As far as Kanter is concerned do people not remember a couple of threads about how he sucks and we shouldn't have signed him? The thing about Whiteside and Bazemore is that if they stay this way we can still trade them for better fitting pieces. It's almost a certainty now.
Need to watch out pushing and posting Jason Quick when the team is dealing with adversity. He is not always genuine and he tends to lean towards the dramatic side of things.
That would make all kinds of sense. With tons of expiring contracts available this season, it won't be easy.
A lot of the other teams that have expiring contracts are in a situation where the contracts are more valuable to keep and improve their cap situation moving forward. Those teams might not be willing to trade them for players that have multiple years left on their contracts. These are just examples but I doubt there would be too many teams willing to give up future flexibility for cap killing guys like Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, and Otto Porter. I'm not advocating for or against those specific guys but I'm talking about in general.
Whiteside- being scapegoated. Remember who he was traded for. I think he’s be fine and he’s not 100%. He’s a band aid and not the problem. He’s one of only three Blazers with a positive BPM. Bazemore- Has been Portland’s best defender, but only Tolliver and Mario have graded out lower on the other end. But once again, remember who he was traded for. Mario- Hasn’t done anything offensively, but grades out well on defense. What happened to point forward? Did Stotts quit on him just like he quits on everyone else not named Dame and CJ the minute they run into adversity, because lately he’s been reduced to just standing around. Either way, he should probably head back to the second unit and have his minutes reduced. Tolliver- Objectively and subjectively the worst player in the rotation. His defense only grades out as average and has been a liability offensively. He looks washed up. His numbers say he was washed up last year as well. I get what he brings to the locker room, but he shouldn’t be playing, even with all the injuries. I’d rather give those 20 minutes to someone with a future in Portland, like Nas. Shit I’d even play Hoard over him.
I never understood the "locker room" narrative about Tolliver and Gasol. I didn't see the need the locker room already had Dame, and CJ, and Nurkic, and Zach. That should have been enough considering Portland's real need for more talent, especially considering the talent and experience that was leaving. As you said, Tolliver sure looks washed up and looked like that last season. And Gasol was 39 and less than 2 months removed from foot surgery when he was signed. I'd think Ezeli should have been the don't-do-it template for that signing by the way, Tolliver was 'signed' 2 days before the moratorium even ended...why the rush?