I am wait and see. Not knocking my socks off but how many genuine blockbuster trades are there? Bake the cake. Just made chocolate fondant cake for tomorrow's dinner party.
The roster before and after the trades? About the same? The draft capital is for the summer. This year has been about PROCESS. That’s what Cronin has consistently said. Okay.
Unrealistic expectations? What were those exactly? Personally, I didn't have them anywhere near contender status. What I did expect is them not battling Utah who got rid of their 2 biggest stars or the baby Thunder. There is an argument to be made we have the greatest Blazer ever and what many believe is the best leader in the NBA. We have a young SG who is a very good scorer. We got "the best forward we've had since LaMarcus". We had an absolutely play his Hart out SF who is now gone. I didn't not expect them to be in the nearly same place they were for much of last year when they were purposefully tanking. Fair enough?
It's not Nurk's fault. The most value Nurk brought was on the defensive end and as maybe the best paint clogging big on that end. Chauncey's defense doesn't have that position. The big has to show on the level for every P&R and the big has to switch and therefore defend the perimeter. Even in Chauncey's zone the big isn't back the big is up in the mid to high post. So every position Nurk finds himself in he has to recover from to protect the basket. Recovery requires mobility and Nurk is the least mobile player starting in the NBA. Chauncey obviously will not adjust and it makes Nurk have very little value for us and makes it look like he has very little value to anyone even though he would have far more value to coaches who play drop coverages. On offense Nurk is Nurk but at least this season he added a wrinkle where he's taking and making threes at a rate and amount that make him a floor stretching big. If he finished the way he should and if he made the simple pass blah blah blah... that's nothing new.
I think he's on the verge of going DenverNurk and pouting his way to the bench...the deep end of the bench.
Didn't see this anywhere else so... ESPN+ 2023 NBA trade deadline: Grades for every deal Warriors send Wiseman to Detroit in four-team deal Warriors get: Guard/forward Gary Payton II Pistons get: Center James Wiseman Hawks get: Forward Saddiq Bey Trail Blazers get: Forward Kevin Knox Five second-round picks Golden State Warriors: B Detroit Pistons: C- Atlanta Hawks: A Portland Trail Blazers: C+ With this deal, the Blazers essentially take a mulligan on signing Payton using their non-taxpayer midlevel exception last summer, getting a handful of second-round picks for their troubles. Earlier Thursday, I wrote about newly added Matisse Thybulle as a replacement for starting small forward Josh Hart, dealt Wednesday night to the New York Knicks. With this trade it becomes clear Thybulle is really a replacement for Payton, who brings similar defensive playmaking with limited outside shooting. Much as I appreciate Payton's game, that swap is probably good for Portland. Thybulle is more than four years younger and likely to be cheaper to re-sign this summer as a restricted free agent. Again, however, the question is whether the Blazers should simply have cut out the Hawks and gotten Bey in return for Payton. Bey's modest 2023-24 salary would be ideal for a Portland team that may not be willing to pay the luxury tax, while he would have offered more size on the perimeter -- addressing a major Blazers weakness. For now, Portland moves forward with Thybulle and Nassir Little at small forward and Justise Winslow likely to play a key bench role when he returns from a grade II ankle sprain that has sidelined him since late December -- just before Payton made his Blazers debut. Re-signing Winslow could become more of a priority because, like Payton, he offers Portland's second unit needed playmaking. Thybulle to Blazers in 3-team deal Trail Blazers get: Forward Matisse Thybulle 76ers get: Forward Jalen McDaniels 2024 second-round pick (via New York) 2029 second-round pick (via Portland) Hornets get: Guard Svi Mykhailiuk 2023 second-round pick (via most favorable of Atlanta, Brooklyn and Charlotte) 2027 second-round pick (via most favorable of New Orleans and Portland) Philadelphia 76ers: A- Charlotte Hornets: C+ Portland Trail Blazers: A Consider this part two of the Blazers' deadline plan, which started Wednesday night by dealing Josh Hart to the New York Knicks for a protected first-round pick. That move created enough room under the tax line, as well as a trade exception, for Portland to take on Thybulle's contract. As players, Hart and Thybulle are probably more similar than their reputations would suggest, particularly with Hart's reluctance to shoot 3s this season. (He has attempted fewer per 36 minutes and has made them at a worse clip than Thybulle so far.) Thybulle is almost precisely two years younger and is likely to have a weaker market as a restricted free agent this summer than Hart will unrestricted. Add in the Blazers converting a couple of distant second-round picks into what could be a first-rounder in the late teens this season and this looks like a strong piece of business for the Portland front office. There are still questions about how Thybulle fits offensively, but given that the Blazers entered the trade deadline 26th in defensive rating, adding Thybulle should help. Blazers send Josh Hart to the Knicks Knicks get: Guard/forward Josh Hart Trail Blazers get: Guards Ryan Arcidiacono Svi Mykhailiuk Guard/forward Cam Reddish 2023 first-round pick (via New York, top-14 protected, converts to four second-round picks) New York Knicks: B- Portland Trail Blazers: B+ Part of the Blazers' unspoken task this season was to play well enough to persuade ownership to pay the luxury tax to re-sign Hart, assuming he declined his player option, and fellow starting forward Jerami Grant. With Grant averaging 21 PPG and making a career-high 41% of his 3-pointers, Portland has to prepare to give him a significant raise over this season's $21 million salary, meaning a new deal for Hart would likely take them into the tax. As the Blazers hover around .500 and currently sit outside the play-in spots in the Western Conference, they couldn't justify paying the tax, making a Hart trade all but inevitable before the deadline. Likely getting a first-round pick is a good outcome, particularly because Portland will also get a free look at Reddish the rest of the season. Remember, it was less than 13 months ago that the Knicks gave up a first-round pick to get Reddish, then in the third season of his four-year rookie contract. Thibodeau apparently wasn't part of that decision. Reddish has logged just 653 minutes since then, causing his trade value to crater. Despite the occasional big effort, including a 26-point outburst in November against Oklahoma City, Reddish's game has always looked better on a scouting report than on the court. He could be a shooter but has hit just 32% of his 3s. He has the physical tools, including more size than Hart at 6-8, to be a strong defender. That skill set hasn't translated consistently either, though. Those issues noted, Reddish is actually younger than a player drafted last June (Atlanta Hawks wing Tyrese Martin), so there's still time for him to put it all together. With minutes available and a need for more size on the perimeter, the Blazers will surely give him the opportunity he never found in New York. Because the Knicks had to include two minimum-salary players (Ryan Arcidiacono and Svi Mykhailiuk) to match salary, Portland will have to either waive or trade a player under full NBA contract to complete this deal. There's no obvious candidate, so a deal might be the best solution.
