Exit Interviews

[Tince]

Why are you so sure he would have walked if we paid him what he is worth?

Paying Hart what he's worth to play out of position didn't make much sense to me. You already have Ant and Sharpe fighting for SG minutes, so I'm not sure dumping a bunch of money towards Hart (who is a SG) made a ton of sense.

 

[RR7]

Why would Hart not have signed here?

His wife doesn't like to fly. They're both from the east coast. Their friends and family are all there.

 

[Tince]

Why do we also feel like singing Joe's praises for getting second round picks for GP when he is the one who signed him in the first place?!

He created this problem and somewhat fixed it. This deserves a kudos?

And it wasn't 5 true seconds. There are about a million qualifiers to 3 of the 5. They could turn into some assets. They also could be meaningless.

I didn't take his interview as him asking for people to praise him. I believe he even made mentioned that he wishes he had done things differently.

Where I do think he deserves some credit is for getting off his mistake as soon as possible. It's a major change from being sold a GMs moves were better than they were and holding onto those mistakes for multiple seasons.

 

[Samuel]

Why do we also feel like singing Joe's praises for getting second round picks for GP when he is the one who signed him in the first place?!

Because most of the time when you make a GM mistake in free agency, you aren't able to immediately back out of said mistake only months later and be compensated with draft capital in the process.

 

[blazerkor]

I didn't take his interview as him asking for people for praising him. I believe he even made mentioned that he wishes he had done things differently.

Where I do think he deserves some credit is for getting off his mistake as soon as possible. It's a major change from being sold a GMs moves were better than they were and holding onto those mistakes for multiple seasons.

Yeah, I think Joe's humility and mind for the game seem really high level, it's his ability to negotiate that I think is in question. Let's hope he shows that as a strength this off season.

 

[illmatic99]

Paying Hart what he's worth to play out of position didn't make much sense to me. You already have Ant and Sharpe fighting for SG minutes, so I'm not sure dumping a bunch of money towards Hart (who is a SG) made a ton of sense.

We did that last yr when we signed a 6'3 guard to our full MLE while also having Hart.

 

[Hoopguru]

Why would Hart not have signed here?

Sounded like his wife wanted to be closer to the east coast.

 

[wizenheimer]

Dames comment “I’m not interested in developing guys who will be ready 2-3 years from now”. Sure hope that doesn’t have anything to do with moving Sharpe…….

Meyers Leonard was a project
Zach Collins was a project
Nassir Little was a project

could be that Dame is basing his opinion on how much help guys like that have given. Those three guys have spent a combined 15 seasons in Portland and they didn't do jack shit

Dame thinks Sharpe is different because he sees the immediate upside like everybody else

but somebody should remind Dame just how much help the Blazers got from trading 4 first round picks for Afflalo, RoCo, and Nance.

 

[Pinwheel1]

We did that last yr when we signed a 6'3 guard to our full MLE while also having Hart.

I guess that is an issue if it kept us from signing a "marginal" big with our MLE. (although I can't remember who we wanted instead) But other than that we did pick up some assets that we would not normally have for nothing. 2nd round picks do help somewhat.

 

[Tince]

We did that last yr when we signed a 6'3 guard to our full MLE while also having Hart.

Correct, which I believe we both think was a mistake. And the goal is to stop the pattern of making the same mistake over and over, correct?

Therefore, having Ant, Sharpe, and Hart all on the roster, eating up a good chunk of the cap, would not have been a wise move IMO.

 

[Tince]

Meyers Leonard was a project
Zach Collins was a project
Nassir Little was a project

could be that Dame is basing his opinion on how much help guys like that have given. Those three guys have spent a combined 15 seasons in Portland and they didn't do jack shit

Dame thinks Sharpe is different because he sees the immediate upside like everybody else

but somebody should remind Dame just how much help the Blazers got from trading 4 first round picks for Afflalo, RoCo, and Nance.

Or it could be due to the fact that he was fine with drafting projects when he was on the other side of 30.

 

[blazerfan11]

Paying Hart what he's worth to play out of position didn't make much sense to me. You already have Ant and Sharpe fighting for SG minutes, so I'm not sure dumping a bunch of money towards Hart (who is a SG) made a ton of sense.

