Some GREAT info from Quick (What Billups investigation took place, where Dame stands with the Team)

CJ has a rare ability to break down defenders, even outstanding defenders, with his dribble. He tries to do it too much, though, and the previous staff didn't seem to do anything to dissuade him.

He's shown he can pass the ball and he can be efficient and pick his spots. He just hasn't done it frequently.

I think if you can get him to tone it down a bit and take the defensive end more seriously, CJ probably stands to be the biggest individual beneficiary of Billups coaching. I also think more ball movement on offense means Dame and CJ won't have to expend so much energy on that end of the floor, which might contribute to them being defenders.

Just speculating.

 

Well shit.

 

So here's a question - is Bradley Beal a massive upgrade over CJ and would it be worth going after him? I believe he and Dame are close.

Would you rather have Beal than Simmons?

 

I think it’s kinda funny that evidently the only way this team is gonna make a jump is if they change up the personnel. Where’s the argument for a different style of play? Cuz I’ll make it. Under Stotts our game plan was predictable and easy to defend against in the playoffs. A simple adjustment of getting CJ (and even Dame in certain situations) off the ball could be just as efficient as gutting the roster. Much more realistic too btw.

Finding a capable backup point guard should not be difficult, olshey just needs to commit to finding one. Same idea defensively. Forget the Kanters and the Melos and go after the Noels (no not Noel specifically, but those defensive specialist types)

 

that's awful for Washington

 

Meant to include some picks. Oops.

 

well that's the argument Olshey is probably making. I thought we underacheived, but this roster isn't anything more than second round fodder even if everything breaks right.

 

Conspiracy Theory:
When Olshey was throwing Stotts under the bus, he was trying to convince Dame that Stotts was our only problem.

There isn't really another good reason. I've never heard Stotts throw anyone else under the bus.

 

dame is getting traded to like every team. fucking depressing

 

Neil was trying to convince anyone who would listen that Stotts was our only problem.

 

I think Beal over CJ or LaVine over CJ is an upgrade. I think Dame would see it as such too. But if we lose Powell it's a net equal, so I dunno what we do there.

 

My concern is whether Beal is a good enough defender to not be the same problem that we have always had with Dame and CJ on defense. Powell is at least a serviceable defender.

 

I don't think you can assume the first part of your post, partly for reasons I just mentioned in a previous post. We'll have to agree to disagree on that. I'm not saying you're absolutely wrong, just that I don't think we really can know it.

Now, the second part isn't right. He's paid in the 30s. That's not all-star money. It's close to it, which is close to what he is.

 

Think this is part of it. Neil threw Terry under the bus as if he was the only problem and Dame wasn't happy. He doesn't think Stotts is the only problem and he didn't like how Neil threw him under the bus.

This is more speculation on my end than my other takes though.

 

Dame's going to come back from Tokyo with a gold medal and some new friends....that's where he can market the appeal of Portland to top tier players..

 

Unrelated but:

I'm so glad we're talking basketball again instead of whatever the shitstorm was last week. I come here to talk basketball with Blazer diehards, not debate the veracity of people's intentions.

 

I heard Quick on the Fan while in the car last evening and he was doing his best to put a negative spin on things even though he has talked to Dame recently and said Dame said nothing about leaving. The best he could come up with was something like ‘well Dame didn’t say anything about leaving but this is the first time I (Quick) feel like ai don’t know exactly where Dame’s head is at regarding the Blazers.

So basically Quick is now a mind reader who is going by his own feelings and that’s “news.”

 

doesn't matter....his salary leaves no room for that 2nd star that even Olshey is talking about

Portland simply can't afford 110-120M/year for Dame + 2nd Star + CJ. They'd be paying 100M in tax in 2022. Besides, without moving CJ Portland has almost no path to adding that 2nd star. And of course, a 2nd star would take over a good share of CJ's possessions and FGA's so CJ would become even more overpaid than he is

Portland just had the most critical playoffs in the Stolshey era....and CJ was outplayed by Rivers, Morris, and Campazzo....so yeah, he's overpaid