I voted C but could've easily done a B. As an isolated evaluation of only these moves it's fine for where the Blazers are at this year as non contenders. Let's say a new GM was hired yesterday and did these moves then fine maybe it's a B. But the problem is the Blazers have been doing win now moves by bringing in Grant, extending Dame, signing Nurk, previously acquiring Hart and Payton. They haven't been rebuilding, so this change is giving them none of the players to contend now nor the youth to properly rebuild. The Blazers need a 3 year plan and work to execute it. Not ship out vets one trade deadline, then tank the end of the year, then sign vets next summer, then ship out vets a few months later. I'm hoping we see some patience and long term moves in the off-season. For the rest of this season? Only thing I see of value is Blazers loosing helping their pick and growth from Sharpe, Ant, Jabari, Little in that order. Reddish or Thybulle playing well probably is a non factor as the Blazers would have to pay it not overpay to retain them.
Just kicking the can down the road. isn’t it obvious this summer we’re going to get that huge superstar that we’ve been longing for with all draft capital we received.
Well done @noknobs . My grade of the trade deadline results is a little different than each trade individually. Hart/Reddish - I thought the return was quite good for a player the Blazers had to trade. To get a still potential guy with a protected 1st....good job. Thybulle - not bad especially if GP2 was going out. A one trick pony, but it is a good trick. To just give up a scrub player you just acquired and one 2nd round pick.....again, not bad. Payton/Knox - it wasn't working out and I had heard he was on his way out sooner or later. I think it was @Fairly-Hard that I PM'd about a conversation he had with a contact of my. To get all the 2nd round picks to refill the empty chest was a good thing. What bothered me about it was there was a LOT of very needed size inexpensively available and the Blazers did nothing to help their current roster. Bamba, Bryant, Plumlee, Wiseman.....everyone of those would have helped the Blazers just because they are so depleted. It was available, and they didn't make the move. So now it's 'punt' (AGAIN) until the Summer and this version is just an exercise in mediocrity and futility. That is the part that bothered me. What they got for what they gave up.....not bad at all.
if there had been an option for C+ I would have voted for that Blazers got Thybulle, Reddish, Knox a 1st, and 5 seconds for Hart+Payton. I imagine I'm missing something since I was gone most of the day I have seen complaints about not getting McDaniels or Bey, but from what I've seen there is really not a big gap between those two and what Portland got. Below average role players all around
They're going to the buyout market. Remember Cronin worked under Olshey. He isn't gonna pass up the bargain basement.
Kicking it down the road is what small market teams do. They don't get big stars in FA or in trades. They get involved take the scraps. They hope something works and kick it down the road. Then they draft or trade for other players looking for diamonds in the rough and hope they pan out. The long term goal, is that hopefully enough of these players pan out and fit together and give you a playoff team/contender. The Blazers aren't the Shark, they are the remoras. Stars like KD aren't asking for trades to Portland, nor do they come in FA. They wan't Dame to come play for them. The system in this league is lopsided and biased towards large market teams. Shit needs to be fixed.
cam reddish is intriguing, for whatever reason it didnt worked out for him yet, but hes still 23 yo, so theres a lot of time to improve and maybe chauncey & dame can help him reach his potential ive read some comments and apparently he needs the ball in his hands to blossom, he doesnt do well playing off the ball ive watched some clips (yeah i know, they only show good stuff) and guy can play bball (athletic, likes to attack the basket, good at finishing through the contact)
I actually am not really shocked at all and i think the moves made today are actually pretty good. No I didn't want to lose hart but i totally understand it. In making moves to keep from losing that player for nothing the team is better today than yesterday. They still are not contenders but they are better. Payton was not giving this team anything much. What Hart was giving on offense will be brought by Reddish. Yes Hart rebounds better. I like the Pick if it conveys. The Blazers needed length and they also need a space for Sharpe to excel. I was not really ever sure what everyone was seeing in Payton. Quick small guy that did get his hands on the ball but never seemed to make a huge impact. I think it was a good move to get out from under his contract and get some picks.
Just curious, but if the Blazers pick up an experienced big from the pool of veteran free agents (off the top of my head, Cousins, Aldridge, Leonard, Whiteside, Ed Davis) as a 3rd string C, would that impact your opinion?
