Yes, I've often said that about Nik, both here and on ESPN. But the handwaving shills are dominating this thread, calling the majority the minority. True. A year ago he was ahead of the curve, showing up at midnight at the player's home, but the rest of the GMs caught up. Same for Stotts' offensive system about avoiding mid-range shots. It worked well as a novelty 3 years ago, but now all teams do it and know how to defend it.
Oshley I can make trades in 2k that give Portland assets. Why can't you do it too. Worst GM ever I could do a better job.
Again, Olshey's only "failure" is not recognizing that Portland won't attract the guys he wants and needs. We need a defensive big and a 3rd scorer, so he should have addressed that through trade...and still might, and the draft. Buying a 2nd rounder should have been to take a shot at a center.
All last summer, 2nd-and 3rd-tier players would get signed. We'd say, "That guy could help us and we have plenty of money still left. Why did Olshey guarantee contracts for Alexander and Montero?" The lovers of the status quo, whatever the status quo ever is at the time, would answer, "There's always a minority of complainers. Obviously, Olshey is saving up to use it in the summer, which isn't over, and at the Midseason Trade Deadline." The deadline came and went. They said, "No problem with the unused money Olshey could have used to get better players. The rules say we will allocate it to the existing players. Problem solved." The draft came, without the pick he had traded for nothing. They said, "Free agency is what matters, not the draft. Olshey plans to use all the wasted cap room he built up by not signing good players to longer contracts, in the first week of July to get us some great player." The week to sign 1st-tier free agents is now ending. They say, "Olshey never planned to get Whiteside or anyone else. That was just your message board fantasy. We're in the silent majority. You apparent-majority crazies are always complaining. The summer has just begun." In September, like last September, we'll say, "The summer is over." They'll answer like last September, "How do you know he won't get someone good in the month remaining?" Blah blah golden future blah blah Pritchard blah blah...
Should Olshey take the fall for this? PRO: We have a ton of bloated contracts, only 3 good players (two of whom can't play defense) CON: Not his fault three of our bigs were injured for this playoff series I'm leaning to: fire him quick before the draft. But I don't know who we'd replace him with.
It would be very Paul Allen of this team to fire another GM right before the draft, so I can't say I'm love with that idea. That doesn't mean I'm crazy about the job he's done (a solid 'C' level), but I think the Nurkic trade bought him some time. If the roster is still fucked up and underperforms by the All-Star break next year, then I'm all for a top to bottom house-cleaning.
It seems to me that the upcoming off-season is the yardstick by which Olshey should be measured, not the players he signed last summer. As many of us said at the time, it was important to spend the cap space rather than lose it by not spending it. Some of the players he spent it on won't be part of the team's long term plan, but the money that they're signed for represents the opportunity to make trades to get the players that are needed. I see people here declaring that players with bloated contracts can't be traded, but the reality is that they can be combined with picks or other players on good contracts to make a viable offer. Or we may have to take back other players on bad contracts in combination with an asset we do want in order to make a deal. Olshey put himself and the team in this position knowing full-well that the roster wasn't complete. After the Nurkic trade, he's earned the right to have this summer to finish the job.
Isn't it kind of silly that we expect the same guy to be good at a bunch of disparate tasks. Signing free agents requires people skills. Drafting players requires being able to project how their skills will map on to the NBA. Trading requires "The Art of the Deal". I would say that Olshey has shown himself to be okay at trading (GOOD: Nurkic, BAD: Batum, Afflalo) very patchy at drafting and downright awful at free agents. So while I salute his Nurkic acquisition (although, given his track record, I fully expect Nurkic to regress to the mean next season like so many of Olshey's initially awesome acquisitions) I fail to see why it should give him the chance to fuck up another draft. Can't we poach some super-scout from some other team that has a good track record of landing gems (Milwaukee?) and put that person in charge of the draft?
"but the money that they're signed for represents the opportunity to make trades to get the players that are needed" What a load of garbage ". I'll even agree with you about spending most of the money - we did IMO not need to go so far over the cap. However, if you choose to spend it on shitty assets then it is MUCH harder to trade those BLOATED/BAD/SHITTY/CRAP contracts for anyone, in fact we have to add picks to unload a few of these guys, if this was part of his "plan" he needs to be fired. My god its not rocket science to know that if you spend wisely and get good value then yes you can parlay that into other assets you may need down the road, but if you make bad decisions you will suffer the consequences and not be able to get anything of value (except crap back) when trying to trade these "bad decisions" - how can this not be clear to you?
I don't expect him to be fired; have you ever seen a guy who could put such a positive spin on everything; I think even Allen is mesmerized.
Just because you or I think something is true regarding a player's trade value doesn't mean that we're right. Would it be better if all of his player acquisitions had had great season? Sure, but GMs understand better than fans the reasons why a player may have struggled in a given situation and still be someone they think will work out in a different one. I'm not saying Olshey is a lock to have a good summer, just that he should be judged by the results he gets thus off season. By the way, it's easier to have a discussion about differing opinions when you aren't insulting the person you're talking with.
I agree with e_blazer that Olshey deserves this summer see his plan bear fruit, if it's going to. Olshey basically made a bet, that the players he signed last year were going to be assets at the dollar level he signed them to. This summer is a good referendum on Olshey and whether he made smart bets. If he can maneuver those salaries to improve the team, he was right and the future is bright. If he can't, then he was wrong and the future is muddy--because while Lillard/McCollum/Nurkic is a good core, it's not winning titles on its own and if the team is locked into the current personnel for the next several years, it's difficult to see how the Blazers get the proper help around that core. I don't think it's fair or reasonable to fire a GM before he gets to show the value, or lack thereof, of his investments.
Pretty good summary of Olshey's exit interview on OLive: http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...lard_cj_m.html#incart_river_mobileshort_index
What makes the Nurk trade good and the Batum trade bad? NO traded Plumlee for the potiental Cotf NO traded Batum(who was going to get a max deal) for the potential PFotf Literally the exact same trade, trading an established player for an unproven player. This board contradicts itself far too often to fit their agenda.
