Blazers Press Conference announcing new coach 6-29-2021

[BlayZa]

ok they could have answered Quick's question about 1997 vs. the company line by the moderator of 'asked n answered' - id have preferred that CB answered it, even if he only said - look everything i said earlier, family, friends, mindset, awareness around scenarios etc

 

[B-Roy]

They handled the allegations and backlash well.

Neil got very awkward trying to explain away not hiring Hammon. Mentioned here then went off a wild tangent. He was very uncomfortable in that moment. Basically said he like Becky but Chauncey was always his guy.

Neil basically said he isn't going to trade for another star with his there are other ways answer to win championships. I don't think we will see much change this offseason roster wise.

Probably see Collins go and someone like Olynyk signed. That's about it.

"Dame's happiness always revolves around winning. The ultimate responsibility falls on me and my staff, to put a team together that we can walk into the beginning of the season can compete for a championship. It's making sure Dame's confident, every conversation is that he loves Portland, doesn't want to leave Portland, he wants to retire a TrailBlazer, he's expressed that to me and the stakeholders in the company. And I told Dame, look if you gotta drive my butt every day to make sure we're out on a limb, and we're taking risks, we're doing everything we can to build a roster that and you feel, and the rest of the guys on the team feel that can walk in with the swagger knowing that the roster isn't the reason we can't compete for a championship, that's on me. And you know I readily accept that responsibility. There's different ways we can do it."

"The shorter answer is, it's on me to make Dame happy, and the way to make Dame happy is to put the pieces around him to where he feels he can win a championship."

Direct quotes from Neil. I don't think he's sitting on his hands. I'm critical of Olshey because I think a bunch of his moves suck, but if you don't think he knows he's on the hot seat to improve the roster to make Dame happy you're crazy. First presser when we got eliminated he talked on and on about how the roster wasn't the issue. This press conference was a 180. Why do you think that is? Clearly it was expressed to him by Dame, and if he's not going to trade Dame he's going to be super aggressive improving the roster.

Now he may fail on the latter, but he's going to try. I think he will use as many future resources as he can to improve the current roster. Who cares if he trades the firsts 5 years down the road? If Dame asks to leave Neil won't be here to make those picks anyways.

 

[BBert]

I hope he HAMMERS THE FUCK out of all the rumor mongers.

This is the one time I'd like Neil to go FULL OLSHEY.

 

[riverman]

he mentioned nurk specifically about a million times. i enjoyed that

You gotta believe Nurk enjoyed that even more!

 

[illmatic99]

ok they could have answered Quick's question about 1997 vs. the company line by the moderator of 'asked n answered' - id have preferred that CB answered it, even if he only said - look everything i said earlier, family, friends, mindset, awareness around scenarios etc

as i said earlier, it was an easy chance to make billups look good. dumb from the moderator to shut it down.

 

[Scalma]

I woulda told him (highkin) I hired his mom and dad, now shut up.

seriously tho, what a dumb fucking question

“hey who did you hire, what did they tell you, etc”

like wtf?

not to mention whichever firm the team hired has a legal contract with the team that precludes them from going in detail. I mean Olshey even said it was proprietary

 

[Scalma]

as i said earlier, it was an easy chance to make billups look good. dumb from the moderator to shut it down.

it kinda was, especially since it looked like Billups was ready to answer it. Oh well, if that’s the worst move of the presser so be it.

 

[Hoopguru]

There is nothing wrong with Dame having input on who the coach should be, he's earned the right. All Super Stars get involved with coaching changes.
And to be honest not a thing wrong with Neil stating that he goes way back with Chauncey and knows he can help us take the next step.

 

[DDolla]

Ok, the Chauncey era starts now. I like to know who are the assistants.

 

[riverman]

And people in here say Fentress is a good reporter...

I no longer think that at all....he was an idiot in this presser

 

[Labinot41]

This clown David McCay or what his name is just blocked me on Twitter, these dudes are so sensitive

 

[Pinwheel1]

Couple thoughts.

I felt for Chancey and his family. For 99 % of all press conferences where a person gets a big-time job, it is an exciting and happy event. Sorry, they did not get to enjoy it.

I thought Neil did a good job in the opening segment. I know he is too Hollywood for some but he was very professional. His answer to the question about the "timing" seemed obvious to me, not sure why it has become such a big question. Most things leak and the fact Chauncey is still coaching did affect the timeline.

Who the hell is Anne from the associated press? "Why 5 years?" Has anyone else ever been asked that? What exactly was she implying? She really could not come up with anything basketball-related? I guess she can go back to her colleagues and say she tried to ask the tough questions.

Overall I thought the Q/A was a bit boring. But does it matter? Coaches are not hired for public speaking. The only thing that counts now is if he can win. I am glad no stupid promises were made. Nothing rah-rah. And like he said it is too early to be specific to address assistant coaches.

