What does Neil have to do…

To win you back?

Trading CJ would be close - I’ll never forgive CJ for failing to give Lillard help after all his superhuman performances against Denver.

Simply put, he has to be aggressive in upgrading talent and not settling for scraps - something he’s done every summer since becoming GM. Quality over quantity.

What say you?

 

He would need to trade for a legit star player to go with Dame.

 

How. The players we think aren’t good and that we want gone are good enough to bring back a legit superstar?

 

This.

All he to do for Dame what the Lakers have done for LeBron, the Clippers have done for Kawhi, the Nets have done for Durant, the Suns have done for Booker, the Bucks have done for Giannis, Utah has done for Gobert, the 76ers have done for Embiid, the Warriors did for Steph.

Has a GM has provided a lesser #2 for an All-NBA player who has been in the league 5+ years than Olshey has done for Dame?

 

I'm not as down on Neil as most, but i agree that he needs to hit a home run this offseason. Hiring Billups is a start, but not close to what he needs to accomplish. CJ was not himself vs. Denver. Whether it's because he was still not totally healed from the fracture, or he just doesn't have what it takes to get his game to the next level, a decision has to be made. CJ's salary is the biggest card Neil can play. Improving the bench. The Blazers need more firepower off the bench. Hopefully Ant & Nas, and all their hard work this offseason pays off. Even so, the Blazers are in need of a Josh Hart type player to bring tenacity & production off the bench. But in NO WAY, can Neil stand pat IMO.

 

This may be true... and why do we have these players on those contracts?

If Neil made this mess, he needs to fix it... or go to the bigger market he wants to be in.

 

We need to do whatever it takes to get another star. Even if that means gutting our depth. It’s a star driven league.

once you get that second star player other veteran players start settling for less money for that championship possibility and we can get bargain bin vets to fill the roster, who quite frankly might be better than the guys we have filling the roster now.

But I don’t have faith in Neil. His love affair and inability to part with “his guys” is nauseating and something I don’t think he’ll end up doing.

 

CJ is a glorified 6th man. If he’s Robin to Lillards Batman we’ll never get anywhere

 

Is your opinion that he's closer to Lou Williams than a legit all-star?

 

Yes. Nice scorer that looks for his shot first and his impact on the game is predicated on him hitting his shot otherwise he’s a detriment and doesn’t make his teammates better, in fact, the opposite (when his shot isn’t falling). A liability defensively.

I love him as a person. But sometimes you need to separate the two when you want a winning product.

 

I agree with you.

He's better than Lou Williams in my opinion, but much closer to him than a true all-star.

I think even KD told CJ on his podcast that he'd be a legit 6th man. It was pretty funny.

 

Do you remember Ricky Pierce or Eddie Johnson? That’s basically CJ in my eyes.

 

I do... I remember them as teammates, I didn't watch them early in their careers. Very solid role players, but far from a ringing endorsement of CJ, who will be making $30m/year - More than those 2 made in 30+ combined seasons!

 

I was just a kid but I remember Pierce lighting it up. I wanted his sweet looking stroke so I’d practice in front of the house.

Pierce averaged 23 points one year without ever starting a game that season.

 

Damn, Ricky Pierce hovered around .600 TS% on super high usage in his prime. And this was in the early 90s. Not many players can claim that.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1991_advanced.html#advanced_stats::ts_pct

He'd be better than CJ in today's league.

 

"Back" implies a level of support I don't think he ever had. He has been tolerated, but typically whenever he is the focus of attention it has been bad. Outside of assembling a championship squad, not sure there is anything that could cause active support. Even then, Dame sucks up most of the oxygen.

 

Win me back? I never left!

 

How did it feel when the one guy that has your undying trust threw the other guy that had it under the bus? Doesn't that give you pause to keep listening to Neil as your singular expert?

 

Two things.

First, I said star player. Not superstar. To me that’s a very big distinction. Dame is a superstar. CJ is barely a star.

Second, the thread isn’t about “how.” Fez asked what Neil would need to do and I answered. I don’t care about how. That’s not my problem. That’s his. problem.