Hart wasn't playing out of position.
Hart is the guy the Knicks put on Jimmy Butler at the end of a game.
This is a typical lineup with Hart in it. And it has been very effective for them.
Quickly, Brunson, Hart, Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.

 

[Tince]

Hart wasn't playing out of position.
Hart is the guy the Knicks put on Jimmy Butler at the end of a game.
This is a typical lineup with Hart in it. And it has been very effective for them.
Quickly, Brunson, Hart, Barrett and Mitchell Robinson.
View attachment 55505

I probably worded that wrong. Hart can start at SF next to smaller guards on a team who is playing on the road in the 1st round of the playoffs. I was more talking about how I see Hart being used on a contending team. In those situations I suspect he'd need to start next to versatile defending guards or come off the bench.

My assumption was that Cronin was looking to build a team who can contend and didn't think the best route was to have a large chunk of the cap given to 4 guys 6'4" and under.

 

[Phatguysrule]

This might all be true but it's still conjecture.

When Dame was asked about his thoughts of the Hart trade he said he understood it because we couldn't pay him in the summer. My comments and thoughts were based off that.

I always took that to to mean "Because we can't pay him this summer" is a much better excuse than "He wasn't going to re-sign, regardless of how much we offered".

 

[blazerfan11]

Here is Hart hitting a 3-pointer as part of a lineup that broke open the game against the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
The lineup was Hart, Quickly, McBride, Barrett, and Hartenstein.

The is zero reason why Hart could not have been an important part of the rotation with the Blazers, especially if Sharpe gets some minutes at small forward.

 

[Tince]

I'm surprised to see the Hart being traded issue being litigated by folks. This always seemed like the likely outcome before the season even started. It had nothing to do with his play or even him as a person.

So much better than letting guys go for nothing (LMA, Matthews, RoLo, Collins, etc).

 

[blazerfan11]

I probably worded that wrong. Hart can start at SF next to smaller guards on a team who is playing on the road in the 1st round of the playoffs. I was more talking about how I see Hart being used on a contending team. In those situations I suspect he'd need to start next to versatile defending guards or come off the bench.

My assumption was that Cronin was looking to build a team who can contend and didn't think the best route was to have a large chunk of the cap given to 4 guys 6'4" and under.

Who is a better defender and rebounder?
Jerami Grant , or Josh Hart?
I think it's odd to many Blazer fans that they shipped off Josh Hart yet are willing to pay up long-term to Jerami Grant.

 

[Tince]

Here is Hart hitting a 3-pointer as part of a lineup that broke open the game against the Cavaliers in Cleveland.
The lineup was Hart, Quickly, McBride, Barrett, and Hartenstein.

The is zero reason why Hart could not have been an important part of the rotation with the Blazers, especially if Sharpe gets some minutes at small forward.

View attachment 55506

I can find you screen shots of Hart doing things well in Portland and things poorly in New York.

What the screenshots don't address is how you plan to build a contending roster with Dame/Ant/Sharpe/Hart/Grant/Nurk making $135m/year.

 

[blazerfan11]

I'm surprised to see the Hart being traded issue being litigated by folks. This always seemed like the likely outcome before the season even started. It had nothing to do with his play or even him as a person.

So much better than letting guys go for nothing (LMA, Matthews, RoLo, Collins, etc).

Why did they let Hart go, and keep Jerami Grant?

 

[Graduate32]

Josh Hart is a bit of an NBA enigma. He will be beloved wherever he plays because he plays hard, limits his mistakes, and has that dawg in his attitude. All this said, he is an awkward fit for almost any team due to the following reasons:

1. His best NBA skill may be his rebounding... which frankly isn't all that important for a wingman. A nice bonus? Sure, but not vital.
2. He is undersized both in terms of height and length. You can even argue he is undersized for the shooting guard position.
3. He is reluctant to shoot and a below average shooter when he does shoot. There is no reason to guard him or close out hard when he is on the perimeter.
4. He is a solid defender, but not a great or elite one. I think people overestimate his impact on this end because of his "dawgedness."
5. He is far more effective playing up tempo (i.e. not a good fit for a Dame-led Blazers) and in semi-controlled chaos.

I love Josh Hart and will always root for him, but he requires such special circumstances to be at his peak effectiveness, and the Blazers were never going to be that fit. I think we'll miss his cap-slot more than anything.

