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Was this a good deal?

  • Yes

    Votes: 79 94.0%
  • No

    Votes: 5 6.0%

  • Total voters
    84
But you are not tanking in the process. SA traded for Leonard......did they tank? The topic is how you get Stars. Trading for one is good, blowing the team up is not. Again you don't have to get really bad to get really good. You just need to be smart, and a little lucky. Kind of like the Lakers getting Kobe.
Leonard is not the reason SA won. Number 1 overall pick Tim Duncan was. Does Kobe win a title without number 1 overall Shaq or later with number 3 overall Pau?
 
Stability is the name of the game...the Spurs have proven that

"Stability" if you have the greatest PF in history to build around. You also draft overlooked, international, All-Star caliber players late in the draft.

What the Blazers are doing feels much different. This is stock piling assets for trades down the road.
 
Leonard is not the reason SA won. Number 1 overall pick Tim Duncan was. Does Kobe win a title without number 1 overall Shaq or later with number 3 overall Pau?

Like I said, SA got Duncan by tanking ONE year. I have no problem with that. They tanked because Robinson was out for the season. So they still had him on the team.

Shaq, Kobe and Pau were all acquired by trades, not by blowing it up. Your examples are just making my point.

(Shaq was a FA but then it ended up being a trade)
 
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"Stability" if you have the greatest PF in history to build around. You also draft overlooked, international, All-Star caliber players late in the draft.

What the Blazers are doing feels much different. This is stock piling assets for trades down the road.
The Spurs have always taken care of their core players while tweaking their roster around them with smart signings and picks. They also stock pile assets and if trades are in the future, that's fine...I don't see it as an oversight to see our direction as one of coaching, system and core stability. When Duncan was a rookie, they were still just a small market team trying to make noise. That's what I see in Portland....keeping a coach that's successful at developing a team and extending the contracts of players you've developed. The Jazz didn't win a ring with HOF pt guard and at the time the greatest PF in the game. Jordan won many titles with Luc Longley in the post or Will Perdue....role players. The greatest PF in the game at that time didn't beat Pippen and Jordan even when they didn't have a great point guard or center on the roster. They did keep the same system and coach though
 
The only bitter pill this offseason was Crabbe.

We got Harkless, Leonard, and Ezeli for very good contracts. It could have been much more painful.

Turner seemed spendy at first, but considering what he brings to the table, I think his contract is on point.
 
Just throwing a name out of a rim protector that can probably be had for cheap to make a playoff push. Nikola Vucevic is a much better offensive player and seems like an ideal fit if they can make something work.
I personally would love to add Chandler, great vet to have. Championship pedigree, DPOY, etc.

However, the Suns would have to make it a sexy deal by adding picks or a young player.
 
He's washed up, doesn't fit with the age group, and would probably expect to start.

But most of all.... he's washed up.

Would be a pointless addition even if he came for just capspace, but you also want to give up pieces to get Chandler? WTF. Stupid idea.
 
Yes. Portland isnt getting that caliber player via FA. A trade maybe. We need rge draft like OKC. We seem to be good because of high draft picks.

Isnt that contridicting your point though?

OKC never won. They have now lost their team (Westbrook will be gone soon) and the drafts didn't get them a ring.
However trading for Shaq and Kobe got the Lakers rings.


Hmmm. Tank for the draft so you can be a good team but not win, or build assets and trade for a player that can win rings.
Yes there are variables to this, but you brought up the Lakers and OKC and that doesnt make sense based on your opinion you have stated in the past.
Pretty confused.

Sorry. Fuck tanking. Loser mentality will just breed losers.
 
Isnt that contridicting your point though?

OKC never won. They have now lost their team (Westbrook will be gone soon) and the drafts didn't get them a ring.
However trading for Shaq and Kobe got the Lakers rings.


Hmmm. Tank for the draft so you can be a good team but not win, or build assets and trade for a player that can win rings.
Yes there are variables to this, but you brought up the Lakers and OKC and that doesnt make sense based on your opinion you have stated in the past.
Pretty confused.

Sorry. Fuck tanking. Loser mentality will just breed losers.
Lakers signed shaq as a free agent. Portland will never be able to sign a free agent of that caliber.

Lakers "traded" for kobe, but it was on draft night so they could get kobe. Kobe also let it be known he really only wanted to play for the lakers.

The draft is the best tool for small markets to obtain star level talent.

Brandon roy
Lamarcus aldridge
Damian lillard
Cj mccollum
Bill walton
Clyde drexler

What do all these stars have in common?
 
Otherwise known as the guy who got 1 vote for rookie of the year spoiling Brandon Roy's anonymous selection. I've heard Fran Blinebury still gets the occasional death threat for it. :MARIS61:

He's still alive? ;)
 
Lakers signed shaq as a free agent. Portland will never be able to sign a free agent of that caliber.

Lakers "traded" for kobe, but it was on draft night so they could get kobe. Kobe also let it be known he really only wanted to play for the lakers.

The draft is the best tool for small markets to obtain star level talent.

Brandon roy
Lamarcus aldridge
Damian lillard
Cj mccollum
Bill walton
Clyde drexler

What do all these stars have in common?

I know, I know... they all have Ls in their names if we call Brandon Blandon! Did I win?
 
Lakers signed shaq as a free agent. Portland will never be able to sign a free agent of that caliber.

