Perfect time to blow it up

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Portland2014, Jul 2, 2018.

  1. HailBlazers

    HailBlazers RipCity

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    /Thread
     
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  2. illmatic99

    illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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    We've gone over this a million times before. What Philly did is out of dumb luck and stupidity as much as it was a legit team build.

    They started blowing up the team in 2013 and ended up with Noel and MCW, while they could have had CJ and Giannis. Noel got hurt, so they tanked again and ended up with Embiid. Embiid got hurt so they ended up with Okafor (while they could have picked Porzingis). They then got nothing in return for two highly touted picks in Noel and Okafor, and tanked again to get Simmons. Simmons then gets hurt for a full season, forcing them to tank again only to land another bust in Fultz.

    They fell ass backwards into the team they have. No way in hell that is repeatable.
     
  3. LayneStaley

    LayneStaley Well-Known Member

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    They made it further in the playoffs this year than we have the past 4 years and they are a top 3 team in their conference(maybe top 2) going into next season. I’d say that makes them contenders to reach the finals.
     
  4. TBpup

    TBpup Writing Team

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    And unfortunately, those last 5 words is why we even have to discuss a rebuild. I'd love to build around Dame but not sure how that is very possible or likely right now due to the financial mess Neil put this organization in. Ever year now seems like a waste of Dame's prime and it pains me to see that.
     
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  5. LayneStaley

    LayneStaley Well-Known Member

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    No one should be untouchable in a trade when you have only made it to the second round ONCE(due to injuries) in the past 5 years.
     
  6. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    I see a lot of the same people who stuck by LMA right up until his final decision, the same people who called a few of us crazy for wanting to trade him, are the same people who are willing to go down with this ship. I love Dame. He might be the best Blazer of all time. But this team is in the middle of the lake with its rudder stuck and it's spinning in circles.

    We aren't going to sign any big free agents.

    We aren't going to get a high enough draft pick to bring in another superstar.

    Our only trade assets are Dame and CJ.

    So what exactly is going to change in the next few years, other than Dame being more and more frustrated with the direction of the team? And while Dame is extremely loyal to the city, I have to think he's seeing the same things that we are. He has to be getting frustrated with the front office. I know I would be.
     
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  7. rotary111

    rotary111 Well-Known Member

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    Except Dame.
     
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  8. LayneStaley

    LayneStaley Well-Known Member

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    Let’s just keep him so he keeps us good enough to stay outta the lottery but not good enough to make it to the second round, then we can get nothing when his contract is up and he leaves cause he’s sick of not advancing past the first round. That’s what untouchable Dame is gonna lead to.....let the bashing begin.
     
  9. Strenuus

    Strenuus Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    I'll ride it out.
     
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  10. EL PRESIDENTE

    EL PRESIDENTE Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.

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    And as I said then too, whenever things don't go your way again, you'll call for whoever the cornerstone of the franchise to get traded again. This time its Lillard. and then after him it will be the next guy.

    Calling to trade a guy in his prime who is first team all NBA, who wants to play in a small team market, loves Portland. Sure, he may get frustrated one day. But I'm willing to get to that point.
     
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  11. Orion Bailey

    Orion Bailey Forum Troll

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    Okay, cause contenders to make the finals and contenders to win a ring are different things. Of course they are contenders in the East. The East now has two teams on the up and neither of them can compete with the top 2 teams in the west, so calling them a contender I find to be stretched quite thin.
     
  12. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Because it's not about Dame. It's not about any one player. It's about the team. I want to win a championship. Period.

    I suspect people will feel differently if we finish 8th again and get swept out of the first round by the Rockets, Warriors or Lakers.

    A lot of Duck fans didn't want to get rid of Helrich, even though the writing was clearly on the wall. He wasn't recruiting well, and he was riding out the coattails of the Chip Kelly era. Once Mariota was gone, it was extremely obvious that he wasn't the right coach, and now the Ducks are trying to rebuild.

