakers didn't even make it to the play-in, the Clippers were defeated twice in the play-in, and the reigning Western Conference champion was embarrassingly trounced in game 7 on their home court.
Did Billups predict all that to happen?

 

I think him and Joe are on the same page, they think they have to get better and the way the team is today, they aren't contenders. I don't think that means that Chauncey isn't planning on coaching them into contenders and that him and Joe aren't planning on more moves to get us in contention or closer to it. I'm cool with Chauncey saying that because it's real and I think he'll back it up with telling his squad that if they want him to see them as contenders they'll have to prove it to him.

Was this stupid?

I don't think so.

 

I want management to put together a contender. That seems near impossible in the short term mostly because they aren't that talented, but also because the talent that they do have doesn't fit together great (their two best players play the same spot/form an undersized backcourt etc...). Dame's timeline doesn't seem to fit with a short term contender scenario, but I'm open to moving Ant for the right return too. I'm open to moving anyone to move the team towards the goal (go laundry!), but mostly they need to hit on their picks and make wise FA decisions.

While I appreciate management went big with the #7, Shaedon is an unknown still so hard for me to really judge that move. Walker looks like he has some potential too but both are very unlikely to contribute much this upcoming year... fingers crossed. I liked that they resigned Ant but am not thrilled about Nurk at 4/70M... not going to stir up a hornets nest of responses getting into that though.

The two roads approach hopefully is management's attempt to put a bow on the franchise for a planned sale. Shore up the season ticket sales with the short term moves that keep them 500-ish & address the future with the picks that hopefully turn into gold.

STOMP

 

Yeah not sold on the Nurk, Dame, Ant Grant and whomever seems to be available for the SF spot either. Guess we'll see how it all pans out.

 

Really? Just one of them needs to be to have a real shot at a top-4 WC seed, we have seen it with Dame, CJ, Nurk and athletic defensive wings. The Blazers have Dame and Nurk, Grant / Nas / GP2 / Hart are as good as, if not better, defensively than Aminu/Harkless, GP2 can do the guard defense that Seth Curry did at times when they were the 3rd seed.

If just Simons gives you the same kind of production that CJ gave you in 2018, it's about the same team and thus immediatly capable of a 4th seed. They need 2 of them to pop to really contend, but top-4 seed? Nah.

 

Who are they gonna overtake for that top 4 seed?

Warriors
Memphis
Minnesota
Clippers
Denver
Dallas
Phoenix
New Orleans
Lakers

Some teams will have health issues. And i won't argue we can finish above some of those teams. When you compare our talent to some of those teams, or acknowledge that some teams have better stars (doncic, jokic), i just don't see us getting top 4. I think we are more likely a play in team.

 

Two different questions. One is, they must have all 3 popping to be a top-4 seed, the other, they can be a top-4 seed with just one of them being.

I have no clue which ones it will be, but if the Blazers are mostly healthy, and one of these 3 really pops, they certainly can be a top-4 seed.

If you are asking me, the only one I am sure will be above the Blazers next year are Memphis, they are young, no real health issues and hungry.

All other teams can go either way (just like the Blazers do).

- GSW is older, lost a couple of significant role players, maybe not as motivated. In the past, Curry going down would not have mattered. As currently constructed, if Curry goes down for a portion of the season, they can very easily slip a bit.
- Minnesota is a great experiment. I suspect they are the new Utah Jazz, but even that team was only 5th seed last year.
- Clippers if healthy might be the best team in basketball. Can you really know that Kawahi and PG13 are going to be healthy for an entire year?
- Denver - assuming Jokic remains healthy are dependent on MPJ and Murray's health. Can easily go either way.
- Dallas will be interesting. They gained Wood but lost Brunson. They are even more dependent on their star than the Blazers.
- Phoenix has an even older CP3 and they will likely downgrade from Ayton. Will likely be very good, but would not be a surprise if father time finally catches CP3 and they are not as good with just Booker + Ayton's replacement
- NOP - if Zion is healthy they are super dangerous. But, will he be?
- Lakers - Another aging team that is still, as currently constructed - with pieces that do not work together. They must have Lebron keeping on trucking but are really certainly better than the Blazers only if AD is healthy.

