Olshey certainly talked about Powell a lot in the press conference as for Powell re-signing, I'd think there were mainly negative indicators: 1) does Powell want to sign up to be a full-time SF? 2) if not, does he want to sign up to be a backup SG? 3) does he want to commit to a situation where Dame might be asking for a trade in the near future?
Atlanta was in 11th place, well under .500. They changed coach mid season. They are in ECF. The right coach can make a big difference.
Sarcasm? As good a job as you have done dissecting Stotts, you can't believe his fingerprints are the only ones to be found on this failure.
You forgot that we will also get hot near the end of the season, have a mini winning streak and fake everyone out for a few weeks.
Reasons to be optimistic: Coaching: Larry Bird stepped down as a head coach after three seasons because he felt players stopped listening after that span. Stotts coached for 9 seasons. Even if we make no changes (not gonna happen) a new coaching system will necessarily cast fresh eyes over everything. It'll be healthy even for Dame to hear a new perspective. Even if the coaching is worse, well, sometimes new bad advice is more useful than the same ol' same ol'. Youth: That 30 point game Nas put up against Milwaukie still lingers in my mind. He still seems to have all the physical tools and the shooting ability to be an elite player. And he's just turning 21 next year. Ant is probably in the top 5-10% of all three point shooters in the league, and he's turning 22. His downside at this point is being a crazy-athletic version of Seth Curry, which isn't a bad downside. His upside is way, way higher still. Zach Collins is only 23 next year, and has really only played 2 real seasons. He's shown enough for me to still be intrigued with him, even given the injuries. Team turnover: We'll definitely have some new parts around Dame. CJ is almost certainly gone. I'm kind of curious just to see what happens. Aren't you? Dame: He may be the best Blazer you ever get to see in your lifetime. Enjoy every minute of it. There will definitely be a time where we field the next Telfair/Outlaw lineup, so store up the memories to get you through it. If all that doesn't inspire you, well, it may be time to think of your other hobbies. Life's too short to pay attention to stuff you can't really bring yourself to care about.
CJ is definitely not "almost certainly gone." Wouldn't surprise me if they bring him back, especially with this fresh set of eyes coaching.
Kind of agree...The new coach whomever it is, may address during interviews the rumors that CJ is being packaged.
A new coach could help, but it won't turn this roster into a contender. If we run it back with the same main players, we might win a 1st round, and depending on matchups, maybe even a 2nd, but we won't be a contender.
I guess we agree to disagree. I'd be really shocked if we brought him back. The Sixers are dumping Ben Simmons and he spent less time there and his team made it past the first round this year. The Blazers' experiment with two small guards who can't defend is at least as much a failure as Philly's experiment with two bigs who both need to be in the paint. We got bounced in the first round by a team that was missing their second franchise player and were subsequently swept. That shit's embarrassing. If CJ is back, I think a lot of fans will just give up on watching this team. I know I will. You can't coach around the problem of Dame and CJ. It's not worth my time to watch them try. I know they're good friends, but I bet even Dame is tired of always being undersized in the back court. Besides, the only way Norm returns is if CJ is gone.