    Something has to change with this team. Either fire Stotts, or Neil, or start rebuilding, but something has to change. It's mind boggling that this is basically the same damn team that we had a few years ago, and everyone else in the west has gotten better.
     
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  13. dviss1

    dviss1 Emcee Referee

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    Your post can SUCK IT.

    It eerily wreaks of bullshit. You don't get to tell people they're not true fans because of their opinion...

    That's like someone they're not a real American...
     
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  14. dviss1

    dviss1 Emcee Referee

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    This!
     
  15. EL PRESIDENTE

    EL PRESIDENTE Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.

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    Trading Lillard is the last thing we should consider or call for. We blow it up AFTER we have exhausted all avenues.

    1. Fire Olshey
    2. Fire Stotts
    3. Trade everyone we can
    ..
    ..
    ..
    ..
    999999. Trade Lillard.
     
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  16. chris_in_pdx

    chris_in_pdx OLD SCHOOL

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    It is certainly a conundrum... you have no hope of winning a title, you abhor mediocrity, and you can't stomach the thought of tanking. Is there a 4th option?

    One thing that the crash and burn of the Bob Whitsitt era, combined with the Jailblazers period, showed me is that this team's front office will never do anything again that will risk the Moda Center not being filled to capacity (or close to). I mean, Paul Allen, when faced with actually losing money, filed bankruptcy on the Rose Garden and was looking to sell the team. The Roy/Oden/Aldridge years convinced him back to the fold, but be sure, he won't tolerate losing money again. He needs that arena filled every night. And he won't do that with a tanking squad. The easiest path to all of this are perpetual mediocrity, first round playoff exits, and teams that are exciting, scrappy underdogs that always give the appearance of "turning the corner" or "being one player away from taking the next step", but they never do. Once in a while, due to a stroke of draft luck or a favorable matchup, they might get to the 2nd round of the playoffs, but the true elite of the NBA always smack the Blazers back down to "their place", and the team never makes the necessary moves to capitalize. They simply count their money from the unexpected extra games' revenue, enjoy the PR boost from the long-suffering fanbase, and stay the course.

    Yes, this team should tank. As built, they have no hope whatsoever of competing vs. the new-look Lakers, the historically dominant Warriors, and the win-at-all-costs Rockets. OKC, with their star power, won't be down for long, I doubt the NBA itself will allow it. The issue is, will the fans and the front office allow it? Will trading/losing fan favorites Lillard and McCollum cause irreparable damage to the fan's relationship to the team? Can the front office stomach losing money for 2-5 years while building a new team/culture from the ground up? My gut reaction is no, the team will not do it. Us Blazer fans are stuck with the never ending hype of a team that is always "on the cusp", but doomed to it's fate year after year.

    If I were Dame and CJ, I'd demand out now while their value is still high.
     
  17. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Okay, so obviously we're not firing any of those people this year. So let's say this year plays out, we finish 8th, get swept and fire Stotts. We bring in a new guy, he gets maybe a little better production... or maybe he doesn't..... so we fire Neil. Now we're two more years into this shit, no closer to a title, and Dame is 2 years older. He's in his final year. Now what? We hope that Dame signs an extension? We trade him for pennies on the dollar because he's going to be a free agent? What happens then?
     
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  18. illmatic99

    illmatic99 formerly yuyuza1

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    I disagree with your notion that we need to tank and that Dame/CJ should want out. But the Paul Allen part is terrific insight. It goes unnoticed among the pro tank crowd.
     
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  19. EL PRESIDENTE

    EL PRESIDENTE Username Retired in Honor of Lanny.

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    This is the same kind of thought that OKC would wither and die without KD. Now they have Paul George.

    Things change all the time in the league. What is now, won't be the situation down the line. In 2 years, everyone's contracts come of the books outside of Dame/CJ
     
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  20. BBert

    BBert Weasels Ripped My Flesh

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    An asteroid will strike earth before the Blazers experience the same string of events that the 76ers have had over the last few years.
     
    Last edited: Jul 2, 2018
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