Given the trade that happened on Friday, there HAS to be a corresponding move coming, right? You don't trade 2 starters, no matter how much of an overlap there might be with one of them (Powell), just to get under the Cap. As a fan, I can't allow myself to believe that, or all hope for this franchise is lost. So it would seem, it has to start with Eric Bledsoe. Bledsoe's current salary is $18,125,000 for this year and grows to $19,375,000 next year BUT, only around $3,900,000 of that is guaranteed. He can be bought out for a significant Cap savings....for whatever team owns his contract. That is a tidy sum for a team that needs some flexibility or needs to get under the cap. The Blazers can use that to acquire another asset that is usable that is under contract for a longer period of time since it would do them little good in FA'cy. The concern is, how Cronin is going to make this work. I have been assured by a number of sauces that there were other deals on the table and many other discussions, almost all of which, fans would have thought were better deals. So there HAS to be a 'next' move, or this will be one of the worst trade in franchise history. This was brought up yesterday. Jody and Steve have known each other for years as neighbors, and through Paul with Microsoft. I'm sure we all hope this wasn't just a solid done for a long time acquaintance because she really doesn't care about the Blazers like she does the Seahawks. She is the one who had to sign off on this, so hopefully Joe has another chess move down the road to polish up this turd a bit. Some of you cap gurus can play with Bledsoe's contract to see what else we might be able to do. As fans, we need a 'silver lining' out of this, because yesterday was brutal.
Counterpoint: fans are dumb. Joke aside, them not wanting to pay their previous starter and cronins quote yesterday about “moving money to different positions, balancing the roster out” leads me to one conclusion: a new starting forward, probably at the four.
yeah, those seem to be the most obvious ones. Maybe Siakam? Porzingis? Sabonis? Isaac? Wendell? H. Barnes? And of course Simmons lol. You’re probably looking for a team that could use CJ, possibly Nance.
When he says moving money to other positions, balancing the roster ad makes reference to provide Ant a runway, Im not sure how anyone can not grasp that's his plan, and he's working it. Sure cap flex is important especially if Jody not only signed off on this transaction but also probably gave him the green light to shore up the front court. Fairly basic strategy and to many in here are over thinking and slamming what this one step represents.
Are we going to be angrier in the immediate aftermath of the trade, or after the trade deadline when it turns out there was no next move?
If we are to assume that the Powell trade was in fact just a salary dump then what sense would it make to turn around and flip Bledsoe for a longer deal? No team is going to give up anything for Bledsoe unless they're trying to offload a long/expensive contract on us. Where the hell is the logical consistency for Portland? We dump a good player in Norm for cap savings only to turn around and flip the cap savings for an expensive player who probably won't even be as good as Norm? Cronin is clueless.
There are no next moves. Didn't you get the message. Cronin has "Ruined" the Blazers. At least that is what I've read on here.
So right now, the depth chart for next season looks something like: PG: Dame, Ant, Smith? (Bledsoe - buyout) SG: CJ, Elleby, Johnson SF: Little, Winslow, Johnson PF: Nance, Watford?, Brown III C: Nurk, Nance, Zeller? Add 2-3 rookies who are unlikely to play much unless Portland is lucky with the ping pong balls. It’s pretty obvious that Cronin needs to make another trade; hopefully one that turns CJ into a significant PF upgrade.
The most obvious one is Detroit. It's quite possible that Detroit didn't want to take back 5 years of 28 year old Norman Powell, and really wants 1st rd picks for Grant. Maybe they want an expiring contract (Bledsoe) and a 1st rd pick or 2. The question becomes where Portland gets the 1st rd picks. If the rumored CJ for Hart/Hayes/Sato/1st is real, with Hayes and the 1st being re-routed to Detroit, does CJ, Norm, and Covington for Grant, Hart, Keon, Winslow and 10.8 Million in cap savings (this year. approx. 21 next year) make sense for Portland? It's much better roster balance, and allows Portland to tank the rest of the season for a high potential player, while re-signing Simons and potentially having the full MLE next season to use as well. I dont hate it, if that's the end game. I guess I'll wait 5 more days and see.
It just doesn't make sense to me. If it's to set up for another deal, it seems like it should have all been done at once. Now, if I understand it correctly, Bledsoe cannot be combined with another one of our players in a trade.
I bet you the Clippers thought it was highly unlikely they could land Powell and RoCo for a bag of chips and pat on the back.
