Shams: Olshey being investigated for workplace misconduct

are you sure that's true?

as I recall that CBA, if Aldridge would have re-signed with Portland in the 2015 off-season, he could have re-signed for 5 years with 8% step raises. Any other team would have maxed out at 4 years with 4-5% step raises. If Aldridge would have signed an extension in 2014, he would have been limited to 4 years, but he still would have received the 8% step raises. His max salary would have been determined by the 2015 salary cap in either case. Maybe I have that wrong, but that's the way I'm remembering it

so yeah, if he waited till 2015 he would have received that 5th year from Portland, but there were plenty of hints that 5th season wasn't his concern

 

False. Aldridge received significantly more money by waiting to sign an extension even if he stayed in Portland. It was the same situation as Durant, and after this the NBA created a supermax extension that now has stars signing extensions where none of them did previously.

 

At some point in the 2 years prior he said he was leaving

 

False

 

maybe I'm recalling wrong, but didn't Aldridge, sometime long after he'd become a Spur, come out and say something like "the Blazer F.O. wanted me to say positive things about intending to stay a Blazer, so I did. Didn't mean it though"....?

 

what is false?

 

We just saw the LMA Wes Batum Rolo Dame team win the first playoff series in 14 years, and they looked even better that next season.

It was worth seeing what that team could do. It would've been a mistake to break up that team.

After the trade deadline, I got hurt, the team fell apart and Aldridge left. It was a smart gamble, that had risk, but didnt work out. That is not a mistake. A GM should not be 100% risk averse.

 

There were reports that Aldridge had wanted out a few years earlier. The guy had a reputation as a diva. The team had to know that he had been wanting to return to Texas. Where there's smoke there's fire. A few of us on here had been saying for over a year that he would leave. It was a dumb gamble. Harden was dealt for basically a song the summer before. Now, in hindsight, I'm not sure Dame and Harden could have co-existed, but I was pissed when we didn't try to make a play for him.

 

I don't remember that, but honestly it wouldn't surprise me.

 

https://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/2014/07/trail_blazers_lamarcus_aldridge_pledges_to_sign_co.html

Says the extension he was eligible for was 3/55, versus waiting a year and getting 5/108.
It made no sense financially for him to sign that.

 

ok then... I was wrong...

I did see this:



https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/page/CBA-111128/how-new-nba-deal-compares-last-one

 

Love your optimism. I think we are a 5-8 seed with Lillard playing well with a chance of getting out of the first.

 

I saw workplace misconduct Sat watching Ducks embarrass the Huskies.

 

Love when someone comes with true facts and common sense, compared to those that just want to bash Neil at every opportunity they can get

 

No, I was begging for a trade after that run. I knew Aldridge was going to leave. Had no doubt in my mind.

 

Do you honestly think Neil can get us a championship? Do you really applaud him for every move he has made?

 

I agree with half of that....there was ample justification for bringing back the core.

But Olshey needed to do a lot more to upgrade that roster. Exchanging Mo Williams and Joel Freeland for Steve Blake and Chris Kaman was not any kind of significant upgrade. It was just more dumpster diving from the dumpster baron. And Portland obviously needed an upgrade. They won that series against Houston, but then got curb-stomped in the next round, 4-1. And they lost those 4 games by an average of 19.5 points. They were exposed as a pretender

so then, while it was justifiable to bring Aldridge back and see what the team could do, it would also have been equally justifiable to trade Aldridge because there was lots of doubt he would re-sign. He was not loyal like Dame...that was very clear. And even though he was an expiring contract, he had significant trade value at 29, while the Blazers as-is, was not a contender

 

Exactly. I have no idea why posters keep saying Aldridge turning down the extension meant anything. Every all star player in these situations was turning down the extension. That's why the CBA was later changed.

 

The team had been languishing before Wes got hurt. Yes they won 4 or 5 games in a row but over the previous 15, they disappointed. A 5 game win streak doesn’t make you a contender. Also- a contender with both its All Stars should be able to win more than 1 playoff game even with a key piece missing. Heck, the Bucks just won a title without their starting SG. Remember- Blazers won 13 straight in 2018 and then got swept in first round. Even if healthy, the 2015 wasn’t good enough to win a title. Not even close.