It just occurred to me that Presti kind of got revenge against the Blazers with the Melo trade. I remember that one of the few times I thought Presti made a misstep was when he matched the ridiculous offer sheet for Kanter that the Blazers signed him to. "Phew," I thought, "dodged a bullet there!" But then Presti turned around and turned Kanter into the player most of the Portland fanbase was convinced we could land in Melo. I guess what I'm saying is I really envy OKC their GM. (He may not be the best, though: San Antonio is always good and Utah and in particular Golden State are probably better.)
So you are saying it is a good idea to overpay for free agents in the hope we can later trade them for disgruntled star players. I think N.O would agree with that.
A. If true most of the fanbase is deluded. B. Paul George and Russell Westbrook landed Melo. C. Didn't really want him here anyway, but that's just me.
Good for Presti on these deals but it doesn't make him an amazing GM, he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. The PG trade was because Pritchard said FU to us and every east team and the Melo one only happened because Melo didn't want to waive his trade clause except to a few places and after holding the knicks hostage for 2+ months he finally agreed to go play with 2 other stars. Its not like Presti grabbed some great draft picks or great FA signings or stole some bench player and turned him into a star, Presti landed in a spot where
Presti didn't do shit. Kevin Pritchard fucked us. By taking a shittier offer for Paul George, he opened the door for Melo expanding his list to OKC. We could seriously have a lineup right now of Dame/CJ/George/Melo/Nurk. I don't even like to think about it.
Yes, all hail the great GM who gave away James Harden for tables scraps and got absolutely nothing for Kevin Durant. He's clearly a god among GMs. We should all Neil down before him. Fuck, really???? Remember all the shit Neil got when Aldridge, that whiney pussy who is doing his best to FINALLY bring down the SAS dynasty from within, walked and Neil got nothing? Can you imagine this place if he gave away a star of Harden's magnitude for a steaming load of crap and let a former MVP and 4-time scoring champ walk for nothing? Especially after that former MVP and 4-time scoring champ won a title and was the finals MVP the very next season after leaving? I guess we're just ignoring those parts of Presti's resume... BNM
It's super annoying that he's getting so much credit when it's clear that Pritchard tanked the trade and Melo very well might just leave after the season. They might be the 3rd best team in the west right now, which is fine, good for them, but they're not good enough to contend with GS. Not even close. I'm just bitter... I think we could have actually contended with GS if we had gotten George.
Presti is probably one of the worst GMs in the league when you look at the big picture. -He got rid of Harden in order to save some money while he could have amnestied fucking Kendrick Perkins. That trade was so awful...i still remember how shocked i was when i saw it. FUCKING KEVIN MARTIN LOL. -Durant basically admitted that he wouldn't have left if Harden was not traded. -He traded young Kanter for Anthony who have the same stats or worse per36 minutes even though he was the number one option on his team. -Paul George was a good get, but he's only there for one year and the only reason they got him was because of KP's incompetence.
This is what I don't get in the press.... Sam Presti is a GENIUS for finagling George and Anthony away from their former respective teams. Olshey merely got LUCKY for taking Nurkic off of Denver's hands. You know it's not merely the former music group The Spindoctors who suck ass.
Presti is lucky pritchard is an idiot. People are praising him a lot but really it was luck he got PG. Pritchard had way better offers on the table, he just accepted a terrible offer. Then Westbrook and PG recruited Melo
I had no idea how young he is. He got the job when he was 30?! Presti has definitely drafted well. He drafted Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Bledsoe, Harden, Adams.... And trading away disgruntled stars doesn't seem to net you very much these days. Just look at what was gotten in return for Cousins, Butler, George, Melo... I don't blame Olshey for not landing Melo or PG. Melo didn't WANT to come here. The Knicks liked our offer better but Melo wouldn't approve it. And I don't know if we need 4 offensive stars in the starting lineup? Hark is a good role player at SF that'll cost 1/3rd of Anthony. And Paul George....no one will be sorry about not getting him if he bolts next year.