 

[Tince]

Why did they let Hart go, and keep Jerami Grant?

Grant is better. Grant is taller. Grant is longer. Grant is a better shooter. Grant plays PF while Hart is a SG/SF. The Blazers already have 3 talented guys under 6'6" on their roster. They already had a deal agreed to with Grant, while they didn't with Hart.

 

[blazerfan11]

I can find you screen shots of Hart doing things well in Portland and things poorly in New York.

What the screenshots don't address, is how you plan to build a contending roster with Dame/Ant/Sharpe/Hart/Grant/Nurk making $135m/year.

Grant isn't the answer.
The Blazers should have kept Hart instead of Grant.
Now the Blazers need a player who can really play Power Forward, then Grant can move to Small Forward.
When Hart is a better overall and cheaper player at small forward.
Hart was a point-of-attack defender the Blazers desperately needed. Grant is not.

 

[blazerfan11]

Grant is better. Grant is taller. Grant is longer. Grant is a better shooter. Grant plays PF while Hart is a SG/SF. The Blazers already have 3 talented guys under 6'6" on their roster. They already had a deal agreed to with Grant, while they didn't with Hart.

Grant is not a a better defender or better rebounder than Hart.
Grant is a better scorer.

 

[Tince]

Grant is not a a better defender or better rebounder than Hart.
Grant is a better scorer.

Correct. I never said Grant was a better defender than Hart.

 

[Tince]

Grant isn't the answer.
The Blazers should have kept Hart instead of Grant.
Now the Blazers need a player who can really play Power Forward, then Grant can move to Small Forward.
When Hart is a better overall and cheaper player at small forward.
Hart was a point-of-attack defender the Blazers desperately needed. Grant is not.

Hart isn't the answer.
The Blazers should keep Grant over Hart.
Grant is a PF, not a SF.
Hart isn't better overall and he's cheaper for that reason.
Grant has length the Blazers desperately need. Hart does not.

Most importantly. Hart is gone. Grant isn't. That ship has sailed.

Congrats to Hart for making his first playoffs this year.

 

[THE HCP]

lottery night will be sooooo huge

Just like game threads on here….the people who expect to win every game will leave disappointed. Plan on us slipping to 8th and you’ll walk away very satisfied.

 

[blazedanugz]

Just like game threads on here….the people who expect to win every game will leave disappointed. Plan on us slipping to 8th and you’ll walk away very satisfied.

Probably true…although while watching the lottery, if we are not called by #7….everyone should get very excited

 

[Pinwheel1]

Grant is better. Grant is taller. Grant is longer. Grant is a better shooter. Grant plays PF while Hart is a SG/SF. The Blazers already have 3 talented guys under 6'6" on their roster. They already had a deal agreed to with Grant, while they didn't with Hart.

Yeah, I think Hart filled a need when they traded for him. (a bigger SG) But we did not know we would draft SS at that time. Grant, even with his lack of rebounding, fills a bigger need.

Thybulle, while not as good as Hart, comes cheaper and can duplicate Hart's (and Payton's) defensive ability......while not commanding as many minutes or salary.

 

[THE HCP]

Probably true…although while watching the lottery, if we are not called by #7….everyone should get very excited

We should get every single person back onto the same room we were all in for the Oden lottery…… hopefully that same mojo would carry over.

 

[blazerfan11]

Correct, which I believe we both think was a mistake. And the goal is to stop the pattern of making the same mistake over and over, correct?

Therefore, having Ant, Sharpe, and Hart all on the roster, eating up a good chunk of the cap, would not have been a wise move IMO.

Positions 1, 2, 3 is 144 minutes.
Divided by 4 is 36 minutes per player.

the question has to be answered: how much is Hart going make, and how much is Grant going to make? Before making a comparison.

Also, Hart can play multiple positions capably. Grant struggles with one position. If Grant isn't scoring, what's he doing?

For New York, Hart is shooting 52% on 3-pointers, 62% on 2-pointers, 79% on free throws and has a true shooting percentage of 70%.
He's coming off the bench playing with 2 smaller guards.

edit: I forgot to mention that Hart is getting 7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals (team-leading) per game in 30 minutes off the bench.