The Raptors should be an example to us of how to build a better team

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by Natebishop3, May 25, 2019.

  1. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    1) I would rather be a bitter old man than someone who just gives up.
    2) Sort of - not as hard as they could.
    3) Enough with the LBJ crap. The Raps, Warriors, and Bucks have all made coaching/front office changes that helped push them to the top. IE, the opposite of the Blazers. LBJ is so dominant his team is wallowing in the lotto. Did he forget how to play, or was he hamstrung by the crappy coaching and front office in LA?
    4) Hood was a low risk move by any definition. How can you remotely compare that to the KL trade?
     
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  2. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    And who is responsible for our not having those kind of trade assets? The GM who just got an extension.
     
  3. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    You mean like the Warriors when they fired a 50 win coach, traded Ellis (their CJ), and put together a roster plan that allowed them to sign KD? The Warriors didn't go from a team struggling to win 30 to a finals team without taking risks along the way.
     
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  4. hoopsjock

    hoopsjock Well-Known Member

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    Did you know that GS first tried to trade Steph Curry to Milwaukee for Bogut? The Bucks refused to do the deal unless Ellis was in it instead because they didn't like the medical reports on Steph's ankles. Plus the Warriors already had Klay (their Ellis replacement) on their roster so trading one of their 3 guards didn't leave a hole that it would with us.
     
  5. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    We likely have the assets now. Just need the deal.

    Do you guys ever stop being pissed off about the state of the Blazers?
     
  6. Wizard Mentor

    Wizard Mentor Wizard Mentor

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    1) Congrats, you've achieved bitter old man status long ago.
    2) There is literally no way you, or anyone here, could know this.
    3) LBJ misses the playoffs 1 year, and now he sucks? Weird.
    4) It was easy.
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2019
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  7. oldmangrouch

    oldmangrouch persona non grata

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    No offense, but you totally missed the point of #3. I was making the opposite point - it wasn't LBJ, it was the Laker brain trust.

    As for your first point - you better believe it - and get off my lawn!
     
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  8. CupWizier

    CupWizier Well-Known Member

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    Spurs weren't willing to deal with a western team. Unless you were willing to do a totally lopsided deal for Toronto, then it's a moot point. The GM who just got an extension just put together a team that made it to the WCF without one of the main players.
     
  9. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    I find it amusing that the Blazers' WCF appearance is being written off by some as a bracket-based fluke, but the Raptors reaching the finals by virtue of being in a different conference than the warriors doesn't receive the same treatment.
     
  10. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    I maintain that the Raptors path to the Finals was much much harder than our path to the WCF.
     
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  11. hoopsjock

    hoopsjock Well-Known Member

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    Exactly, that was my point that if the Raptors lose to the Warriors did they really accomplish anything we didn't other than being in the East?
     
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  12. Natebishop3

    Natebishop3 Don't tread on me!

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    Why do you think we're pissed off? I don't think creating a thread about following another team's model is a sign of anger.
     
  13. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    I wasn't referring to you. I was responding to OMG.
     
  14. PtldPlatypus

    PtldPlatypus Let's go Baby Blazers! Staff Member Global Moderator Moderator

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    All speculation though.
     
  15. e_blazer

    e_blazer Rip City Fan

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    OKC beat the Bucks twice this season. The Nuggets lost to them twice.
    Both OKC and the Nuggets split with the Raptors this year.

    The Blazers split with both the Raptors and the Bucks.
     
  16. hoopsjock

    hoopsjock Well-Known Member

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    We were 4-0 against the Magic and 76ers (destroyed them both times) who the Raptors played in the 1st 2 rounds.
    We were 1-1 against the Bucks.
     
  17. wizenheimer

    wizenheimer Well-Known Member

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    pound sand

    I didn't bring Crabbe up in this thread...somebody else did and I responded to what he wrote
     
  18. twobullz

    twobullz Well-Known Member

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    I would say the East is much weaker. The fact the Blazers were 29-23 against the west and 24-6 against the east just shows how weak the east is. So I don't think anyone had a easier path in the east then the west.
     
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  19. wizenheimer

    wizenheimer Well-Known Member

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    well, east or not the Raptors are in the finals and are 4 wins away from a championship. Blazers were 8 wins away, but obviously, they were not in the class of the Warriors

    'risks' are kind of hard to define. I'd suggest that the Raptors didn't really take that big a risk because it was rather obvious the Derozan/Lowry pairing had topped out. No upside. It could be argued all they really risked was their own personal treadmill. Maybe Derozan could have fetched a better long-term return...maybe not. To the Raptors credit, they cut bait and tried another tack...and they're in the finals

    If Kawhi leaves? it's a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained. There's not a big downside there IMO

    How about at least balancing that equation for Portland. It seems you're assuming that Portland isn't on some quicksand of their own. Where will the Blazers be if Hood, Kanter, Aminu, and Curry leave? I think it could be argued that Portland might not have beat OKC without Kanter, and might not have beat Denver without Hood. If those 4 players all leave, the Blazers are taking a step back and the plateau of the WCF will be above their heads on the ladder again.

    In other words, both the Toronto model and the Portland model have weaknesses

    as for risk and Portland....I'd say since Whitsitt, the Blazers may have been one of the most risk-averse teams in the league. I'm inclined to say the last big risk the Blazers took was trading for Scottie Pippen. But even though Portland traded 5 players, IIRC, none of them were significant losses. Maybe the Blazers took a sizable risk trading Gerald Wallace for a draft pick that had a decent chance of not being conveyed...and that resulted in Lillard. That means Portland's best payoff in 2 decades came from taking by far the biggest risk they've taken. That says something

    and I think that needs to be factored against 20 years of relatively risk free management that has resulted in 4 playoff series wins. That's not a good payoff at all, especially considering that they might be at 0 series wins but for the risk they took in the Wallace trade
     
  20. hoopsjock

    hoopsjock Well-Known Member

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    If Kawhi leaves the Raptors they are way, way, way worse off than the Blazers are if Hood, Kanter, Aminu, and Curry all leave.
     

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