Now, my guess is that with reasonable health and one of these 3 (probably Simons) really popping, the Blazers end up as the 6th seed. From there to a couple of teams having health issues whatever else and them being a 4th seed is not a huge surprise.

So, yes, I am standing by claim. One of them popping and reasonable health is enough to make them a top-4 seed. It is not a guarantee, but it is certainly different from the idea that they need all 3 of Simons, Nas and Sharpe to pop to be that.

 

There are so many question marks in the west. The only team I'm confident in will be Golden State. I don't see the Warriors slowing down at all.

Minnesota - has a ton of talent, but I'm not really sold on pairing KAT and Gobert. It will be interesting to see how they come together.
Clippers - are going to be healthy for the first time. I think they'll be top 4 as long as PG13 and Kawhi are ready to go.
Phoenix - I think the Suns are going to take a step back. Paul is getting ancient and if they lose Ayton, I think that team won't be nearly as potent.
Memphis - I think they'll be top 4.
Denver - going to hinge on their health. If everyone is healthy, they're a potent team. Could easily be top 4.
Dallas - they lost some talent. I think last year was a fluke. I don't see them as a top 4 team.
New Orleans - this team could be a wild card. They have the talent to be top 4 and they were playing very well.
Lakers - gonna hinge on health and desire, really. But that team has a lot of issues.

Really don't know where the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, and Suns will be. Any of those teams have the talent to, in theory, be top 4.

 

I just don't see it.

The Warriors lost some pieces but they got Divincenzo and Wiseman should play this year. Kuminga and Moody likely take steps forward too.

Dallas lost Brunson but they got Wood and people forget Hardaway Jr was hurt and should be back for them this year. He is one of their better players.

I agree there are questions with teams and health, but we just as easily could have health issues.

Talent wise, i don't see us higher than 7-10. I could see us get the 6th seed too and if all things click the 5th seed, but in no way do I see a 4th seed or higher unless we win the lottery by many other teams having the worst scenarios happen to them.

 

Dame would have to go super saiyan once again, and that's going to get harder and harder as he gets older. We made the playoffs so many times simply on the back of Damian Lillard. How many more years of that does he have in him?

 

I do understand his drawbacks but you are not giving CJ any credit. Teams had to cover him. That helped Dame a bunch. If they left CJ alone we all watched what he could do to a team. It wasn't just Dame though i know he was a giant part. CJ deserves some of the credit for making the playoffs year after year as well.
I'm talking about making the playoffs. CJ also had some good games in the playoffs as well.

 

To me Ant = CJ.

Regardless of CJ's contributions, the team still needed Dame to go nuclear several times for them to make the playoffs. There were so many seasons where everyone counted us out, and then Dame would take it personal and start dropping 50 point games after the All-Star break. Fact is, those teams typically weren't that great the first half of the season (with CJ) and then Dame would kick it up a notch and we'd squeak into the postseason.

 

IDK???
I remember a couple #3 and #4-5 seeds. Seems like we were hoping for a loss at the end of one season? That doesn't sound like "Squeaking" into the playoffs?

 

Several times being:
2016-2017 (8th seed)
2019-2020 (8th seed)

And really I was also thinking about 2015-2016 because that team started out 16/24 and Dame was snubbed for the All-Star team. It was the first year after LMA left us. Nobody thought we would make the playoffs. Dame basically put us on his back and got us the 5th seed and we beat the Clips in the first round.

 

A lot of question marks for this team for sure. But some of them could bounce our way.

Can Walker and/ or Watford play well at PF to allow Grant to play some 3? Or can Walker play some 3?

Or can Hart, who I prefer at guard, actually be better at the 3? At 215 lbs he is thick enough and he plays bigger than his height.
I think they went after GP2 because they felt Hart was a better 3 than anyone else they could add. And by getting Gp2 they don't lose the D in the backcourt that Hart provides

Little is another huge question mark. Can he stay healthy? I see no reason why not, but I hate that he does not have a healthy summer to work on his game.