Listening to his interview on 1080 right now and the draft was brought up. I think he pretty much indirectly said he wasn't too hot on this draft, and that losing the draft pick this year would change the salary cap room from 11.8 to 13.1. Good interview.
Rather than lose the pick, maybe we should try to trade it - specifically use it, combined with our cap space, in a lopsided trade. Perhaps a sign-and-trade for one of the RFAs we have our sights set on. Not sure who that would be. I'll leave that to Neil. BNM
There only needs to be one other GM who's sold on a guy's "potential" for the draftee to have value. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all that...
Probably doesn't think much of what's going to be left where we end up drafting, if we do. I think he'd be pleased with a top 6 pick. We ain't getting one unless we trade up for it. To say he doesn't like picks after 11, let's say, is not the same as saying it doesn't have value. It could certainly be used in a trade. That extra $1.3mil if we don't get our pick doesn't sound like much, but it could make a difference. I feel very confident that we will be in the playoffs next season, so it's now or never for a "high" pick. OTOH: I can't disagree at this point that more free agent / trade money may be more valuable than the no. 12 pick. Because we just don't know.
The way I see it, if LaMarcus is our centerpiece, then our moves have to revolve around building a team to win in the next couple of years while Aldridge is in his prime. We already have like 5 rookies this year, do we need more newbies next year? Unless we can get a guy that's ready to contribute right away, I personally couldn't care less if we keep the pick or not. We could use some proven veterans to go with our youth.
Well one thing is certain the Blazers already have there core in place so really the rebuilding stage is over.
I keep telling you guys, the draft class sucks, and our pick is going to Charlotte anyway.....so who cared about the draft?
Part of me doubts a huckster like Olshey is really going to reveal his true thoughts about an upcoming draft. Maybe he's trying to be clever and wants other GMs to think he's down on it, which might make dealing more advantageous. If you go to a used car dealer you don't rave about how awesome their cars are out loud in earshot of the salesman, you slag the hell out them and give the impression you don't care for their stock.
Yeah, actually, we are very close to Dallas for the 12th spot...so we may keep our pick. Still don't think that pick will help us much.
He said at the meet and greet we would still have the pick. Not for sure what changed from when he said it before the Boston game. While there is not top talent, value at the 12 can still be had. It is his job to find that talent. This same mentality is what led to bad moves by Minnesota when they drafted Wesley Johnson and to Brooklyn when they traded their pick for Gerald Wallace.
It's an interesting question. I'm not sure either way, but the cap space would be nice. http://sportstwo.com/threads/230081-Should-the-Blazers-Even-Want-Their-First-round-Pick
That's kinda bullshit, since just about everyone believes that the cap's going up from 58.044M to at least 60. It's one thing for him to say "the draft pick will give us an extra 1.5M in cap room", it's another for him to say "OMG we'll be down to 11.8!!11!". I mean, if you listen to Stern earlier this year, there's going to be a huge revenue bump this year will will cause a proportionally large salary cap line bump. EDIT: And for the record, I think there's a lot more space on this roster for a 12th-pick talent to make roughly 8M over the next 4 years than paying an extra 1.4M to JJ Redick or Pekovic or something. Much more than I'd rather pay one of those guys an extra 1.4M and get the 20th or so pick next year.
It's bullshit; but oshley can't just assume publicly. Until its a reality; he's gotta say what is the historical figure.
