Many of the other threads are full of complainers and complaints and I'd like to start a thread absolutely devoid of that. I'm positive looking towards next season and happy that the team is on completely different path than it was to begin the 2021-22 season. If you want to complain, please be respectful and join the other complainers somewhere else. I'm really looking forward to seeing what Josh Hart adds to the roster next season. If Lillard gets back to form, which I expect, Hart will give us a better defensive option at shooting guard and a guy who can play small forward if needed. I also expect he'll join Lillard in the 60+% true shooting club. The Blazers biggest hole seems to be a forward who can double as a small-ball center. Ideally, another player who shoots 60+% true shooting while also being a threat from the 3-point line. Christian Wood seems like a good option for that, but he also seems like a needy headcase. He's a career 38 percent 3-point shooter so it's not like we wouldn't want to give him the shots.
Chauncey's type of push the ball, move w/o the ball, pass the ball offense next year will be fun to watch. So different from what we've been used to over the years. I since Billups will attract a FA, maybe not an all star but very good all around player.
That 4 game win streak prior to the All-Star break showed the type of ball Chauncey is capable of instilling in the team. I think Winslow and Hart are exactly the type of guys the team needs and didn’t have in previous seasons.
Olshey is gone. The team is trying harder on defense. Billups has empowered all of the players to bring the ball up the court. (Reminiscent of Jack McKinney as seen in "winning time".) Winslow and Hart are exactly the type of players the team needed that didn't have in the past. I think all of these things have been forgotten and/or underrated as we tanked the rest of the season after the four game win streak. I believe these qualities will return with a vengeance with a healthy Damian Lillard for the start of the 2022-2223 season. Of course there were some benefits of tanking. No matter where our lottery pick ends up or what we do with it, the fact is we will have a top 10 pick in a deep draft full of wings, forwards and centers. Anfernee Simons had some time to shine as the go-to man and did not disappoint. Trendan Watford got the chance to play his way into a contract and we have at least a reserve forward who is very advanced for his age in handling the ball and his basketball IQ. We got to see what Chauncey Billups is all about. It's not only what we've wanted forever, better team play on offense and defense (give credit to Cronin for bringing in Hart and Winslow to change the culture) but about being supportive of all his players no matter how young and immature. This might seem like something expected but it is definitely not a given for an NBA coach. Some of them, such as Rick Carlisle in 2017-18, might have an ax to grind, and take it out on a young player like Dennis Smith Jr., who was just trying his best.
We got rid of Olshey and some players who were under-performing. We just may have found the right coach. Sorry, but that's all I've got.
I actually want to watch games again, and am excited for next season. Everyone here is so down on not getting the pick, and Cronin getting fleeced, and I can understand that. But damn, the team was unwatchable the last three years. The team was so boring and predictable, it was the same thing over and over with no chance of improvement or difference from the year before. Now all of those crappy things may be true, we may have not gotten the best value for our trades or whatever. But dang I am excited for something new, with the prospect of a different outcome and seeing these new players develop. The draft, summer league, and everything else is going to be fun as hell. I am excited for the season to start for the first time in years!
This post cheered me up a little, in regards to basketball which doesn't really get me down. It is exciting that we won't have to watch the frustrating aspects of the way Dame and CJ never seemed to play off of each other on offense but just took turns and were terrible together on D. So I'm really hoping that Dame and Ant are nothing like that and there's reason to hope because Ant's game is now being molded by Chauncey and Dame has said that sitting back and really studying the defense has given him new perspective and that he's excited to play in the new offense unburdened by the injury that's been affecting him for years. I'm still hoping that we get lucky in the lottery, I think we deserve it. Oh and I'm also really excited that they haven't said that Joe is the permanent GM (that might not be in keeping with the point of this thread but fuck it, it gives me some solace).
That's exactly how I feel too. Looking forward to the draft, looking forward to summer league, and definitely looking forward to next season.
And looking forward to the draft lottery on May 17th. I'm not going to be disappointed even if we end up with the 10th pick, (which is extremely unlikely). but it would be pretty exciting to get a top 4 pick.
I’m actually expecting to get one of those top three picks. When the universe taketh away, it seems like it should be balanced with some good luck!