They were definitely prepared to squelch any ongoing 1997 questions, which I am sure did not surprise anyone here. He did come across sincere IMO.

 

[Buffalo Custard]

Why is anyone excited about Billups? You really think that a simple coaching change is all that is needed to make this roster compete for championships? No way.

Neil threw Stotts under the bus by saying the roster way underachieved and is now even setting up to use Billups' inexperience as an excuse since he's talked so much about his potential being the reason for the hire. It's not that Billups is the best now, but they believe in his potential.

The team has multiple problems. There is no one solution that will fix them all.

 

[OneSport3]

ok they could have answered Quick's question about 1997 vs. the company line by the moderator of 'asked n answered' - id have preferred that CB answered it, even if he only said - look everything i said earlier, family, friends, mindset, awareness around scenarios etc

But he answered it already at the beginning of the conference. He said it made him realize that as a young man, there are consequences to the decisions you make. He also said it made him more conscious of who he associates with and who he allows in his inner circle.

 

[Hoopguru]

Jesus Christ, do they want the independent investigation read aloud or some shit?

Why not reveal the ladies name while they’re at it?

Negativity sells a lot easier than something new and positive.

 

[riverman]

Jesus Christ, do they want the independent investigation read aloud or some shit?

Why not reveal the ladies name while they’re at it?

In front of Chauncey's wife and teenage daughters this was a horrible media shitshow ..and fuck Jason Quick...Neil and Chauncey were clearly the adults in the room today

 

[Scalma]

Negativity sells a lot easier than something new and positive.

Lol she can have her little moment on blazers edge. I’m sure their 45 readers will really appreciate it.

 

[DDolla]

All the peeps who are questioning Chauncey being hired as a HC, I tell you what. Winning Cures Everything. Watch them come back and cheer when we start winning again.

 

[Mr. Robot]

Why does it gotta be about u lol
Are you a Blazer player

lol it doesnt, i just used an example

how about this: if nurk was watching press at 1:00 am, his comment would made more sense, but doing something at 9:00 pm, how is that unusual or whatever

 

[illmatic99]

 

[B-Roy]

In front of Chauncey's wife and teenage daughters this was a horrible media shitshow ..and fuck Jason Quick...Neil and Chauncey were clearly the adults in the room today

I thought Quick's question was worded to make Chauncey look good.



Clearly Richman thought so as well. It's the teams fault for shutting it down.

 

[illmatic99]

In front of Chauncey's wife and teenage daughters this was a horrible media shitshow ..and fuck Jason Quick...Neil and Chauncey were clearly the adults in the room today

lol why are you throwing quick under the bus? his question was trying make him look good!

 

[illmatic99]

Lol she can have her little moment on blazers edge. I’m sure their 45 readers will really appreciate it.

i wish it was just 45 readers, she is followed by members of the team and even people like Kevin Pelton this morning (an ESPN employee!) said he only found out about Billups' past from Blazersedge. They can do whatever the fuck they want, but just don't let it reach Dame.

 

[B-Roy]

warriors fired mark Jackson and hired Steve Kerr. Didn’t do that much else. The biggest thing was a coaching decision to ply draymond green

That was huge. But they were also really young and their guys improved a lot. Definitely a mix of both though.

 

[tykendo]

In front of Chauncey's wife and teenage daughters this was a horrible media shitshow ..and fuck Jason Quick...Neil and Chauncey were clearly the adults in the room today

They covered it at the beginning, then some of the reporters seemed to be like, "C'mon Man! give me the juicy details". I was like, can we now talk about getting the team to where we all want them to be. Thank You Joe Becker, Dwight Jaynes, and others who were able to move past TMZesqe story writing.

 

[illmatic99]

i hate to do this, but there is no way the media would have treated a white coach this way.

 

[riverman]

I thought Quick's question was worded to make Chauncey look good.



Clearly Richman thought so as well. It's the teams fault for shutting it down.

No...at the point that he asked his question it was time for a basketball question...he knew that too...and to all but one of the reporters...you might lead off with welcome Chauncey and your family to Portland...I was pretty disgusted with the lack of genuine good vibes from our media towards him and his family

 

[Scalma]

i hate to do this, but there is no way the media would have treated a white coach this way.

Truth ain’t always pretty.

 

[B-Roy]

No...at the point that he asked his question it was time for a basketball question...he knew that too...and to all but one of the reporters...you might lead off with welcome Chauncey and your family to Portland...I was pretty disgusted with the lack of genuine good vibes from our media towards him and his family

Quick writes personal stories. He was trying to get more details about how it affected Chauncey personally. I think it was a fair question, and one that Chauncey was ready to answer.

We'll see based on the tone of the article he writes about this presser (he will write one).

 

[riverman]

i hate to do this, but there is no way the media would have treated a white coach this way.

especially in front of his 3 daughters and wife