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

Quick talked to Dame directly after the season and Dame said nothing about being unhappy. It was an off-the-record discussion so he couldn’t go too deep into it..

Go listen to his segment last night with RoppSuke on the 1080 app. Also, why worry so much about something none of us fans can control.

 

Norman Powell wasn’t good in the playoffs either yet for some reason a lot of people want him back at what’s going to be over $20 million/year. Unless CJ is traded, bringing Powell back doesn’t seem like a good move to me if he’s going to be a 6’3” SF alongside Dame and CJ.

 

You need to bring Norm back as an asset if nothing else. I agree that a Dame-CJ-Norm group is likely ineffective, but it gives the Blazers a lot more positional and salary flexibility should they want to move CJ (or Norm for that matter) down the road.

 

I you keep Norm and Chauncey turns CJ into a Lindsay Hunter type 6 man you have a stronger defensive starting unit and a better scoring bench mob

 

Unless he has talked to Dame in the past week, I don't consider it to be that useful. The rumors about Dame being upset and potentially wanting out happened after the leak about Billups on Friday.

 

Trading CJ + Jones lets you take back 50 million in salary. It's definitely not impossible to return two good pieces for that package. Retain Powell on top.

Also, everything is on the table. Nurk, RoCo, everything. Olshey put himself into a terrible position and it's on him to figure it out. He's forced to make a big move because he's likely losing his job otherwise. Even if he does make that move he may lose his job. But don't act like he doesn't know he can't just tinker around the margins this offseason.

Yeah the lux tax bill is a huge pill to swallow. I have no idea how far into the tax ownership is willing to go, but it likely won't be for a long time anyhow. If at any point they decide to blow it up, trading Dame will get them out of the tax and fully into rebuilding mode.

 

Which is why extending the QO to Collins is a must. That expiring contract is great in a trade and the team getting him has his Bird Rights. Letting him become a UFA is one less asset in any trade scenario. I don’t care if he plays a minute next season, that contract is a necessity to add in a potential trade even if it’s just $6-7 million in filler to make salaries match within the CBA margin.

 

Not a bad idea but I could see CJ wanting out and $30 million for a 6th Man is a lot of salary space.

 

Exactly how descriptive did you want him to get about the blow job? They did not exactly have selfies back in 1997.

 

Names:

Zach LaVine
Bradley Beal
Pascal Siakam (scares me because his surgery won't have him ready by training camp)
DeMar Derozan
Ben Simmons
Karl Anthony-Towns
Tobias Harris
Kevin Love
Gordon Hayward
Brandon Ingram

It's my uneducated opinion that at least one of these players will be on our team next year.

 

what roster? Last years? Sure. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they need to break up the core. Weren’t you the one arguing about Thibs taking relatively the same roster to the playoffs a couple days ago? It’s not always a quick fix, and I think Olshey alluded to that yesterday. A different style of play and better role players could make a bigger difference than some surface level trade of CJ.

 

I don't think they are ready to move on. I think they finally have the pieces in place and they just need to all play together,

 

Powell was a hell of a lot better than CJ in the playoffs:



and he did that while have to defend Porter or Gordon, two guys he was giving away 5-7 inches too. Meanwhile, CJ was defending Rivers or Morris. In fact, in the last game of the series, when Powell sat it was Dame that spent a lot of time guarding Porter

what I've seen suggested is trading CJ and moving Powell in into the starting SG role. If Powell signs as 3-year/60M contract, that would see Portland paying 13M/year less for the starting SG. I agree it's a bad idea to have a 6'3 starting SF; I'd guess Powell thinks it's a bad idea too. But that's the corner Olshey's stubbornness had backed Stotts and the Blazers into this season

 

I always compare that Kevin McHale was a super star 6 man..he was also the 2nd highest paid player on the Celtics behind Larry Bird..I think he'd win that award if he bought into it..I also think as a 6 man he's not competing with Dame for the ball...the 30 million is on the books no matter whether he starts or comes off the bench..it's just paying for bench scoring in my view and the only thing it doesn't buy is the swagger of having your name called out before tip off by Mark Mason...CJ is worried about his status he should demand a trade to the eastern conference to pretty much guarantee himself and allstar berth...he won't get one in the west

 

I would rather that some other team took the risk of that ever happening.

 

I like seeing Siakam in the top six.

 

Siakam almost came to blows with Nick Nurse on the court last season..they had a serious falling out...he wants out of Toronto

 

Yeah, I suggested that the only way re-signing Norm makes sense is to trade CJ. As I’ve said, playing Dame/CJ/Norm major minutes together makes for one of the worst defensive teams in the league and coaching won’t fix the size deficit. Norm isn’t going want to play SF again and defend much bigger players every night and Olshey can’t justify matching a $20-25 million/year contract to run that same tiny trio out for another chance as starters when they got smoked by what on paper was an inferior Denver team.

 

I think next season is 'do-or-die-sink-or-swim-put-up-or-shut-up' time for the Dame era

looking at the payroll for the season after next, it gives whoever the GM is an option to blow it all up and start over



(Green font are QO's)

Portland would only have 3 players with guaranteed salaries. Blazers could trade Dame and CJ and kind of combine the Philly & OKC models of getting totally shitty and maximizing the quantity and quality of draft picks for 2-4 years

not only would it be a pivot point, both financially and roster-wise, if they kept the team together that years would be the beginning of repeater tax penalties. The only justification for continuing the dream would be an undoubted contending team.

I have a hunch this is what Olshey has sold to Seattle: one more year of luxury tax to 'prove-out' the Dame/CJ team with a new coach

 

I totally forgot Jerami Grant was on the Olympic team.

Would Detroit do two firsts for Grant?

Jones + S&T Kanter as a salary filler will get you to that number...