Since you put some time in to this, I'll repond.
What caliber is Whiteside in your opinion? He hasn't seemed to have offensive skills the few times I've seen him play, and all the stats I've seen seem to say that he doesn't even make a positive impact on defense or rebounding.
There's no chance of him going to gs, or lac. If he was trying to argue that LAL have a better chance of signing him? Ok, I'll buy that.
What? I'm not talking about Monroe signing on the west coast. I made reference to Monroe choosing mikwaukie too, because he is an east coast guy abs it's closer to his home.
I mis-read that second part. I thought you were talking about west coast teams, as possible destinations for whiteside. I agree with what you said about hometowns though. But since he grew up on the east coast, I was confused about the references to gs, lac, and lal.
I edited in that bit about five seconds after I posted the original because I realized that forgot to address the point ... it would have been just as easy to add it into another post, but it seemed easier to edit, rather than spam another message.
This team still has very few quality wins and just because they elevated themselves from the perception that they might be one of the two worst teams in the NBA, to being mediocre, doesn't mean that they are anywhere near being on the cusp of contending for anything meaningful. All the Blazers look like right now is a team in the middle of the pack. That doesn't mean they stand out in a situation crowded with teams with just as much or more capspace to offer versus the Blazers.
"Tiny," "Small," "Not big." Semantics. It's still close to being in the bottom third of market size. And if history is any guide you can bet your ass that plays into agents steering their clients to places. It may not be the most important factor, but it's still a factor.
Why does it matter where a guy is from? People move to California or Florida all the time from the mid-west and the northeast for the sunshine, that doesn't make Portland's 222 average cloudy days any more palatable or a selling point; it may not be a deal breaker, but it's definitely not a mark in its favor. As for Greg Monroe signing in Milwaukee, yes he may have thought he had a good chance to win but that doesn't invalidate the point that weather plays a factor in these guys' decision to sign somewhere - an exception doesn't disprove the general rule.
What does the year have to do with anything? The internet has been around for awhile now, so has social media. A Billionaire owner isn't special. Damian Lillard is a very good player, but he's probably not good enough to create a magnetic draw for the free agents who are about to command max money. As for marketing opportunities, a lot of these guys probably want to maximize their earning potential. They've got a decade (give or take) to make hay while the sun shines. If they're charismatic enough a lot of these guys probably think about moving into broadcasting when their time is up and the best way to do that is to maximize your television exposure through endorsements and media appearances.
Portland is geographically isolated from the rest of the league that's just a fact. This has two effects: 1. A lot of your games are broadcast late at night when the majority of the country sleeps and 2. you have more travel than any other team. Maybe those aren't deal breakers, but they aren't positives or selling points.
Great post! Says it all!
What? You don't think rich young black men will choose Portland for our coffee shops, micro-brew pubs, art house theaters, wine country tours, and summer time outdoor recreation? What world are you living in?
This man is clearly an intellectual. So, yeah.So what you're saying is....... Westbrook to Portland 2017!
You miss it if that player is a douchebag of Howard's caliber. And then you're grateful you missed it.
Uncle Cliffy is opening a pot shop here ...that's got to spark some interest from NBA players looking for a home past their careers
