I voted yes simply because I think a big name star is going to become available this year and I expect Olshey to chase that star with CJ and ect being the start of the conversation. I don't mind keeping CJ and seeing how he develops and how the team does with him after a few seasons. Right now we are in rebuilding mode so i'm not to concerned with us sucking as long as we have a plan and it seems like Olshey always has a plan. We can always trade CJ in a year or two if we don't think Lillard and CJ can work, guys who score 20PPG aren't a dime a dozen like they used to be and I think CJ can get to that point.
If we can get the first overall pick (assuming we dont win the lottery) with our pick and CJ I'd be up for that. Doubt the other team whoever lands the first would, though.
Any chance Simmons would balk at being drafted by PHI? If he pulls a Kobe then maybe PHI would like to have CJ and our pick?
So if Olshey doesn't trade him then he isn't being smart? Olshey has a very good grasp on things imo.
Didn't read through the whole thread, so apologies if it was already said, but I'm so tired of the notion " you can't win with x, or without x". Like there's some set blueprint the only way to win at basketball. Teams defy it all the time (maybe not to a title) but still it persists. You have to beat other teams. But other teams also need to beat you. If there was a set formula, half the guys in the league wouldn't have jobs. It's lazy analyzing, to say the least.
No, CJ and Dame are good on the same team. The've been the two best parts of this team consistently this season. Theres 13 other positions we should focus on upgrading. All players have positives and negatives. You can harp on the negatives and be right. But a player without those deficiencies won't have the same positives so then we'd be lacking in other areas. Yes CJ can't defend great but taller defenders can't dribble or drive as he does. PG and SG are the least important defensive positions. Wings and bigs anchor a defense. Plumlee, Ed Davis, Aminu, Crabbe look like interesting role players but I'm not sure any of them can be a long term quality starter. CJ is a legit starter in this league. Maybe he comes off the bench on some teams ala Manu but he's a starting level talent. We need more than two starters. Even if some allstar becomes available for CJ just changing the name of one of our two starters doesn't make our team relevant. Eventually we need a 3rd and 4th starter.
I don't think Olshey will trade our second leading scorer. Instead, he'll bring in a better perimeter defender at the 3.
I think CJ playing well without Damian is a sign that CJ is not going to be with us long term (unless something bad happens to Damian). As I've said elsewhere, it reminds me of the Reggie-Jackson-in-OKC situation. Last season when Westbrook was out, Jackson was putting up insane numbers (although, admittedly, OKC were losing badly) and it became pretty clear that he'd want his own starring role. Now, it was different in OKC in that Jackson was never a starter alongside Westbrook, while CJ is, but we just look more balanced, and we match up better (and are better defensively), with one of CJ or Lillard at the 1 and Crabbe at the 2. So... where will CJ land? If we're like OKC, we'll want to trade him before he leaves as a FA. The trouble is, other teams probably think they can wait it out. At least, that would be true of teams like Philly who always have tons of capspace. But it might be kind of cool to see him end up on a contender. Here's the hard part: I can actually see him working really well in San Antonio. He'd be a sort of super-duper Gary Neal for them and ease into the Ginobili role when he finally retires. But who could they offer us? Of course, I want Boban, but as he's only on a one year contract, that wouldn't be much (and it's still unclear if he really works as an NBA player, even though he's putting up insane numbers (including the best PER in the entire league) in very limited minutes.) Perhaps the key player I'd want, given that they're not going to give up Kawhi Leonard, would be Kyle Anderson. That might not seem like much of a get given how good CJ is looking for us, but I think he's ready to break out, and indeed would have already if he wasn't on the Spurs. (Popovich has even been quoted as saying "I've got to find minutes for that guy" - which is about as high praise as he ever gives.) Anderson is like Ben Simmons recovering from being chained in a basement for six months and fed starvation rations. Which is to say that he's insanely talented for somebody as tall as he is, even if he's skinny and appears to be playing underwater. But most importantly he would complement the rest of the roster much better than CJ does, even if he may never score like CJ. Remember that he was MVP in Summer League: I would seriously do Anderson + Boban (maybe + pick?) for CJ, but only because I think CJ will never reach his full potential playing alongside Damian (and because our defense suffers). I might be the ONLY one on this board who wouldn't howl in outrage at that, though, so perhaps we could try to include a swap of Henderson for Danny Green, who seems to be underperforming a bit for them.
