Exclusive Should Blazers try to make the playoffs or rebuild(tank)?

After this year's draft even without a clear superstar we should try our darndest to prove that an evenly talented team can go far.

Now it's up to the Players and Chauncey.

 

"evenly talented"...?

 

Joe couldn't orchestrate a trade like the Minnesota one either. Agree, he wouldn't do it anyway, his hands are tied by Vulcans. They want keep butts in seats and viewership, maybe with all youngsters? We will soon know. But at some point its winning that and playoff excitement that keeps the synergy of Blaazerdom alive and well.

 

There are so many holes in this post it would take me 4 hours to respond. I have no desire to do so. But the bottom line is you named a shit load of
teams that were bad for a year (some tanked and some did not) It is not relevant to our discussion about tanking for multiple years until we guess correctly on the right 19-year-old or tank in the right year that actually has a star player.

 

Yeah even with who? We're not going to be "evenly talented" with OKC unless Joe pulls some kind of unimaginable miracle out of his ass. We won't be "evenly talented" with well over half the teams in this league and if Joe did pull off that miracle, talent doesn't always mean everything... ask the fucking Suns.

Maybe he meant that if a team is assembled well with talent evenly dispersed throughout the roster both by position and need of skill set or whatever but that's bullshit too because if that evenly distributed talent isn't top of the food chain talent you're not beating anyone. Also roster construction has been a really big problem for quite a while and that entire time Joe was either second in command or first.

 

There is no certainty in a rebuild, whether via draft, marking time losing while waiting for talent to mature, or trades. Those who are afraid of “fence straddling” should at least acknowledge that the Timberwolves went 20 years between playoff wins until acquiring Ant and waiting for him to mature.

 

At this point who really cares? They might as well tank. They certainly won’t be able to win games.

 

If Blazers deliberately tank the next 2-3 years in hopes to draft prospective all stars, we will lose Shaedon, Scoot and Ayton, they'll want the hell out of here. and demand trades and we start the cycle all over again. Joe will make it as clear as he has before, that we want to build around our young stars, until he cant.

 

It took Denver 8 & 9 years after they drafted Murray & Joker to win the ship. And it want till they surrounded them with season vets via trade /FA's that they really were able to contend. Top to that point their coach was look down at as a loser from Sac town where he tried for a number of years through the draft with little results.

 

what difference does it make how long a team was bad if they were able to land an MVP talent in the time they were bad? Portland sure doesn't look like they have done it in the last 2 years

 

c'mon man...

Portland has control over Scoot for a minimum of 6 more years and Sharpe for 5 years. That's the minimum and almost all players sign 4 or 5 year rookie extensions rather than 3. Lebron and Durant didn't leave the teams that drafted them for 9 years. Aldridge was in Portland for 9 years

 

Because players are under contract anymore doesn't mean that cant force a trade.

 

Older vets do that.

When has a player on a rookie deal or early on his extensions done that? I can't think of a single example.

And why are we scared of Scoot/Sharpe possibly doing this when we don't even know if they are starting quality NBA players?

Its like going back to 2014 and being worried Allen Crabbe or Meyers Leonard could eventually ask out. The franchise would've been way better off if they did.

 

'Fraid so.

 

If Scoot and Sharpe were average quality starting NBA players, and they weren't injured for major stretches of the season, maybe the Blazers would be in a decent position to try and win now.

So if they don't like it, tell them to prove they are a piece we can begin trying to build a winner around.

Since the Blazers have ZERO young studs to build around they need to continue to rebuild/tank until they get at least ONE such talent, although ideally two or three would be best.

Fans who want to win now would be positioning this franchise for a decade of mediocrity. My fear is Cronin and Jody may be in that boat as well.

 

has that been tested?

 

???