Lakers "traded" for kobe, but it was on draft night so they could get kobe. Kobe also let it be known he really only wanted to play for the lakers.

The draft is the best tool for small markets to obtain star level talent.

Brandon roy
Lamarcus aldridge
Damian lillard
Cj mccollum
Bill walton
Clyde drexler

What do all these stars have in common?

The issue isn't that you don't have to rely on the draft for talent; you do. It's that you don't have to keep dumpster diving until you get a top-3 pick.
 
Otherwise known as the guy who got 1 vote for rookie of the year spoiling Brandon Roy's anonymous selection. I've heard Fran Blinebury still gets the occasional death threat for it. :MARIS61:
Chuck Swirsky?

He voted for Bargnani I believe. He works for the Bulls now.
 
The draft is the best tool for small markets to obtain star level talent.

Brandon roy
Lamarcus aldridge
Damian lillard
Cj mccollum
Bill walton
Clyde drexler

What do all these stars have in common?

Add Oden and Bowie to your list. The draft is no lock for success anymore in a small market. You need to hit int he draft plus the winning record to keep them around.
 
Lakers signed shaq as a free agent. Portland will never be able to sign a free agent of that caliber.

Lakers "traded" for kobe, but it was on draft night so they could get kobe. Kobe also let it be known he really only wanted to play for the lakers.

The draft is the best tool for small markets to obtain star level talent.

Brandon roy
Lamarcus aldridge
Damian lillard
Cj mccollum
Bill walton
Clyde drexler

What do all these stars have in common?

The Blazers drafted them all. You know what else they have in common? They have never won(except Walton and we know how we were able to draft him)

Why cant we trade for that draft? Why do we have to tank for it? That's my difference of opinion. You have long since been outspoken about wanting to tank for a lottery right? Why? Lakers didn't tank. They traded.

I wasn't clear earlier when I said fuck the draft. The draft is great as long as you don't tank for it. And clearly the above examples prove you don't need to tank to get to the lottery. You need to be a smart chess player. So lets say we package Plums/Davis/Crabbe for a lotto pick from another team for next year.
Does that mean we tanked?
No. We TRADED to get into the lottery.
 
Add Oden and Bowie to your list. The draft is no lock for success anymore in a small market. You need to hit int he draft plus the winning record to keep them around.
That is true. But the draft is where most small market teams obtain stars. There is always the possibility of getting a rasheed wallace or scottie pippen through trade, but if you are drafting at the top you have a good chance of getting a star player, and on a cheap 4 year deal to boot. Youll usually be able to keep them for 7ish years.
 
Add Oden and Bowie to your list. The draft is no lock for success anymore in a small market. You need to hit int he draft plus the winning record to keep them around.
A lot of high draft picks on shitty teams never get to grow as players...aka shitty teams drafted them. I like Olshey's approach of picking up undervalued high draft picks that have not reached their potential due to the system they're stuck in. Shorter learning curve for Vonleh and Harkless than for this year's rookies
 
The Blazers drafted them all. You know what else they have in common? They have never won(except Walton and we know how we were able to draft him)

Why cant we trade for that draft? Why do we have to tank for it? That's my difference of opinion. You have long since been outspoken about wanting to tank for a lottery right? Why? Lakers didn't tank. They traded.

I wasn't clear earlier when I said fuck the draft. The draft is great as long as you don't tank for it. And clearly the above examples prove you don't need to tank to get to the lottery. You need to be a smart chess player. So lets say we package Plums/Davis/Crabbe for a lotto pick from another team for next year.
Does that mean we tanked?
No. We TRADED to get into the lottery.
Nope, im not a long proponent of tanking. Last year at the beginning of the year i thought it would be in our best interest because i thought we were gonna win 34 games. They proved me wrong.

Its just as much luck, like when the spurs lost david robinson for a year (and some speculated they held him out longer than they needed) to have ping pong balls to grab duncan. Seemed to set them up for 20 years of prosperity.

Im also a proponent of drafting well. Draft choices are very valuable. Id be just as happy drafting a draymond green, chandler parsons, nic batum, tony parker, paul george etc while not tanking.

I just wouldnt be so quick to give away draft picks.

And i realize im jumping in and didnt read all that was said before. So i apologize if im coming from left field.
 
The issue isn't that you don't have to rely on the draft for talent; you do. It's that you don't have to keep dumpster diving until you get a top-3 pick.


Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner!


Nope, im not a long proponent of tanking. Last year at the beginning of the year i thought it would be in our best interest because i thought we were gonna win 34 games. They proved me wrong.

Its just as much luck, like when the spurs lost david robinson for a year (and some speculated they held him out longer than they needed) to have ping pong balls to grab duncan. Seemed to set them up for 20 years of prosperity.

Im also a proponent of drafting well. Draft choices are very valuable. Id be just as happy drafting a draymond green, chandler parsons, nic batum, tony parker, paul george etc while not tanking.

I just wouldnt be so quick to give away draft picks.

And i realize im jumping in and didnt read all that was said before. So i apologize if im coming from left field.

Apologies smalogies. You want an apology? I thought MM posted your post that I quoted. Not you. I meant him being a tanking supporter. :)

I think most people are on this line of thinking. Maybe Tanking needs to be defined better. I consider tanking to be what Phili has done. Not what SA did when they got Duncan.
 

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